Faculty Showcase: Social Sciences
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Nerea Marteache, Ph.D. from California State University San Bernardino
eTextbook: A Variety of OERs (Open Education Resources)
Course Description:
These open resources are being utilized in a Wildlife Crime course for undergraduate students. This course will provide an overview of the crimes committed against wildlife, with a special emphasis on the illegal trade of animals.
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"The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to save students money and also being able to customize course contents."
Jerry D. Breckon, M.P.A. from California State University San Marco
eTextbook: American Government by Timothy O. Lenz and Mirya Holman
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide an overview of the principles of the U.S. Constitution, and a survey of political institutions and processes that developed under it, including the legislature, the executive, the courts, state and local government, federalism, and civil liberties. In addition this course will provide an overview of the workings of California State government.
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"There were no major challenges in terms of support for switching to an OER textbook. However, as with switching to any new textbook there was a great deal of time (hours) spent preparing new material, syllabus, assessments, and projects to support the new OER text."
Nerea Marteache, Ph.D. from California State University San Bernardino
eTextbook: Crime and Everyday Life
Course Description:
In this course, we look at criminal acts as events, where and when they occur, how they occur, who is present or absent, and how they can be prevented. This course surveys such topics as problem-oriented policing, crime analysis, environmental criminology, crime risks, situational crime prevention, and crime prevention through environmental design.
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"I adopted this textbook for two reasons. First, I wanted to reduce the cost of the textbook. Second, I thought that the textbook I was using was too complicated for undergraduates, and I was looking for something a little bit easier for them to understand."
Kurt Kowalski, Ph.D. from California State University San Bernardino
eTextbook: Educational Psychology
Course Description:
Overview of psychological principles applied to education using a variety of educational perspectives from psychology to explore educational practices, student development, and characteristics, learning processes, teaching strategies and assessment in the multicultural classroom. Requires a minimum ten-hour field component in an approved setting.
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"The biggest challenge was the lack of ancillary resources; there aren't any. I had to develop all my own materials which is more time consuming, especially since there is no test bank. I worry a little about the lack of these resources since occasionally adjuncts teach the class and not having ancillary resources will make it more difficult for them."
Amber Hammons, Ph.D. from Fresno State
eTextbook: A Chapter from Attachment Through the Life Course by R. C. Fraley from Noba
Course Description:
A balanced study of basic theories, research, applications, and principles of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development from conception to death, presented in an integrated manner in the context of the family in a diverse society. Includes behavior, sexuality, nutrition, health, stress, environmental relationships, and implications of death and dying.
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"Affordability is a concern of mine but equally important is finding OER that are high quality, rigorous, and appropriate for college students."
Chantal Lamourelle, Ph.D. from Santa Ana College
eTextbook: Attachment Through the Life Course by R. Fraley
Course Description:
This course examines the major physical, psychosocial, and cognitive/language developmental milestones for children, from conception through adolescence. Using developmental theories & research methodologies, course emphasis will be on typical and atypical development, maturational processes & environmental factors.
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"My main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to reduce the textbook cost for students and to provide more access to courses which are cost prohibitive for some students solely due to the cost of the required text."
Vera Kennedy from West Hills Community College, CA
eTextbook: Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax College
Course Description:
Soc 1 is an introduction to the sociological concepts and theoretical perspectives of sociology and their application to the fundamental problems of social life. The course includes an overview of sociological explanations, methods, and findings in social structure, group dynamics, socialization, social stratification culture, social change, and global dynamics.
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"The major motivation in adopting this textbook was to save students money, without sacrificing the quality of the content. I was impressed by OpenStax, and I thought I could work with it because the quality was equivalent to published textbooks. We had to get the approval from the curriculum committee, as we all have to use the same book. We can also use the supplements, if desired."
Dr. Shirley Rainey-Brown, Fisk University
eTextbook: Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax College
Course Description:
SOC 100 is an introduction to the sociological concepts and theoretical perspectives of sociology and their application to the fundamental problems of social life. The course includes an overview of sociological explanations, methods, and findings in social structure, group dynamics, socialization, social stratification culture, social change, and global dynamics.
Eric Strayer from Hartnell Community College, Salinas, CA
eTextbook: Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax College
Course Description:
A general introduction to the study of socialinteraction and the organization of modernsociety. Topics include culture; social structure; socialization; deviance and crime; class, ethnicity, and gender; social institutions; collective behavior and social movements; and demography and urbanization.
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"Most of my students are low-income and work full or part-time and I would like to see them put their bucks into a laptop or tablet and have every teacher find them online free or inexpensive books. "
Heather Wylie from Shasta College, CA
eTextbook: Introduction to Sociology by OpenStax College
Course Description:
This course examines the basics of sociology--the study of society. Sociology examines the interactions among social institutions, cultures, groups, and individuals. This course will focus on how unequal power relations organize the social world and shape individual lives, and how individuals negotiate their lives in different social and economic contexts. The course will examine a broad array of topics using a variety of theoretical perspectives and sociological research methods. The primary goal of this course is to recognize how people's experiences are shaped by social forces and reshaped through human action. This course may be offered in a distance learning format.
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"Given the high level of students living at or below the poverty line and first generation college students, I felt it was very important to increase student access to course materials. I found OpenStax through personal research into OER materials that met the needs of my courses."
Anne Marenco from College of the Canyons, Santa Clarita, CA
eTextbook: Sociology Online Text
Course Description:
Examines small group interactions and cultural patterns of American and other societies using the conceptual, theoretical, and methodological principles and applications to explain how values, roles, norms, social interaction, and social inequality as well as other concepts influence individuals, groups, and society.
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"Adopting the open textbook has not created any challenges other than finding the time to revise the book every two years."
Cesar Abarca, Ph.D. from Humboldt State University
Textbook: The Wisdom of Sustainability: Buddhist Economics for the 21st Century, by S. Sivaraska
Course Description:
Wellness, prevention, and health promotion in terms of sustainability as a global construct will be considered and its application in culturally appropriate and relevant practice and service.
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"Students were very enthusiastic to hear that I replaced expensive textbooks with an affordable textbook and two free online readings. They were also supportive of the idea of having course materials in electronic format that could be downloaded to electronic devices, rather than in paper form. "
Alexandrea Park, Ph.D. from California State University, Los Angeles
eTextbook: Boundless Psychology by Boundless
Course Description:
Psychological research and theory about gender, emphasis on socialization, stereotyping, expectations and effects on individuals; differences and similarities between women and men; intersections of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and sexuality.
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"The main motivation for adopting the open textbook was saving students' money. The secondary reason was the ability to customize the book for students' needs."
Meredith Williams, Ph.D. from Humboldt State University
eTextbook: Public Sociology Toolkit by M. Williams and J. Teal
Course Description:
While this is fundamentally a research methods class, it is specifically a class dedicated to learning and practicing action research. At its core, action research (1) acknowledges that people's life experiences make them the "experts" (rather than an ivory tower academic) about their lives; and (2) has the goal of informing social change, not just producing knowledge. Action research is a fundamental part of understanding, and working in and for, social justice.
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"I created this textbook with a group of graduate students (enrolled in SOC 590: Practicing Sociology) to give us a book we could use in research-based courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels."
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