Introduction to Sociology at a large public university was taught in two separate formats, blended learning and lecture, during the same semester by the first author. While some similarities existed, the distinction was in delivery of course content. Additionally, the blended class had one-third less in-class time that was primarily devoted to active learning. In this quasi-experimental study, the researchers tested differences in learning using grades and pre-posttests. Although there were no statistically significant differences across sections in exams and final grades, the blended class had significantly greater improvement on the overall pre- to posttest. Additionally, students of color and non–first year students in that class had significantly greater improvement on the pre-posttest compared to those subpopulations in the lecture course. The authors conclude that blended learning, employing flipped pedagogy and centered on active learning, may be more effective than lecture, particularly in narrowing the achievement gap between white and non-white students.

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This study explores the aspirations of undocumented youth seeking to defer deportation from the United States and obtain temporary employment authorization through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The data are twenty-three letters submitted from 2013–2015 to a nonprofit foundation in the US Southwest that provides financial assistance to pay DACA application fees. Conducted within a narrative framework, analysis of emergent themes reveals a story of hope and family that counters the dominant political story of fear and threat to public safety. Specifically, from the DACA applicant’s standpoint, family is their most valuable form of social capital and by providing the means for employment and the education needed to launch a sustainable career, DACA status provides the leverage required to maximize family capital. Our analysis reveals a disturbing disjuncture between their testimonios and the realities of a policy intended to serve as a safety net. The current political climate makes aspirations like theirs increasingly difficult to achieve and may actually exacerbate legal and social liminality.

The blended and flipped class is often considered the most student-centered type of learning as it promotes deep and life-long learning. Using qualitative and quantitative data from anonymous surveys completed by students in two different introductory classes, one blended and flipped (N=56) and the other traditional lecture (N=74) taught by the first author during the same semester, this study reveals active learning in the blended and flipped class contributes to those students’: 1) positive perceptions of usefulness of course material; 2) perceptions of more time spent on their class; and 3) preference for blended and flipped learning. These findings provide for a deeper understanding of the results of an earlier study with these same cohorts where the blended and flipped learning outperformed the traditional face-to-face students on a pre-posttest. It also provides insight into the usefulness of blended learning and can help assuage fears that students are short changed when they don’t have face-to-face instruction. This article closes with suggestions for instructors wishing to pursue a flipped and blended classroom model.

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