3.2: Pacing

The Introduction to Sociology course contains eighteen modules. Since many instructors choose not to teach every module, sometimes it works well to cover roughly one module per week for a fifteen or sixteen-week semester. Although the modules are generally similar in size, some of the content is lighter in certain modules or more dense in others, so it may make sense to combine some modules in one week or draw out other modules over several weeks.

Some modules that work well together include:

• Module 1: Foundations of Sociology and Module 2: Sociological Research
• Module 3: Culture and Module 4: Socialization OR
• Module 4: Socialization and Module 5: Society and Groups
• Module 9: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality and Module 10: Marriage and Family
• Module 11: Religion and Module 12: Education
• Module 13: Health and Medicine and Module 14: Aging and the Elderly
• Module 15: Government and Politics and Module 16: Work and the Economy
• Module 17: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment and Module 18: Social Movements and Social Change

The “smallest” modules are modules 2, 10, and 13-16:

• Module 2: Sociological Research
• Module 10: Marriage and Family
• Module 13: Health and Medicine
• Module 14: Aging and the Elderly
• Module 15: Government and Politics
• Module 16: Work and the Economy

Module Changes

For those switching over from the earlier version of the course, a comparison of the two versions is included below. In soliciting feedback from instructors, we heard the desire for smaller, more flexible modules. The core content remains similar to the previous version, although some things have shifted to better align with similar concepts. For example, pieces on technology have been added into the culture module and included throughout the course, instead of tacked on at the end. The modules on culture and society were split to help clarify those essential concepts. The religion and education modules were split as they each deserved separate attention. The module on health, aging, and the elderly was split due to its broad scope.

The new, smaller modules also allow more faculty autonomy is choosing specific modules. For example, many have expressed a desire to exclude certain modules which are covered in other courses, such as education, government and politics, work and the economy, or health and medicine. Now that those social institutions each have their own module, picking and choosing is even easier.

New Lumen Course	Old Lumen Course	OpenStax Sociology
Module 1: Foundations of Sociology	Module 1: Foundations of Sociology	Chapter 1: Introduction to Sociology
Module 2: Sociological Research	Module 2: Culture and Society	Chapter 2: Sociological Research
Module 3: Culture	Module 3: Socialization and Interaction	Chapter 3: Culture
Module 4: Socialization	Module 4: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control	Chapter 4: Society and Social Interaction
Module 5: Society and Groups	Module 5: Social Stratification and Inequality	Chapter 5: Socialization
Module 6: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control	Module 6: Race and Ethnicity	Chapter 6: Groups and Organization
Module 7: Stratification and Inequality	Module 7: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality	Chapter 7: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
Module 8: Race and Ethnicity	Module 8: Marriage and Family	Chapter 8: Media and Technology
Module 9: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality	Module 9: Religion and Education	Chapter 9: Social Stratification in the United States
Module 10: Marriage and Family	Module 10: Health, Aging, and the Elderly	Chapter 10: Global Inequality
Module 11: Religion	Module 11: Government and Politics	Chapter 11: Race and Ethnicity
Module 12: Education	Module 12: Work and the Economy	Chapter 12: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
Module 13: Health and Medicine	Module 13: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment	Chapter 13: Aging and the Elderly
Module 14: Aging and the Elderly	Module 14: Social Movements, Media, and Technology	Chapter 14: Marriage and Family
Module 15: Government and Politics		Chapter 15: Religion
Module 16: Work and the Economy		Chapter 16: Education
Module 17: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment		Chapter 17: Government and Politics
Module 18: Social Movements and Social Change		Chapter 18: Work and the Economy
		Chapter 19: Health and Medicine
		Chapter 20: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
		Chapter 21: Social Movements and Social Change

Here are some sample schedules if teaching the entire course:

Week	Sample Schedule 1: 15 weeks	Sample Schedule 2: 14 weeks	Sample Schedule 3: 12 weeks
Week 1	Module 1: Foundations of Sociology	Module 7: Stratification and Inequality
Week 6	Module 7: Stratification and Inequality	Module 6: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control	Module 8: Race and Ethnicity
Week 7	Module 8: Race and Ethnicity	Module 7: Stratification and Inequality	Module 9: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
Week 9	Module 10: Marriage and Family	Module 9: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality	Module 15: Government and Politics	Module 17: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
Week 12	Module 13: Health and Medicine Module 14: Aging and the Elderly	Module 13: Health and Medicine Module 14: Aging and the Elderly	Module 18: Social Movements and Social Change
Week 13	Module 15: Government and Politics Module 16: Work and the Economy	Module 15: Government and Politics Module 16: Work and the Economy
Week 14	Module 17: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment	Module 17: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment Module 18: Social Movements and Social Change
Week 15	Module 18: Social Movements and Social Change	Review

If you are transitioning from the old Lumen course and would like to teach the entire course in a similar manner, we recommend combining the modules as shown below. Note that the module numbering is included here, but once inside the LMS, the module numbers are not included, and may be renamed or renumbered to suit your class’ needs.

Old Lumen Course	New Lumen Course
Module 1: Foundations of Sociology	Module 1: Foundations of Sociology Module 2: Sociological Research
Module 2: Culture and Society	Module 3: Culture
Module 3: Socialization and Interaction	Module 4: Socialization Module 5: Society and Groups
Module 4: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control	Module 6: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
Module 5: Social Stratification and Inequality	Module 7: Stratification and Inequality
Module 6: Race and Ethnicity	Module 8: Race and Ethnicity
Module 7: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality	Module 9: Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
Module 8: Marriage and Family	Module 10: Marriage and Family
Module 9: Religion and Education	Module 11: Religion Module 12: Education
Module 10: Health, Aging, and the Elderly	Module 13: Health and Medicine Module 14: Aging and the Elderly
Module 11: Government and Politics	Module 15: Government and Politics
Module 12: Work and the Economy	Module 16: Work and the Economy
Module 13: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment	Module 17: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
Module 14: Social Movements, Media, and Technology	Module 18: Social Movements and Social Change

CC licensed content, Original

• Pacing Guide. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution

CC licensed content, Shared previously

• Stopwatch. Authored by: Adrien Coquet, FR. Provided by: Noun Project. Located at: https://thenounproject.com/term/stopwatch/1094680/. License: CC BY: Attribution