%0 Journal Article
%T Call Your Representatives: Connecting Classroom Learning to Real
%A Raj Ghoshal
%J Teaching Sociology
%@ 1939-862X
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/0092055X18792608
%X This article presents an in-class exercise that teaches students how to call elected officials about a course-related issue of their choice. The goals are to connect classroom learning with real-life action, to show that contacting elected officials need not be difficult or intimidating, and to help students develop a sense of efficacy that can contribute to ongoing engagement. I describe the exercise and present evidence that it led students to call their elected officials, most for the first time ever. I show that students find the exercise interesting and empowering and that it increases their civic comfort and self-reported likelihood of contacting a representative in the future
%K student engagement
%K active learning
%K classroom-based exercises
%K critical pedagogy
%K sociology curriculum
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0092055X18792608