Teaching
Teaching Interests
Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Education, Social Stratification, Race/Class/Gender, Family, Methods, Qualitative Methods, Statistics, Social Problems, Sociology of Volunteering
Teaching Awards
2020 Tanner Teaching Assistants Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, UNC-CH
2020 Wilson Teaching Award, Department of Sociology, UNC-CH
2019 Graduate Contributions to the Sociological Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, ASA Section for Teaching and Learning
2019 SAGE Publishing Keith Roberts Teaching Innovations Award (category: experienced)
Teaching Publications
Gillis, Alanna, and Laura M. Krull (equal authorship). 2020. “COVID-19 Remote Learning Transition in Spring 2020: Class Structures, Student Perceptions, and Inequality in College Courses.” Teaching Sociology: Online First.
Gillis, Alanna. 2019. “Reconceptualizing Participation Grading as Skill Building.” Teaching Sociology 47(1): 10-21. [Link and PDF]
Gillis, Alanna, and Brionca Taylor*. 2019. “Social Networks and Labor Market Inequality: A Role-Playing Activity to
Teach Difficult Concepts.” Teaching Sociology 47(2): 148-156. [Link and PDF]
Gillis, Alanna. 2018. “School Choice and Inequality: Choosing Schools Activity.” Class Activity published in TRAILS:
Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington DC: American Sociological Association.
*8th most downloaded resource in TRAILS in 2018
Gillis, Alanna. 2018. “Class School Board Debate Activity: Should Tracking Be Reformed?” Class Activity published in
TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology. Washington DC: American Sociological
Teaching Experience
Department of Sociology, St Lawrence University
IntroSoc: Principles of Sociology (101): Fall 2020 hybrid
IntroSoc: Inequality (112): Fall 2020 online
Department of Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Sociological Perspectives (101): Summer 2017, Spring 2018, Summer 2018, Spring 2020
Sociology of Education (upper-level course): Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019
Selected Teaching Practices
Three innovative teaching practices I use in all of my undergraduate courses:
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Role-playing activities and small group discussions
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Unconventional group final exams
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Skills-building participation assessment