scholarly journals The Acquisition of Social Work Interviewing Skills in a Web-based and Classroom Instructional Environment: Preliminary Findings

10.18060/58 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillip Ouellette ◽  
Valerie Chang
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Background Characteristics ◽  
Instructional Environment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Interviewing Skills

Little is known regarding the learning of social work practice skills in a Web-based online environment, most especially, social work interviewing skills. This article presents a review of the research methodology used to initiate a study to explore the similarities and differences of two groups of students who were taught interviewing skills in a classroom-based teaching environment with those taught in a Web-based instructional environment during the same 15-week period. Students’ background characteristics and their perceptions of their learning experience and skill acquisition are reported as preliminary findings.

Development and Evaluation of an Innovative Web-based Training, Learning, and Sharing (i-TLS) Platform for Social Workers: Hong Kong Jockey Club SMART Family-Link Project (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Man Tung Suen ◽  
Agnes Yuen Kwan Lai ◽  
Man Ping Wang ◽  
Sai Yin Ho ◽  
Tai Hing Lam
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Family Services ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Ict Use ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Jockey Club

BACKGROUND Information and communication technology (ICT) use may enhance social work practice and continuous professional development. Under the Hong Kong Jockey Club SMART Family-Link project, we developed an innovative web-based training, learning, and sharing (i-TLS) platform to support ICT and other learning needs of Hong Kong social workers in family services. OBJECTIVE We developed i-TLS with 3 major components (i-Training, i-Learning, and i-Sharing) and assessed the acceptability and impact on facilitating ICT use in family services. METHODS We described i-TLS development based on a 4-phase model from platform design, development, implementation to maintenance. We evaluated i-TLS via platform database, Google Analytics, a self-administered survey, and individual phone interviews 1 year after launching. RESULTS i-TLS was launched to 26 Integrated Family Service Centers (IFSCs) and Integrated Services Centers (ISCs) operated by 12 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on 1 July 2019. The outbreak of COVID-19 started in December 2019 limited face-to-face services, which catalyzed the urgent needs of digital transformation in social work practice. By 31 July 2020, 313 social workers (23 supervisors, 290 frontline workers) had registered with i-TLS. The platform database showed 79.6% (249/313) users accessed i-TLS at least once in the last 28 days, with on average 3.2 platform visits per day viewing 4.8 pages per visit. i-Training provided 41 training mini-modules in applying ICT to family services from counseling, program design, implementation to evaluation. Of 730 enrolments in total, 70.0% (511/730) completed the mini-modules and were awarded digital mini-certificates. i-Learning provided 112 items of learning resources centered around ICT use and family services and had nearly 4000 page views recorded from Google Analytics. i-Sharing had a total of 25 discussion threads with 59 posts. 53.7% (168/313) users completed the 1-year evaluation survey, including 12 who participated in the phone interviews. The mean i-TLS satisfaction score (out of 10) increased from light (4.99) to occasional (6.15) and frequent (6.31) users. Frequent users showed higher scores (out of 10) than light users for an increase in knowledge (5.84 versus 4.09; P<.001), self-efficacy (5.23 versus 3.96; P=.02), and knowledge application (6.46 versus 1.91; P<.001). From the phone interviews, users reported increased ICT use in family services, despite some practical barriers. i-TLS was perceived as an acceptable and supportive tool for learning and practice in family services, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS We have first reported the development and evaluation of a newly developed web-based learning platform (i-TLS) for social workers in family services. The results provided preliminary evidence of using i-TLS to support social workers’ continuous learning and ICT-enhanced services. Accessibility to self-directed and collaborative learning is essential for optimizing social workers’ learning. Further research on enhancing web-based platforms is needed to expand participation and capacity building of social workers and other related professionals. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04034420; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04034420

The Portfolio Approach for Generalist Social Work Practice: A Successful Tool for Students in Field Education

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mona S. Schatz ◽  
Sarah Simon
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Field Education ◽  
Evaluation Instrument ◽  
Field Instructors ◽  
Portfolio Approach ◽  
Field Setting

This article introduces the use of a portfolio approach for integrating the generalist educational experience for baccalaureate students. To assess the benefit of this type of educational tool, students and field instructors completed an evaluation instrument. Responses from students and field instructors revealed that the portfolio was an excellent approach to enhance the integrative aspects of learning needed for students in a generalist social work field experience. Though the sample is limited to one social work undergraduate program, these findings further illustrated that the portfolio helped students demonstrate learning outcomes tied to the generalist social work approach and improved the quality and depth of the learning experience in the field setting.

Bring shadowing out of the shadows: an examination of shadowing as a learning activity in social work practice placements

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-77
Author(s):  
Peter Scourfield
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Social Work Students ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Site Supervisors ◽  
Professional Leadership

Social work students shadowing more experienced practitioners is usually regarded as self-evidently a positive learning experience by  practice educators, on-site supervisors; university tutors, and not least by the students themselves. Whilst it can form part of a formal practice learning agreement, much shadowing is also undertaken informally often on an ad hoc and impromptu basis. Given the extent to which shadowing takes place, it is a basic assumption of this paper that it must have a significant impact of what students learn about practice both in their specific placement but also more generally about social work. For this reason the primary aim of this paper is to bring more of a critical gaze onto shadowing as a learning activity in social work practice placements. The paper begins by examining the different purposes of shadowing and putting them into context. It explains how shadowing can be seen as both part of the process of socialisation into professional social work but also into a specific workplace culture. As such shadowing experiences need to be understood as part of the implicit (hidden) curriculum of social work. The second part of the paper considers some ways in which examining shadowing experiences more critically can improve certain aspects of practice. This includes understanding power relationships but also how shadowing can provide important opportunities for professional leadership. It is proposed that, often taken as a background or taken for granted activity, shadowing needs to be given a higher profile and therefore better preparation in social work practice placements.

scholarly journals Using Technology to Evaluate a Web-Based Clinical Social Work Research Course

10.18060/56 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-90
Author(s):  
Zvi Gellis
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Clinical Social Work ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Single Subject ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Clinical Social Work Practice

This article reports on a clinical research methods course taught online to a total of 90 off-campus MSW students in the fall of 1999, 2000, and 2001. The course was taught in a mid-size public university in a CSWE-accredited School of Social Work. The purpose of the course was to teach single subject design research skills for the evaluation of clinical social work practice. The student experience of the online course was assessed using qualitative interviews that add a deeper, textured understanding of the various facets of online instruction from the learner's perspective. Important dimensions for social work instruction in online courseware were delineated. A collaborative learning and teaching framework is presented for those social work educators interested in implementing web-based courses.

scholarly journals Utilising a Virtual Community to practice Community Work theory during COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 138-142
Author(s):  
Elmien Claassens
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Online Environment ◽  
Practical Application ◽  
Community Work ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Practice Community

In this practice note, I highlight the challenges social work practice lecturers overcame during a national lockdown midst the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa whilst converting face to face teaching on community work to the online environment. I discuss how a fictitious virtual community was created, enabling students to apply the theoretical knowledge on community work from the practice module. I share the practical application on how students were able to ‘do’ community work in a virtual community and what we as a team of social work practice educators learned as a result.

scholarly journals When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It: Teaching Social Work Practice Using Blended Learning

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine De Boer ◽  
Sandra Loucks Campbell ◽  
Angela Hovey
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Blended Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Degree Program ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Road ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Part Time

The debates surrounding the effectiveness of teaching social work online highlight the challenges of adequately preparing students for face-to-face practice by way of web-based technologies. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to briefly describe how a particular School of Social Work when designing its part-time undergraduate degree program (BSW), arrived at a fork in the road and instead of choosing between the paths of in-class or online course delivery, the School decided to offer the entire degree using a blended learning platform. Secondly, to compare the development and implementation of three specific practice courses within the part-time degree program (interviewing and assessment, social work theory, and a practicum integration seminar) each of which was offered using blended learning. This paper contributes to the debate about the value of using web-based components when teaching social work practice and will be helpful to educators from within many disciplines, who are wishing to critique their own development processes when designing and teaching practice courses using blended learning.

scholarly journals Toward Building a Culture of Strengths in U.S. MSW Programs

10.18060/230 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-229
Author(s):  
Linda Plitt Donaldson ◽  
Barbara P. Early ◽  
Min-Ling Wang
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Curriculum Content ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Macro Practice ◽  
Qualitative Responses ◽  
Dominant Paradigm

Social work has embraced the strengths perspective as a vital part of micro, mezzo, and macro practice. Yet the authors’ experience suggests that the medical model of deficits, disease, and disorder remains the dominant paradigm. This exploratory study sought to determine how and to what extent strengths-based practice is integrated into the MSW practice curriculum. Forty-four (44) of 181 programs responded to a 12-item web-based survey. Quantitative and qualitative responses indicate an almost universal awareness of and attention to integrating strengths-based content. However, a smaller number of programs appear to be looking beyond curriculum content towards the creation of a broader culture of strengths. Even so, challenges remain toward overcoming a pathological orientation in social work practice curricula.

Infusing Aging Skills into the Social Work Practice Community: A New Look at Strategies for Continuing Professional Education

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 431-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Miyake Geron ◽  
Christina Andrews ◽  
Kathy Kuhn
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Community ◽  
Practice Skills

As social work advances into the 21st century, dramatic increases in the aging of the U.S. population, shifting policy imperatives, and the emergence of new technologies have transformed the professional landscape in which social workers operate. To survive in today's world, social workers must be able to learn new skills and adapt to change. This article reviews the challenges facing the profession in transferring practice skills to social workers and describes the strategies of the Institute for Geriatric Social Work (IGSW) that address them. Well-designed training should provide a learning experience that is affordable, accessible and grounded in skill-based competencies. The challenge facing IGSW—and the broader social work community—is how to promote continuing education that maximizes these ends.

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