FIELD WORK PRACTICE SEMINAR WOW SENIORS

SOCIAL WORK 4443

SW 4443 001 CRN 23929 (2 credit hours)

Professor Althea M. Grant
Office Hours: By Arrangement
Room 43 Thompson Home
Email: ad9444@wayne.edu
Office number 313-577-9886

cell number: 313-706-0876

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Understanding the learning experience through critical reflection on field and course work.
Social Work 4443 Field Education Seminar for Block Placement is a two credit hour seminar
held concurrently with SW 4998 Field Practice (10 credits). Students MUST be enrolled in SW
4998 Field Practice in order to earn credit for this course. Social Work 4443 BSW Field
Education Seminar for Block Placement facilitates students understanding of the learning
experience through critical reflection on field and integration of content from completed courses.
The course helps students reflect on their field experiences and to draw from their course
content, all of which help define them as social work professionals.

COURSE COMPETENCIES AND PRACTICE BEHAVIORS FOR THIS COURSE

COMPETENCIES
2.1.1 Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly
Practice Behaviors:

Advocate for the client access to the services of social work; practice Personal reflection and
self-correction to assure continual professional development; attend to professional roles and
boundaries; demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance and communication;
engage in Career long learning; use supervision and consultation
2.1.2 Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice
Practice Behaviors:
Recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide
practice;

make ethical decisions by applying standards of the NASW Code of Ethics; tolerate
ambiguity in resolving conflicts; apply concepts of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled
decisions
2.1.3 Apply Critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments
Practice Behaviors:
Distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research based
knowledge, and practice wisdom; analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention and
evaluation; demonstrate effective oral and written communication in working with
individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues
2.1.4 Engage diversity and difference in practice
Practice Behaviors:
Gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the influence of personal bias and values in working
with diverse groups; recognize and communicate the importance of difference in shaping life
experiences
2.1.5 Advance human rights and social and economic justice
Practice Behaviors:
Advocate for human rights and social justice; Engage in practice that advance social and
economic justice
2.1.6 Engage in research- informed practice and practice informed research
Practice Behaviors:
Use research evidence to inform practice; Use practice to inform scientific inquiry
2.1.7 Apply Knowledge of human Behavior and the social environment
Practice Behaviors:
Utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the process of assessment, intervention and evaluation;
Critique and apply knowledge to understand person and environment
2.1.8 Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver
effective social work services.
Practice Behaviors:
Analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance social well-being; Collaborate with
colleagues and clients for effective policy action
2.1.9 Respond to contexts that shape practice
Practice Behaviors:
Continuously discover, appraise, and attend to changing locales, populations, scientific and
technological developments, and emerging societal trends to provide relevant services; provide
leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service delivery and practice to improve the
quality of social service
2.1.10 Engage, assess, intervene and evaluate with individuals, families, groups,
organizations and communities
Practice Behaviors:
(a)
Engagement:

Substantively and affectively prepare for action with individuals, families, groups,
organizations and communities; use empathy and other interpersonal skills; develop a
mutually agreed-on focus of work and desired outcomes
(b) Assessment
Collect, organize, and interpret client data; assess client strengths and limitation develop
mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives; select appropriate intervention
strategies
(c) Intervention
Initiate actions to achieve organizational goals; implement prevention interventions that
enhance client capacities; help clients resolve problems; negotiate, mediate, and advocate for
clients; facilitate transitions and endings
(d) Evaluation
Critically analyze, monitor, and evaluate interventions
11 Analyze the impact of the urban context on a range of client systems, including practice
implications
Practice Behaviors:
Examine the distinct characteristics of the urban context and apply the analysis to social work
practice.

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:
It is expected that students effectively utilize field instruction by:
a. identifying own learning needs, areas of difficulty, and feelings of discomfort
b. continuing to take responsibility to prepare and plan for supervision
c. continuing to accept, integrate, and apply guidance and feedback received from field
instructor
d. continually re-evaluating the development of practice skills in light of field and
classroom instruction
GRADING AND ASSIGNMENTS
Assignments
Module 1 Discussion board
rubric
Module 2 Group rubric

Percent
age
4%

Related Course
Competency #
Competency #1

5%

Competency
10
Competency
3, 10
Competency
7
Competency
#3,4,7,10
Competency

Module 3 Blog rubric

5%

Module 4 Journal rubric

5%

Module 5 Group rubric

5%

Module 6 Case discussions

5%

#1, 3,
#1, 2,
#1, 3,

#2, 3,

rubric
Module 7 Journal rubric

5%

Module 8 Blog rubric

5%

Module 9 Discussion board

rubric
Module 10 Wiki

4%

Module 11 Quiz
Module 12 Discussion
board rubric
Module 13 Blog rubric

2.5%
4%

Module 14 Discussion
board rubric
Report on Field Placement
Setting rubric
Evaluation of Practice
Report rubric
Total

4%

2.5%

4%

20%
20%

5, 7, 8, 10
Competency
10
Competency
2,3, 10
Competency
3
Competency
3, 9
Competency
Competency
11
Competency
#1,2,3,4
Competency

#1, 3,
#1,
#1, 2,
#1, 2,
#2, 3
#9, 10,

#1

Competency #1, 3,
10, 11
Competency #3

100%

GRADING POLICY:
Students may pass the course with a grade of D but must maintain a C average during the junior
and senior year. (See Undergraduate Bulletin, Wayne State University
http://www.bulletins.wayne.edu/ubk-output/index.html)
Incomplete grade policy: http://www.socialwork.wayne.edu/incomplete_grade_policy.pdf
GRADE DISTRIBUTION:
100-95 A

94.9-90 A-

89.9-87 B+

86.9-83 B

82.9-80 B-

79.9-77 C+

79.9-77 C+

76.9-73 C

72.9-70 C-

69.9-67 D+

66.9-63 D

62.9-60 D-

ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE

This two credit field seminar course for BSW students structured for students in a Block
Placement is composed of lecture and discussion with 14 online modules. The first module
begins Tuesday, January 13, 2015 and last module ends Monday, April 27, 2015. The students
are required to participate in discussion about field placement experience and the integration of
coursework and fieldwork. The focus of the course is to help students integrate their
coursework learning with their experiential learning in the field practicum. Through class and
group discussions, case presentations, voice threads, reflective journals and blogs, students learn
about professional social work practice with an emphasis on critical thinking, self-awareness,
ethics and values, and culturally responsive practice with an emphasis on human rights and
social justice.

The sessions are organized around the following areas:

Defining and describing agency services

Learning to ask for help
Effective use of supervision (weekly and daily supervision)
Relationships and boundaries
Professional behavior and demeanor
Responsibility and ethics in Social Work
Time management skills and self care
Group discussion and problem solving
Understanding the perspective of the client
Reporting of child abuse and neglect
Reflecting feelings and integrating skills
Communication skills
Observation, encouraging, paraphrasing and summarizing skills
Understanding critical thinking
Understanding of community
Social Work in urban settings versus rural settings

ROLE OF THE STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR

Students are expected to attend all online class modules; absences from class may affect the
student's grade, particularly excessive absences and tardiness. Three or more absences will result
in a student being asked to withdraw from the course and may also impact the students field
placement. Students are expected to be prepared at class time for discussions based on assigned
readings as class participation enhances the learning experience. Assignments must be received
by the identified day. For further details about the role of a student, see the Universitys
Statement of Obligations of Faculty and to the Instructional Process in the Wayne State
University Graduate Bulletin. http://www.bulletins.wayne.edu/fib/fib2d.html
The instructor will closely monitor all postings, offer additional questions to guide discussions
and help maintain focus if the class has difficulty focusing on the topics. All assignments must
be completed in Blackboard and not submitted by email to the instructor.
The instructor will respond to student questions that are not related to the assignments by email.
The grade points will be posted in the Grade Center within a reasonable time period after the
deadline of each assignment.
At the end of module five, the instructor will email to each student personal feedback on their
progress in the seminar.
Members of the class, including the instructor, will request confidentiality of others as not to
repeat or share personal, professional, or assignment related issues discussed or disclosed in
class.

POLICIES FOR THIS COURSE

Assignments must be received by the identified deadline dates in the Course Calendar located in
the course menu on the Blackboard home page. To complete all assignments and the required
responding posts, the online modules of this course will require adherence to the periods
specified in the Course Calendar.
Students who are late in their postings will lose points for each assignment in accordance with
the Grading Rubrics associated with each assignment. The Grading Rubrics button for the
course is located in the course menu on the Blackboard home page. There is no extra credit for
assignments in this course. There is no opportunity for revision of assignments after submission
for grading. For a missed session at instructors discretion, (considered only in extreme cases
life events beyond ones control), student may be allowed an optional make-up assignment (i.e., a
3-5 page paper with minimum of 3 sources and using APA format focusing on topic covered on
session missed OR another assignment identified by the instructor. Students who elect this option
and successfully complete the makeup assignment will receive partial points (minus late points
indicated in the grading rubric) for missed session. Students who miss a second session and who
did a first make-up will not have an option for a second make-up these students would lose all
points for the second missed session. Students who miss more than three classes and do no
make-up work should drop the class.
Being a responsible student in a seminar entails regular class attendance and active class
participation with consideration for others. When students participate actively in class
discussions, learning is enhanced. To be able to participate actively and with relevance to the
course subject matter, it is important that you log into each class as soon as the assignment is
available. It is the students responsibility, whether present or absent, to keep abreast of
assignments and class discussion.
Academic honesty is expected therefore, all submitted work must be original. The presentation of
anothers words or ideas as ones own, without giving credit to the source with a properly noted
citation, is regarded as plagiarism. Any work that is submitted in this class found to contain
portions that are plagiarized will receive a ZERO.
COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Course learning modules
Module

Content

Competencies

Introduction and orientation to the course

Student introduction
Review of course syllabus
Review expectations of all parties
Discussion on field assignments: learning
plan, process recordings (12 to be submitted
to faculty advisor) , evaluations

#1

II

#1, 3, 10

Defining and describing agency services

Learning to ask for help
Effective use of supervision (weekly and
daily supervision)
Professional behavior and demeanor
Responsibility and ethics in Social Work
Relationships and boundaries

Time management skills

Self care
Group discussion and problem solving
Understanding the perspectives of the client

#1,3,7

Reflecting feelings and integrating skills

Group discussion and problem solving
Reporting child abuse and neglect
Communication skills
Realistic expectations

#2,3,5,7,8,10

#1,2,3,10

Observation, encouraging, paraphrasing and

summarizing skills
Conversation versus interview

IX

Reflecting feelings and integrating skills

Confrontation

#1,2,3

Online article review

The New Social Worker Online

#1,2,3,9

XI

Understanding critical thinking

Using application, analysis and evaluation of
self

#2,3,

XII

Understanding of community
Video

#9,10,11

III

IV
V
VI

VII

VIII

#1,2,3,10

#3,4,7,10

#1,3,10

XIII

XIV

Field Instructor Assessment of Student

competencies (FIASC)
Final reflections bumper sticker exercise
Transition Employment, Graduate School
Licensing (applications/exam)
Professional development

#1,2,3,4

#1

1. Report on Placement Setting

20 points
a. Report on Field Placement Setting due on Monday, February 16, 2015 by 11:59 pm.
A written report, minimum of 5 pages, must be submitted using outline below. This
report addresses performance outcomes related to the field placement (practicum)
setting. This report builds on the assignment required in SW 4020 Social Work
Macro Theory and Practice. The following content must be addressed:

Mission/purpose of the agency

Overview of the population served
Your role within the agency
Other disciplines represented within the organization and your (or social
work) interaction with each discipline
How clients access/enter the system, eligibility, intake policies, and
procedures, etc.
How clients progress through the system
How clients leave/terminate the system
Discuss the agencys commitment to the community and surrounding areas it
serves and examples of how this is achieved

2. Evaluation of Practice Paper

20 points
a. Evaluation of your practice, building on the competencies and information gleaned
from the first semester due on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 by 11:59 pm. This report will
continue to address performance outcomes related to the field placement setting. A
written report, minimum of 5 pages must be submitted using the outline below
focusing on application, analysis and reflection when considering practice at the field
placement setting. The following content must be addressed:
How do I evaluate my practice with client or group or
community systems? (Pick one system)
How do I know that what I do with client or group or
community systems has an impact? (Pick one system)
What skills do I need in order for me to work in my
current field placement setting?
Are the population and field of practice a good fit for
me? Why or why not?
What can I do to improve my social work practice with

4 points
2 points
4 points
2 points
2 points

client or group or community systems? (Pick one

system)
How have my experiences at this agency contributed to
my knowledge of ethical social work practice?
How has this placement helped me to understand the
values of the social work profession and how has it
assisted me in the development of ethics for social work
practice?

2 points
4 points

WSU STUDENT RESOURCES

Students with disabilities
http://studentdisability.wayne.edu/rights.php.
Academic integrity and student code of conduct
http://www.doso.wayne.edu/assets/codeofconduct.pdf
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Wayne State:
http://www.caps.wayne.edu/
TEXTBOOKS AND REQUIRED MATERIAL
Required
(All students will be able to download manual from the schools web site)
The Field Education Manual, 7th Edition (2013). Wayne State University, School of Social
Work.
Recommended
Birkenmaier, J. M., and Berg-Weger, M. (2011). Practicum Companion for Social Work:
Integrating Class and Fieldwork, the (3rd Edition) (Connecting Core Competencies). Allyn &
Bacon.
Sweitzer, H. & King, M. (2004). The Successful Internship: Transformation and Empowerment
in Experiential Learning. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
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Clinical Supervisor, 18(2), 1-16. doi:10.1300/J001v18n02_01
Baker, D. R., & Smith, S. L. (1987). A comparison of field faculty and field student perceptions
of selected aspects of supervision. The Clinical Supervisor, 5(4), 31-42.
doi:10.1300/J001v05n04_04

Baum, N. (2011). Social work students' feelings and concerns about the ending of their fieldwork
supervision. Social Work Education, 30(1), 83-97. doi:10.1080/02615471003743388
Bogo, M. (2010). Achieving competence in social work through field education. University of
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Bogo, M., & McKnight, K. (2005). Clinical Supervision in Social Work: A Review of the
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Caspi, J. and Reid, W.J. (2002) Educational Supervision in Social Work: a task-centered model
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Brooks/Cole.
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