educational philosophy and strategies for teaching bsw students

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY &

STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING

BSW STUDENTS

PRO-SEMINAR: SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

BRIANNA P. LEMMONS, MSW

MARCH 9, 2010

Overview

Pedagogy vs. Andragogy

Underlying Assumptions of Andragogy

Old & New Paradigms of College Teaching

Personal Mission Statement & Educational

Philosophy

General & Course Specific Strategies for

Teaching BSW Students

Pedagogy vs. Andragogy (Conner,

n.d.)

Pedagogy The art and science of educating children

Didactic, traditional, teacher-directed/focused approach Teachers assume responsibility for making decisions about

what will be learned, how it will be learned, and when it will be learned. Teachers direct learning.

Assumption: learners need to know only what the teacher teaches them

Result: Promotes dependency on the instructor

Andragogy The art and science of helping adults learn

Learner-Focused Approach

Assumptions: adults are mature and have a need to become increasingly independent and self-directed. They are motivated to learn by a desire to solve immediate problems in their lives.

Result: Promotes independence from instructor

Underlying Assumptions of

Andragogy (Knowles, 1973, p.

31)

Adults are motivated to learn as they

experience needs and interests that will satisfy

them

Adults’ orientation to learning is life-centered

Experience is the richest resource for adults’

learning

Adults have a deep need to be self-directing

Individual differences among people increase

with age

Old & New Paradigms of College

Teaching (Fink, 2003, p. 19)

Category Old Paradigm New Paradigm

Knowledge Transferred from Faculty to Students Jointly Constructed by Students and

Faculty

Student Passive Vessel to be Filled by

Faculty’s Knowledge

Active Constructor, Discoverer,

Transformers of Knowledge

Mode of Learning Memorizing Relating

Faculty Purpose Classify & Sort Students Develop Students’ Competencies &

Talents

Relationships Impersonal Relationship Among

Students and Between Faculty &

Students

Personal Relationships Among

Students & Between Faculty &

Students

Context Competitive, Individualistic Cooperative Learning in Classroom &

Cooperative Teams Among Faculty

Climate Conformity, Cultural Uniformity Diversity & Personal Esteem; Cultural

Diversity & Commonality

Power Faculty Holds & Exercises Power,

Authority, & Control

Students Are Empowered; Power is

Shared Among Students

Epistemology Reductionist; Facts & Memorization Constructivist; Inquiry & Invention

Personal Mission Statement &

Educational Philosophy

“Creating Significant Learning Experiences That Will Last a

Lifetime”

Fit Between Institutional and

Personal Missions (Wankat,

2002)

“Any professor’s personal interests and

mission should be aligned with the

mission of his or her institution (Wankat,

2002, p.11).”

Hypothetical Institution

Clark Atlanta University’s Whitney M. Young, Jr.

School of Social Work

BSW Program

Mission of CAU’s Whitney M.

Young, Jr. School of Social Work

The mission of the Whitney M. Young, Jr., School

of Social Work is to advance the aims of the

profession through education for excellence in

social work practice. The School seeks to

educate creative, responsible social work

professionals committed to the search for

solutions to problems of poverty, social and

economic injustice, sexism, racism, and other

forms of oppression while preserving the

heritage of African American people.

Goals of CAU’s Whitney M.

Young, Jr. School of Social Work

The School's mission is operationalized through the following program goals:

To educate students for excellence in advanced clinical professional social work practice;

To promote students' capacities for critical thinking and self-reflection;

To prepare students for practice with oppressed, at-risk, and diverse populations;

To prepare students to evaluate, understand and apply research to social work practice;

To educate students in the application of professional values and ethics to practice;

To promote the ability to add to and disseminate social work knowledge for the profession

Goals of CAU’s Whitney M.

Young, Jr. School of Social

Work-BSW Program To prepare students for beginning generalist professional

practice with individuals, families, small groups, organizations and communities

To prepare students to develop a professional identity that will incorporate the values and ethics of the social work profession;

To prepare students for practice with diverse groups;

To prepare students as beginning social work generalists who link social research and social service practice;

To prepare students for lifelong learning and critical thinking through an educational process combining a liberal arts foundation with professional social work education; and

To prepare students for graduate education in social work.

Adult Educator’s Mission (Knowles,

1970)

The needs and goals of institutions

Adult education takes place within the context of institutions and these institutions have needs and goals that define the adult educator’s mission

However, also included in the adult educator’s mission are two other distinct sets of needs & goals:

#1. The needs and goals of individuals These needs are missing from CAU’s mission &

goals

The institution’s goals for the individual vs. the individual’s own personal goals

#2. The needs and goals of society

The Path to Discovering My

Personal Mission & Goals

The CAU Whitney M. Young Jr., School of Social Work’s Mission & Goals

Knowles’ (1970) Mission of the Adult Educator & Principles of Andragogy

My Personal Mission & Goals


Statement

Needs and goals of student vs. those of the institution and society It is necessary to meet the needs and goals of the

students, in addition to those of the institution and society

Students are humans, and their personal needs (relevant to those of the institution and society) should be met in addition to those of the institution and society

Education is about personal and professional fulfillment

Mission Statement: To mentor and guide students through a process of

self-development and growth toward becoming creative, practical, and critical thinkers and research informed and engaged social work professionals committed to the search for solutions to societal

Beyond Teaching to Mentoring

(Reinarz & White, 2001)

Based largely on my current experiences as a mentor of adolescents and a strong belief in the importance of mentoring, in particular for students of color

Students of color at times perceive the college campus as hostile and unfriendly

Barriers to their successful navigation of the system can hinder academic performance and satisfaction with the college experience

Faculty are a valuable resource for students of color and represent an intellectual and experiential resource

This is particularly true and important at the BSW level given many student’s unfamiliarity with the college experience

BSW students are essentially in their late adolescence (traditional undergrad years typically


Statement Cont’d

Goals: #1. To improve and enhance learning experiences by expanding

the experiential dimension of student learning

#2. To (re)ignite a spirit of curiosity and excitement for learning

#3. To establish a climate of inquiry, critical, creative, & practical thinking that assists in the development of social work practitioners that demonstrate a commitment to searching for solutions to societal problems

#4. To assist students in acquiring the skills of self-directed learning

#5. To provide opportunities for self-development and growth by first seeking to understand students’ personal needs and goals, interests, abilities, motivations, prior experiences and how they develop and learn

#6. To strengthen the link between research & practice by reducing student levels of anxiety and negative attitudes toward research through increasing opportunities for knowledge integration and hands-on, meaningful, and rich learning experiences


There is an existence in all people of the will and

desire to learn

“Believe your students can succeed, want to succeed,

and are willing to work for success (Tice, et. al., 2005,

p.13).

Most students welcome and prefer challenging

coursework. Be demanding and hold high

expectations for your students. However, this

should be balanced with a caring attitude and a

willingness to assist your students in achieving

success as defined by them

“Most students do not object to hard work, they object

to busywork (Tice, et. al., 2005, p. 13).”


Cont’d Learning should take place within and across

course content areas Learning is not a process of compartmentalization, but of

integration, synthesis, and analysis of knowledge

This is NOT done enough at the undergraduate level

Learning is an active process. A wholistic view of active learning should be taken (Fink, 2003) This view includes three components: 1) information and

ideas; 2) “doing” or “observing” experiences; & 3)reflection

Reflection is NOT done enough at all levels of higher education

The purpose of science in the profession is to pursue to the goals of practice Research is intended to support effective practice

“Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember.

Involve me, I understand.”

General Strategies for Teaching

BSW Students

The “Significant Learning

Experiences” Model (Fink,2003,

p.6-7) The central idea of this phrase is that:

Teaching should result in something that is truly significant in terms of the student’s lives

A significant learning experience has both a process and an outcome dimension

Process Engaged

High energy

Outcome Significant and lasting change

Value added to the student’s life “Teach for the future (Tice, et al., 2005, p.7).”

“The ultimate effect of your teaching and your course should be manifested many years after its completion (Tice, et al., 2005, p.7).”

Although you may never see the fruits of your labor, plant the seeds with this in mind

The “Significant Learning

Experiences” Model Cont’d

All significant learning offers one or more of the following values:

Enhancing one’s individual life

Enabling one to contribute to the many communities of which they will be a part

Preparing one for the world of work

Fink’s (2003) Taxonomy of

Significant Learning (p. 30)

Taxonomy of Significant Learning

Learning How to Learn

Foundational Knowledge

Caring

Human Dimension

Application

Integration

Connecting

ideas, people

and realms

of life

Skills; creative,

critical and

practical

thinking;

managing

projects

Understanding and

remembering

information and

ideas

Developing

new feelings,

interest, and

values

Learning

about

oneself

and others

Becoming a

better

student,

inquiring

about a

subject,

and self-

directing

learners

Helpful Questions for Formulating

Learning Goals & Strategies (Fink,

2003, p. 75) Foundational Knowledge

What key information is important for students to understand and remember in the future?

Application

What kinds of thinking are important for students to learn here (critical, creative, and practical thinking)?

Integration

What connections should students recognize and make among ideas within this course and between this course and other courses?

Human Dimension

What can our should students learn about themselves and interacting with others?

Caring

What changes would you like to see in what students care about (changes in feelings, interests, and values)?

Learning How to Learn

What would you like to see your students learn about?

How to engage in inquiry, construct knowledge, become a self-directed learner?

Inquiry-Guided Learning (Lee, 2004,

p.5)

“Involve me…I understand.”

Characterized By: Nurtured sense of curiosity and active

learning

Critical, creative, and practical thinking

Guided and increasingly independent inquiry Inquiry Continuum: Overtime, instructor

guidance decreases while independent inquiry increases

This type of inquiry is key at the undergrad level

Responsibility for one’s own learning

Intellectual growth, development, and maturity

In this approach to learning:

Inquiry-Guided Learning (Lee, 2004,

p.11)

The process involves developing the ability of students to: Formulate good questions

Identify and collect appropriate evidence

Present results systematically

Analyze and interpret results

Formulate conclusions

Evaluate the worth and importance of those conclusions

Identify problems

Examine problems

Generate possible solutions

Select the best solution and provide an appropriate justification

When should this type of learning occur? At the Ph.Dlevel? NO, at all levels!

Inquiry-Guided Learning

Cont’d

Rather than teaching the results of other’s investigations which students learn passively, instructors assist students in mastering and learning through the process of active investigation.

Strategies Include: Interactive Lecture

Discussion

Problem-Based Learning

Case Studies

Simulations

Independent Study

The exclusive use of traditional lecturing is NOT consistent with inquiry-guided learning

The Limitations of Lecturing

(Fink, 2003, p. 3)

“Tell me. I forget….”

A long history of research indicates lecturing has limited effectiveness in helping students: Retain information after a course is over

Develop any ability to transfer knowledge to novel situations

Develop skill in thinking or problem solving

Achieve affective outcomes, such as motivation for additional learning or a change in attitude

Ideally, lecture should be combined with other modes of instruction that encourage active rather than passivelearning

Social Welfare Policy Course

Practice Course

Statistics Course

Course Specific Strategies for

Teaching BSW Students

#2. To (re)ignite a spirit of curiosity and excitement for

learning

#3. To establish a climate of inquiry, critical, creative, &

practical thinking that assists in the development of

social work practitioners that demonstrate a

commitment to searching for solutions to societal

problems

#4. To assist students in acquiring the skills of self-

directed learning

Relationship of Strategy to

Goals

Debate as a Strategic Tool for

Teaching Social Policy (Gregory &

Holloway, 2005)

1) Competency-Based Approach

This approach is consistent with EPAS Explicit Curriculum Educational Policy 2.1- Core Competencies

“Competency-based education is an outcome performance approach to curriculum design. Competencies are measurable practice behaviors that are comprised of knowledge, values, and skills. The goal of the outcome approach is to demonstrate the integration and application of competencies in practice.”

Focus is on the learning of course content

Students engage merely in “surface” learning in which minimal effort is made to achieve minimum requirements, leading to lack to analytical ability


Teaching Social Policy Cont’d

2) Experiential & Reflective Approach Broadened conceptualization of the competency-

based approach

Students become critical thinkers, use their knowledge reflectively, and engage in “deep” learning for the purposes of gaining a real understanding of the material being studied, bringing new learning to bear on a previous knowledge base

This approach is consistent with EPAS Explicit Curriculum Educational Policy 2.1.3 Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate

professional judgments

Social workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry, and reasoned discernment. They use critical thinking augmented by curiosity and creativity



Both approaches are consistent with:

EPAS Explicit Curriculum Educational Policy 2.1.8- Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well being and to deliver effective social work services

Social work practitioners understand that policy effects service delivery, and they actively engage in policy practice. Social workers know the history and current structures of social policies and services; they role of policy in service delivery; and the role of practice in policy development



Debate as a means of promoting the learning of social policy

Debate encourages active and engaged learning

Allows students to gain policy practice skills as well as substantive policy knowledge

Empirically validated link between debating and the development of critical thinking and argumentation skills that allow students to:

Identify and challenge values and assumptions

Recognize the importance of context

Investigate and analyze dilemmas, conflicts, and competing alternatives

Develop reflective skepticism

Develop, defend, and advocate for a particular position

Articulate a point of view in a precise manner



Debate as a means of assessing student learning of social policy

Learning Outcomes: Ability to learn actively, use reasoning and logical

judgment, and think critically

Knowledge of social policy and ability to present social policy ideas

Presentation, negotiation, persuasion skills; all of which are valuable practice skills

Ability to critique alternative arguments and address complexities, problems, dilemmas, and differences that they will contend with in practice

Demonstrate understanding of the integration of policy and practice; ability to consider the implications of a particular position for service delivery processes and outcomes



Goals

The Integration of Research into Practice

Courses (Berger, 2002; Hardcastle &

Bisman, 2003)

Integrating relevant research content with appropriate practice content

Rationale

Intertwining research with practice, rather than compartmentalizing them, conveys the message that the two are related

Students learn the principles of practice and methods of studying various populations (i.e., observation component)

The intent is NOT to replace one with the other, but to integrate the two

Research as Practice Methodology Model

This model argues that the intent of research knowledge and skills is to support good practice

That scientific epistemology and research methodological skills are part and parcel of practice knowledge and skills

The purpose of science in the profession is to pursue to goals of practice

The Integration of Research into

Practice Courses Cont’d

This approach is consistent with EPAS Explicit Curriculum Educational Policy 2.1.6

Engage in research informed practice and practice-informed research

Social workers use practice experience to inform research, employ evidence-based intervention, evaluate their own practice, and use research findings to improve practice, policy, and social service delivery. Social workers comprehend qualitative and quantitative research and understand scientific and ethical approaches to building knowledge

#1. To improve and enhance learning experiences by expanding the experiential dimension of student learning



Goals

Integration of a Service-Learning

Component in Statistics Courses (Wells,

2006)

Underlying Assumptions of this Approach:

Integration of a service-learning component into statistics courses (or research sequence) makes statistics “real” for social work students.

A central goal is to use research skills to effect some social change or to contribute to community improvement

Can strengthen classroom learning and facilitate application of academic skills to community needs

Service learning activities with a research focus can provide clear linkages between social work research and practice

Engaging students in community-based projects with real world applications of research skills learned in class can deepen student understanding of concepts

Implementation of Service Learning Component

Instructor identifies community social service agency that would like data analysis assistance and structures class assignments around the agency’s data and a social work statistics textbook

At the end of the course, students put together a final report and present their results to the community agency in the final class session

Integration of a Service-Learning

Component in Statistics Courses

Cont’d

Modification: utilize a simulation

(indirect/vicarious “doing” experience) of a

hypothetical agency/community and

secondary data in order to eliminate the ethical

dilemmas and risks associated with

irresponsible conduct of research

Make the project agency/community-oriented

rather than agency/community-based

References

Berger, R. (2002). Teaching research in practice courses. Social Work Education, 21, 347-358.

Fink, L.D. (2003). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gregory, M., & Holloway, M. (2005). The debate as a pedagogical tool in social policy for social work students. Social Work Education, 24, 617-637.

Knowles, M. (1978). The adult learner: A neglected species. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company.

Knowles, M. (1970). The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy versus pedagogy. New York, NY: Association Press.

Hardcastle, D.A., & Bisman, C.D. (2003). Innovations in teaching social work research. Social Work Education, 22, 31-43.

Lee, V.S. (2004). Teaching and learning through inquiry: Guidebook for institutions and instructors. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Tice, S.L., Jackson, N., Lambert, L.M., & Englot, P. (2005). University teaching: A reference guide for graduate students and faculty. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

Matlock-Scisney, M., & Matlock, J. (2001). Beyond teaching to mentoring. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 85, 75-84.

Wankat, P.C. (2002). The effective, efficient professor: Teaching, scholarship, and service. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Wells, M. (2006). Teaching notes: Making statistics real for social work students. Journal of Social Work Education, 42, 397-404.

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