Field Instructor Seminar I Vina Sandher Field Education Manager ext Assistant Field Education Coordinators: MSW studentsBSW students Sheryl Abraham (on LOA)Zalina Mohamad (on LOA) Carrie Clayton Carrie DeBrouwer , ext , ext Esther Ng Program Assistant , ext The Field Education Dream Team! Introductions Name Agency and Area of Practice A little about your student Why did you choose to be a Field Instructor 1.School of Social Work Mission Statement 2.Quick Facts about Student Practicums 3.The Triad and roles/responsibilities 4. Practicum Process--Learning contract; mid point progress review; and final evaluation 5. Key policies and procedures 6. Supervisory relationships & power imbalances; 7. Transfer of learning & learning exchange; Topics Covered The School of Social Work, York University, is committed to social work education which develops practice strategies for human rights and social justice, and thus affirms that personal experiences are embedded in social structures Mission Statement Through research, curriculum, and critical pedagogy, the School will: Address oppression and subordination as experienced and mediated through class, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age and ability; Promote an understanding of how values and ideologies construct social problems and how they construct responses; Prepare students to be critical practitioners and agents of change. Mission Statement Critical paradigm: Inquiry that attempts to uncover the structure of the world that oppresses people; Reality is shaped by social, political, cultural, economic, ethnic and gender values; What is a Critical Approach? Quick Facts About Student Placements BSW Students: 1 placement consisting of 700 hours (in the last year of their program Fall or Winter) Direct Entry (Sept to April, 3 days a week) Post Degree (2-5 days a week) MSW 2Yr Students: Yr hours (Winter 2013) Yr hours (Fall 2012) MSW Advance Standing Students: 1 placement consisting of 450 hours (different end dates based on how many days in placement 2-5days a week). Students are expected to attend placement 3 full regular working days/week (Exception post degree students and Part Time MSW studentsthey can do 2-5 days a week) Students are required to attend integrative seminars at the School and may need to be released from placement to attend these (dates in the confirmation packages) 4 seminars 2 hours each Lunch hours and time away from placement should not count in their hours Key Policies and Procedures The Triad Faculty Advisor StudentField Instructor Students Role/ Responsibilities Come Prepared Be on time Show Initiative Keep their log of hours Remind you of the documentation that is required and timelines Make link from theory to practice Provide Reflections and debriefing Field Instructors Role/ Responsibility Orientation Provide learning opportunities Challenge the Student Mentor the Student Collaborate with the student to do the Learning Contract/Midpoint Check- in/Final Evaluation Provide supervision (min. 1 hr/week Faculty Advisor Link between School, placement, and student Convene 4 seminars to integrate theory and practice Mediate / Troubleshoot Submits Complete Documentation for students to Field Education Manager and assigns grade Conduct site visit Lets Take a Break! By the 3 rd or 4 th week of placement, students should be handing in their LC Collaborative approach Basis for development of student/field instructor relationship Flexible, dynamic, organic and subject to change Begins transfer of learning process Begins learning process Field Instructors should signed a hard copy Serves to provide basis for evaluation process. Learning Contracts Based on: -Field agency capacity -School expectations -Student learning goals Helps to: -Establish goals -Identify steps in reaching goals -Evaluation criteria -Time frame Learning Contracts Part 1 Administrative: The details of the placement Who, where, when Learning Contract Two Parts Part 2 - Educational: Goals Students and field instructors determine goals that reflect the criteria outlined in the Development Area but are specific to the context of the agency Plan for goal attainment Explains how student will meet each goal: tasks, activities, projects and method of evaluation Learning Contract Educational For example: Major Learning Goal: To develop skills in working with individuals and groups Plan Goal Attainment: Attend a community group as an observer and then plan and facilitate a group session. My supervisor will attend a group session with me and give feedback on my group work skills. Learning Contract Educational Group Activity 1 Form a group at your table, and create a Learning Goal that is measurable! Both the mid point review and the final evaluations are tied to the students learning contract The mid point is a review of where the student is at..a check in It is the point at which concerns should be formally identified and plans put in place to address the concerns during the last half of the placement The final is the point at which the students overall progress is assessed and a Pass or Fail grade assigned. Evaluation Criteria: Expected Level The student has demonstrated growth across the time of placement, i.e., has demonstrated not only a conceptual grasp of theory and relevant understanding of policy and community development, but an ability to integrate theory into practice in a purposive way. At the time of final evaluation, the student could function as a beginning social worker in a general service agency, i.e., capable of autonomous work in routine areas after a period of orientation with awareness, and capacity to seek out and utilize consultation and help from supervisors and other staff members. Evaluation BSW/Year 1 MSW Criteria: Upon commencement of the MSW placement a student should demonstrate a strong grounding in social work theory and practice at the BSW level. Over the course of the placement the student is expected to demonstrate an advanced level of practice in which the student demonstrates initiative as a practitioner, professional; and colleague and can function autonomously their individual practice and within the agency. Evaluation MSW Issues. The important thing about an issue is not its solution, but the strength we gain in finding the solution. -- Author Unknown Dealing with conflicts in placement is ALSO a part of learning for our student. If you need support, contact the Faculty Advisor. No matter how good the student or placement, sometimes its not the right fit! Group Activity 2: IssuesIssuesIssues Each table will get a vignette of a student conflict/issue. Work with your group to come up with ways to address the concern with the student Placements may be terminated without students successful completing their placements for two reasons: 1.Placement failure 2. Placement breakdown Termination of Placement Placement failure: a)Occurs as a result of a students inability to demonstrate the capacity to develop the required social work practice skills b) May occur as a result of a breach of professional behavior Failure Placement breakdown: Occurs when a placement is not viable for reasons other than a students ability to demonstrate professionalism and/or the capacity to develop social work skills For example: lack of adequate supervision lack of appropriate learning opportunities lack of fit between the student and supervisor/agency A personal situation for the student that impedes their ability to complete placement Breakdown Supervisory Relationships & Power Imbalances Think about your relationship with your student thus far. What steps have you taken to build a positive relationship? What works? What doesnt? Time for Reflection Group Activity 3 (A) What creates a good student/supervisor relationship? (B) What might get in the way? Complex & emotionally intense; Conflict is a common characteristics; A place where issues related to authority are likely to emerge for both the supervisee and the supervisor (Hawthorne 1975; Kadushin 1958); Successes and conflicts can be a learning experience about helping relationships (e.g., practitioner-client) (Bogo 1993). Supervisory Relationshipswhat research says Position of authority in which they are charged with evaluating the supervisees performance (Caspi & Reid 2002). Have a greater responsibility to take steps to build a positive relationship. (Bogo, 1993; Martine Alper, 1989; Judah, 1982; Reid, 2002) Power Imbalances: Supervisors Jot down the differences between what you would expect from a supervisor as an employee versus as a student. Supervisor / Employee Supervisor/ Student Relationship Relationship The Relationship What informed your assessment of the situation? What theory or knowledge did you draw on? What was your subjective response? How did your personal response influence your professional response? What did you learn that you can use in the future? How to debrief and help students reflect Social identity & Social location: Cultural self-awareness & power, privilege, and oppression; Awareness of differences based on social Identity & location; Rarely discussed Power Imbalances: Difference and Diversity Which ways might one of you have more power than the other? Race Ethnicity Gender Class Sexual Orientation Education Ability Discuss some of the murky or grey areas of power. In acknowledging the power differential, how can that be managed in a positive way? Power Imbalances: Difference and Diversity Transfer of Learning & Learning Exchange Students as adult learners Approach as adult learners Not empty vessels tremendous life experience; Ability to be self-directed learners; Experiential learning & question posing approach; Emphasis is on building capacity to act. as per Freire, 1970 As teachers we do not want to create an environment in which: Teacher knows, and students are taught Teacher talks, and students listen Teacher chooses, and students comply Teacher is subject, and students merely objects .this could be oppressive and might not allow a student to grow You are the gatekeepers into the Profession and we thank you for your partnership and commitment to our students! Questions, Comments, Feedback? Manager Field Education Program Tel: x Thank You !