Methods and Skills - Texas A&M University - Central Texas

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY - CENTRAL TEXAS SOCIAL WORK DEPARTMENT
SWKK 485, Seminar: Improving Writing as a Professional Social Worker
Monday and Wednesday, 2:00 to 4:30 PM, Room ___ Warrior Hall |Semester: |Summer 2016 |
|Instructor's Name: |Claudia Rappaport, PhD, ACSW, MSSW |
|Office Room Number:|420D Warrior Hall |
|Office Phone: |(254) 519-5432 |
|E-Mail: |rappaport@tamuct.edu NOTE: ONLY USE THIS TO EMAIL ME; DO|
| |NOT SEND ME ANY EMAILS THROUGH THE BLACKBOARD SYSTEM. |
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|Office hours: |Monday and Wednesday, 12:00 to 2:00 PM |
| |Tuesday and Thursday, 2:00 to 5:00 PM |
. COURSE DESCRIPTION
Catalog Description: Social work electives are intensive studies of
current trends and issues related to professional social work practice,
social service delivery, and populations at risk. Prerequisites: None. This course is designed for social work students who
want to strengthen their writing skills as professional social workers,
working on various aspects of writing that students need to improve most. Note: The handouts for this course are available through Blackboard Online
Learning at tamuctblackboard.com. Be sure you are able to access
Blackboard to get access to those reading assignments.
For assistance, contact Information Technology Services at 254-519-5426 II. NATURE OF COURSE Social work is a field of practice that places heavy demands for
professional-quality writing skills. On a regular basis, social workers
are required to write client assessments, home studies, progress notes,
correspondence and emails, diagnostic reports, intervention plans, court
documents, community needs assessments, requests for grant or community
funding, monthly and annual service reports, and many other types of
documentation. It is essential that all social workers develop skills at
expressing themselves effectively and accurately in writing so their
passion for their profession can be undiminished and so their professional
goals can be achieved. Written work that is poorly done and read by other
people casts a negative impression on the social worker's competence and
knowledge, which makes it more difficult for the social worker to achieve
his/her professional goals and achieve a reputable standing in the field.
This course will work to improve each student's ability to write as a
professional social worker. This supports students' learning the model of Generalist Social Work
Practice: Work with individuals, families, groups, communities and
organizations in a variety of social work and host settings. Generalist
practitioners view clients and client systems from a strengths perspective
in order to recognize, support, and build upon the innate capabilities of
all human beings. They use a professional problem-solving process to
engage, assess, broker services, advocate, counsel, educate, and organize
with and on behalf of clients and client systems. In addition, generalist
practitioners engage in community and organizational development. Finally,
generalist practitioners evaluate service outcomes in order to continually
improve the provision and quality of services most appropriate to client
needs. Generalist social work practice is guided by the NASW Code of
Ethics and is committed to improving the well-being of individuals,
families, groups, communities and organizations and furthering the goals of
social justice. (From the website of the Association of Baccalaureate
Social Work Program Directors, Inc.) Teaching Method: The primary teaching approach in this course will be
collaborative and active learning. Material in the course will be
presented through interactive class discussions based on reading
assignments, classroom exercises, videotapes, and written assignments. III. Department Mission The mission of the Texas A&M University-Central Texas Bachelor of Social
Work Department (TAMUCT BSW Department) is to provide a high quality,
rigorous, and innovative learning experience that helps students develop
the knowledge, professional behaviors, and values that are essential in a
generalist social work
practitioner. The Department aims to achieve its mission by . responding to the needs of the local community, including the military
and non-traditional students, . providing a student-centered education that fosters personal and
professional responsibility, . providing compassionate mentorship that models the core values of the
social work profession, and . fostering commitment to the profession's core values of Service, Social
Justice, Dignity and Worth of the Person, Importance of Human
Relationships, Integrity and Competence, as well as a commitment to human
rights and evidence-based practice
Until Fall 2014 the TAMUCT Social Work Department had accreditation through
the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) as a branch campus of Tarleton
State University. Now our Department is in the process of pursuing
independent accreditation and has been granted candidacy by CSWE, a process
that is expected to continue until Spring 2017. For questions about the
current status of this process, please contact Dr. Michael Daley, Program
Director.
III. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND RELATED CSWE PRACTICE BEHAVIORS This course provides content that helps prepare you, the generalist social
work student, to engage in the following CSWE competencies and related
practice behaviors: 1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself
accordingly. b. Practice personal reflection and self-correction to
assure continued professional development. (2.1.1b)
2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
a. Recognize and manage personal values in ways that allow
professional values to guide practice. (2.1.2a) b. Apply
strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.
(2.1.2d)
3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional
judgments. b. Demonstrate effective oral and written communication in
working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and
communities. (2.1.3b)
4. Apply knowledge of human behavior in the social environment. b.
Critique and apply knowledge to understand person and environment.
(2.1.4b) The objectives for this course that support the CSWE-related practice
behaviors are:
1. Students will be able to describe the ways in which their ability to
write professionally reflects on their identity as competent,
professional social workers.
2. Students will utilize critical thinking to analyze their own writing
skills as well as the writing skills of fellow students and the
professor, and critical thinking will also be utilized as they improve
their writing skills.
3. Students will employ skills in how to discuss elements of human
behavior and the social environment in their writing about other
people's life situations. While watching videos about people's lives
and stresses, they will strengthen their ability to assess and
understand individuals' and families' living situations.
4. Students will master the basics of composition, grammar, and
punctuation and how to use them to maximize their ability to
communicate effectively and professionally in writing. They will
learn the most common types of writing errors and will master the
ability to avoid those errors in their own writing.
5. Students will master strategies for strengthening the professional
language used in their written work, including use of People First
Language, remaining non-judgmental in language and tone, avoiding
slang and colloquialisms, avoiding language that would be perceived as
offensive or biased by any group of people, and writing clearly so
that non-social workers can also understand what they write. This
appropriate use of language will be consistent with their
identification as professional social workers and will reflect the
guiding principles and Code of Ethics of the social work profession. The following table shows the relationships between: (a) the course
objectives, (b) the CSWE-related practice behaviors, and (c) the
assignments used to assess students' ability to fulfill the objective
related to the practice behavior. |A. Objectives (by the completion of the |B. |C. Course assignment |
|course, it is expected that you will be able|CSWE-related |(this is the assignments|
|to ...) |practice |used to assess your |
| |behaviors |ability to fulfill the |
| |(this is the |objective related to the|
| |practice |practice behavior) |
| |behavior that | |
| |the objective | |
| |supports) | |
|Students will be able to describe the ways |2.1.1b |Essay #1 |
|in which their ability to write | |Class discussions |
|professionally reflects on their identity as| | |
|competent, professional social workers.