practice teaching

Generalist and specialist practice : essence of social work '98

This resource is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. This activity is designed to trigger a consideration of what is different about, and what is common to, the various manifestations of social work. In this chapter, students are encouraged to look for the 'core' of social work practice.

Recording the work : matter of fact

This learning object is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. There are many different purposes for recording in social work practice. This activity helps students to think critically about the language used in social work recording, to improve the meaning of their records and to consider writing records as an integral part of the work with people.

Introduction : playing field activity

This learning object is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. 'Playing field' focuses on the student's understanding of what is 'in touch' and what is 'out of touch', in terms of the initial contacts with a potential client of the agency. It helps the student consider the areas of uncertainty (the 'grey' areas), and also how the person's concerns, problems and requests must be set in a broader framework.

SCIE Position paper 2: A framework for supporting and assessing practice learning

In this position paper, the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) sets out a skills and qualifications framework that should support practice learning, both in the new degree and across social care organisations. We focus on ways of supporting those whose task it is to assess practice in the workplace ('practice assessors’). We also look at employers’ opportunities for organisational development, improved practice standards and human resource development (HRD).

Worldviews : believe it or not

This learning object is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. 'Believe it or not' explores social work from several different points of view. Brief quotations present examples of different views about social work. Students are invited to consider with which statements they agree.

Goals : agreeing and achieving them

This resource is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. This activity helps to teach the student how to move from a focus on what is wrong to a focus on what is wanted; a move from present problems to future goals, and how to get from one to the other.

Family-centred practice : whanau

This learning object is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. 'Whanau' is an activity which puts students in touch with the family dimension of social work practice, by looking at decision-making and power in their own families. The activity is inspired by Maori practices in New Zealand, where a radical approach to decision-making in the area of child welfare has put the wider family centre-stage. The approach is called whanau, from the Maori word for family.

Supervision and reflective practice : reflections on supervision

This learning object is one of a set of exercises and activities taken from the book 'Modern Social Work Practice' written by Mark Doel and Steven Shardlow. Reflections on supervision is a trigger to encourage both practice teacher and student to examine their expectations about the content and functions of supervision.

The practice tutorial (supervision session) is the linchpin of the student's learning and the assessment of their practice abilities, yet it is has complex purposes and may reflect very different understandings of these purposes.