Class Descriptions

Foundation Field Instruction

SW515

Course Description

Foundation field education assists students applying and integrating Foundation knowledge of social work skills, values, and ethics with practice and in developing a professional social work identity. The course is a field placement which is taken concurrently with the required Foundation field seminar. The field experience provides students with a series of supervised field-based assignments and tasks selected to complement Foundation academic courses. Students may be exposed to a variety of social work roles such as case manager, counselor, advocate, organizer, administrator, facilitator, mediator, educator, and planner. In this context, students are expected to develop knowledge, understanding, and skills concerning relationships with clients, supervisors, co-workers and external constituencies. In addition, students will be expected to develop a Foundation understanding of the context of social work practice as it relates to multiculturalism and diversity; social justice and social change; prevention, promotion, treatment and rehabilitation and research-based practice. Within the field curriculum student learning will involve experiential learning and is based on the identification of field-based assignments and learning activities, and regular supervision with a field instructor.

Objectives

Students will demonstrate beginning proficiency in all of the competencies and practice behaviors upon successful completion of fieldwork site assignments that are behaviorally specific and measurable and focus on developing proficiency at the Foundation level.

Design

The course will use structured, experiential learning which is outlined in the student’s individualized Educational Agreement form. Field placement learning experiences are developed in concert with the field instructor and are linked to the competencies outlined on the Foundation Educational Agreement form. Students strive to develop field-based assignments which will exhibit that they have become proficient in the social work competencies. The field placement hours are logged at a fieldwork site and all student related activities are supervised by an approved, credentialed field instructor. The field placement is facilitated and monitored by the Office of Field Instruction Field Liaison who assigns the final grade. Each credit hour of field placement at the Foundation level is 114 clock hours of work. Students are required to log a total of 228 hours in Foundation field instruction.