Educators across the country utilize technology in innovative ways to bridge the gap between education and practice. This emphasis is prevalent within helping professions that rely heavily on field placements for further development of students. Digital pedagogy can be used by human services educators to bridge the gap between education and human…

This qualitative study explores student learning progression through reflective writing on a tertiary-level course in social work. The study is based on the content analysis of three sets of data: student reflective writing, instructor formative feedback on this writing, and student end-of-course reflections. Our findings demonstrate that…

Self-awareness is important in social work education because it promotes knowledge, skill, and value development. However, little is written about the ways in which educators facilitate this process. A project was undertaken to design a new self-awareness assignment (SAA) and examine its value. The SAA's development, which relies on role-plays, is…

There has been a call for social work programs to better prepare students for field education. This qualitative study examined an innovation titled Practice Fridays developed to enhance competence in MSW students in a classroom setting. Students (N=57) described what they learned through this simulation-based learning activity and the processes…

This teaching note describes one example of a shift from content to competence in a graduate MSW course teaching advanced mindfulness complex practice behaviors and skills for use in direct practice. The development of advanced mindfulness competencies and skills provides a conceptual base o shift teaching from lengthy lectures to experiential…

Social work education is increasingly driven by the established movement of evidence-based practice (EBP) that drives the delivery of mental health care with the promise of providing treatments that work and greater efficiency. This emphasis on EBP coexists with the profession's expressed commitment to social justice. Social work literature rarely…

Social work field instructors are responsible for the gatekeeping function of evaluating student performance and determining practice readiness. Yet little empirical literature elucidates how field instructors of graduating BSW students judge competence, suitability, or readiness for practice. This qualitative study reports findings from 6 focus…