The Policy Field Unit (PFU) is an independently designed practicum placement for School of Social Work (SSW) students at a large, urban Midwestern university. The placement provides students an opportunity to engage with the policy process as macro social work practitioners in a variety of settings. Increasing social work students' efficacy in…

It has been postulated that field education is the signature pedagogy of social work education. Practicums are paramount in assisting social work students to develop the unique skills and competencies required for professional practice. Traditionally, field education in social work has occurred within the context of social service agencies…

A long-standing disconnect between social work practice and research exists that begins with our current education model. When taught separately, students often think they are distinctly different areas of social work that do not have to coexist. This conceptualization of research and practice as separate could contribute to the dearth of research…

In October 2010, the University of Southern California School of Social Work entered the online education environment with the launch of the first national web-based MSW program. After an initial enrollment of 80 students, in just 3 years this state-of-the-art MSW, offered in a technology-advanced synchronous and asynchronous format, has generated…

A graduate macro practice foundation course was modified to incorporate curriculum content on the paradigm of evidence-based (informed) practice. The author developed an Evidence-Based Program Planning Model that was used as the framework for teaching this paradigm. Students learned to search and appraise the evidence to answer a practice…

Supervision of students engaged in research projects and theses is an important site of teaching. Schon's (1987) well-known framework-educating for reflective practice-proves aptly suited for this teaching forum, offering insights for research supervision at multiple university levels. Conceptually, a research and writing studio where a practicum…

A learning-oriented thematic model of process recording is proposed in which the student's recording is based on internal and external learning themes, pre-selected by the student and the field education instructor. The themes, which serve as the organizing focus of the recording, parallel classroom curricula, agency service, and student learning…

Clinical practice and research are generally taught separately in Master of Social Work programs by faculty with distinct areas of expertise. This paper discusses the teaching of single-subject design research methodology by clinical faculty, in the clinical practice class. Examples from student papers demonstrate the effectiveness of integrating…

Social work has evolved over the years taking on the challenges of the times. The profession now espouses a breadth of theoretical approaches and treatment modalities. We have developed a model to help graduate social work students master the skill of integrating theory and social work practice. The Integrative Model has five components: (l) The…