Field Instructor OrientationMSW/ BSW Programs

Purpose of Field Education• Students will develop:– Professional identity– Self-understanding– Integration of theory and practice– Skills toward competent practice

• Field Education is 28% of graduate degree requirements

• BSW and MSW first placements are generalist practice, with both micro and macro experiences

• Advanced placements are clinical or organizational and community practice

Roles and Responsibilities

• Student• Field Instructor• Field Liaison• Coordinator for Field Education• Associate Director for Field Education

Student Responsibilities• Complete 240 hours of field education each semester (16

hours per week for 15 weeks)• 240 hours includes 10 hours of field seminar each semester

for graduate students. This 10 hours includes 2 hours on the 2nd Thursday in Sept from 6-8 (unless otherwise notified or in the Blended Program.)

• BSW students attend weekly field seminar• Complete a learning agreement each semester• Submit written evaluation to liaison at the end of each

semester• Provide a copy of practice course syllabus to field instructor

each semester• Inform field instructor and liaison of any issues that impact

progression in the placement

Advanced Standing Student Responsibilities

• Summer Semester– 16 hours of field per week for 7 weeks– 5 hours of field liaison group seminar– Total 120 hours– Learning agreement– Completed evaluation

Field Instructor Values and Skills

• Interest in teaching and mentoring students• Desire to give back to the profession• Knowledgeable about the community and its

resources• Ability to integrate professional and academic

content with field curriculum

Field Instructor Qualifications

• For BSW students: A baccalaureate degree in Social Work or a BA degree with extensive social service practice experience

• For MSW students: An MSW degree with two years of post-masters experience, license preferred

Field Instructor Responsibilities• Orient students to the agency• Interface with the agency on behalf of the

student• Provide one hour weekly educationally focused

supervision session with student• Assist in creating educationally appropriate

assignments for the learning agreement each semester

• Provide a mid-semester verbal evaluation• Prepare the end of semester written evaluation

Field Liaison Responsibilities

• Monitor the educational progress of each student• Make agency visits and phone contacts• Organize and facilitate field seminar-scheduling, goals,

format and implementation• Documentation-process recordings, learning agreements,

evaluations, liaison reports, expense reports• Be available to students and field instructors for

consultation, support and problem-solving• Keep the field coordinator advised of any issues that might

affect student’s successful completion of field education• Review Field Education Manual http://socialwork.msu.edu

Field Seminars• Graduate: 10 hours per semester, times are

scheduled by the group - This 10 hours includes 2 hours on the 2nd Thursday in Sept from 6-8 (unless otherwise notified or in the Blended Program)

• Undergraduate: weekly as part of the field course• Purpose- integration of classroom content,

administration and support• Students create a supportive group environment• Graduate students develop topics and liaison

facilitates

Process Recording• Required of all students-handout• Gain insight into what occurred with a client or

system• Used to establish– Learning needs– Knowledge gaps– Ability to address issues which may influence clinical

or organizational decisions– Ability to work with individuals, teams, groups, etc.– Knowledge of social work values, ethics, and human

variability

Developing a Learning Agreement

• Learning agreement- handout• Format• One educational activity per practice behavior• Signatures• Submitted to liaison

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.

Social workers serve as representatives of the profession, its mission, and its core values. They know the profession’s history. Social workers commit themselves to the profession’s enhancement and to their own professional conduct and growth.

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.

Social workers have an obligation to conduct themselves ethically and to engage in ethical decision-making. Social workers are knowledgeable about the value base of the profession, its ethical standards, and relevant law.

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.

Social workers are knowledgeable about the principles of logic, scientific inquiry and reasoned discernment. They use critical thinking augmented by creativity and curiosity. Critical thinking also requires synthesis and communication of relevant information.

Field Curriculum ReviewCOMPETENCY 4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.

Social Workers understand how diversity characterizes and shapes the human experience and is critical to the formation of identity. The dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation. Social workers appreciate that, as consequences of difference, a person’s life experiences may include oppression, poverty, marginalization and alienation as well as privilege, power and acclaim.

Field Curriculum ReviewCOMPETENCY 5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.

Each person, regardless of positioning in society, has basic human rights, such as freedom, safety, privacy, an adequate standard of living, health care and education. Social workers recognize the global interconnections of oppression and are knowledgeable about theories of justice and strategies to promote human and civil rights. Social work incorporates social justice practices in organizations, institutions and society to ensure that these basic human rights are distributed equitably and without prejudice.

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.

Social workers use practice experience to inform research, employ evidence-based interventions, evaluate their own practice and use research findings to improve practice, policy and social service delivery. Social workers comprehend quantitative and qualitative research and understand scientific ethical approaches to building knowledge.

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.

Social workers are knowledgeable about human behavior across the life course, the range of social systems in which people live and the ways social systems promote or deter people in maintaining or achieving health and well being. Social workers apply theories and knowledge from the liberal arts to understand biological, social, cultural, psychological and spiritual development.

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work service.

Social work practitioners understand that policy affects service delivery, and they actively engage in policy practice. Social workers know the history and current structures of social policies and services, the role of policy in service delivery, and the role of practice in policy development.

Field Curriculum Review

COMPETENCY 9. Respond to contexts that shape practice.

Social workers are informed, resourceful and proactive in responding to evolving organizational, community and societal contexts at all levels of practice. Social workers recognize that the context of practice is dynamic and use knowledge and skill to respond proactively.

Field Curriculum ReviewCOMPETENCY 10. Engage with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.

Professional practice involves dynamics and interactive processes of engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation at multiple levels. Social workers have the knowledge and skills to practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities. Practice knowledge includes identifying, analyzing and implementing evidenced-based interventions designed to achieve client goals, using research and technological advances, evaluating program outcomes and practice effectiveness, developing, analyzing, advocating, and providing leadership for policies and services, and promoting social and economic justice.

Learning Agreements

• Student responsibility to initiate• Activities must be– Specific– Measurable– Achievable– Realistic– Time-bound

Evaluation and Grading

• Semester evaluation based on learning agreement (signatures, date, grade, number of hours), attendance and participation in liaison group seminars, and input from field instructor and liaison

• Grading is on a 4.0 scale• Liaison reviews then recommends and

submits grades to coordinator

Remember to Check the Field Education Calendar for Important

Dates!

ContactsJo Ann P. McFall, LMSW, ACSW, RNAssociate Director for Field Education517-353-8631 mcfallj@msu.edu

Julie A. Navarre, LMSWLead Field and East Lansing Program Coordinator 517-432-3722 navarre@msu.edu

Erica D. Shifflet Gibson, LMSWFlint and Oakland Programs Field Coordinator517-432-7019 shiffle6@msu.edu

Cheryl Williams-Hecksel, MSSW, LMSW, ACSWStatewide Blended Program Field Coordinator517-432-1659 will1534@msu.edu (rvw Aug 2010)