Conference presentation
Supporting critical reflection in an online environment
SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Gold Coast, Queensland, 05/11/2019 - 05/11/2019)
05/11/2019
Metrics
5 Record Views
Abstract
Social welfare workers are called upon to practice in increasingly complex human service environments; maintaining resilience in demanding emotional situations (Kinman & Grant, 2017). Scaffolding critical reflection throughout the Bachelor of Social Welfare curricula goes some way to prepare future practitioners to thrive in these emotionally complex environments. Issues of Protection is an advanced level unit exploring issues of child abuse and neglect, violence and trauma. In preparing students to work in the field of child protection, the unit exposes them to research, knowledge and case studies which are complex, intellectually and emotionally demanding and invites them to critically reflect on their responses. Students, particularly those who are online, have reported being distressed and challenged by the unit material. Yet, they need to be exposed to it to develop the skills and knowledge to work in this complex field of practice. In this presentation we will discuss changes introduced following a recent peer review of the curricula. Assessment tasks were revised, online workshops were introduced and weekly lectures were pre-recorded. After introducing this suite of changes, unit staff have noticed a marked improvement in both student satisfaction and the quality of student assignments. We welcome this opportunity to reflect on the factors that have contributed to this success.
Kinman, G., & Grant, L. (2017). Building resilience in early-career social workers: Evaluating a multi-modal intervention. British Journal of Social Work, 47(7), 1979 1998. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcw164
Details
- Title
- Supporting critical reflection in an online environment
- Creators
- Clarissa Hitchcock - Southern Cross UniversityLouise Whitaker - Southern Cross University
- Conference
- SCU Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Symposium (Gold Coast, Queensland, 05/11/2019 - 05/11/2019)
- Identifiers
- 991013147712302368
- Academic Unit
- Social Work; Faculty of Health; School of Arts and Social Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Conference presentation
- Local Fields
- Evidence Based Practice - SoLT