BSW Practicum Information
IntroductionSupervisor's Evaluation of Student
Student's Evaluation of Practicum Placement
INTRODUCTION
Social Work practice, as defined by the Social Work Department at UM-St. Louis, emphasizes a micro-macro practice model, based upon an ecological/systems perspective. The ecological perspective of problems as reflected in this program is defined in transactional terms and is seen as a poor fit between individuals and their environment. The ecological/systems perspective does not locate problems primarily within individuals nor primarily within the environment, but rather focuses on the interaction and transactions of both.
Because Social Work focuses on working with persons within their environment, the practicum is an integral part of the student's education. By participating in a supervised agency placement, students are able to achieve an integration of classroom theory with practical application that would be impossible to accomplish in the classroom alone.
To achieve these ends, the practicum faculty has developed a range of possible agency settings. The faculty works with each student to help select the setting which best matches the student's interest.
This manual has been prepared to help students gain the most from this important learning experience. Included are the responsibilities of each person involved as well as a description of the overall process. We always welcome suggestions for changes that will improve the practicum experience.
A NOTE CONCERNING REGISTRATION
ELIGIBILITY FOR PRACTICA REQUIRES COMPLETION OF OR CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT IN PARTICULAR COURSES.
"Registration by Appointment" provides priority course selection for seniors. Check your Registration Form; after obtaining your advisor's signature, you may register anytime beginning the day and time listed on your form; you cannot register before that time. Students are encouraged to register as early as possible to avoid being "CLOSED OUT" of classes. Special Consents to enter closed Social Work courses will be issued only under special circumstances and only upon obtaining the consent of both the course instructor and the department chairperson.
OBJECTIVES OF UM-ST. LOUIS PRACTICUM PROGRAM
The practicum is designed to provide learning experiences that will help students bridge the gap between classroom theory and actual Social Work practice. While it is hoped that students will make useful contributions to the agencies in which they are placed, the goals are educational -- to help the students acquire knowledge and skills they will use later as employees performing entry levels Social Work tasks. Specifically, the objectives of the practicum are:
- To enable students to see, first hand, something
of the characteristic behaviors and problems of people--to identify and
observe examples of the human phenomena about which they have been reading
in academic courses.
- To give students an opportunity to test their
own interest and abilities in working with, or on behalf of, people as
professional Social Workers.
- To help students gain some familiarity with the
administrative complexities of solving human problems and a beginning
experience in using the network of public and private social welfare
services.
- To familiarize students with the kinds of responsibilities
and assignments which are typical in Social Work settings.
- To help students understand how Social Work methods,
techniques and strategies may be used, along with the theoretical advantages
and limitations which govern the application of these methods.
- To help students develop appropriate techniques
and practice skills of their own, e.g., observation, information gathering,
interviewing, group leadership, research.
- To give students an opportunity to observe how
professionals interact with each other and with their clients.
- To acquaint students with some of the basic ethical norms in Social Work, e.g., confidential use of information, equal concerns for all people, a non-judgmental attitude toward values and customs, and an appreciation for cultural and ethnic diversity.
COMPONENTS OF THE PRACTICUM PROGRAM
Each practicum is comprised of the following components:
A. On-site, Agency Experience: (SW 320, SW 321)
POLICY:
Two semesters (each 4.0 credit hours and consisting of 285 hours), at one or more agencies, are required. With the approval of both the practicum coordinator and the agency supervisor, one semester block of 285 hours may be extended to and completed in one academic year. Further exceptions will be considered only upon receipt of a physician's letter stating reasons why student is unable to fulfill requirements during the normal time period.
To successfully complete the required 285 hours, attendance at the agency should be 16 to 20 hours per week. Second semester students may work in the agency for up to 40 hours between 1st and 2nd semesters if the contract specified and was approved in advance.
Regularly scheduled sessions (approximately once per week) with the agency supervisor are required to review learning progress, plan future.
A faculty member will meet with the agency supervisor at least once during the semester to review the student's progress and agree on any additional steps needed to ensure adequate learning progress.
A formal evaluation of the student by the agency supervisor will be done at mid-semester and at the end of the semester.
The student will be required to complete a "Student Evaluation of Practicum Placement" describing his/her experience at the end of the semester.
B. Practicum Seminars: (SW 320A, SW 321A)
Two semesters of Practicum Seminar, 2.0 credit hours each, are required. These are taken concurrently with the agency experience. Attendance at all Practicum Seminars is REQUIRED.
The purpose of the practicum seminar is to help students integrate theory and practice. Students will make classroom presentations using case materials to relate their practice to Social Work theory.
Daily logs describing the student's learning process are to be submitted to the Seminar Instructor for grading. (Further detail and directions about these will be given by the Instructor at the beginning of the seminar.)
PRACTICUM GRADES
Grades for SW 320
and 321 are given by the Seminar Instructor in consultation with the Practicum
Coordinator. The agency supervisor's written evaluation of the student's work
in the agency setting is heavily weighted in determining the grade. (Refer
to the section titled, "Supervisor's
Evaluation of Students," for more information.) Also included in the
grade is the on-site conference between the agency supervisor and the
faculty. Students must receive a "satisfactory" grade for both SW
320 and SW 321 to receive the B.S.W.
Grades for SW 320A and 321A, given by the seminar instructor, will be letter grades. Factors which will be considered are the content of the daily logs, the quality of the presentation, and in-class participation. The seminar instructor will explain expectations more fully.
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AT PRACTICUM AGENCY
You are to consider yourself a potential practicing
Social Worker, a visiting member of the Social Work staff, and are to
perform assignments in a manner consistent with accepted BSW Social Work
practices. The best guide to general agency customs and expectations
will be the behavior of your supervisor and the other professional Social
Workers within the agency.
When in doubt, discuss questions such as mode of dress, ways of addressing clients and colleagues, and resources within the agency with your agency supervisor.
You are expected to follow the scheduled hours meticulously. You are expected to observe provisions of the Social Work Code of Ethics and other generally acknowledged guidelines for professional Social Workers.
POLICY
Students should have attained Senior status by the beginning
of the semester in which the practicum is taken. This is important because:
(1) the student needs as much academic preparation as possible before
working with clients and (2) having recent agency experience increases
a student's employability.
The following courses should be completed (or in the process of completion) before the practicum is taken:
A. Professional Foundation Courses:
SW 100 SW 210 SW 300*
SW 150 SW 280 SW 305**
SW 285
POLICY
NOTE: **SW 300 MUST be taken prior to OR concurrently with SW 320 Practicum
NOTE: ***SW 305 MUST be taken prior to OR concurrently with SW 321 Practicum
B. Area Requirements:
Sociology 10 Sociology 230 AND 231 or Psychology 3 SW 330
Economic 40 Biology 1 OR Poli. Sci. 11 Biology 10
AND one
(1) additional Sociology 220 Biology elected from approved list
C. General Education Requirements (for the University:
Three (3) Humanities Courses
Three (3) Natural Science and/or mathematics Courses
One (1) Non-European Studies Courses
Math Proficiency
English Proficiency
Advanced Expository Writing (if applicable)
American History and Government
Remember, a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) is required in order to graduate from the University. You must have a 2.5 average in your Social Work courses and related area requirement.
PROCESS OF SETTING UP PRACTICUM
Before contacting an agency supervisor, each student completes a process designed to clarify goals and interests and to assist in selecting a practicum site and developing the Student Learning Contracts. During the semester prior to the first practicum, the student attends Mandatory Practicum Planning Meetings, submits an application for practicum, and meets with the assigned faculty advisor to ensure that all academic requirements have been completed and to discuss practicum site possibilities. The overall process of practicum planning, agency selection and contract development is outlined below.
Step 1: First Practicum Planning Meeting:
a. Overview of Practicum Process including, the Practicum Manual, required forms, policies AND
b. How to Select a Practicum Site including a review of available agencies.
Step 2: Student Submits Practicum Application to Practicum Coordinator including several desired practicum sites.
Step 3: Faculty Meets to review each application and approve requests for practicum sites.
Step 4: Second Practicum Planning Meeting: The Why and How of Writing a Student Learning Contract.
Step 5: Student Contacts Approved Agency, interviews with supervisor(s) and is accepted. (At initial meeting(s), we expect both agency and student to explore possibility/desirability of participation in practicum at this agency. Either the student or agency can decide against the placement.)
Step 6: Student Develops a Draft of the Student Learning Contract in consultation with the practicum agency supervisor. (See the section on Student Learning Contracts for more information.)
Step 7: Individual Meetings with the Practicum Coordinator to approve Student Learning Contracts (final Contracts are turned in).
The UM-St. Louis Practicum Coordinator has final approval of the Student Learning Contract. He/she is available for consultation with the student and agency supervisor to make the Contract as specific, objective -- and attainable -- as possible.
POLICY: NO STUDENT MAY BEGIN EARNING PRACTICUM CREDIT UNTIL THE CONTRACT HAS BEEN APPROVED (not just received) BY THE PRACTICUM COORDINATOR.
The Practicum Coordinator will serve as a guide and resource to both students and agency supervisors. The Coordinator may be contacted about any questions or concerns which may arise during this process.
APPLICATION
FOR PRACTICUM
Any student intending to take a practicum is required to complete
the appropriate Semester practicum Application. The purposes of the application
is:
- To inform the faculty of the student's intent to take a practicum during a specific semester.
- To ensure that the faculty advisor reviews the student's academic readiness (courses and grade point average) for first (1st) semester students.
- To assist the student and faculty in determining an appropriate setting for the student.
First Semester Practicum Applications will be distributed to potential first semester practicum students during the first, required Practicum Planning meeting. Applications for second semester will be distributed through the Practicum Seminar or may be obtained from the Practicum Coordinator.
STUDENT LEARNING CONTRACT
The primary goal of the student Learning Contract is to state in concrete, measurable terms, the learning objectives, specific activities and methods of evaluation for each student. The Contract should make it as clear as possible to the agency, the student, and the University what responsibilities the student will have during a given semester.
The development of the Contract falls primarily upon the student and agency supervisor. In simplified terms, the student should have major responsibility for identifying his/her learning objectives. The major emphasis should be on pinpointing identifiable skills upon which the student in identifying the tasks or activities in which the student can become involved to teach him/her the skills identified in the learning objectives. The supervisor can also aid in identifying ways to evaluate whether the student has reached the objective.
Clearly, the above description is simplified. Many beginning Social Work students are somewhat unclear about the skills they want to develop and about what skills they could learn at a given agency. That is why we rely on the agency supervisor to help direct the student, not only in the contract development process, but also in the identification of learning objectives.
The Practicum Coordinator reviews and approves all contracts after they have been finalized by the agency and student. The review is primarily to ensure that: 1) the goals/ activities/evaluations are clear, quantified when reasonable and appropriate for the student, and 2) the students have adequate and appropriate access to the supervisor(s) during the practicum period.
SUPERVISORS EVALUATIONS OF STUDENTS
Supervisors are to complete two evaluations for each student: 1) the Mid-Semester progress Report, at mid semester and 2) the Agency Supervisor's Evaluation, at the end of the semester. When more than one supervisor is involved, each supervisor should participate in the evaluation process including meeting with the student and signing the evaluation forms. All evaluations should be submitted by the due dates given by the University in order to avoid delayed grades or delayed graduation.
The University will provide the supervisors with copies of the forms and due dates. Questions or requests for forms or other assistance should be directed to the practicum coordinator.
STUDENT EVALUATION OF PLACEMENTS
Students are to complete a Student Evaluation of Agency Placement form at the end of each semester of practicum. The purpose of the form is to give the University information about a particular student's experience. Copies of these forms may be kept in the Practicum Coordinator's files to be available to future students who are looking for placements. In these cases, students should be aware that these are representative of a single person's experience and therefore biased reports.
Evaluation forms will be distributed through the practicum Seminars at the end of the semester. Questions or concerns should be directed to the Practicum Coordinator.