Developing the Learning Contract

1. Developing the Learning Contract UW School of Social Work Field Instructor Training

2. Competency Objectives: • 1) Articulate the purpose and rationale behind the Learning Contract • 2) Describe ways to assess students for learning activities that meet curriculum and competency objectives; • 3) Define and apply the elements of writing behaviorally specific learning goals in the contract; • 4) Identify strategies for utilizing the learning contract in ongoing supervision and evaluation.

3. PURPOSE OF THE LEARNING CONTRACT • Approved Contract is required for credit • Documents three-way agreement between student, agency and School • Defines how the student will learn to apply social work theories through practice • Documents understanding field education activities must relate to required Core Competencies

4. Purpose, cont’d. • Clarifies the professional Core Competencies and related Practice Behaviors students must demonstrate • Stimulates discussion of student strengths, goals, and learning styles • Defines individualized, behaviorally specific activities to build competencies • Acknowledges risks of practicum

5. Review Contract Format • New STAR contracts and evaluations that are completed and submitted online • Instructions about STAR access: UW Net ID or Protect Net ID (Handout 1A) • depts.washington.edu/sswweb/practicum/star • Access STAR to review format: • star.ssw.washington.edu • Access sample Word Foundation Contract (Handout 1B)

6. Agency and Student Info Needed on Contract • Supervision days and times • Contact info for student, MSW PI, liaison • Credit plan for student • Practicum schedule • Activities under each Competency area • Acknowledgement of Risk Form • MSW PI to submit early in quarter for Field Faculty Reviewand approval

7. Student Self-Assessment • areas of social work in which they feel strong, relevant experience, and personal characteristics that will work to their advantage in the agency setting; • ways they learn best (see Module 3), and • specific goals for field education which can be met through agency activities.

8. Educational Assessment of Students – Handout 1C • Educational Inventory outlines areas for discussion with student to help individualize practicum, e.g., • Student life experiences and responsibilities • Professional development skills • Communication style • Personal attributes and cultural background • Student learning styles and patterns • Interest in different agency opportunities

9. Learning Contract Objectives • Review contract and competencies for program level of student (BASW/Foundation MSW or Advanced MSW and Concentration) • Develop agency activities tied to curriculum objectives and each core competency • Each student’s needs and development is different and requires individualization

10. BASW/Foundation: • Evidence-based generalist practice • Micro-mezzo-macro levels of practice • Professional history and identity • Orientation to strengths-based and empowerment practice, cultural competency, person-in-environment, social justice and social change • Ethical practice according to NASW Code • Fit and niche of social work as a career

11. Advanced MSW: • Further learning in social justice, policy, research, micro/mezzo/macro practice, professional development • Development of autonomous practice skills, using supervision effectively • Development of an area of specialization • Critical thinking, analysis, and leadership skills for solving complex problems

12. WRITING CONTRACTS – Handout 1D • Learning Progression Theory: • Cognitive, affective, and psychomotor awareness and skills are developed in sequence over time and with practice: • Focus on concrete tasks evolves to more abstract understanding of situations and patterns, and ability to reflect and evaluate • Increasingly able to manage complexity about clients, social conditions, organizations, and professional interventions.

13. DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF LEARNING • Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1984 (see handout) • Classification system of learning development: 1) Knowledge 2) Comprehension 3) Application 4) Analysis 5) Synthesis 6) Evaluation

14. Anderson’s Revised Classifications (2001) 1) Remembering: Retrieving relevant knowledge from memory 2) Understanding: Constructing meaning from oral, written, messages 3) Applying: Carrying out or using a procedure through implementing 4) Analyzing: Breaking material into constituent parts, determining how the parts relate to one another 5) Evaluating: Making judgments based on criteria and standards 6) Creating: Putting elements together to form a coherent whole 7) Metacognition: Awareness of own thinking patterns and ability to resolve difficulties and problems in thinking

15. Use of Learning Classifications • PIs and students should assess student baseline competencies and behaviors • Students may have different levels of understanding and ability in each competency • Learning classifications help PIs use verbs that more precisely acknowledge student’s current abilities and define expectations

16. WRITING BEHAVIORALLY SPECIFIC LEARNING ACTIVITIES The A.B.C.D. method : • Audience – tailor to student ability and School expectations • Behavior –What you expect students to do – must be observable, measurable • Condition – How and in what circum-stances or context will learning occur? • Degree –How much and to what level?

17. ABCD Objectives Example • Audience: “Student will… • Behavior: …teach parenting skills… • Condition: …using Parent Effectiveness Training model… • Degree: …in two evening weekly groups of five couples for ten sessions each”

18. Activity: Handout 1E-- Writing Behaviorally Specific Activities • Choose one or two competencies to develop agency-specific activities that support student development • Activities must be specific, visible, measurable. Measurements to be listed: • Reports, documentation, journal entries • Direct observation, presentations, tapes • Discussion in supervision, team feedback

19. Challenges in Writing Objectives • Sometimes difficult to precisely specify the degree of mastery required; • Affective objectives are difficult; emotions are not easily quantified and must be behaviorally expressed • Specific verbs are needed to express the desired behavior: not ‘work with’ or ‘attend’ but ‘conduct intakes’ or ‘observe, analyze’

20. Problems in Writing Objectives • Too vast/complex: • may need to be broken down • No behavior to evaluate • avoid terms like ‘understand’ or ‘learn’; find ways to demonstrate learning • Only topics are listed; conditions not described • Insure students understand how to perform an activity • Set parameters for ways to approach a task • Vague assignment outcomes • Expectations need to be made clear

21. ACCESS Handout 1G • Review Sample Foundation Competencies and activities designed to support competency development • BASW/Foundation practicum requires attention to professional development, identity, and ethics as well as skills training • Advanced Concentration practicum is more specific to a field of practice; must help student advance Core Competencies

22. Incorporating the Learning Contract In Supervision: • Insure student activities are following the learning plan; • Review how student is using the activities to apply and practice classroom learning; • Check whether activities assigned to the student are challenging and helpful • Insure learning activities are helping the student develop and achieve required competencies

23. Incorporating the Learning Contract In Feedback and Evaluation: • Discuss student accomplishments and any barriers to task completion • Review how activities have improved the student’s skills and competency; • Determine further instruction needed for success in activities; • Provide specific feedback regarding student performance and areas for growth