Social work practice with individuals and families course provides students the opportunity to practice social work skills under the supervision of professional social workers and apply the knowledge to work with individuals and/or families, groups, organizations, and communities.
This course provided learning opportunities and resources for an effective educational experience, where true life events were useful examples and made the learning environment pleasurable. Instructors in the profession, who teach social work courses is a plus because of the knowledgeable experiences and guidance that is shared with classmates and teaches students how to apply social work practice, values and ethics in a professional manner.
A professor working in the field also collaborated with students to create and approve learning agreements, discussions and give feedback on reflective learning tools. The code of ethics is applied to every place and a social worker must be professional in all circumstances. Course readings were enriched with skills in working towards collecting information to safely assist clients, protect and advocate appropriately. The goal taught in the field is to improve human well- being and to help meet the basic human needs of all people with special attention to the needs and empowerment of vulnerable oppressed people living in poverty.
The objective of this course is to gain understanding in critical thinking and interpreting stories. The use of reading and writing to make sense of the world and your place in it is underlined as well, along with empathizing and sympathizing with individuals who are different from you. It is critical to understand how language and society mirror history and culture, not to be prejudiced and come in with an open mind and a will to work hard on whatever situation, to better a client’s or the family’s life.
Lectures and reading assignments were on topics of diversity and social justice. The general content provided everyone with the professional skills to work with individuals, couples, and families within the framework of anti-discriminatory practice. The processes of problem identification, assessment, intervention, planning, case management, evaluation and termination were introduced and methodically explained. Research papers in addition, were helpful with learning new topics of interest.
The theories and main concepts were to be able to assess situations and identify common needs of individuals and to put them first and not be prejudiced of situations, disagreements, or to push them into your own beliefs. This writer learned how critical it is to understand how a person’s social, home or financial environment can affect their behavior.
Next, there was the explanation as to how to evaluate clients and do research to find and provide the proper resources to individuals. Following NASW code of ethics, students learned skills and strategies to advocate professionally on behalf of clients for services. It was also very important to learn and develop some proficiency in communication skills through this course. Reading the literature assigned, one was able to learn, comprehend and hopefully apply the knowledge that will help individuals who struggle with the five faces of oppression.
Another creative technique used by the professor in this course was group activities. Working in groups and getting the chance to apply the lecture’s thought, in video skits and oral presentations, which could be a challenge, but very helpful in practicing critical thinking to communicate professional judgement. Not all members were on board, but it worked out and the talent as a tech person was a relief to the rest of the group. A feeling of pride was experienced.
This writer enjoyed making up a storyline of different past events and weaving it into one story. Working with others was a good way to expand social skills and to understand the strengths from which others can benefit.
Initially, did not think working in groups was good, but learned something new from each partner and learned what weakness and strengths to work on. Some theories and concepts were hard to listen to, because this world and people can be so cruel, and personally would have liked to verbalize more on experiences to help the classmates understand some issues or open them up to different situations.
Personal feelings regarding the covered theories and concepts of the course were kept. In addition, hope to open more in order to help others understand the issues that they will probably face. My personal life has been very hard, but shared encounters will help future social workers deal with situations like mine and help them with real-life experience/examples.
Overall, the course taken was useful and gave me a better outlook and motivation to come to class prepared, well rested, and to finish successfully. There isn’t a hard process of inditing or verbalizing. The dedication to writing a long paper is more difficult than the process. The process of being able to verbalize what comes to mind is also not difficult and everyone has different opinions and it was a great way to get others’ perspective and learn from it.
It is putting thoughts together that make sense in a simple and clear way for all to understand that worries me, but with time, opening up will come naturally. Being able to speak up can be beneficial in many ways. By verbalizing effectively, my career and communication skills with peers can improve. Those are two positive feelings on areas that need improvement for performance in future classes. This course taught me the skills to take into the field. The course has been a great learning experience and I hope to continue to learn
