SOCI30220: PRACTICE EDUCATION (stage 1)

• Students will be required to be post-qualifying social workers with two years of relevant experience at the commencement of the module.

• None.

• None.

• The module enables students to demonstrate their role in supporting and enabling the learning of others by developing their knowledge and skills in the processes of mentoring, practice assessment but not including the final assessment prior to qualification.
• The module meets the requirements of the Practice Educator Professional Standards for Social Work (PEPS) for stage 1.
• The module will develop the skills of those supporting and assessing newly qualified social workers, experienced social workers undertaking formal or informal continuing professional development or others engaging in learning and development activities.
• This module will enable students to supervise, teach and assess social work students up to but not including the final assessment prior to qualification. Students who successfully complete this module will be able to contribute to the final placement but may not take full responsibility for assessment or act as the practice educator on a day to day basis.
• The module will develop students skills and competencies within the following domains identified within the Professional Capabilities Framework:
• Domain A Organise opportunities for the demonstration of assessed competence in practice;
• Domain B Enable learning and development in practice;
• Domain C Manage the assessment of learners in practice.

• An overview of practice learning and assessment of adult learners;
• Values and ethics and professional codes of conduct in relation to enabling the learning of others;
• Supervision of student social workers including working with diversity and failing students;
• Producing the practice report;
• Direct observations of practice and involving service users and carers in assessment of social work students;
• How practice educators can enable students to link theory to practice.
• In conjunction with the delivery of the module, students will be required to act as practice educator for a student at the appropriate stage.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Subject-specific Knowledge and Skills:
• By the end of this module students will be expected to be able to demonstrate:
• Critical understanding of their own contribution to the learning of others, including teaching, mentoring and supporting social work or other students and/or colleagues;
• An appreciation of the complexities and challenges to be addressed in delivering work that effectively promotes the rights of service users and carers, and embeds service user-focused values in policy and practice.

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of the module students will be able to demonstrate:
• An ability to plan, organise and evaluate appropriate opportunities for the demonstration of assessed competence in practice;
• An ability to enable critically informed and reflective learning and professional development in practice;
• An ability to take the lead in planning and managing appropriate forms of assessment for professional learners in practice.

Key Skills:

• By the end of this module students will be expected to be able to demonstrate:
• Acceptance of personal responsibility in relation to professional codes of conduct, including the ability to address any ethical issues in relation to professional practice and research.

• During periods of online teaching, for asynchronous lectures in particular, planned lecture hours may include activities that would normally have taken place within the lecture itself had it been taught face-to-face in a lecture room, and/or those necessary to adapt the teaching and learning materials effectively to online learning.
• Lectures/Small group work/plenary sessions: Enable students to be provided with information about facilitating, supporting and assessing the learning of others in a systematic manner, identifying key aspects of knowledge and information, and providing opportunities for shared learning and work on practice examples. This includes information about all of the professional capabilities.
• Directed reading/Independent study tasks: Offer students the opportunity to undertake focused, critical reading about particular aspects of enabling the learning of others, as well as deepening their knowledge through wider reading around subjects that have either been introduced in lectures or are of particular interest/relevance in relation to their employment setting.
• Work-based practice: Throughout the module, all students will undertake work to enable the learning of others as part of their duties within their normal employment setting. They will inlcude conducting direct observations of practice, writing practice report and associated meetings. They will be supervised in this element of their work by their line manager, and supported by a practice mentor who holds a recognised practice teaching qualification or its equivalent. This mode of teaching and learning facilitates a progressive approach to meeting the module learning outcomes, with students being required to have demonstrated most of the competencies associated with the learning outcomes in the first 3 reflective commentary. Additionally, learners will provide a personal profile in stage 1, which will consider the influences on their own teaching style, 1 direct observation of their supervisory practice in stage 1 and a further direct observation.
• Tutorials: Individual tutorials are available with the module convenor, providing individual support and guidance in relation to their role in enabling the learning of others.
• Learning support meetings: These provide regular and structured opportunities for students to support each other and share their experiences in relation to their role in enabling the learning of others, including the provision of formative feedback in relation to the modules learning outcomes.
• Portfolio: The portfolio, which consists of commentaries on the students learning in relation to their practice education role, as well as a personal profile, a direct observation report, a sample of the practice report and feedback from student social workers and other colleagues whose learning has been enabled, allows achievement against all of the module learning outcomes to be assessed in a staged manner.

If you have a question about Durham's modular degree programmes, please visit our Help page. If you have a question about modular programmes that is not covered by the Help page, or a query about the on-line Postgraduate Module Handbook, please contact us.

Prospective Students: If you have a query about a specific module or degree programme, please Ask Us.

Current Students: Please contact your department.