Competency-Based and Task-Centered Practicum Instruction

Abstract

Competency-based education, an emerging instructional method of considerable promise in social work, has been limited thus far to the classroom. However, its potential is equal or greater in the practicum as an effective method of assisting students to attain competent practice skills. In this article, specific skills to be mastered by social work students are identified and a competency-based framework for teaching them is delineated. Embodied in this approach is a task-centered method of instruction and a “mirco” or transactional approach to assessing and advancing students' skill levels. Examples of specific skills and the instructional techniques employed to facilitate their mastery are provided.