Process Recording Revisited: An Essay on an Educational Artifact as a Cognitive Exercise

Abstract

In this article, presented at Adelphi University circa 1980 [Guest editor’s note: The actual year could not be determined], the author takes the position that process recording, though unpopular, has a viability for the education of a social worker that is not offered by any other teaching technique that has been devised. After reviewing the history of this educational tool, the author argues that every social work practitioner should know what it is and should be able to do it, that there are cognitive skills achieved by learning to do process recording that are fundamental to the social work practitioner, and that the writing of process recording should be taught and learned in class and in field. The author offers a detailed analysis of how process recording can be used to facilitate various types of learning in the social work student. Finally, the author presents an outline for its use.

KEYWORDS:

• social work with group
• social work education
• process recording