Teaching Note—Social Work Week: Harnessing the Potential of Group Practice to Achieve Transformational Learning

ABSTRACT

Transformative learning approaches in social work education emphasize the importance of bringing together experience, critical reflection, and dialogue to promote individual and social change. An experiential learning assignment, Social Work Week, was designed to sharpen undergraduate students’ group practice skills and introduce them to the range of macro practice available to social workers using a transformational teaching approach. Social Work Week required students to work together in task groups to plan, implement, and evaluate this university-wide collaborative project that featured 11 student-led events over 5 days. Transformational teaching approaches place unique demands on students and the instructors. We share lessons learned and propose recommendations for adapting this project to further student learning in social work practice courses.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amy Restorick Roberts

Amy Restorick Roberts and Sherrill L. Sellers are faculty members at Miami University. Kelley Franks is a graduate of the master’s program at Miami University. Terri Spahr Nelson is a faculty member at Miami University.