Fall 2025 SOWK 486w Week 01 - Theories of Practice I Introduction

Fall 2025 SOWK 486w Week 01 - Theories of Practice I Introduction

title: Fall 2025 SOWK 486w Week 01 - Theories of Practice I Introduction date: 2025-08-27 11:07:06 location: Heritage University tags:

• Heritage University
• BASW Program
• SOWK 486w presentation_video: > “” description: >

This is the first week of classes for students starting in the social work program. Theories of Practice I is part of a three-part series of classes. In the first semester, you will examine how we work with individuals. The second semester is about working with families and groups. Finally, the third semester takes a broader approach and looks at macro practice. During the first class session, we focus on getting to know our fellow learners, the course instructor, and the general feel of the course. We will also discuss academic writing as this course is a “W” class.

The plan is as follows:

• Getting to know each other
• Cooperative agreements and norms
• The look and feel of this learning environment
• Academic writing

Learning Objectives

• Students will gain an overview of this course, the assignments used to facilitate learning and demonstrate competency, and what to expect this semester.
• Students will be introduced to their instructor and peers and will learn some information about them.
• Students will be equipped with the practical knowledge to distinguish between a BASW and MSW degree.
• Students will be exposed to APA formatting and recognize how to engage in their scholarship during this program.

Introduction

[Activity] Watch Home Makeover

Social work is a diverse field, and while we might not have to work with criminal masterminds like Gru, it’s my hope that this course will give us the skills to follow up with clients of all types.

Agenda and Learning Objectives

Agenda

• Getting to know each other
• Cooperative agreements and norms
• The look and feel of this learning environment
• Academic writing

Learning Objectives

• Students will gain an overview of this course, the assignments used to facilitate learning and demonstrate competency, and what to expect this semester.
• Students will be introduced to their instructor and peers and will learn some information about them.
• Students will be equipped with the practical knowledge to distinguish between a BASW and MSW degree.
• Students will be exposed to APA formatting and recognize how to engage in their scholarship during this program.

Short Biography

I find that is is helpful to share a little bit about myself with students, so that you know where I am coming from.

• Educational Experience
  • CBC AA 2006
  • EWU BASW 2008
  • EWU MSW 2009
  • Current doctoral student at CIIS
• Work History
  • Pasco School District (2014-2024)
  • Lourdes Counseling Center Children’s Day Program (2019-2020)
  • TCCH Behavioral Health Services
  • Heritage University (since 2013)
  • UNSAAC
  • Crisis Residential Center
  • Juvenile Detention
  • Jubilee Youth Ranch
• Outside Practice
  • Pasco Discovery Coalition
  • Council for Children
  • Various volunteer experiences
• Interests
  • Dancing
  • Computer technology
  • Travel
  • Graphic and website design
• Questions
  • Only time you can ask about me… [joking]

Poll Everywhere

Go to PollEv.com/campjacob

Poll Everywhere Slide 01

Do not modify the notes in this section to avoid tampering with the Poll Everywhere activity. More info at polleverywhere.com/support

Are you planning on continuing your education with an MSW? https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/8o5V8SMaU9kuEYrJ7PrdC

Poll Everywhere Slide 02

Do not modify the notes in this section to avoid tampering with the Poll Everywhere activity. More info at polleverywhere.com/support

What are you most excited about for this upcoming year? https://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/yugpWEcOAUIbhCWPn9h63

Poll Everywhere Slide 03

Do not modify the notes in this section to avoid tampering with the Poll Everywhere activity. More info at polleverywhere.com/support

What is your greatest worry for the upcoming school year? https://www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls/UYY3ZJw7dn77Pc2QMfwJJ

Peer Interviews

I want to give you all an opportunity get to know each other and for me to start to get to know everybody.

[Small Group Activity] I want everybody to interview at least two people and take notes. We will then go through and you will each have an opportunity introduce at least one of your peers. You will have about 10 minutes.

• Name
• Family or work
• Hopes for future carrier
• Secret talent, hobby, or interesting fact

[Whole Group Activity] Discuss building a community with the cohort.

Managing Expectations (1 of 3) Your Expectations

[Discussion] What are your expectations for this course?

Managing Expectations (2 of 3) My Expectations

What we want to be able to do comes to a place where we are able to meet in the middle without expectations… and that you’re happy and so am I.

• Cooperative Arrangement
  • Break vs. leaving early
• Nonnegotiable
  • Timeliness
  • Participation
  • High academic standards
• General course format
  • Readings
  • Lecture / discussion
  • Lab days
  • Presentations
  • Papers
  • Breakout activities
• Open / laid back
• Having fun

Managing Expectations (3 of 3) BRAVING Innovatory

This class has to be a space where we can build trust. I love Brenee Brown and the work she does. We will come back to her a few times this year. I want to lay out what she calls the BRAVING innovatory. These are the domains that are necessary for having a space that can have trust built and my expectation for us in this class:

The acronym BRAVING breaks down trust into seven elements: Boundaries, Reliability, Accountability, Vault, Integrity, Nonjudgment, and Generosity.

• Boundaries: Setting boundaries is making clear what’s okay and what’s not okay, and why.
• Reliability: You do what you say you’ll do. At work, this means staying aware of your competencies and limitations so you don’t overpromise and are able to deliver on commitments and balance competing priorities.
• Accountability: You own your mistakes, apologize, and make amends.
• Vault: You don’t share information or experiences that are not yours to share. I need to know that my confidences are kept, and that you’re not sharing with meany information about other people that should be confidential.
• Integrity: Choosing courage over comfort; choosing what’s right over what’s fun, fast, or easy; and practicing your values, not just professing them.
• Nonjudgment: I can ask for what I need, and you can ask for what you need. We can talk about how we feel without judgment.
• Generosity: Extending the most generous interpretation to the intentions, words, and actions of others.

Text adapted from Brown (2021).

Reviewing Syllabus

[Whole Group Activity] Go section by section

Course Foundation and Purpose

• Course Description
• Course Purpose
• Relationship to Other Sequences and/or Other Courses

Competencies & Objectives

1. Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
2. Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice
3. Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice
4. Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
5. Engage in Policy Practice
6. Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
7. Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
8. Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
9. Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Textbook and Helpful Resources

Textbook: Empowerment Series: Direct Social Work Practice Theory and Skills (11th ed.)

Helpful Resources

• APA Style Guide
• Google Scholar
• Eagle Search

Format of the Class

• Lecture
• Role plays and practice opportunities
• Small group discussion
• Whole group discussion
• Lab days

Assignment Overview

Tentative Schedule

• Orientate how to read.
• Two class sessions that we won’t have class

Information

Attendance Support and Resources University Policies

• Credit hour requirements
• Online course exchange appeals process
• Academic honesty
• Campus safety
• Safe attendance reminder

Academic Honesty

Who’s information is this?

Academic Honesty: Using Artificial Intelligence

[Whole Class Activity] Discussion regarding appropriate uses versus inappropriate.

Academic Integrity: and Generative Artificial Intelligence

I want to talk a little about using generative AI and how you might think about.

First, I have an attachment that was developed by a faculty committee considering Heritage and the use of AI. That is in the handouts. It basically just says to ask and to recognize it is different between different places.

Show Document: Al Essentials for Students at Heritage University.

It describes the ethical considerations including

• Originality: All submitted work must be your own. Using Al to assist is not the same as having Al do the work for you. Only use it within the bounds permitted by your instructor.
• Acknowledge Al use: If you use generative Al, cite it as instructed. Ask if you’re unsure. (Citation formats like APA, MLA, and Chicago now include guidance for Al.)
• Protect your data: Never share personal, sensitive, or confidential information with public Al tools.
• Use protected platforms: When possible, use institutionally supported Al tools like Microsoft Copilot with Data Protection to safeguard your information.

In the use, I also encourage you to think about your development of critical thinking skills and meta analysis that you have to do as social workers, but that can’t really be relegated to a machine (maybe story of graphic design from Fedrico). We won’t get into the potential future threats around information and ecological concerns.

I want to talk about hallucinations. I have to screen shots from 2023/2024 with bad results.

AI saying that add glue to make cheese stick to pizza

or AI saying that Christof Wandratsch completing it in 14 h 51 min in 2020 cross the channel on foot.

To give context, he did In August 2005 he set the world record for the fastest ever swim of the English Channel in a time of 7 h 03 mins

I have another screenshot asking the same question today and it recognizes that as a failed prompt before (because other people have written about it)

What I want you to realize is that it doesn’t know anything. It is making logical guesses about how to describe things and sometimes it completely makes those things up. I think this will continue to improve but it can’t be trusted for 100 % accuracy.

So… here are my…

• Hopes & Concerns: Can help us all level of and improve the work that we do. I already talked about my concerns.
• Appropriate: Getting ideas, brainstorming, asking it to review work that you’ve done and get feedback
• Inappropriate Uses: Asking it to write your forum or papers, over reliance

Contacting Me

• Importance of reaching out
• Best ways to contact me

Rubrics

• How I use them
• Scoring
• Feedback

Academic Writing and Support

We can come back to some of this… but I at least wanted to spend some time talking through some stuff. Ask me later in the semester and we can do more of this…

Save the Work You Do

First I think the information and work that you create, you should save and organize it.

• Save articles you read (Zotero, Bookends, Mendeley, Endnote, Refworks)
• Save papers that you write
• Save notes you take about a topic

Student Papers in APA

Two links, go through and review them.

• Student Paper Setup Guide
• Annotated Student Paper

Style Guide Website

Style and Grammar Guidelines

Reminder

Don’t forget to read and Send me your contact info