Fall 2026 SOWK 590 Week 11 - Advanced Seminar I

Week eleven is synchronous with having class on Saturday (11/07/26) for SOWK 590. Students continue to work at the practicum and will submit their weekly journal. We will have the following agenda:

  • SLED: Community Organizing & Activism Cultural Competence in Practice
  • Mindfulness activity
  • Practice Learning Reflection Group

The learning objectives this week include:

  • Students will consider how community organizing and activism can relate to their practice.
  • Students will actively practice a mindfulness activity.
  • Students will recognize their peers’ shared experiences in the practicum and use the group as a method for sharing and problem-solving.
  • Students will analyze their practicum experience, reflecting on how it connects to their development and demonstration of competence.

Week 11 Plan

Agenda

  • SLED: Cultural Competence in Practice
  • Mindfulness activity
  • Practice Learning Reflection Group

Learning Objectives

  • Students consider cultural competence in practice.
  • Students will actively practice a mindfulness activity.
  • Students will recognize peers’ shared experiences in their practicum and use the group as a method for sharing and problem-solving.

Midcourse Feedback

Both SOWK 590 (Advanced Seminar I) and SOWK 595 (Advanced Field Practicum) had 5 of 12 students respond (42%). The responses overlap so much, some word for word, that they are very likely the same five students answering for both courses. Read them as one small sample, not ten separate voices. The reports are filed in each course’s 03 - Course Documents folder.

What’s going well

Every student said things are going well, and several said so explicitly (“Everything is going well in this class”).

SOWK 590 (seminar):

the group setting, class discussions and questions the mindfulness exercises and other activities “that relax us” meaningful discussions about practicum the reflective journal practicum learning tools, teaching methods and assignments

SOWK 595 (practicum):

practicum hours, and your explanations of how concepts apply in practicum settings, along with tasks and supervision examples the site visit went well feedback on the learning contract was helpful the engagement, group sessions and self-reflection (the same response as in 590) What’s not going well

The only critique, raised in both courses: the ELC learning tool is a little complicated. Everyone else answered “NA,” “n/a,” or that everything is going well.

What you could do differently

Nothing. Every answer was some form of “continue doing what you are doing,” “Nothing, you are doing well!” or “n/a.”

What students said about themselves What they could do differently: participate more in class discussions, ask questions when they’re stuck, ask for feedback or advice, and not procrastinate. What they’re learning: It’s okay to be overwhelmed, and they’re learning how to take care of themselves when they are. They reflect more on what they do, and notice what to change and what to keep. They’ve become more open-minded. “That I can do anything I put my mind to.”

Student-Led Discussion

[Whole Group Activity] Student group facilitates chosen topic.

Cultural Competence in Practice

Turtle Technique

You can find some discussion of this from the CBT notebook, although it other places as well. See Turtle Technique

When something happens to us we e can use the following technique:

  • When something happens, stop
  • Go into your shell and take three deep breaths
  • Consider possible solutions
  • Engage in the solution

What I want to do is have us engage in a activity to motivate flow. As you go into this, you can can consider more about how we might engage in the turtle technique or just lose yourself in the coloring.

[Whole Group Activity] Color Turtle Mandala

Practice Learning Reflection Group

Group Norms

  • We will be respectful of each other
  • We will approach our dialogue with an open mind
  • We will engage and fully participate
  • We will keep our clients’ information confidential

Group Check-in Question

Give three adjectives that describe how your practicum experience is going.

Practicum Discussion

  • What are some of the things that are happening in your practicums?
  • What are some of the needs of the clients you are working with?
  • Examples of client work to share with the group?