The Overruled Dust Mite: Preparing Technical Cormmunication Students to Interact with Clients

While many technical communication instructors declare the benefits of client projects, too often instructors do not prepare students to interact with clients. This article reviews a qualitative case study that demonstrates the difficulty students can have interacting with clients. Interviewing, listening, and seeking clarification are behaviors that may help students identify client concerns and miscommunications more effectively.     

Interdisciplinary Role Play Between Social Work and Theater Students

Teaching BSW and MSW students beginning interviewing and relationship-building skills is essential in order to prepare them for practice with clients. In social work methods courses, role plays are commonly-used instructional strategies for helping foundation-level students acquire these initial practice skills. Despite the popularity of this teaching method, the social work literature contains limited studies on the use of role play. In this study, 2 role-play methods are compared, a traditional one in which social work students act out the role of client and social worker and a nontraditional one where the only difference was that theater students role-played the client. Findings revealed that social work students perceived the nontraditional role play as providing a more realistic experience that more closely approximates actual work with clients. Many unanticipated benefits for both sets of students surfaced as a result of this research. Implications for ways to improve this pedagogical tool are discussed along with suggestions for further evaluating role-play methods.     

Trauma Response and Recovery Certificate Program: Preparing Students for Effective Practice

This paper describes an innovative approach to preparing MSW students for work with traumatized clients via a trauma certificate program. It explores conceptual and ethical principles of the program and presents results of the formative evaluation done with faculty, field instructors and students from the program's pilot year. Students reported gains in self-ratings of their efficacy in working with trauma in children, adults and communities, as well as articulating what parts of trauma theory were most useful to them in post-graduation. Field instructors were enthusiastic about the knowledge and skills students were building, and suggested further refinements to the program, including increased communication and networking on the topic of trauma.     

Assessment in Client-Based Technical Writing Classes: Evolution of Teacher and Client Standards

Client-based technical writing classes have the potential to help students practice a smooth transition between school and work because they allow the side-by-side examination and negotiation of standards of writing for faculty and technical clients. However, this potential is often not realized. This article reports the results of two case studies using interviews and surveys to examine the evolution of the standards of clients and faculty throughout one semester as well as student perceptions of those standards. The results suggest that three factors help students understand standards in a way that is conducive to effective school-to-work transition: standards negotiation, teacher awareness of client standards, and perceived overlap in teacher–client standards at the end of the semester.     

A Theory of Imperfection

In most counseling classes, entering students are very eager to learn techniques and theories of counseling. It is as if the students believe that these techniques will then enable them to be good counselors. If students were to succeed at their initial intention—the mastery of counseling theory and technique—all they would have are tools to distance them from their clients. In essence, the students would have the tools to work on clients and not with them. This article comments on the paradoxical nature of the teaching of counseling theory. The article demonstrates that what is correct are people and not the image people have of themselves. What is correct are the counselor's feelings between his or her clients and him or her. All counselors need do is pay attention to the correctness of their own responses to each client. They can only take a client as far along the road as they have traveled. All counselors really need to know is themselves. At this point their imperfections may be viewed as perfect and they need not depend on theories of counseling.     

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Client Factors Affecting Relationship Commitment in the Consultative Relationship

This study explores several factors that exist in the client–consultant relationship and their impact on relationship commitment. The participants were 228 college students from two doctoral research universities. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight scenario‐based questionnaires that measured the effect of three manipulated variables on ability to trust, comparison level of the alternative, dependence, and trust in a relationship commitment. The findings suggest that consultants can proactively manage relationships with their clients by considering their clients’ inherent ability to trust as well as how client decision making is affected by the relationship between alternative choices and their dependence on the consultant.     

Constructive Interference: Wikis And Service Learning In The Technical Communication Classroom

Four service-learning projects were conducted in technical communication courses using wikis. Results confirm previous findings that wikis improve collaboration, help develop student expertise, and enact a “writing with the community” service-learning paradigm. However, wikis did not decenter the writing classroom as predicted by previous work. Instructors using wikis to scaffold client projects should calibrate standards for evaluation with students and client, and they may need to encourage clients to stay active on the wiki.     

Learning Plans

Abstract

Learning plans are essential tools for field education. The development of a learning plan invests the student in the learning process by encouraging ownership. It alsoserves as a model to help students understand the contracting process used when engaging clients. A well thought out learning plan assures accountability and avoids problemsthat may arise resulting from unclear field expectations. Yet, many students and field instructors have difficulty in developing meaningful plans that truly relate to the social work educational experience. This paper provides a framework for developing a learning plan that includes an overview of the student, faculty advisor, and field instructor's roles and the process utilized. Working from broad comprehensive learning goals, cognitive and affective objectives are developed. This leads to specified tasks and evaluative standards. A sample format is presented to further assist students, faculty advisors, and field instructors to develop useful, instructive, and evaluative learning plans.     

Teaching Social Work's Bio-Psycho-Social Assessment

Abstract

Teaching a process of case theory construction provides students with a systematic approach to make sense of clients and formulate accurate assessments. Through a theory of the case students can account for problematic factors, explain the client, draw from the relevant literature and successfully intervene. Case material illustrates the importance of students' incorporation of the biological, psychological and social in their case theory construction. These three domains not only provide the requisite social work breadth in assessment, but also build the foundation for a broad-based social work intervention that is germane to client problems.     

Preparing for the Inevitable: Training Social Workers to Cope with Client Suicide

Little attention has been given to educating and training social work students and professionals about working with suicidal clients. This article summarizes the literature on client suicide and the professional social worker, as well as presents results from a mixed methods study, which utilized both qualitative and quantitative data collected from a national study on client suicide among social workers. The results indicate that 55% of social workers will experience at least one client suicide attempt and 31% will experience a client suicide completion during the course of their career. Additionally, less than 50% of the social workers surveyed received previous training or education about client suicide in their MSW programs. Suggestions from social workers for the content of training classes on client suicide are included. Implications for practice and research are also discussed.     

Teaching Cultural Assessment

Abstract

It is impossible to teach students all characteristics of the myriad cultures present in the United States. Providing students with a framework to assess the cultural traits of any client and to understand how those traits may influence the helping relationship gives them a tool to use in any clinical setting. This article presents a systematic process for considering the ways in which cultural values may differ between worker and client. This involves identifying areas of human functioning relevant to the helping relationship which need to be assessed or considered with all clients. This systematic process also prevents the worker from assuming cultural congruence when the client and worker are from the same cultural group.     

Balancing Students' Right to Privacy with the Need for Self Disclosure in Field Education

This article discusses issues related to findings a balance bewteen students' right to privacy and the need of field teachers for appropriate information about students in order to protect clients and promote effective practicum instruction. The relevance of students' personal life experience to professional Social Work Education is explored, and the necessity to prepare students for appropriate self disclosure in field instruction is given emphasis. Also under consideration is how personal information about students is to be obtained as well as the respective roles and responsibilities of the university faculty, field instructors and students in handling the information.     

Training Counselors to Work with Disabled Clients: Cognitive and Affective Components

This study examines the relationship of cognitive complexity, counselor anxiety, and client disability condition to accurate empathy on the part of students in training. A sample (n = 28) of students in a graduate counseling program observed a series of eight vignettes of counseling interviews (four clients with disabilities and four without disabilities) and reported a verbal counseling response to a client statement. A significant main effect was found for the cognitive complexity variable only (p < .05). A significant interaction among cognitive complexity, anxiety, and client disability condition (p < .01) indicated that all three factors interact to influence empathy. Implications for research and the training of counselors are discussed.     

Coached-Client Effects on Counselor Trainee Response

This study investigated whether or not coached clients modified the verbal responses of counselor trainees. The responses were judged on two dimensions: (a) interpersonal relatedness and (b) portion of total time consumed by the counselor. The subjects of the study were 58 pre-practicum graduate students in counseling at the University of Washington. The coached clients did elicit significantly different responses on both the dimensions of relatedness and speaking time. For example, aggressiveness or intrusiveness on the part of a mother client limited counselor verbalism, while aggressiveness on the part of a boy client stimulated overtalk. The counselor's social responsiveness was significantly related to his tendency to respond with reflected feeling instead of inference of diagnosis.     

Assessment in Client-Based Technical Writing Classes: Evolution of Teacher and Client Standards

Client-based technical writing classes have the potential to help students practice a smooth transition between school and work because they allow the side-by-side examination and negotiation of standards of writing for faculty and technical clients. However, this potential is often not realized. This article reports the results of two case studies using interviews and surveys to examine the evolution of the standards of clients and faculty throughout one semester as well as student perceptions of those standards. The results suggest that three factors help students understand standards in a way that is conducive to effective school-to-work transition: standards negotiation, teacher awareness of client standards, and perceived overlap in teacher-client standards at the end of the semester.     

Working With Minority Counselor Education Students

This article addresses three major issues in the training of minority counselor education students: sensitivity to client; cultural differences in counseling; and relationships between the counselor trainee and his or her clients, professors, classmates, and agency–placement supervisors.     

Coping with the point of entry problem in evaluating projects

In this article the so-called point of entry problem in evaluation work has been discussed. A summary of how this problem has been treated in the theoretical literature of evaluation has been presented. Some illustrations of the problem have been given, and it has been considered from both client and evaluator perspectives. A general rule calling for studies that assist in improving client services has been offered. And a chart for determining, in accordance with this rule, when to do what type of study has been introduced.It is hoped that the advice will assist evaluators and their clients to do a better job of planning evaluations. In addition, it is hoped that other students of the evaluation field will examine and possibly build on the work begun here. Both further conceptual analysis and empirical study are needed. In addition, the field could use some good workshops aimed at helping evaluators and their clients to better appreciate and deal with their evaluation point of entry problem.     

The Need and Use of Process Recording in Policy Practice: A Learning and Assessment Tool for Macro Practice

This article proposes the use of a structured process recording format for policy practice students, field instructors, and social work faculty as a learning, teaching, and assessment tool. Traditionally, casework and group work have used process recording to facilitate students learning in the field practicum to assess both the process and content of student‐client interactions. Since policy practice is concerned with achieving a preferred course of action to shape policies and interactions affecting large numbers of people, process recordings offer a method to assess tasks, competency skills, and learning needs while examining process and conscious use of self in action.     

The effect of context on student engagement in engineering

The self-belief, motivation, tendency to procrastinate and learning styles of engineering students are discussed. It is proposed that engineering has developed an idiom and a learning approach that favours the dominant client, i.e. men, while simultaneously undermining the self-efficacy and motivation of women. Thematic coherence and teaching within a context that is familiar to students have been shown previously to be effective approaches for engaging students and are extended here to utilise the common experiences of all students to initiate the learning cycle. These approaches are combined with a template for teaching that uses the 5Es (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate) in order to render the fundamentals of engineering more accessible to all students. This methodology can be introduced by individual instructors, who will be rewarded by students who are more engaged, more motivated and more likely to give a higher rating to the instructor and the course.     

“I Thought I Hated Data”: Preparing MSW Students for Data-driven Practice

Social work is an applied profession using a combination of theory, research, and practice to meet the needs of client populations. First-hand experiential learning is central to social work education. Just as students learn clinical skills by interacting with clients in a practice setting, students need a forum to use real data to develop their skills in accessing, understanding, interpreting, and presenting answers to pertinent social work research questions. This paper describes one university's efforts to design and implement coursework opportunities for students to integrate the use of actual data to answer pertinent real-world research and evaluation questions.