Group Projects in Social Work Education: The Influence of Group Characteristics and Moderators on Undergraduate Student Outcomes

This study examined the impact of group size, group formation, group conflict, and division of labor on student outcomes in a group project for a sample of 112 BSW research seminar students at a large university in the Midwest. Students completed surveys on their experiences with the group project at the end of the semester. Multiple regression was used along with analysis of student comments and answers to open-ended questions. Group size was not associated with outcomes. Instructor input into group formation was related to higher self-assessment of student performance. Greater division of labor predicted greater learning, whereas more group conflict predicted less learning; less conflict occurred when students divided tasks in the most equitable way possible. Strengths and limitations of the study are discussed, along with suggestions for improving the group project experience, including preventative measures to reduce conflict.     

Exploring Online and Blended Course Delivery in Social Group Work

Agency group work has increased, but opportunities for social work group practice in educational settings have not kept pace. One option in response is technology-based learning, and students appear to have positive perceptions of online group project work. Online courses appear to have outcomes comparable to those that occur with in-person groups but require careful monitoring of group processes and group-based technologies. The authors discuss the factors involved in developing and implementing online and blended course delivery in teaching group work.     

Learning About Foodborne Pathogens: Evaluation of Student Perceptions of Group Project Work in a Food Microbiology Course

ABSTRACT:  This study examined the experiences of students in an active learning group work exercise in an introductory food microbiology course involving the study of foodborne pathogens. Small groups were required to access, analyze, and present information regarding a single food poisoning bacterium. The presentations contained features and epidemiological information of the pathogen and also a review of a research journal article and a real food poisoning outbreak report involving the pathogen. Analysis of responses from a questionnaire that allowed direct comparisons to be made with other published group work studies revealed that this exercise was a positive learning experience. In particular, students noted improvements in communication, interaction, information acquisition, and organizational skills.     

The Effect of a Community Project on Sense of Community among Social Work Students: An Exploratory Evaluative Study

This article evaluates the effect of a community project that was adopted by the students of a school of social work in Israel. A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest design was used. The pretest was administered during the planning stage of the project and the posttest a year later, during the implementation period. The findings show a significant positive effect of the project on sense of community among the students. This effect was moderated by students’ ethnic affiliation (Arab or Jewish) and professional commitment. The implications for using community projects to develop a sense of community in schools of social work are discussed.     

Linking Community,Industry and Tertiary Education Community‐based Student Units in Social Work Education

Professional social work education in Australia requires students to undertake supervised and assessed field practice in addition to theoretical classroom‐based education. Field education placements take place in a wide range of social and community service organisations ‐ often partly funded by these organisations. However, in a climate of economic restraint and cutback, the social and community services sector increasingly looks to education for resources for field education. One solution is the development of student units, especially designed to offer practice‐based experience for students. This paper is motivated by the high value Phillip Institute of Technology places on student units in field education. It addresses the question, “What are student units?”, presents a tentative categorisation of types of social work student units and concludes with a possible framework for evaluation.     

A Synchronous Online Social Work PhD Program: Educational Design and Student/Faculty Response

ABSTRACT

Faculty and students evaluate the curriculum design and delivery of a synchronous online PhD program in social work that prepares scholar-practitioners in social work research, education, and organizational practice. The designers envision a collaborative community of scholars and leaders nurtured by a cohort-based, sequenced curriculum, and intentional faculty mentoring. This teaching and learning platform provides an opportunity to engage with a globally diverse population of doctoral students while fostering both relationships and quality learning outcomes. Educational design and pedagogical features of the program are described and analyzed through the collaborative thinking and learning platform of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model’s interdependent elements–teaching, cognitive, and social presence. Eighteen students and ten faculty evaluated the strengths and limitations of the online program across each dimension of the model through student course evaluations, focus-group reflections, and qualitative faculty survey data. Student and faculty respondents specified the benefits of synchronous presence across all three dimensions. They also identified significant barriers, particularly in the areas of teaching and social presence. Implications and recommendations are based on a review of findings that inform pedagogical decisions and design options for online PhD education in social work.     

Results of a Pilot Study to Investigate Community College Student Perceptions of the Value of an Online Health-Risk Reduction Program

Health is associated with academic success. Universal, web-based interventions to reduce risks associated with alcohol and other drug use have been found to be effective at changing four-year college students’ health behaviors. An online health program may also be well-suited to a community college population, as it can reach students off campus and can be accessed at times that are convenient for students. The purpose of the current paper is to report the results of a community college student evaluation of a fully-developed, online health risk reduction program. One hundred and thirty four students evaluated the program. Students perceived the program to be successful at addressing college health and wellness issues, and they considered it a tool that could help students make a healthy adjustment to college. A universal, online, health-risk reduction program may have the potential to be a useful component of a community college's overall prevention strategy.     

论心理和谐与社会公平感的关系——基于重庆民众的调查研究

采用中国科学院心理研究所编制的心理和谐量表与自编的社会公平感问卷对随机抽取的重庆市13个区县的1.544名民众进行调查研究.结果发现:民众的社会公平感四个因子(财富分配公平感、地位公平感、机会公平感、权利公平感)与心理和谐四个因子(自我状态、家庭氛围、人际关系、社会态度)呈显著正相关.回归分析表明,民众社会公平感中的财...     

Comparing Faculty and Student Perceptions Regarding Factors That Affect Student Retention in Online Education

This qualitative study compared faculty and student perceptions regarding factors that affect student retention in online courses in an attempt to more effectively address the problem of attrition. A grounded study method was used to interview students taking online courses, analyze their responses related to the critical factors that affect student retention, and compare them with those given by expert online faculty documented by Gaytan (2013). Among the various findings, two are considered critical: online students would like to receive more instruction from their professors and more comprehensive feedback that would allow them to engage in corrective behaviors to improve performance. Comparing faculty and student responses related to the factors that affect student retention could give online program administrators and faculty advisors a better understanding of these critical factors to be able to respond to the student retention challenge more effectively.     

在线学习中活动感知对社会性技能、社群归属感和学习满意度的影响

本研究目的在于探讨增强性的活动感知与网上学习的社会性互动本质之间的关系及其相互影响。作为一个基于设计的研究项目,我们已建立了对网路学习之社会性因素的深入了解,且开发了一个背景感知活动通知系统以支持活动感知,用于提升学习者网上学习的社会性技能。本研究通过问卷调查的方法收集资料,主要针对六门使用活动感知支持系统的网上学习课程,学生对其自身网上学习经验的认知。研究结果显示,学生获取活动讯息的途径、他们对活动讯息有效性的认知,对他们网上学习的社会性技能、社群归属感、以及学习满意度有正向的影响。此外,学生的网上社会性技能的组成要素也以不同的方式影响着他们的网上社群归属感和学习满意度,例如,学生对同伴与教师存在的感知以及分享个人资料的舒适度,影响着他们对社群归属感的认知;学生对教师存在的认识和社群归属感,也影响他们的学习满意度。     

Student Collaboration in Group Work: Inclusion as Participation

Group work is an educational mode that promotes learning and socialisation among students. In this study, we focused on the inclusive processes when students work in small groups. The aim was to investigate and describe students’ inclusive and collaborative processes in group work and how the teacher supported or impeded these transactions. Social Interdependence Theory was utilised as the theoretical perspective overarching the study. The observational data employed were collected by video-recording group work. A part of Black-Hawkins framework of participation was used to define inclusion and for the analysis of inclusive and collaborative processes. The results suggest that students’ active participation in the discussions around the group work structures and analytical discussions, together with the teacher’s more defined feedback and avoidance of the traditional authoritative role, are examples of prerequisites for group work to be enacted in an inclusive manner.     

Exploring Community College Faculty Perceptions of Student Outcomes: Findings of a Pilot Study

This study explored the paradigmatic differences in perceptions of community college faculty employed at select Virginia and West Virginia community colleges collected via a web-based survey. The study is framed within the faculty self-classification along the “hard” and “social/behavior” science paradigm continuum. Given the paradigmatic continuum, faculty perceptions' of student outcomes were examined. Faculty respondents consistently reported the importance of intellectual growth; however, differences in relative importance of outcomes tied to emotional, cultural, and social growth exist. The potential implications of these perceptions on student experiences and outcomes are considered.     

The Relationship Between Teachers' Perceptions of Student Motivation and Engagement and Teachers' Enjoyment of and Confidence in Teaching

This paper examines teachers' perceptions of their students' motivation and engagement and their enjoyment of and confidence in teaching. Drawing on Martin's Student Motivation and Engagement Scale, 10 facets of motivation and engagement were explored amongst a sample of 1,019 teachers. These facets comprised three adaptive cognitive dimensions of motivation (self‐efficacy, valuing of school, mastery orientation), three adaptive behavioural dimensions (planning, study management, persistence), two impeding dimensions (anxiety, failure avoidance), and two maladaptive dimensions (uncertain control, self‐handicapping). Male teachers tended to report significantly higher student motivation and engagement than female teachers (though effect sizes were small) and primary school teachers reported significantly higher student motivation and engagement than high school teachers (effect sizes were moderate). Adaptive dimensions were more strongly associated with enjoyment and confidence in teaching than impeding and maladaptive dimensions. Of the adaptive dimensions, students' mastery orientation was the strongest correlate of teachers' enjoyment of teaching and students' persistence and students' planning were the strongest correlates of teachers' confidence in teaching. These associations were more marked for male teachers and relatively independent of years spent teaching. Implications for teacher education and professional development are discussed.     

Exploring Student Perceptions of Audiovisual Feedback via Screencasting in Online Courses

This study explored barriers and facilitating factors affecting the development and use of learning objects in developing instructional materials and their use in supporting individualized learning. Over a two-month period, students in a graduate-level instructional design course developed instructional materials incorporating learning objects or developed learning objects in selected areas or disciplines. Qualitative analysis was conducted to explore students' experience and examine the skills and knowledge required to develop and use learning objects successfully. Through this analysis, three facilitating factors and nine barriers were identified. The authors conclude that the successful development and use of learning objects will be promoted by overcoming the barriers and strengthening the facilitating factors identified in this study.     

社会工作专业手法与高校学生工作创新

随着我国经济文化的飞速发展和社会的加速转型,在高校学生工作不断吐故纳新的发展时期,将社会工作专业手法引入高校学生工作,从教育理念、工作原则、工作手法、队伍建设等方面大力创新,不仅对提升高校学生工作效率有帮助,而且对创新高校学生工作思路大有裨益。     

Developing and Supporting Faculty Training for Online Social Work Education: The Columbia University School of Social Work Online Pedagogy Institute

ABSTRACT

With the growth of online and distance education in social work, faculty training and support need to be provided to ensure high-quality online social work education. A model for training social work educators in online teaching is outlined that focuses on pedagogy, technology, and social work values. Columbia University School of Social Work’s Online Campus provides a five-week Institute on Pedagogy and Technology for Online Courses for prospective social work instructors. The Institute provides a faculty training model that can be adopted in other social work programs, and seeks to model best practices in online education.     

Student Perceptions of Social Loafing in Undergraduate Business Classroom Teams

There is a rich body of research devoted to the causes and remedies of social loafing in workplace teams. However, the social loafing phenomenon remains underinvestigated from the perspective of students in undergraduate business classroom teams. In particular, how they define and respond to loafing remains unknown. This article reports findings from a two-stage study that shows social loafing as a more complex construct than current conceptions suggest. Moreover, students avoid confronting loafers and prefer to have instructors administer postpriori justice based on their self-report of individual contributions. Based on the findings and recent writings, the article speculates on the causes of these student responses to social loafing in classroom teams.     

障碍与超越:校际网络学生学习共同体构建研究

对于义务教育均衡发展这一我国教育体系改革中的重要课题,其发展思路正在从注重经费投入、硬件建设转变到提高教育教学质量、提升义务教育内涵发展水平上来。构建校际网络学生学习共同体便是实践这一思路,进一步促进义务教育均衡发展的新途径。文章在系统分析了其优势与不足的基础上,构建了校际网络学生学习共同体的模型,以期为校际网络学生学习共同体的有效实施提供参考。     

社会转型期的弱势群体社会工作

近20年来，我国社会发生了巨大变化，社会学界称之为社会转型。在社会转型过程中，不可避免地产生了许多新的矛盾和社会问题，为刚刚起步的中国社会工作提出了挑战，弱势群体的社会工作就是其中一个重要课题。在扶助弱势群体的问题上社会工作者具有不可替代的专业优势，转型期的弱势群体社会工作大有可为。