A new vision for disability education: Moving on from the add-on

Karen Myers urges us to move beyond the limitation model of disability education and design curricula, programs, and services to be accessible to all people from the outset, with no accommodations needed.     

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.     

Early field experience: A question of effectiveness

Abstract

This paper offers a historical perspective of field‐based experiences in teacher preparation. The literature review presents information from studies that support the educative value of early field experiences and studies reporting results that do not lend empirical support for endorsing early field experiences.

Based on the information reported in the literature review, the writer offers guidelines for program development designed to increase the likelihood that an early field experience program will have the beneficial results that educators intend. The key issues for program development are: (a) determine the purpose of the experience, (b) determine the administrative feasibility of the experience, and (c) determine the method of evaluation for the experience.

In summary, the writer expresses a need for congruence between the university's teacher education program and the classroom sites for early field experiences. He further states that the goals, methods, and philosophy of university and classroom teachers need to be mutually understood and endorsed.     

Why support students? Using the past to understand the present

This paper examines why students are supported, taking an historical approach to analyse the influence of former, or longstanding, practices on current practice and to identify repeating themes. Documentary evidence shows that students have been supported because they are young, vulnerable or because studenthood is considered to make unique demands on individuals. Ideas of danger and the need for protection are persistent and can have effects that contradict the educational purposes of higher education. Underpinning rationales result in particular forms of student support, each with its own intended and unintended consequences.