Educational Agreement Form ~ Documenting the Student Learning Experience

Field instruction strives to address and create opportunities for students to develop a working knowledge of the social work profession while integrating values and ethics. The goal is to encourage students to master their classroom learning and integrate this with their field-based professional practice

behaviors/assignments under the guidance and supervision of their field instructor. Field-based learning differs from the classroom-based learning in that the experience is more directive, immediate, and personal. Field-based learning is an active, reflective process with a heavy emphasis on participation. General Information

Students and field instructors are required to use the School's Educational Agreement forms. Each

Agreement contains specific field competencies that the student will strive to obtain at the Foundation and Advanced levels. The forms should be downloaded from the Office of Field Instruction's web site (http: //www.ssw.umich.edu/programs/msw/ofi/agreementsForms.html) and students use the the form appropriate to their curriculum schedule, practice method concentration and practice area.

Social Work Competencies

Student's field performance is measured and evaluated utilizing a prescribed set of social work

competencies relative to Foundation or Advanced practice which have been developed by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and approved by the the School's Curriculum Committee, These

competencies are found in the respective Educational Agreement forms pertaining to Foundation and Advanced field instruction (see Volume 3, Chapter 11, Section 3 and 4). The CSWE standards can be found here:http://www.cswe.org/Accreditation/2008EPASDescription.aspx

Using the Practice Behavior Inventory and Completing the Educational Agreement

Students will be oriented to the use of the Agreements in pre-field orientation sessions where the Practice Behavior Inventory-

(http://ssw.umich.edu/programs/msw/ofi/Field_Instruction_Skill_Inventory_Instructions.pdf) and (http://ssw.umich.edu/programs/msw/ofi/Field_Instuction_Skill_Inventory.pdf) will be utilized. It is the responsibility of the student to initiate with their field instructor, the required Educational

Agreement and gather all necessary signatures. On the Agreement, students fill in required demographic data, specify their work schedules, the supervision time, other staff who will be working with the student, etc. Under each competency, students will identify specific culturally competent professional practice focused, fieldwork site specific related assignments in conjunction with the field instructor which illustrate how the student plans to achieve the competency. These should include a professional focus, a personal focus, exhibit classroom knowledge/integration, and include a focus on privilege, oppression, diversity and social justice (PODS). See Office of Field Instruction Field Manual Volume 3, Chapter 3, Section 12

regarding "Student Supervision: The Field Instructor Imprint" for information related to supervision which is required for one hour per week.

After the student and field instructor complete and sign the Educational Agreement form, the student should make one copy for their record and submit the original to their Field Liaison for review and approval. The original Agreement is returned to the student to utilize throughout the course of the field placement and is subsequently utilized as the evaluation tool at the end of the term.

Educational Agreement forms are due at the beginning of each term the student is enrolled and will be reviewed and monitored. Any modifications should be consistent with the student's skills, competencies, and interests; the School's requirements for field instruction; and the fieldwork site's expectations

regarding fieldwork. Field Liaisons are unable to determine a grade for the field instruction courses if all evaluative material is not submitted by the established deadline each term. These forms remain part of the student's permanent academic record and are the primary documents used for licensing and other

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purposes to verify the student's fieldwork experiences after graduation with written student permission. 11.03 Foundation Field Instruction Educational Agreement Form

Students enrolled in Foundation field instruction complete the Foundation Field Instruction Educational Agreement Form (http://www.ssw.umich.edu/shared/forms/Foundation515.pdf). This form reflects the competencies for Foundation field instruction (SW515), which focuses on generalist practice. As such, students should be exposed to multiple social work roles and skills applicable to different problems, constituencies, settings, and multiple levels of practice. Therefore, assignments must include both micro and macro methods.

The field curriculum utilizes Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive development as a reference tool in the development of competent social work professionals. Students will become familiar with these stages of development as they relate to the identification and creation of field-based assignments that allow them to participate in a beginning, middle and end stage approach to their learning.

The Foundation Educational Agreement form is designed to assist students in gaining competency with generalist level of practice focusing on the following field competencies:

1. Professional Identity 2. Values and Ethics 3. Critical Thinking 4. Diversity

5. Social and Economic Justice 6. Research

7. Human Behavior and the Social Environment 8. Social Policy 9. Organizational Context 10a. Engagement 10b. Assessment 10c. Intervention 10d. Evaluation

Students will identify in conjunction with their assigned field instructor, specific culturally competent professional practice focused, fieldwork site specific related assignments which will illustrate skill

development that are designed to guide and help the student and field instructor focus on the acquisition of the overall competency. Students strive to become proficient in the practice behaviors for each competency.

While being educationally focused, student assignments must contribute to the actual work of the fieldwork site. Students are encouraged to share their course syllabi and identify where a course-based assignment could be completed in the field setting. The goal is for the student to have field-based learning

opportunities which will assist them in deepening, extending, and applying foundation level knowledge and skills.

For additional information, please refer to the SSW Student Guide, Volume 2, Chapter 3: Foundation Requirements.

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