EDUCATIONAL METHODS AND RESOURCES FOR FIELD INSTRUCTORS The Educational Contract (Field Learning Plan) Between Instructor and

Student

Adult education theory emphasizes the shared responsibility between the teacher and the learner for the quality and content of the learning – teaching transactions. Building on this notion, it is a Department’s policy that each Field Instructor and student jointly develop a written educational contract that defines the work they will be doing

together.

In order to enable the student to become an active participant in the development of his/her educational experience, information that helps define the boundaries and

foundations of the supervisory relationship and the content and process of the learning must be provided. The Department uses a Field Learning Plan available on the field web site, to facilitate this process. The form should be completed by the Field

Instructor and student collaboratively within the first four weeks of the placement. A signed copy should then be sent to the Faculty Liaison for review and approval.

Guidelines for the Field Learning Plan

Nyack College social work Field Instruction courses have ten specific competencies that must be achieved for a student to receive credit for Field Instruction courses. Your instruction setting offers many opportunities to meet these competencies as you work towards completing your Master’s degree, in Social Work.

What is the Field Education Learning Plan?

The Field Learning Plan is a tool to help guide the student’s learning process and to ensure the content meets Nyack College’s requirements for a Master’s degree in Social Work Degree. This tool is a multiple page form that includes ten competencies, practice behaviors, and student learning activities.

All students enrolled in Field Instruction are required to complete the Field Learning Plan for each semester. This plan will be distributed in your Field Seminar at the beginning of each semester of field instruction. The student carries the primary responsibility for completing the Field Learning Plan in consultation with the Field Instructor and the Faculty Field Liaison. It is the Student’s responsibility to complete the Field Learning Plan by the end of September, so that the competencies and planned student learning activities are identified and utilized as a blue print for the semester's learning.

Field Instructors will review the Field Learning Plan and may request additional activities or make other modifications as indicated. Final agreement on the necessary

components of the Field Learning Plan will be completed early in the semester, but review and alterations to the plan can take place at anytime if agreed upon by the parties involved.

The Field Learning Plan will serve as a basis for the Semester Field Evaluation completed at the end of each semester. Students will have the opportunity to make comments on the evaluations for each semester.

THE EVALUATION WILL BE BASED UPON PERFORMANCE RELATIVE TO THE COMPETENCIES IDENTIFIED IN THE CONTRACT.

Please note there are separate Field Learning Plan forms for each semester depending on the year and concentration of the student.

Guidelines for Completing the Field Learning Plan:

1. Students must attend to all ten competencies within the Field Learning Plan for each semester. It is expected that the fulfillment of each competency will take two semesters to complete, as the activities get more complex as the student’s skills develop.

2. Each semester students are expected to learn the practice behaviors listed under the competence areas and choose from the provided set of learning activities and/or develop student-learning activities that articulate the accomplishment of practice behaviors. Student learning activities are the substance of the Student’s Field Learning Plan that they complete at the beginning of each semester.

3. It is expected that as students develop increasing depth of understanding and ability, competencies will be addressed in both semesters using different learning activities.

4. Students are encouraged to be creative and flexible while identifying the learning activities to meet the stated practice behaviors. Each agency setting provides unique opportunities, so students can also design learning activities that utilize the

particularities of their agency field placement.

5. After completing the Field Learning Plan, attach the sheets together with your cover page and submit one copy to your Field Instructor and one copy to your Field Liaison for review and approval. The learning activities need to be accomplished in the semester and can be modified or expanded as students proceed thru the semester.

Guidelines for Student Evaluation

Evaluation of all students’ performance in their field internships is an ongoing learning/

teaching process. This process takes place informally in daily contacts between student and field instructor as well as more formally in the weekly supervisory sessions. It is also occurs formally through assessing completion of the Field Learning Plan, and completing the Mid-Semester Field Evaluation and the End of the Semester Field Evaluations.

Field Instructors are responsible for evaluating the student's performance in the middle and at the end of each semester. The Evaluation tool requires a Field Instructor to assess his/her student in accordance with the Department’s competencies for MSW students. The evaluation is done on a five-point scale and looks at ten specific competencies that must be achieved for a student to receive credit for the MSW practicum.

The standard by which an intern is to be compared is that of a new beginning-level social worker. The 10 competencies specified in this evaluation form are those

established by our national accrediting organization (Council on Social Work Education).

The completion of this evaluation by the Field Instructor and the Student should serve as a teaching-learning tool. In addition, it serves as a basis for assessing the student’s professional growth, performance and level of skill attained.

Evaluation should be an ongoing process, and that the student and Field Instructor should regularly give feedback to each other regarding the field education experience.

Students and Field Instructors should discuss any concerns as they emerge, and not just at the formal evaluation time so that students are not surprised by their end of semester evaluation.

Mid-Semester Evaluation

The Mid-Semester Evaluation Form should be completed by the Field Instructor and discussed with the student prior to submitting. This mid-point assessment provides a formal means for discussion and evaluation of the student's progress with completion of the Learning Agreement and of the student’s performance overall. Emphasis will be given to 5 selected competencies on which the students are to be rated. This is also an opportunity to identify any concerns or issues that need to be addressed, current areas of work, strength, and need for the remainder of the semester.

Final-Evaluation

By the end of the MSW practicum, students are expected to demonstrate behaviors that are consistent with scores of “3” at a minimum. Students receiving a score of “1” on any of the dimensions at the end of the practicum year may not be allowed to progress into the advanced (second) year of field.

RATINGSCALEFOREVALUATION

(1) NONE The intern has not met the expectations in this area, and does not give indications s/he will do so in the near future.

(2) APPROACHES The intern has not as yet met the expectations in this area, but the gives indication s/he will do so in the near future

(3) MEETS The intern has met the expectations for interns in this area

(4) ABOVE The intern is functioning above expectations for interns in this area (5) ADVANCED The intern has excelled in this area

EXAMPLE:

COMPETENCE #6: Engage in research-informed practice and practice-research-informed research.

Comments may be made under any competency statement, if desired. Field Instructors are to indicate those areas in which they think the intern is particularly strong and those areas in which the student needs improvement.

This evaluation is intended to give the intern feedback about her or his performance. The Field Instructor’s rating of these items will be a used to calculate 70% of the grade that is given to the intern. The faculty Field Liaison has responsibility of assigning the grade for Field

Instruction. The grade that is assigned will be based on: the Faculty Field Liaison’s overall evaluation of the student’s performance in field placement in conjunction with the field

instructor’s evaluation and other submitted materials such as: intern logs; seminar participation;

papers that integrate field with classroom instruction.

If Field Instructors prefer to use another evaluation system in addition to this form to evaluate a student’s performance, they are asked to please discuss this with the Faculty Field Liaison.

Training and Support for Field Instructors

Field instructors will be provided on-going training and support from field liaisons throughout the program. Partnerships between the field liaison and field instructor will enable field instructors to remain current on the professional knowledge to be integrated and will allow field liaisons to remain informed of current practice concerns. Training for field instructors will include the Seminar In Field Instruction course, access to online instructional resources, and a variety of presentations provided by Nyack College throughout the year.

III. POLICIES

GENERAL POLICIES OF FIELD EDUCATION