Adaptations for teaching social work with groups in the age of technology

Authors

  • Barbara Muskat
  • Ellen Sue Mesbur

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/gpwk.v21i1.713

Keywords:

<i>groupwork education</i>, <i>technology</i>, <i>undergraduate social work education</i>

Abstract

This practice-based paper will describe experiences teaching social work with groups using technological enhancements. Examples from undergraduate social work education will be used to describe approaches employed in two courses in social groupwork; one which is conducted fully online and the second which employs a multi-modal format, conducted primarily online but with a required in-class component. Recommendations for teaching groupwork practice using online technology will be presented.

References

AASWG: The Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, Inc., (2006) <i>Standards for Social Work Practice with Groups, second edition</i>, downloaded from the website of The Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups, October 7, 2006, <a target="_blank" href='http://www.aaswg.org/Standards/standards1.pdf'>http://www.aaswg.org/Standards/standards1.pdf</a>\nAbell, M. and Galinsky, M. (2002) Introducing students to computer-based group work practice. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 38, 1, 39-54 <a target="_blank" href='http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/ eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf'>http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/ eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf</a>\nAndrews, J. (2001) Group work’s place in social work: A historical analysis. <i>Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare</i>, 28. 4, 45-65\nBarak, A., Boniel-Nissim, M. and Suler, J. (2008) Fostering empowerment in online support groups. <i>Computers in Human Behavior</i>, 24, 1867-1883\nBirnbaum, M. (1984) The integration of didactic and experiential learning in the teaching of group work. <i>Journal of Education for Social Work</i>, 20, 1, 50-58\nBirnbaum, M. and Auerbach, C. (1994) Group work in graduate social work education: The price of neglect. <i>Journal of Social Work Education, 30</i>, 3, 325-335\nCoe Regan, J.R. and Youn, E. (2008) Past, present and future trends in teaching clinical skills through web-based learning environments. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 44, 2, 95-115\nConklin, J.J. and Osterndorf, W. (1997) Distance education and social group work: The promise of the year 2000. in A. Alissi, and C.G. Corto Mergins (Eds.), <i>Voices from the Field. Group work responds</i>. Binghampton, NY: Haworth (pp.163-172)\nCouncil on Social Work Education (CSWE), <i>Guidelines for Using Distance Education in Social Work Programs</i>, downloaded October 6, 2006 from the website of the Council on Social Work Education, <a target="_blank" href='http://www.cswe.org'>www.cswe.org</a>\nDergal Serafini, J., Damianakis, T. and Marziali, E. (2007) Clinical practice standards and ethical issues applied to a virtual group. <i>Social Work in Health Care</i>, 44, 3, 225-243\nEysenbach, G., Powell, J., Englesakis, M., Rizo, C. and Stern, A. (2004) Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: Systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. <i>British Medical Journal</i>, 328 (7449), 1166-1171\nFaul, A., Frey, A. and Barber, R. (2004) The effects of web-assisted instruction in a social work research methods course. <i>Social Work Education</i>, 23, 1, 105-118\nFisher, K., Phelps, R. and Ellis, A. (2000) Group processes online: Teaching collaboration through collaborative processes. <i>Educational Technology and Society</i> 3, 3, 484-495\nFrey, A., Yankelov, P. and Faul, A. (2003) Student perceptions of web-assisted teaching strategies. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 39, 3, 443-457\nGillingham, P. (2009) Ghosts in the machine: Student participation and grade attainment in a web-based social work course. <i>Social Work Education</i>, 28, 4, 423-435\nGlassman, U. (2009) <i>Group Work: A humanistic and skills building approach</i> (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage\nGoodman, H. (2006) Organizational insight and the education of advanced group work practitioners. <i>Social Work with Groups</i>, 29, 2/3, 104-114\nGoodman, H. and Munoz, M. (2004) Developing social group work skills for contemporary agency practice. <i>Social Work with Groups</i>, 27, 1, 17-33\nKurland, R., Salmon, R., Bitel, M., Goodman, H., Ludwig, K., Newmann, E., et al. (2004) The survival of social group work: A call to action. <i>Social Work with Groups, 27</i>, 1, 3-16\nKurland, R. and Salmon, R. (1998) <i>Teaching a Methods Course in Social Work with Groups</i>. Alexandria, VA: Council on Social Work Education\nLee, E.O., Brown, M., and Bertera, E.M. (2010) The use of an online diversity forum to facilitate social work students’ dialogue on sensitive issues: A quasi-experimental design. <i>Journal of Teaching in Social Work</i>, 30, 3, 272-287\nLigon, J., Markward, M.J. and Yegidis, B.L. (1999) Comparing student evaluations of distance learning and standard classroom courses in graduate social work education. <i>Journal of Teaching in Social Work</i>, 19, 1/2, 21-29\nMadoc-Jones, I. and Parrott, L. (2005) Virtual social work education: Theory and experience. <i>Social Work Education</i>, 24, 7, 755-768\nMacgowan, M.J. (2008), <i>A guide to Evidence-Based Group Practice</i>. New York: Oxford University Press\nMason, J.A., Helton, L.R. and Dziegielewski, S. (2010) Psychosocial environmental relationships among MSW students in distance learning and traditional classrooms. <i>Journal of Social Service research</i>, 36, 3, 230-247\nMcNicoll, P. and Lindsay, J. (2002) Group work in social work education: The Canadian experience. <i>Canadian Social Work Review</i>, 19, 1, 153-166\nMeans, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M and Jones, K. (2010) U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. <i>Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies</i>. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. Downloaded 31-10-2010 from: http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/ eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf\nMesbur, E.S. (2003) Group field consulting: Building a learning community. in J. Lindsay, D. Turcotte, and E. Hopmeyer (Eds.), <i>Crossing Boundaries and Developing Alliances through Group Work</i>. Binghampton, NY: Haworth.s (pp.59-74)\nMesbur, E.S. (2002) Social group work practice: The Canadian experience. in F.J. Turner (Ed.) <i>Social Work Practice: A Canadian perspective</i>, Toronto: Prentice-Hall\nMesbur, E. S. and Sullivan, N.E. (2005) Groupwork. In J.M. Herrick and Paul H. Stuart (Eds.) <i>Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America</i>. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage\nMoore, B. (2005) Faculty perceptions of web-based instruction in social work education: A national study. in R.J. MacFadden, B. Moore, M. Herie, and D. Schoech (Eds.) <i>Web-based Education in Human Services: Models, methods and best practices</i>. Binghampton, NY: Haworth (pp.53-66)\nO’Halloran, T.M. and McCartney, T.J. (2004) An evaluation of the use of technology as a tool to meet group training standards. <i>The Journal for Specialists in Group Work, 29</i>, 1, 65-74\nOulette, P.M. and Chang, V. (2004) The acquisition of social work interviewing skills in a web-based classroom instructional environment: Preliminary findings. <i>Advances in Social Work</i>, 5, 1, 91-104\nPetracchi, H.E. (2000) Distance education: What do our students tell us? <i>Research on Social Work Practice</i>, 10, 3, 362-376\nRains, S.A and Young, V. (2009) A meta-analysis of research on formal computer-mediated support groups: Examining group characteristics and health outcomes. <i>Human Communication Research</i>, 35, 3, 309-336\nSandell, K.S. and Hayes, S. (2002) The web’s impact on social work education: Opportunities, challenges and future directions. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 38, 1, 85-99\nSchwartz, W. (1980) Education in the classroom. <i>Journal of Higher Education</i>, 51, 3, 235-254\nShieh, D. (2009) Professors regard online instruction as less effective than classroom learning. Downloaded May 17, 2009 from the website of <i>The Chronicle of Higher Education</i>. <a target="_blank" href='http://chronicle.com/fre/2009/02/11232n.htm'>http://chronicle.com/fre/2009/02/11232n.htm</a>\nShulman, L. (1987) The hidden group in the classroom: The use of group process in teaching group work practice. <i>Journal of Teaching in Social Work</i>, 1, 3-31\nShulman, L. (1970) The hidden group in the classroom. <i>Learning and Development</i>, 2, 1-6\nSomers, M.L. (1971) Dimensions and dynamics of engaging the learner. <i>Journal of Education for Social Work</i>, 5, 2, 61-73\nSuler, J. (2004) <i>The Online Disinhibition Effect. The psychology of cyberspace</i>. Downloaded December 24, 2009 from <a target="_blank" href='http://www-usr.rider.edu/εsuler/psycyber/disinhibit.html'>http://www-usr.rider.edu/εsuler/psycyber/disinhibit.html</a>\nSullivan, N.E. and Mesbur, E.S. (2005) Groupwork practice. in F.J. Turner (Ed.) <i>Encyclopedia of Canadian Social Work</i>. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier University Press\nWilke, D. Randolph, K.A., and Vinton, L. (2009) Enhancing web-based courses through a mutual aid framework. <i>Journal of Teaching in Social Work</i>, 29, 1, 18-31\nWilke, D. and Vinton, L. (2006) Evaluation of the first web-based advanced standing MSW program. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 42, 3, 607-620\nWolfson, G.K., Marsom, G. and Magnuson, C.W. (2005) Teaching notes: Changing the nature of the discourse: Teaching field seminars online. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 41, 2, 355-361\nYork, R. (2005) Comparing three modes of instruction in a graduate school program. <i>Journal of Social Work Education</i>, 44, 2, 157-172.\n

Downloads

Published

2013-01-30

How to Cite

Muskat, B., & Mesbur, E. S. (2013). Adaptations for teaching social work with groups in the age of technology. Groupwork, 21(1), 6-27. https://doi.org/10.1921/gpwk.v21i1.713

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)