Methods for Teaching Practice in Undergraduate Social Work Program

This Banded dissertation explores methods for teaching social work practice and supports the use of identifying and aligning adult learning theories when developing and implementing the teaching of social work practice in undergraduate social work programs. This work is comprised of three scholarly products: a conceptual paper, a qualitative systematic review of literature in the field of social work, and a course design that incorporates effective methods uncovered. Transformative Learning Theory (TLT) is used as a conceptual framework in adult learning when examining and applying the teaching of social work practice methods. The conceptual paper focuses on the state of the literature, current strategies, and methods identified as effective in teaching social work with a specific focus on how those strategies align with TLT. The systematic review of research and application of teaching practices identifies effective methods within the field of social work education and seeks to determine what practices are currently in place, along with the theoretical underpinnings of the identified practices for teaching. The newly constructed practice course intended for undergraduate social work students infuses different teaching methods and strategies for content delivery found within the literature that were noted to be effective or successful for student learning.