3 - From an elective course to a lifelong discourse: insights from teaching SOCW4800 International social work at Thomson Rivers University

Abstract

Social Work scholars have noted that reflexivity in social work requires to acknowledge that our observations and interpretations are filtered through our socially, economically, politically and historically positioned selves. Reflection and Praxis are the critical contributions that international social work (ISW) as a distinct practice of social work brought to the teaching and practice of macro structural social work. Social work class rooms and field practicum placements offer unique opportunities to learners to describe, analyse, evaluate and so inform learning. This presentation builds on self-narrative and reflection of a faculty member about teaching an international social work (SOCW4800) course during fall semester 2019. I present learning tools and assessment strategies that we have agreed in the beginning of the course and applied though out the course and what were the outcomes. Kaufman’s (2007) notion of how we study determines ‘what we know’ and reflection is a process of reviewing a (learning) experience in and out of the classroom. Using these notions, this presentation aims to contribute to the discussion on what are the best practices to nurture opportunities for students and for faculty to practice critical reflection as integral part of teaching and learning as scholarship