Evidence of Teaching Excellence
Criterion 1
Evidence of Growth & Reflective Practice as Online Educator
This portofolio will feature evidence of my teaching from courses from fall semester 2022 to fall semester 2023. The courses presented are SOCW 675 Social Work Practice in Schools fall 2022, SOCW 683 Clinical Practice with Children, Youth, and Families fall 2022, and SOCW 600 Foundations of Social Work and Social Welfare from spring 2023 and summer 2023. While materials, examples, and documents from the above courses will be provided, SOCW 600 will be the primary course featured as I was involved in the redevelopment/refresh of this course and it is used as the standard and model for the redevelopment/refresh of other courses in the MSW Online Program.
As a note, the courses I teach are asynchronous online courses that are developed with our partners at Wiley Education Services.
The videos below highlight media I have developed for courses and resources for students found in courses.
Criterion 1 focuses on who I am as an educator and how I came to be that person. The artifacts featured in this section include various announcement videos to show how I show up as an instructor in the online space and course announcements that demonstrate how I connect with students in the virtual space while displaying the characteristics of compassion, inclusivity, and the human element that comprise part of my teaching philosophy. Artifacts also include documents that I created to help other faculty develop as educators in the online space and how I use a mid-course survey as a self-reflection tool to improve my courses and teaching.
Please find the syllabus below for SOCW 600.
As an online educator, I strive to create an open, inclusive, and safe classroom environment. This is done through clearly communicating my expectations of students and what they can expect from me as their instructor. The use of various videos and course announcements illustrates this openness to online education. The instructor opening video and welcome video on the right from SOCW 600 summer semester 2023 highlight key items from the syllabus to ensure that students clearly understand what is expected of them, discuss how I show up as a professor, and provide students with multiple ways they can connect with me are examples of my openness as an online educator.
To provide context on the use of opening and welcome videos in SOCW 600, this course is the first course that students take in the program and acclimates students to the profession of social work, the code of ethics of the profession, understanding social welfare, and providing services to diverse populations and communities. Students in this course may be switching careers or have not been in an academic environment for a certain number of years, and may need support to adjust to the online academic environment.
The videos below on navigating the blackboard course, from the optional synchronous class session, and a review of the NASW Code of Ethics illustrate how students are engaged in various formats in the course and are introduced to the values and ethics of the social work profession.
Engaging Students in Self-Reflection
The images in this section show how students are engaged in self-reflection in courses through a final discussion question and shows a student's response in that reflection and how the learning outcomes in the course were met for this student.
Using Readings to Bring in Inclusivity and Diverse Voices
The following articles demonstrate bringing in diverse voices and resources to social work education.
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Clark, G., Rouse, S. Spangler, H., & Moye, J. (2018). Providing mental health care for the complex older veteran: Implications for social work practice. Health & Social Work, 43(1), 7-14.
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Dreby, J. (2012). The burden of deportation on children in Mexican immigrant families. Journal of Marriage & Family, 74(4), 829-846.
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Jackson, K. F., & Hodge, D. R. (2015). Native American youth and culturally sensitive interventions: A systematic review. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(3), 260-270.
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Lee, Y. S., Moon, A., & Gomez, C. (2014). Elder mistreatment, culture, and help-seeking: a cross-cultural comparison of older Chinese and Korean immigrants. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 26(3), 244-69.
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Lopez, W. D., LeBrón, A. M., Graham, L. F., & Grogan-Kaylor, K. (2016). Discrimination and depressive symptoms among Latina/o adolescents of immigrant parents. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 36(2), 131-40.
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LaSala, M. C., Fedor, J. P., Revere, E. J., & Carney, R. (2016). What parents and their gay and bisexual sons say about HIV prevention. Qualitative Health Research, 26(11), 1519–1530.
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Buchanan, S., & Nooe, R. M. (2017). Defining social work within holistic public defense: Challenges and implication for practice. Social Work, 62(4), 333-339.
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Kolivoski, K. M., Goodkind, S., & Shook, J. J. (2017). Social justice for crossover youth: The intersection of the child welfare and juvenile systems. Social Work, 62(4), 313-321.
Criterion 2 Online Student and Learner Engagement
This criterion focuses on how students are engaged in the online classroom. In considering the universal design for learning, as an educator, I want to minimize barriers to student learning and access to course materials, maximize opportunities to engage with the course materials, and provide multiple ways to engage in learning. The screen shots below illustrate how course announcements are used to engage students and foster learning in the course, as well as model compassionate, respectful communication. Course announcements are used at the beginning of each module to introduce the topic of that module and communicate assignment due dates and other key information for that module and demonstrate engaging students via a written announcement and video announcement.
Creating Community in the Online Classroom
Research tells us that students learn better and engage more with the online classroom when they feel a sense of community and connection to the instructor and peers. The universal design for learning principle of engagement tells us that instructors can minimize threats and distractions in the online classroom but creating a safe space and setting an open and flexible climate in the online classroom. The images below show how discussion forums are used to build community in the online course and create a safe space. The Course Q & A is used for students to connect with the instructor and ask questions they have related to the course. The Social Work Cafe is the place where students can connect with one another and discuss topics not connected to the course, that could be of a more social nature.
The image below is of the recording of a synchronous class session held in SOCW 600 and illustrates the use of synchronous class sessions in courses to build community and foster connection from instructor to student and student to student.
Building Commmunity Through Self-Assessment
In the social work profession, we are encouraged to engage in self-reflection and assessment to help us identify areas of growth and understand who we are as professionals. The questions below are examples of how students are encouraged to engage in self-reflection through a discussion question in the final module of the course and how this builds community through responding to the posts of their peers.
Module 8 Self-assessment discussion question: Review the course learning outcomes and the Weekly Learning Objectives. What do you know now that you did not know at the beginning of the course about being a social worker? Be sure to be reflective of all aspects of being a social worker.
Criterion 3 Assessment of Online Student Learning and Achievement
This criterion focuses on student achievement and the use of various methods to assess student learning and how students are showing mastery of the content. This criterion also focuses on how the design of the course, activities, assignments, and feedback promote student learning.
Student achievement can be measured through summative assignments and students' ability to successfully complete the assignment. In SOCW 600 students complete a cumulative essay where they demonstrate engagement with all materials in the course and their application of that material to a case study. In the section on the top right, the cumulative essay assignment is presented and the full assignment can be downloaded below.
The video below provides a walk through of SOCW 600 and highlights the coure refresh process and how this course was used as the standard and model for other courses in the program.
Rubrics are used so that students clearly understand the criteria for each assignment and how the assignments are graded. Below are examples of the rubrics used in SOCW 600.
This section highlights the use of lower stakes assignments and different ways of engaging students in learning. The discussion questions are 10% of the student's grade, the application of professional standards paper is 10% of the student's grade, and the ethical dilemma memo is 20% of the student's grade.
Examples of Exemplary Assignments
To foster student learning and engagement, examples of exemplary assignments are often provided to assist students in understanding how to complete an assignment. Below are two examples of exemplary assignments from SOCW 683 fall 2022. SOCW 683 Clinical Practice with Children, Youth, and Families provides students with the knowledge and skills to provide clinical services to clients. This includes assessing a client, providing group therapy, and creating a treatment plan for a client. In the example presented below as an exemplary assignment, students were developing a group curriculum based on evidence-based research practices to be used in a session with a client.
Ethical Dilemma Memo Assignment
In this assignment, you will complete an assessment that will develop your capacity to address ethical dilemmas using elements and standards of critical thinking. Begin by reading the following scenario. This scenario is the basis of your assignment. After reading the scenario, follow the instructions. Draft, finalize and submit your memo at the end of Module 3.
Scenario:
The following scenario comes from Reamer, The Social Work Ethics Casebook: Cases and Commentary.
A social worker at a family services agency provided counseling to a 45-year-old woman who sought help after the termination of a long-term intimate relationship. In therapy, the client spent considerable time talking about the difficulty she has had over the years maintaining healthy, stable intimate relationships.
The social worker was an active member of her local church, a large congregation with nearly 3,200 parishioners, one of them being the client. The social worker and client occasionally encountered each other at church but limited their interactions in that forum.
At the end of a recent worship service, the minister announced a new capital campaign for the church. The minister invited parishioners to contact the church office if they wished to join the campaign committee, which would be chaired by the social worker. The minister also announced that the newly appointed committee would hold its first meeting at the chair's home in two weeks.
Unbeknownst to the social worker, the client telephoned the church office to sign up for the committee. The client also sent a Facebook friend request to the social worker. The client then appeared at the social worker's home for the first meeting. The social worker was concerned about mixing her personal and professional lives, the client's presence in her home, and the potential impact these developments would have on her relationship with the client.
As her supervisor, the social worker brought this matter to your attention for consultation on how to handle the matter. Write a memo to the social worker with guidance on how she should handle this matter in an ethical manner adhering to the NASW Code of Ethics.
Instructions:
Use a memo format. Feel free to use the following template or create your own: Memo Template
Begin with a brief introductory paragraph that contextualizes the memo for your readers and describes the main point or course of action that readers should take after reading the memo. The introduction should not have a heading.
After the introductory paragraph, the body of the memo should be broken into sections with informative headings at the start of each section.
Your memo must contain the following five sections:
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Synopsis of the social Issue in case.
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Identify the social work value(s) and related ethical principle(s), as well as ethical standard (s) from the NASW Code of Ethics with a full explanation of how the value(s), principle(s), and standard (s) relate to the ethical dilemma.
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Identify the related ethical principle and standard.
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Identify the element(s) and standard(s) of critical thinking with corresponding essential question(s) relative to your perception of the ethical dilemma.
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Describe your proposed action.
Criterion 4 Online Teaching Effectiveness and Impact
Criterion 4 encompasses impact to the online community and service to Mason online faculty. As the MSW Online Program Director and an Assistant Professor, I have the unique postion of being involved in course refresh/redevelopment from both the administrative and educator side. I have been able to use best practice in online teaching coupled with student feedback on courses to refresh courses in the online program that are used as the standard and model for other courses. These courses include SOCW 600, SOCW 675, and SOCW 683; which have all been featured in other parts of the portfolio.
In both roles, I have also been able to mentor adjunct faculty teaching in the online program and provide support to full-time faculty teaching courses in the online program. For adjunct faculty, I held monthly meetings where various topics were discussed to support faculty in their teaching and growth as an educator. I also provided adjunct facutly with bi-weekly faculty office hours that could be used to discuss their individual issues, classes, student issues or concerns.
For all faculty, I created an Expectations for Teaching document and MSW Online Program Instructor Resource Guide to serve as resources for faculty in setting up their courses and facilitating their courses each semester.
You can view a pdf of each document to the right.
With updates being made to courses each semester and new faculty teaching in the online program, I wanted to ensure that they felt supported and mentored as they grew in their role as a professor. The video to the right features an instructional video I provided to faculty to help them with navigating various tools in the online course.
Professional Development
Professional development not only encompasses the support I provide to faculty for their growth and development, but the activities I engage in to enhance my skills and develop as a professor. Professional development is also encompassed in criterion 1 where the focus is on online teaching and developing myself as an educator.
Below are professional development activities I have engaged in:
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Attended Stearns Center Innovations in Teaching Conference.
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Social Work Distance Education Conference.
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Council on Social Work Education Annual Program Meeting.
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Attended various workshops hosted by the Stearns Center.
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Reading books, such as Courage to Teach and Teaching Social Work.
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Online teaching workshop facilitated by Wiley.
Professional development is also encompassed in taking feedback from colleagues and incorporating that into improving my teaching and courses. Please use the link below to download peer observations/evaluations that were completed on courses I taught.
To the right, please view a peer evaluation I completed for a colleague in the Department of Social Work.