SWTP625 - Field Practicum 1

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

SWTP620 Social Work Theories, Context and Fields of Practice AND SWTP622 Social Work with Individuals AND SWTP633 Social Work, Mental Health and Wellbeing AND SWTP634 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Social Work , Students must meet Faculty of Health Compliance in order to undertake this unit

Teaching organisation

Attendance mode: 500 hours of field practicum supervised social work practice inclusive of 10 hours of integrative seminars. Seminar workshops will be held on specific dates.

ACU Online: 500 hours of work integrated learning (supervised placement) inclusive of 14 hours of online practice-theory integration activities.

Unit rationale, description and aim

ATTENDANCE:

This unit is the first professional practice placement unit offered in the Master of Social Work that facilitates practice learning in the field. Field Practicum 1 comprises of a 500 hour placement and 10 hours of campus-based integrative seminars. The aim of the unit is to provide exposure to practice in context, and through experiential learning to facilitate integration of learning of practice knowledge and skills and professional identity development. The learning gained is further consolidated in subsequent units, including Field Practicum 2 (SWTP 631). Learning in this unit is informed by the AASW Practice Standards and the AASW Code of Ethics. The learning outcomes of the unit are consistent with the Social Work curriculum that embeds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and prepares students for practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

ACU ONLINE:

This unit is the first professional practice placement unit offered in the Master of Social Work that facilitates practice learning in the field. Field Practicum 1 comprises of a 500

hour placement inclusive of 14 hours of practice-theory integration activities. The aim of the unit is to provide exposure to practice in context, and through experiential learning to

facilitate integration of learning of practice knowledge and skills and professional identity development. The learning gained is further consolidated in subsequent units,

including Field Practicum 2 (SWTP 631). Learning in this unit is informed by the AASW Practice Standards and the AASW Code of Ethics. The learning outcomes of the unit are

consistent with the Social Work curriculum that embeds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and prepares students for practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait

Islander peoples.

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:

LO1 - Acquire knowledge on social work practice and service delivery in an organizational setting (GA5, GA6)

LO2 - Assimilate and demonstrate professional and ethical behaviour appropriate to the practice setting (GA1, GA2, GA5)

LO3 - Apply knowledge and skills developed in campus-based units and in the placement setting to demonstrate AASW practice standards at a beginning level of capability (GA1, GA2, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA6, GA7, GA8, GA9, GA10)

Graduate attributes

GA1 - Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA2 - Recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 

GA3 - Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 - Think critically and reflectively 

GA5 - Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 

GA6 - Solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 - Work both autonomously and collaboratively 

GA8 - Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 

GA9 - Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 

GA10 - Utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively.

AASW Practice Standards

This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565  

ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes

This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565  

Content

ATTENDANCE:

Integrative seminars respond to the learning needs of students as they work toward meeting the AASW requirements for placement. Seminars are interactive and experience-based discussions and exercises that explore placement processes and experiences with a focus on:  

• relating theory and knowledge to practice 
• exploring values & ethics in practice 
• critical reflection  
• building social work identity. 

ACU ONLINE:

This unit content is determined by the placement allocated to the student by ACU Field Education staff. 

The scheduled Integrative online webinars respond to the learning needs of students, as they work toward meeting the AASW requirements for placement. Live webinars are interactive and experience-based, encouraging discussions and exercises that explore placement processes and experiences with a focus on:

• relating theory and knowledge to practice

• exploring values & ethics in practice

• critical reflection

• building social work identity.

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

ON CAMPUS:

For this first professional experience unit, the main teaching and learning strategies include experiential learning, reflective learning, practice - theory integration and skills development. Details about placement learning are in the Field Education Handbook and should be read in light of the Learning Outcomes of this unit. Planned learning goals and strategies for the specific placement will be recorded in the Learning Agreement and are assessed as the placement progresses. Integrative seminars foster theory-practice integration and social work identity development through sharing and discussion of placement experience in accordance with Learning Outcomes. 

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS OF UNIT 

Punctual and full attendance on the placement is an essential requirement for the unit. The attendance requirements are specified in ACU Assessment Policy and guided by requirements of AASW accredited social work programs. Attendance at all integrative seminars is expected and an attendance record of all seminars will be kept. Students are required to attend at least 80% of all integrative seminars scheduled for this unit. 

Reasons why attendance is required 

In integrative seminars, students will be interacting with each other and developing skills which they will use in interprofessional/clinical experience. Students who do not attend are at risk of not developing these essential skills.  

ACU ONLINE:

For this first professional experience unit, the main teaching and learning strategies include experiential learning, reflective learning, practice - theory integration and skills development. Details about placement learning are in the Field Education Handbook and should be read in light of the Learning Outcomes of this unit. Planned learning goals and strategies for specific placement will be recorded in the Learning Agreement and are assessed as the placement progresses. Integrative online content and communities of practice webinars foster theory-practice integration and social work identity development through sharing and discussion of placement experience in accordance with Learning Outcomes.

ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS OF UNIT 

Punctual and full attendance on the placement is an essential requirement for the unit. The attendance requirements are specified in ACU Assessment Policy and guided by

requirements of AASW accredited social work programs. Attendance at all integrative seminars is expected and an attendance record of all seminars will be kept. Students are

required to attend at least 80% of all integrative webinars scheduled for this unit.

Reasons why attendance is required

In integrative webinars, students will be interacting with each other and developing skills which they will use in interprofessional/clinical experience. Students who do not attend

are at risk of not developing these essential skills by not connecting to peers during placement. 

Assessment strategy and rationale

ATTENDANCE:

Students are assessed on a range of activities that accumulate over the beginning, middle and end of their placement, and which reflect developmental and experiential learning principles. These strategies include presentations, a Learning Agreement, Mid Placement Report and Final Placement Report. Students are also required to submit a signed timesheet at the end of their placement. Each assessment task is informed by the identified learning outcomes for the unit. In negotiation with the ACU Liaison Visitor and Social Work Supervisor, students will be able to revise the Learning Agreement and Mid Placement Report in response to feedback on the requirements to achieve a satisfactory standard. 

ACU ONLINE:

Students are assessed on a range of activities that accumulate over the beginning, middle and end of their placement, and which reflect developmental and experiential

learning principles. These strategies include a Learning Agreement, Mid Placement Report and Final Placement Report. Students are also required to submit a

signed timesheet at the end of their placement. Each assessment task is informed by the identified learning outcomes for the unit. In negotiation with the ACU Liaison Visitor

and Social Work Supervisor, students will be able to revise the Learning Agreement and Mid Placement Report in response to feedback on the requirements to achieve a

satisfactory standard.

Overview of assessments

Representative texts and references

Australian Association of Social Workers (2020). Code of ethics. AASW: Canberra. 

Australian Association of Social Workers (2013). Practice standards. AASW: Canberra. 

Cleak, H. & Wilson, J. (2019). (4th.Ed.) Making the most of field education. South Melbourne: 

Cengage Learning.