The study examines the relationship between social presence and students' learning outcomes An emerging body of research connects social presence with learning outcomes in online coursework Social presence is the "degree to which a person is perceived as a 'real person' in mediated communication" (Gunwardena & Zittle, 1997, p9) The study of 121 student participants addresses the following questions: What is the evidence of social presence in students' communication in an online discussion forum and in an attitudinal survey? 2) What pedagogical methods affect students' perceptions of social presence? and 3) What is the relationship between social presence and students' learning outcomes? The regression model revealed that students with higher demonstrations of social presence in discussion forum posts had statistically significantly higher ratings on the CAT This seems to indicate that social presence influences student outcomes on written assignments

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Community matters: Social presence and learning outcomes

Social work today faces a crucial watershed: Will the field continue to promulgate unsound and detrimental beliefs about social work research and knowledge, or will the field fully embrace the heur...

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Doing Good Science Without Sacrificing Good Values: Why the Heuristic Paradigm is the Best Choice for Social Work

Social work students' responses to research tend to reflect their anxiety about the acquisition of competency in statistics and research methods. Their desires to attain social work education and subsequently become practitioners are viewed by them as at odds with research as taught. Yet, within the current quantocentric culture—which the authors define as one in which quantitative research methods are privileged over other lines of inquiry—social work education is increasingly emphasizing research as a central component of practice. Using a ‘culture as disability’ framework to understand quantocentric culture and its impact on the educational environment, we suggest an educational approach designed to interest students in a broad view of research allowing for the wholehearted inclusion of non‐quantitative and practice‐related facets of research. The approach encourages students to: (a) fully articulate their perceptions of research, both positive and negative; (b) link these views and experiences to the ...

Quantocentric Culture: Ramifications for Social Work Education

s 38, 89, 90 abuse 66 see also sexual abuse of children accountability 14 multiple accountability 10 active listening 24 actors see standardised clients actuarial risk assessment 40 adult attachment assessment 7980 Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) 79-80 advocacy evidence-based advocacy 10 policy advocacy 23, 78 agency records 20-1 agency training needs 37, 40 agency-based learning 22, 40-1 Albers, E. 79 Allcock, N. 55 American Indians 59-60 Amodeo, M. 56 Anetzberger, G. 65 Applied Social Learning Theory Course in Child Care 70-1 attachment theory 79-80 autobiographies 14, 84-5

Learning and Teaching in Social Work Education: Assessment

In the late twentieth century, the bio-psycho-social framework emerged as a powerful influence on the conceptualisation and delivery of health and rehabilitation services including social work services in these fields. The bio-psycho-social framework is built on a systems view of health and well-being ( Garland and Howard, 2009). The systems perspective encourages medical and allied health professions, including social work, to recognise and to respond to the multiple systems impacting on individual health and well-being ( Engel, 2003). This paper analyses how advances in biomedical technology, particularly in the fields of neuroscience and human genomics, are challenging the bio-psycho-social approach to practice. The paper examines the pressures on the social work profession to embrace biomedical science and points to the problems in doing so. The conclusion points to some tentative ways forward for social workers to engage critically with biomedical advances and to strengthen the bio-psycho-social framework in the interests of holistic and ethical approaches to social work practice.

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After the Biomedical Technology Revolution: Where to Now for a Bio-Psycho-Social Approach to Social Work?

Teaching a process of case theory construction provides students with a systematic approach to make sense of clients and formulate accurate assessments. Through a theory of the case students can account for problematic factors, explain the client, draw from the relevant literature and successfully intervene. Case material illustrates the importance of students' incorporation of the biological, psychological and social in their case theory construction. These three domains not only provide the requisite social work breadth in assessment, but also build the foundation for a broad-based social work intervention that is germane to client problems.

Teaching Social Work's Bio-Psycho-Social Assessment

Practice domain and needs of a profession should determine development and use of research methodologies. The complexity and broad range of social work interventions require an approach to research that is more far-reaching, with greater depth, than offered by either the positivists or post-modernists. In this article, a model presents research as skills of social work practice, integrating the contentious practice research dichotomy. Acknowledging that differences in language and perceptions of practitioners and researchers create enormous challenges, a basic assumption in the model is that good practitioners conduct research in their implementation of practice. Juxtaposing practice components with research methodologies, case material illustrates the professional helping relationship as a shared conceptualization of reality, social work assessment as theory construction with need for validity and reliability, and use of triangulation to prevent drift and unplanned shifts in the intervention.

Msw Cynthia D. Bisman PhD

Papers

Teaching Social Work's Bio-Psycho-Social Assessment

A Model for Using Research Methodologies in Practice