Michael M. Sinclair, PhD, MSSW

 

Teaching Social Work requires competence, commitment and passion. I believe that a good teacher ought to be able to share their practice wisdom and inspire students to practice both effectively and ethically in variety of practice settings and population groups.  Over the past decade, I have increased my repertoire of teaching skills and now emphasize teaching students “how to think”.

At times, I will often utilize the “Socratic Method” and engage the students in an open-ended dialogue that examines their individual beliefs and their assumptions. The goal of the Socratic methods as stated in Plato’s Republic (Grube & Reeves, 1992) is to encourage students to think analytically and critically about the material presented. Our students need to do more than learn terms and theories; they need to learn how to apply the appropriate theories into practice. That is why I believe the Council of Social Work Education has placed such an emphasis on field education in the current  EPAS.  My goal as a teacher is to encourage my students to become critical thinkers and ultimately become life learners.

I am a proponent of active learning and use a variety of methods to encourage discussion and interaction on the issues the course presents. I believe that it is important to create a safe classroom atmosphere where students feel comfortable engaging in the pursuit of academic inquiry.  Students must have some connection with the subject matter and we, as scholars have an obligation to explain why this material is essential. Our millennial, students as opposed to the more traditional students want to be assured that we are not going through the perfunctory motions of presenting outdated information in the spirit of “academic tradition”. They demand that we give them precisely what they need to be effective practitioners. I have embraced this challenge by sharing personal stories how this information was used to improve my skills and my ability to practice effectively. This is where my experience coupled with my passion for the professional inspires my students and excites their imagination.  I enjoy teaching students who have a strong desire to become a catalyst of positive change in the world. My job as a teacher is to give them the proper tools to do so.

I have used Aronson (1978) Jigsaw Cooperative Learning Method in many of my graduate level Practice Courses. When using this method,  I typically spend only a portion of my classroom time in a didactic lecture. The majority of the classroom time is used to practice and process the subject matter. I typically employ a variety of instruction methods including using media clips, role plays, local experts presentations,  field trips, small group discussion, juried presentations and exercises that will elucidate the course materials. Research has shown that students retain more of what they have learned in an interactive environment where they are stimulated in multiple ways (Glass & Putnam, 1989; Johnson, Johnson & Smith,1987; Johnson, Johnson & Smith 1991; Millis,1990; Tinto & Russo,1995).

I try to use a combination of teaching methods in my Social Welfare and Social Policy courses. I ask the students to read current text and become familiar with the concepts and vocabulary and come to class prepared to discuss the materials in-depth. This open-ended discussion in addition to presentations and small group exercises allows students an opportunity to explore their understanding and defend their beliefs and assumptions.  My lectures only prime the discussion and reinforces the reading by clarifying terms. Lateral learning occurs when students are tasked with the responsibility to present and process this new information with the classmates.  Students are not only reading, but a second level of comprehension is required to teach or transfer the information to others. I have found that this often lends to the students’ ability to successfully integrate new information

Finally, I must state that I have witnessed a significant paradigm shift in many of the more progressive university systems. The millennial learners have forced us to be more creative in our pedagogy. Our students have become much more tech savvy and at times much more impatient. Although our students have much more access to information through distance learning and internet services, they are also burdened with very complicated lives. As a result, many students are concerned with their future job prospects rather than truly understanding their craft. Accordingly, many progressive universities have shifted their focus from “producing instruction” to “producing learning”.

Universities are now taking responsibility for student learning as opposed to the traditional instructional paradigm where universities where only responsible for providing instruction.  Essentially, when I went to graduate school, the university established the curriculum and some artificial benchmarks and I, as a student, was expected to meet these standards regardless of how much I actually learned. This outdated paradigm aims at transferring knowledge from the faculty (the experts) to the student (the novice) . In this new “Learning Paradigm”  students are encouraged to create a community of learners and actually construct knowledge for themselves. The university’s role is simply to create an atmosphere of discovery. I have mirrored my teaching philosophy to create this type of learner environment.

I have adopted a “learner centered” approach to my classroom instructional methods. Hence, I start my classroom expectations each semester with the end ultimately in mind. I ask “ 1) what specific knowledge must my students acquire and master before the end of this course? 2) what specific skills must be demonstrated before the end of this course? 3) What values must my students grasp before the end of this course? 4) How can I best communicate this information 5) How will I assess their competency in the subject matter?”  The ultimate goal is to empower students to continue to sharpen the skills as life learners and to practice as an ethical social worker.

I have taught long enough to understand the distinct differences between courses and student ranking.  I have taught introductory courses with over 60 students on my class roster and naturally my teaching style will change to accommodate that many students. I also recognize the differences between graduate level courses and undergraduate courses in terms of the breadth and depth of understanding, and conceptual analysis.  Ultimately, I feel it is important to recognize how each class differs and be flexible in your teaching methods.

I use my teaching evaluations to improve my skills as an educator. I often will employ different techniques that are more appropriate and more effective. At times, I  will ask other colleagues for ideas and tips on how to improve my skills and ultimately increase learning in my class.

My role as a social work educator is to help student understand the importance of their future work with individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations and societies. In summary, then, I am very committed to providing a learning environment that is both exciting and rigorous, one that empowers both student and teacher in pursuing learning. I devise various assessment strategies that allows me to fairly assess student learning regardless of the student's learning styles. Above all, I treat my students with the utmost respect, creating an environment where students feel safe to candidly discuss topics which they might otherwise be hesitant to address. For all my classes, regardless of size, I pride myself on learning the names of all my students and treating each student as an individual. Students reward my commitment to them by committing themselves to the class as a whole as well as to the furtherance of their own education.