This assessment aims to provide evidence of your attendance at the Brisbane compulsory residential school. Attending and completing the residential is a compulsory requirement of this unit. Any previous attempts at Field Education 1 and Integrating Theory and Practice 1 that resulted in a Fail grade and any previous residential attendance for this unit are not rolled over or counted towards a subsequent attempt at the course.

Instructions

Ensure that you 'sign in and out' of every residential session. After each session, residential staff will review the attendance sheet report to ensure that students are present for the entire session. Teaching staff will not follow up on absentees; it will be solely your responsibility to ensure that the 'record of attendance' is completed. To meet the requirements of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW), a student cannot miss any more than two hours of the residential and must provide a reason and sufficient supporting documentation to do so (i.e. significant unforeseen event, illness).

You must pass this assessment to pass the unit. Failure to pass this unit will result in the final grade of 'Fail' for the entire unit.

This assessment is designed to assist you in preparing for the integration of theory and practice, group work, and team-building activities you will experience in your field placement.

You will undertake a case study via a group work process, present the case study at the residential school, and complete a critical reflection of a small group experience to identify insights and learning gained for your future social work practice in teams.

Part A – Presentation

Showcasing teamwork knowledge and skills and guided by the principles and strategies of the Community Focused Learning (CFL) model and critical reflection frameworks, students will work together to create a theoretical analysis. assessment, and proposed intervention for the case study. You will be given time to work on the case study during the residential. The presentation will incorporate the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) Practice Standards (2023) and Code of Ethics (2020) to guide and inform the case study analysis and plan. These documents and literature are provided in Group Work Materials on the unit Moodle site. The presentation will also require groups to engage in and integrate independent research and reading. 

Product/performance

In a presentation format of your choice (be creative, don't feel limited to a PowerPoint presentation), the group will deliver a 10 – 15 minute presentation that explores these main areas:

1. Integrates at least (2) relevant theories to explain and understand the case study's presenting situation and background. The theories must be clearly identified, and the relationship to the scenario must be articulated.
2. Proposed social work intervention/s and a rationale for the decision. The proposed intervention and rationale need to identify at least (2) theories informing the intervention.
3. The methods and skills that will be utilised in the proposed intervention.
4. The social work values and ethics that inform your team's case analysis and proposed intervention plan.
5. The benefits, risks, and other implications of the case analysis and proposed intervention plan for those involved.
6. Irrespective of whether the case study involved Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients/communities or those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, your presentation needs to consider the appropriateness of the theoretical approaches and interventions in these contexts. Furthermore, it needs to identify strategies/actions you will take to decolonise your practice and ensure it is culturally responsive, safe and sensitive. 
7. As a group, identify the insights gained for your future practice from engaging in a small group case study.

Presentation Requirements

• You are positioned as a social work student in training (SWIT) presenting to your peers.
• The presentation will be 10 -15 minutes in length. Like essay word counts, penalties for going under and over the allocated timeframe will be applied.
• Be aware of your voice and the pace of the presentation. Groups should practice and time the presentation before presenting.
• All small group members are expected to participate in developing and delivering the presentation.
• The presentation will be engaging and creative, not limited to the single-modal delivery of a PowerPoint presentation.
• The PowerPoint must include a title page that lists all the group members.
• The PowerPoint should be referenced using the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style, and a reference list slide should be included. Use at least eight contemporary references (<10 years) in the PowerPoint to support your discussion.
• The Unit Coordinator will record the presentation at the residential school for marking purposes.

Weighting

10% - Groups will be awarded a grade out of 10. This grade will be added to your Part B Reflective Practice grade to give you your final grade for Assessment 2.

Due Date

Presentations will take place on Sunday, February 25th, 2024, at the residential school. Your small group's PowerPoint must be uploaded to the submission area with your Part B, Reflective Practice, by Friday, March 15th, 2024.

Part B – Reflective Practice (750 words)

You will critically reflect on and analyse your participation in a small group learning environment to identify your strengths and areas for further development and consider what you might do in the future to improve your group work engagement and skills.

Instructions

Using a reflective practice model adapted from the Integrative Reflective Practice model (Kiser, 2014), critically reflect on an experience of significance/importance that occurred in your small group learning experience at the residential school. The experience should be one you hope to understand or learn more about. Writing in the first person, use the model and questions adapted from Fook and Gardner (2007) as a guide to provide a brief narrative about what happened, your reactions, and its meaning, examine dissonance and articulate the learning and insights you gained for future practice.

• Experience - Describe the experience. What happened?

• Reactions – How did you react? How did you feel? What were you thinking? What did you do?

• Reflecting on Meaning - Why was the experience important/significant to you? What did it mean to you? What does your account and language tell you about your underlying values, beliefs, theories, and assumptions? Where do you think these ideas originated, and how was your experience influenced by your historical, cultural and social context?

• Theory and Knowledge - What other perspectives have you considered? Identify relevant theories or literature that could make sense of the situation or provide another view.

• Examining dissonance - Did this situation highlight any gap between how you say you will practice (espoused values, theories and skills) and your actions and interpretations? Is this ok? If so, why? If not, why not? What does this tell you about the values, theories, and practices critical to your emerging social work identity and practice framework?

• Articulating learning - What specific learnings can you take from this experience? What did you learn about yourself, others, and the society in which you live? What knowledge or insights did you gain? What skills did you learn?
• Developing a plan – Based on these learnings, what would you do in a similar situation next time? What would you continue to do, and what would you change? Explain why, including the anticipated consequences and hopes of this new response. What values, knowledge, theory, and skills will you need to develop to proceed with this new approach?

Literature and references

Use at least six contemporary references (<10 years) in your reflective practice to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the five elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as government, university, or peak national bodies, such as the Australian Association of Social Workers.

Requirements

• Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman, with 1.5 or 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
• Include page numbers in a header on the top right side of each page.
• Write in the first-person perspective.
• The written assessment should identify which scenario your group worked on; however, it should not repeat the details of the case study.
• When integrating theory and literature, use a third-person perspective and formal academic language.
• Use the seventh edition American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. The CQUniversity Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Referencing Style Guide.
• The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations.

Generative AI 
 
Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) includes a range of computer programs that use data sets and computer-generated information to create new content. For this assessment, you may use Gen-AI to help you understand the question, explain research concepts, and check that references are in the correct format. If you use Gen-AI, you should include a statement that declares that you have used Gen-AI and how you have used Gen-AI. 
 
You should not use Gen-AI to create or critically analyse the content or write or rewrite any part of your assessment.
 
You should know that Gen-AI output can be incorrect and include fictitious references and sources.

Resources

• You can support your argument using unit-provided materials and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles and books).
• The quality and credibility of your sources are important. We recommend that you access your discipline-specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide. 
• For information on academic communication, please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language.

Word Limit

750 words

Weighting

10% - The reflection will be awarded a grade out of 10. This grade will be added to your Part A Presentation grade to give you your final grade for Assessment 2.

Submission

In the Assessment 2 submission area on Moodle, each group member must upload a copy of their small group PowerPoint presentation and Part B, Reflective Practice, as a Word document.

Reflection and evaluation of our responses to various practice situations can become critical learning junctures incorporated into our practice framework. Drawing on the key elements of a critical perspective and reflective practice, presentation feedback, unit resources and independent research, critically evaluate your small group response to the case study and identify new understandings and knowledge to inform your future practice and practice framework. 

Instructions

Your critical evaluation should include a deconstruction and reconstruction phase.

Stage 1 – Deconstruction

Deconstruction involves exploring the role of society, culture and beliefs have played in shaping our practice experience (Fook & Gardner 2007). It also necessitates reflexivity to identify and understand the influence of our assumptions, beliefs and values and use of self on practice (Fook & Gardner 2007).

1. Exploring your small group experience.

• What issues in the case study were targeted or prioritised by the group in the proposed intervention? Why were there issues prioritised?

• What do the priorities say about the assumptions and values underpinning your group’s social work analysis and proposed intervention plan? Are they focused on the individual or social/structural factors, or a bit of both?

• How did the priorities and assumptions influence the theories chosen? Are the theories inner world or outer world focused, or both? What do they prioritise and neglect? What are their strengths and limitations? What are the ethical implications of these decisions?

b. Exploring other perspectives

This step, adapted from Brookfield's (2017) four lenses of critical reflection, facilitates the exploration of other perspectives to help you identify and examine assumptions influencing your small group response to the case study. 

• Service user – How might the service user view the social worker, the assessment and the proposed intervention? Does the response aim to include and understand the service user’s experience and perspective? Explain. What do you expect will be the service user’s experience of power in this response?

• Diverse voices - What other perspectives were discussed in your group but not included in the presentation? What influenced this decision? Would you consider incorporating these views now? Explain.

• Other group’s presentation – How were the other group’s priorities, assumptions, theories and intervention plan similar and different? What aspects of the other group’s response would/wouldn’t you consider incorporating into your response, and why?

• Theory - How might a critical perspective view the situation differently or provide an alternative view? Your discussion should discuss relevant social discourses/forces, power relations and how the response contributes to social change and social justice.

Stage 2 – Reconstruction

This stage of Fook and Gardner's model (2007) is focused on change, requiring you to consider how your critical evaluation might change or shape how you now understand and respond to the case study.

• Did your critical evaluation encounter any gaps between your espoused values and theory and your small group practice response? Is this okay with you? If not, why not? If so, why? 

• As a result of your critical evaluation, what would you and wouldn’t change about the group’s response? Explain and justify the changes with reference to professional values and ethics, professional standards, and relevant literature.

• How does this new way of working understand and respond to relevant social discourses/forces and power relations apparent in the case study and contribute to social justice?

• What are the anticipated consequences and hopes of the proposed changes?

• What does your critical evaluation tell you about your emerging professional identity and practice framework?

Word limit

1500 words

Literature and references

Use at least eight contemporary references in this assessment to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the five elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as government, university, or peak professional and national bodies, e.g. the AASW.

Requirements

• Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman, with 1.5 or 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
• Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header.
• A combination of the first-person and third-person perspectives. The first-person might be used to describe your experience; however, the third-person perspective is required when analysing the relevance of theory and literature for understanding the situation.
• Use formal academic language.
• Use the APA Referencing Guide. The Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Guide.
• The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. The word count excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations.
• Students should submit a draft before the due date to review their Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

Generative AI 
 
Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) includes a range of computer programs that use data sets and computer-generated information to create new content. For this assessment, you may use Gen-AI to help you understand the question, explain research concepts, and check that references are in the correct format. If you use Gen-AI, you should include a statement that declares that you have used Gen-AI and how you have used Gen-AI. 
 
You should not use Gen-AI to create or critically analyse the content or write or rewrite any part of your assessment.
 
You should know that Gen-AI output can be incorrect and include fictitious references and sources.

Resources

• You can use unit-provided materials and other credible sources (e.g. journal articles, books, grey literature) to reference your argument. The quality and credibility of your sources are important.
• We recommend that you access your discipline-specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide. ·
• For information on academic communication, please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language.
• Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

References

Brookfield, S. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. John Wiley & Sons Inc, US.

Fook, J. & Gardner, F. (2007). Practising critical reflection: a resource handbook. McGraw-Hill Education, UK.

In this assessment, you will demonstrate your critical reflection and evaluation skills in examining and evaluating a social worker's response to a case study to build a culturally sensitive, safe and appropriate practice. The case study is located under Assessment 4 of the Assessment tile on Moodle. 

Instructions

Your critical evaluation needs to include the following stages and areas for consideration.

Stage 1 - Deconstruction

Deconstruction involves exploring the role of society, culture and beliefs have played in shaping practice experiences (Fook & Gardner 2007). It also necessitates reflexivity to identify and understand the influence of assumptions, beliefs and values and the use of self in practice (Fook & Gardner 2007).

With consideration given to Mr Thompson's response to the social worker's actions, critically evaluate the cultural and ethical issues associated with the social worker's practice and identify ways for building anti-oppressive, culturally sensitive, safe and responsive practice. 

1. Exploring your experience

In first-person perspective, describe your reaction and experience reading the case study. 

• What were your reactions, thoughts and feelings reading the case study? 

• What do you think influenced your reaction? How did personal experiences, background, culture, values, beliefs, and knowledge influence your views of the social worker's response? 

• Did the case study highlight gaps you could encounter in how you might plan to practice (espoused theory and values) and your practice (theories in action)? Explain. 

b. Exploring other perspectives

This step, adapted from Brookfield's (2017) four lenses of critical reflection, aims to facilitate the exploration of other perspectives to help you identify and examine assumptions influencing practice.

• Jo – What assumptions or beliefs may have influenced the social worker's response and what she prioritised? What broader social inequalities and discourses were prevalent in this situation, and how might they have influenced Jo's response? How do you think Jo experienced power? What cultural aspects and knowledge did Jo consider, and what/who was neglected? What are the ethical principles and implications of Jo's plan and actions?

• Mr Thompson – Why do you think Mr Thompson was upset? How might Mr Thompson, an older Aboriginal man with a chronic health condition in a regional and rural location, view and experience the social worker and their response? How did Mr Thompson experience power in the situation? What might be the implications of the social work response for Mr Thompson?

• Matt - How might Matt, the Indigenous Health Worker, have experienced and viewed the social worker's response? What might be some of the implications of this response for Matt? How did Matt experience power?

• Theory and other knowledge – How might Australian Indigenous social work theories and critical perspectives make sense of and view the situation? Your discussion should address relevant social discourses/forces, power relations, and social and health inequalities.

Stage 2 - Reconstruction

This stage of Fook and Gardner's model (2007) is focused on change, requiring you to consider how your new understandings from the critical evaluation will inform anti-oppressive and culturally sensitive and responsive practice and your emerging practice framework.

• How does your critical evaluation shape how you now understand the situation and the possibilities for social work practice? What would and wouldn't you change about Jo's response? Justify and explain the professional values and ethics, theoretical approaches, skills and strategies you would utilise to proceed with this new approach.

• How does this way of working understand and respond to the social and cultural discourses/forces and power relations apparent in the case study and contribute to social justice?

• What are the anticipated challenges, outcomes and hopes for this new way of working? What skills, strategies, support and self-care would you utilise or seek to develop to address the identified challenges?

• What does your evaluation tell you about your emerging professional identity and practice framework?

Word limit

2000 words

Literature and references

Use at least eight contemporary references in this assessment to support your discussion. You may also use seminal scholarly literature where relevant. Suitable references include peer-reviewed journal articles, textbooks, and credible websites. When sourcing information, consider the five elements of a quality reference: currency, authority, relevance, objectivity, and coverage. Grey literature sourced from the internet must be from reputable websites such as government, university, or peak professional and national bodies, e.g. the AASW.

Requirements

• Use a conventional and legible size 12 font, such as Times New Roman, with 1.5 or 2.0 line spacing and 2.54cm page margins (standard pre-set margin in Microsoft Word).
• Include page numbers on the top right side of each page in a header.
• A combination of the first-person and third-person perspectives. The first-person perspective is to be used when describing your experience; however, the third-person perspective is required when analysing relevant theory and literature to understand the situation.
• Use formal academic language.
• Use the APA Referencing Guide. The Academic Learning Centre has an online APA Guide.
• The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the reference list but includes in-text references and direct quotations.
• Students should submit a draft before the due date to review their Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

Generative AI 
 
Generative artificial intelligence (Gen-AI) includes a range of computer programs that use data sets and computer-generated information to create new content. For this assessment, you may use Gen-AI to help you understand the question, explain research concepts, and check that references are in the correct format. If you use Gen-AI, you should include a statement that declares that you have used Gen-AI and how you have used Gen-AI. 
 
You should not use Gen-AI to create or critically analyse the content or write or rewrite any part of your assessment.
 
You should know that Gen-AI output can be incorrect and include fictitious references and sources.

Resources

• You can reference your argument using unit-provided materials and other credible sources (e.g., journal articles, books, grey literature ). The quality and credibility of your sources are important.
• We recommend that you access your discipline-specific library guide: the Social Work and Community Services Guide. ·
• For information on academic communication, please go to the Academic Learning Centre Moodle site. The Academic Communication section has many helpful resources, including information for students with English as a second language.
• Submit a draft before the due date to review your Turnitin Similarity Score before making a final submission. Instructions are available here.

References

Brookfield, S. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. John Wiley & Sons Inc, US.

Fook, J. & Gardner, F. (2007). Practising critical reflection: a resource handbook. McGraw-Hill Education, UK.