SupervisionField Instruction

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Supervision/Field Instruction
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• "You dont have to be brilliant to be a good
  leader. But you do have to understand other
  people - how they feel, what makes them tick, and
  the best way to influence them." Leadership,
  January 19, 1993.

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Importance of Supervision

• Research indicates that the quality of the field
  instructor is the most significant factor
  affecting students satisfaction with the field
  placement (Fortune Abramson, 1993).

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Supervision is like Mentoring

• As a supervisor you should be able to fulfill two
  important roles
• Teach your student how to become a good social
  worker
• Be someone your student can look up topersonally
  and professionally

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Elements of Effective Supervision

• The agency
• Tasks and assignments
• Supervisory skills
• Supervision meetings

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Structure Group vs. Individual Field Instruction

• What does the research say?
• No significant difference in learning or
  performance
• Dales and Navarre (1970) Lanning (1971) Averitt
  (1984)
• Ray and Alterkruse (2000)
• all formats follow similar progress and learning
  but larger group supervision decreases autonomy
  and confidence
• Students preferred individual supervision

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Group vs. Individual What is right for you,
your agency and the students?Tebb, Manning and
Klaumann (1996)

• Strengths
• Efficient and diverse
• Forum for discussion of common issues and open
  exchange
• Emphasizes the teaching role
• Peer consultation
• Socializes to professional group experiences
• Exposure to multiple styles

• Limitations
• Group needs take precedence
• Group pressure to conform may stifle creativity
• Requires group work skills in field instructor
• Students can assume supervision over each other

?Kaplan (1988) Field Tested Model
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What Do Students Want To Discuss During
Supervision Meetings?

• Research indicates that during supervision
  sessions, elements associated with student
  satisfaction are primarily issues concerning
  students practice experiences (Gray et al.,
  1989).
• These topics include
• The practice skills used by students
• Cases and clients
• Ongoing performance issues
• Personal strengths and limitations

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What Can We Learn From This?

• Students want direct and practical information
  that is going to help them become ethical and
  effective social workers.
• Students want dedicated time with their
  supervisor to focus on their practice issues.
• Although students may want to discuss issues such
  as career plans and classroom assignments with
  their field instructor, research (Gray et al.,
  1989) suggests that students do not want to
  discuss these issues during supervision sessions.
• Students want this time with their field
  instructor to focus on their practice, their work
  in the field, and areas that need improvement.
• While this study (Gray et al., 1989) focused
  primarily on micro-level placements, students in
  macro-level placements are likely to prefer these
  topics as well.

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Specific Structured Models of Field Instruction

• The professional literature reports the strengths
  of structured models
• Task-centered/competency-based
• Larsen-Hepworth (1982)
• Larsen (1980) Caspi and Reid (1998)
• Solution-focused
• Juhnke (1996)
• Strength Challenge
• Borgen and Armundson (1996)

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Ineffective Supervisory Behaviors

• Supervision that is too directivestudents are
  not given opportunities to practice skills on
  their own or learning opportunities are limited.
• Lack of monitoringfailure to monitor the
  students workload or failure to make
  arrangements for supervision during the field
  instructors absence.
• Inappropriate use of the studentassigning tasks
  that do not meet the learning needs of the
  student or assigning tasks that are too difficult
  or too easy.
• Inadequate supervisory contactmeeting
  infrequently or allowing too little time to meet.
• Lack of informationfailure to provide students
  with necessary information or instructions
  failure to provide adequate feedback concerning
  their performance.

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Research indicates that learning style
differences have an influence on both students
and field instructors perceptions of the field
placement (Itzhaky Eliahou, 2001 Raschick,
Maypole, Day, 1998 Van Soest Kruzich, 1994).
Learning Styles
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Principles of Adult Learning

• 1. Adults have a need to be self-directed in
  learning activities.
• 2. Adults prefer to learn through experience,
  rather than acquiring knowledge passively.
• 3. Adult learners are motivated to learn what
  they perceive to have real value and
  applicability for their lives.
• 4. Adult learners must have immediate
  opportunities to practice the information they
  are given.

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• The function of education is to teach one to
  think intensely and to think critically.
  Intelligence plus characterthat is the goal of
  education.
• --Martin Luther King, Jr.

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References

• Bogo, M., Vayda, E. (1998). The practice of
  field instruction in social work Theory and
  process (2nd ed.). New York Columbia University
  Press.
• Council on Social Work Education. (2002).
  Educational policy and accreditation standards.
  Retrieved August 3, 2002, from http//www.cswe.org
  /
• Detlaff, A.J. (2003). From Mission to
  Evaluations A Field Instructor Training Program.
  Alexandria, VA CSWE.
• Fortune, A. E., McCarthy, M., Abramson, J.S.
  (2001). Student learning processes in field
  education  Relationship of learning activities
  to quality of field instruction satisfaction and
  performance among MSW students.  Journal of
  Social Work Education, 37(1), Winter, 111-124.
• Freeman, E. (1985). The importance of feedback in
  clinical supervision Implications for direct
  practice. The Clinical Supervisor, 3(1), 526.
• Gardner, H. (2000). Intelligence reframed
  Multiple intelligences for the 21st century. New
  York Basic Books.
• Horejsi, C.R., Garthwait, C.L. (2002). The
  social work practicum. Boston Allyn and Bacon
• Kadushin, A.E. (1992). Supervision in Social
  Work. New York Columbia University Press.
• Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning
  Experience as the source of learning and
  development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall.
• Navari, S. Mahan, D. (2002). Field Instruction
  An Introductory Guide for Field Instructors. CA
  California State University, Sacraments.
• Royse, D., Dhooper, S.S., Rompf, E.L. (2003).
  Field instruction A guide for social work
  students (4th ed). Boston, MA Allyn Bacon.
• Shulman, L. (1994). Teaching the Helping Skills
  A Field Instructors Guide. (2nd Ed.).Alexandria,
  VA CSWE.
• Soest, D.V. and Kruzich, J. (1994). The influence
  of learning styles on student and field
  instructor perceptions of field placement
  success. Journal of Teaching in Social Work,
  49-69.