introduction:

Study Guides and Workshop Preparation Tasks

Welcome to the subject materials for WS4511 – Professional Development for Social Work Practice. We hope you find the materials in this subject both thought provoking and relevant for your professional practice. Feedback on the Study Guide and readings is always welcome; your experience with subject material is considered as JCU courses evolve.

Before beginning to work your way through the units for this subject, you should ensure that you have familiarised yourself with the material in the Subject Outline, which contains important information on the subject structure, assessment, policies, details of how to contact staff teaching in the subject, and so forth.

Structure to guide your learning

Learning in this subject has been divided into three units. Each of these units is organised in a similar fashion, with every unit outlining the unit Key Idea and Learning Objectives in the online unit document along with links to the unit Study Guide and Additional Resources. Each unit Study Guide contains the following sections:

·        some Discussion on the Key Idea of the unit topic;

·        a brief Commentary on the Required Readings that relate to each unit;

·        non-assessable Workshop Preparation Tasks

·        and three Review and Reflection Questions that will contribute to the successful completion of your assessment.

Each of these sections is explained in greater detail below.

Key Idea

Each unit in this subject will begin with a brief statement of the key idea(s) that are the focus of the unit topic. This is a useful ‘shorthand’ way of knowing what you are looking for as you begin to read the material and, afterwards, of checking to see if you have understood the material and readings that are presented in the unit.

Learning Objectives

In each unit, a set of learning objectives will be identified. These act as a guide to what you should have achieved at the end of the unit, i.e. by the time you have read the unit and the associated readings. You may find it useful to look at these prior to beginning the unit, but perhaps more importantly, to look back at them once you have completed the unit so that you can monitor your progress against the intended outcomes.

Discussion

Each unit will contain some discussion of the unit topic. This, along with the commentary of the required readings, is the external equivalent of the subject ‘lectures’. You will probably find it useful to read this material prior to doing the required readings for the unit.

Required Readings and Video Case Studies

For each unit, a number of readings have been identified that are intended to provide you with extra information, insights, perspectives on the topic under consideration. Required Readings must be completed in order to pass the subject and are taken from your textbook for the subject. There are also two video case studies. You can link to these case studies on the WS5611 LearnJCU site. You must view both case studies as both will be explored during the workshop. For your presentation, you will need to select one of the case studies to reflect on in more depth.

Recommended readings are just that: recommended to read to enhance your knowledge and awareness of the topic. Many of these readings are recent, Australian publications but some have also been drawn from international sources and from older publications where these are relevant and useful. You will see that some of these recommended readings are taken from Empowering social workers: Virtuous practitioners (2017). This book discusses the need for ‘virtuous practitioners’ and shares inspiring stories of Australian social workers, including our own retired JCU social work staff member, Ginni Hall. We hope their stories will inspire and energise you as you begin your own professional journeys.

Workshop Preparation Tasks

In each unit, there will be some intensive preparation tasks. These are not to be handed in for marking, they are simply provided as tasks that may help you to develop a better understanding of the material being presented in the unit and to prepare you for the workshop. You may find it useful to keep a notebook with your attempts at these tasks in it and review this towards the end of the subject.

Review and Reflection Questions

In each unit, a number of Review and Reflection Questions will be identified. They are provided as a learning tool to help ensure that you have covered and understood the material in the unit. They will prepare you for the successful completion of your assessment. If you find that you don’t know the answers to some questions, you may like to go back to the readings or discussion and look at the material again.

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so there are 3 units so you have to do in need 700 words for each so total will be 2100 words