Home | 7 Principles | Syllabus | Rubrics
Principle 1 - Encourage Contacts Between Students and Instructors
I realize that students can feel isolated as a distance learner, especially at the beginning. Therefore, I planned an informal gathering over pizza to “break the ice” for those who were available or chose to meet and greet. This get-to-together was arranged at a pizza parlor within walking distance of campus, a few days before the start of class.
Spiritual and religious subjects can become sensitive and controversial at times. Since we would be discussing the spiritual and religious orientation of various faith practices and how those values impact the lives of individuals as well as students, I created a “Student Café.” This outlet provided another forum for the students to feel comfortable with each other and to foster a sense of connection. I took the lead by placing my photo and a brief introductory statement about my hobbies and research interests on the site. Students were invited to also supply a wallet-sized photo and brief information about themselves for posting. To keep the postings light, students were instructed to include three things about themselves that were unique. They were given the following ideas:
a. Name three things you like about yourself.
b. What’s your favorite hobby or what do you enjoy doing to relax?
c. Name three things that other people consistently notice about you or give you compliments on.
d. List a quality about yourself that usually surprises other people.
Additionally, I created a welcome video with the assistance of the Delphi Center to greet students when they first logged onto the online class. The visual image was a way for me to create warmth, establish ongoing visual identification, and to set the tone of approachability for the semester.
I have learned that when students feel comfortable that they can approach the teacher they demonstrate more willingness to reach out should they encounter a problem. Therefore, I also announce via group and individual e-mails and the syllabus that I will respond to student’s e-mails or phone calls within 24 hours. However, unless I’m out of town for a professional conference, calls or e-mails are generally returned promptly. Likewise, all assignments are returned to students with a grade within 72 business hours (3 days), excluding holidays and weekends.
Reminders about assignments are posted on the announcement page and also sent two weeks in advance to minimize students being penalized for submitting late assignments. My intent is to give last minute students time to prepare their work and to communicate the intent that I care about their academic success. Often, I will interject humor and inspirational quotes into my e-mails to keep the communication light and non-threatening.
Finally, four weeks into the start of the semester I requested feedback from the class about what was making a difference in their online learning.
The note follows:
February 4th E-Note to Students:
Hi Class:
You might recall from reading your syllabus that it was my intention to ask for your help about four weeks into our class. Believe it or not, we are four weeks down the road. Actually, I had to re-check my calendar. Gosh, time is really passing fast. So, here’s how I need your help.
I have found it important to ask students what is making a difference in their learning early in the process. This approach helps in two significant ways. First, it allows me to understand what is working or not working and to make adjustments where possible. Second, it allows you to give me valuable feedback without having to wait until the end of the semester for the formal evaluation.
INSTRUCTIONS
Please answer the two questions below and send your thoughts back to me via e-mail at wanda.collins@louisville. This is not a blackboard discussion. After I review your comments, I’ll determine what I can do to aid you in your learning.
However, be assured that this is not an empty exercise. Next week I’ll share what I learned is going well, what changes I’ll make this semester or the next time I teach this online class, and what changes I won’t be able to make and why. Thank you in advance!
Questions:
1. What is helping your learning in this class?
2. What is hindering your learning in this class?
Principle 2 - Develop Reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students
Students are supported in two distinct ways to develop reciprocity and cooperation through weekly blackboard discussions and a community project. Similar to the classroom environment, I give assignments that will cause students to engage with others regarding their different points of view as a way to broaden their understanding.
1. Weekly Online Blackboard Discussions – Weekly online discussions are employed during the course to enable students to work in collaboration. Learning occurs in relationship not only between student and course materials, but, just as importantly, peer to peer, professor to student, and student to professor. Weekly discussions are based on assigned chapters from the primary textbook:
Hook, M.V., Hugen, B., & Aguilar, M. (2001). Spirituality within religious traditions in social work practice. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
0-534-58419-5
EXAMPLE OF A WEEKLY CLASSROOM DISCUSSION
In the below example, students are to review the posts of their classmates and post a point of view that is not already posted by someone else.
It allows students’ the opportunity to contribute their post and to defend different perspectives.
A. What do you think about Faver’s findings which suggest that “commitment to social care giving may be sustained by a sense of a calling and contribution through one’s work?”
B. Moller indicates that spirituality is a way of life for the characters in his book. He also highlights that in spite of suffering, faith is a source of strength and consolation for these men and women.
1. Have you known a close friend or relative who has suffered and their faith was a source of strength? What was their experience like? How has that experience (or the lack thereof) contributed to your own position on the issue of an individual’s utilization of faith as a strength in coping?
C. Moller writes, “J. W. anticipated that death would bring comfort, a comfort, however, that was linked intimately to the sufferings that poverty inflicts on both body and person throughout life. Although most affluent Americans fear death because it separates them from the pleasures and possessions in their lives, the poor often view death as a release from the misery of poverty” (p. 78).
1. Do you agree or disagree with Moller’s statement?
2. Why do you hold that position?
3. Respond to two other students regarding whether they agree or disagree with Moller’s statement.
EXAMPLE OF A COMMUNITY PROJECT
1. Community Project - With a minimum of four (4) faith-based contacts, students will observe or participate in an unfamiliar spiritual tradition that is different from their own. For example, Christian students may observe or participate in a non-Christian faith (e.g., Islamic, Jewish, or Hindu) or explore faith practices in a different denomination (e.g., Seventh-day Adventist, African American Baptist, Southern Baptist, Catholic, or Mormonism).
The four contacts must occur within the same faith-tradition selected by the student. For example, let’s say the student decided to the select the Church of God in Christ. He or she can choose a combination of ways to visit. The student may decide on a personal visitation to the religious place, participate in a religious ceremony, attend a prayer meeting, or hold a discussion with a representative from the religious group. Or, they can combine two different visits to a conservative Church of God in Christ and two different visits to a liberal Church of God in Christ for comparison purposes. Students are free to mix their visits how ever they choose. They simply just keep the visits within the same denomination. For instance, it would not be acceptable to go to a Baptist denomination and then to a Methodist denomination.
Following prompts that I’ve prepared about the significance of the community project, each student shares his or her research and experiences with the class and discuss how their community experience was similar or in contrast to their classroom readings.
Principle 3 - Use Active Learning Techniques
This online course is intended to help social workers to learn how spirituality and religion influence the practice of social work with individuals and families. My goal is to provide students with a more complete understanding regarding how client’s utilize spiritual or religious resources in solving day-to-day challenges. A review of the syllabus shows how each week builds towards exposing students to different religious/spiritual orientations. Students are engaged in case studies, interviews, self-directed field trips, readings, and online discussions.
I’ve also given more attention to written assignments that are clearer in helping students to think through problems and questions. Some assignments require outside work and others are completed with students online. In totality, the assignments for the course addresses the kinesthetic, aural/auditory, visual and read/write learner.
Principle 4 - Give Prompt Feedback
It is my intent to give student’s prompt feedback about their assignments and research papers so that they can benefit from the information, improve their understanding of the assignment, and increase their classroom success. Prompt feedback that is corrective, yet positive, not only pinpoints areas of improvement but also helps to build student’s confidence. Online classroom discussions are posted each Wednesday by 12:00 noon. The student’s responses are due by 11:59 p.m. Sunday of each week. I respond to each posting weekly via group e-mail. Individual feedback is sent privately via e-mail or phone, when warranted. Additionally, I check e-mails and the Blackboard twice daily to ensure that questions are responded to in a timely fashion.
All assignments are returned to students with a grade within 72 business hours (3 days), excluding holidays and weekends. Comments are included with each paper using the Microsoft Word tracking features. The grading rubric plus the assignment with embedded comments are attached via e-mail. Students are encouraged to read my feedback to help them to understand the grade that they received for the particular assignment. Individual grades are posted on Blackboard immediately after papers are e-mailed to students. They have the freedom to view their classroom grade at any time.
Principle 5 - Emphasize Time on Task
The practice of social work will involve students representing individuals, families, and groups in multiple settings. Therefore, I place emphasis on the importance of submitting assignments on time and the quality of the work submitted. Lateness in the world of work (i.e., social service agency) may make the difference in an individual’s life. For example, missing a court date or an appeal for a client could mean that a family’s life is negatively altered.
Students are given the due date, paper requirements (e.g., page length, first or third person voice, APA format, and spacing), percentage points for the assignment, and the criteria for assigning a grade. They are also free to work ahead of schedule if outside commitments make it difficult to comply with stated due dates (except for participation in discussion board activities). The syllabus outlines the course objective and goals as well as expectations related to late or missed assignments.
Principle 6 - Communicate High Expectations
I have sought to create an open environment for students to learn and grow. My goal is to aid them in their ability to think critically. I do not assume that students understand why certain assignments or activities are connected. It is my job to make these connections transparent so they can transfer these critical thinking skills not only to their coursework but also to their personal lives. I, therefore, give students assignments that are conductive to student’s interaction, free from yes or no answers, and promote reflection and analysis beyond the surface.
For example, the second research paper required students to critically analyze the spirituality of poor and homeless characters who were featured in an assigned book (Moller, 2004). The assignment reads:
Assignment Two: Book Report – The inner-city poor and homeless are not only some of the most vulnerable among us; they are perhaps the most invisible as well. These are the people from whom Moller indicate that we avert our eyes, metaphorically, socially, and sometimes literally, least we see the full scope of their need.
Write a feature article (with a headline) that tells the story of Moller’s book as it might be found on the front page of a newspaper.
1. Describe the experience of dying “homeless.”
2. Describe how spirituality/religion can transform the end-of-life experience for one of the main characters in Moller’s book, other than Cowboy.
3. Identify the major elements that characterize the inner-city poor near the end of life.
4. Describe what it is like for Cowboy to live and die in urban poverty and the ways that Moller portrays his spiritual and religious issues.
5. Analyze the role cultural values, class, race, and social institutions play in the lives of individuals who are socially and economically marginalized.
6. Name at least three social work implications that Moller’s book illustrates about the importance of utilizing spirituality and/or religion in the helping process.
Your book report will be graded based on your ability to critically convey key points of Moller’s book. The report should not exceed five double spaced pages and is due March 11th. This assignment will represent 25 points of the final grade. View the grading rubric for the book report.
Criteria Used to Evaluate Book Report
The critical analysis will be graded based on:
• Clarity of presentation.
• How clearly and concisely the ideas are presented.
• The level of creativity.
• The use of concrete examples to illustrate key points.
• Discussion of the key points or arguments.
• What relevance the information holds for working with clients?
• What surprises, if any, were discovered? What biases, if any, were uncovered?
• What had meaning for the student? Why? What, if anything, is important about this story?
• Why the book is important to social work education?
• What the implications are for social work practice?
Principle 7 - Respect Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
I have utilized a number of strategies to increase student’s learning and interest in spirituality and social work. The cross cultural research paper allows them to engage in self-directed field trips to faith institutions of their choosing at four different times. They have the option to go solo or to partner with another classmate to share the experience. This forum is excellent for the kinesthetic and aural/auditory learner. The research articles and subsequent online discussions most likely accommodate the visual and read/write learner. The spiritual decision-making case studies and the fourth assignment which involves student’s conducting a spiritual history with a volunteer engages a range of learning abilities. Students could choose to audiotape or write a narrative of their interviews, write scripts to guide their questions, or to use any props that would help them to complete the spiritual history. View the spiritual history.
