Social Work Practice 3: Communities and Organizations continues the emphasis of Social Work Practice I on the development of knowledge, values, and skills for generalist social work practice. This course, however, focuses on generalist practice with organizations and communities using a social systems approach. (As Needed) [Graded (Standard Letter)]

1. Kirst-Ashman, K. K., & Hull, G. J. H. (2018). Empowerment Series: Human Behavior in the Macro Social Environment (5th ed.). Cengage Learning.

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

1. Deliberate foundational social work macro practice theory as applied to current social and political cultural contexts.
2. Demonstrate comprehension of community and organizational change models and the applicability of those models to social work practice, and the person and environment and generalist practice perspective.
3. Identify the mechanisms of social group work required for macro practice, including work in task groups, meetings, and teams.
4. Evaluate assessment and change strategies in macro practice systems.
5. Critically analyze and evaluate community practice theories in terms of their applicability to multicultural and historically oppressed populations and the social work mandate for social justice.
6. Demonstrate an awareness of effective social work practice in communities and organizations that is congruent with NASW values and code of ethics emphasizing practice interventions with communities and organizations.
7. Demonstrate awareness of, and critically discuss, the implications of ethnic background, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion, socioeconomic class, and disability on community theory and practice.

Reading Summary Logs

5 times throughout the semester (approximately every other week), you will complete a Focus on Critical Thinking activity from the previous weeks/chapters/readings found in the text. The assignments should be at least two pages in length and written according to APA 7. Be sure to use your text as a reference, or items that have been presented in class. In-text citations will add depth to your summaries. Use the Focus on Critical Thinking activity as your guide to create your summary and provoke thoughts that apply to the information you have been reading and in-class instruction.

Exams / Quizzes (200 Points)

In lieu of a midterm exam, there will be several assignments and presentations due as listed in this syllabus. Your assignments will be considered your midterm so please treat your assignments as such. As mentioned earlier, no late assignments will be accepted so be sure to have them ready to turn in on the assigned date 

Quizzes are a great way to encourage reading. Each week there will be one (possibly two) reading quiz due. Quizzes will open the previous week before they are due. Quizzes are objective (e.g., multiple-choice, matching, and true/false) and worth 10 points. Quizzes are time-limited, Quizzes will be administered through Canvas utilizing Proctorio.

Community / Organization-Based Action Project

During the semester you will complete a Community / Organization based action project. This will be the majority of the grade for this course. You will work in groups and be given some in-class time to work on this project.

Stage 1: Literature Review / Social Problem

You will be assigned to a group; this will be the group you will remain with for both the semester and your entire project. Your group will identify a social problem you want to address. You will complete a group paper written according to APA 7. The group paper will include a definition of, and a literature review, of the systematic causes of your social problem. Be sure to have all group members’ names included in the paper. Your paper must include at least 5-10 peer-reviewed articles in your reference section.

Peer Feedback Completion

 Throughout the project, you will review your peers according to their engagement and contribution to the project and the group. You will do so by completing feedback and a scoring summary that you will give to your peers and to the instructor. In Stage 6 you will give a final evaluation of yourself, the group members, and the project.

Stages 2 and 3: Community Networking

You will identify various organizations or community members who are knowledgeable about the social problem of interest. You, as a group, will submit a list of community contacts and a description of what you learned by networking with the organizations and individuals. Your professionalism when networking is crucial.

Stage 4: Project Plan

You will complete a group paper identifying five systematic causes of the social problem and a strategy for addressing each cause. You will identify the strategy you plan to implement in collaboration with community partners you have networked with. Your paper must be written according to APA 7 and include a timeline for the intervention which must be completed at least two weeks before the end of the semester. You also need to include a detailed plan for your intervention, what role each group member will fill, and the tasks that need to be completed. The paper should also include an evaluation plan with measurable outcomes to demonstrate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the intervention.

Stage 5: Project implementation and Presentation

You will implement your project in connection with your group and the community partners. This portion of the project will take the majority of your time. You will also complete a group presentation given in the last few weeks of class. This presentation needs to include all steps of the previous stages as well as a visual representation of your project completed through photos etc.

You will be graded according to appearance, professionalism of the presentation, and project implementation. The PowerPoint presentation (or another similar presentation tool, i.e. Prezi) will be graded on the quality and depth of your topic. It should follow the presentation outline found in Canvas. Your presentation must include PowerPoint. Other methods such as visual aids or video clips are up to you. Obviously, the content of your PowerPoint will substantially influence the quality of your presentation.

Before your presentation, you will email me a copy of your presentation so that I may upload it to Canvas for all students to access.

Stage 6: Project Evaluation

 You will complete a final paper evaluation of yourself, your group, and your project. Your paper needs to be written according to APA 7. You will need to include your evaluation of the project completed using the measurable outcomes you identified in Stage 4.

Group Presentation

50 addressing policy issues; policy analysis process
30 points for interaction with students; 
20 for professional appearance and presentation

The following grading standards will be used in this class:

Reading Summary Logs

Exams / Quizzes (200 Points)

Community / Organization-Based Action Project

Stage 1: Literature Review / Social Problem

Peer Feedback Completion

Stages 2 and 3: Community Networking

Stage 4: Project Plan

Stage 5: Project implementation and Presentation

Stage 6: Project Evaluation

Group Presentation

Online classes provide unique challenges for interaction. For messages sent to me, I will respond in the specified amount of time. Feedback is an important part of learning please look for feedback on your assignments that I provided in the specified amount of time, to find feedback look at this tutorial How do I view assignment comments from my Instructor.

It is my goal to:

• Respond to student messages within 3 business days
• Provide grades and feedback within 7 business days from the due date

No late work will be accepted.  In order to make any accommodations, I need to be informed before the due date of an assignment for extenuating circumstances.

If you are registered for a Face-to-Face, Synchronous Remote, Hybrid, or Remote Hybrid course, attendance is required. If you are registered for an Online course, attendance is measured by your participation. If you are ill or instructed to isolate or quarantine, you may request a faculty member record the class and share it with you, but evidence of your illness or other status may be required. In order for you to receive academic accommodations and ensure that your request is communicated to faculty, you must submit this self-report form.

Program and Course Fees

Prerequisite(s): SW 3100  - Prerequisite Min. Grade: C

Prerequisite Can Be Concurrent? Yes

Registration Restriction(s): Social Work majors only

3 Credits