Course Syllabus

 

EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

Social Work 319: Writing for Agency Practice

Winter 2016

CRN 25754

 

Jeanne Thomas, Ph.D.                                                

Professor, School of Social Work                                                    

337 Marshall

734.487.3342

Jthoma25@emich.edu

The best way to reach me, by far, is via email. I check my email frequently throughout the day (unless I am sick or travelling), and I always look for student emails first when I open my inbox. If you send your email from your regular email account (rather than sending it from the email function within Canvas), I will see it pretty much right away. If you send it within Canvas, I won't see it until I log in to Canvas. At least during the week (and usually on the weekends), I will reply to your emails within 5 hours, and always within 48 hours. I check my voicemail every morning, Monday – Friday. 

 Office Hours: Tuesdays, 9 am– 3:00 pm and by appointment

 In this course, we will create a partnership focused on building writing skills and confidence in writing ability. My role is to treat you as apprentice colleagues, and to offer tough and honest critiques and suggestions for improvement. Your role is to be receptive to feedback, and use it to improve your writing, and seek clarification of course assignments and expectations and feedback when needed.

 Course Description:

This is a writing intensive course, preparing students for the professional writing demands of professional, agency-based practice. The course will sensitize students to the agency-based expectations associated with professional social work practice, while developing professional writing skills focused on a simulated client situation.

 Writing Intensive Rationale:  This course focuses on writing skills needed for agency practice. My teaching methods emphasize experiential learning and direct feedback on written material. You will learn to organize ideas logically, write clearly and concisely, identify appropriate content for case records, describe observations, and present interpretations in a professional manner. Effective social work practice requires that written records be accountable, efficient, and protect the client’s privacy. Good records are concise, specific, relevant, clear, logical, timely, meaningful, and useful. Records are grounded in fact, professional ethics, and accepted theory.

             Above all, high quality records are well organized and well written.

The course is based on the assumption that the most effective way to learn social work record keeping  is by practice at writing actual social work records. To this end, the course incorporates a writing workshop in which students create casework documents  (e.g., Intake, Biopsychosocial Assessment, Plan of Care, Case Notes, Collegial Correspondence,  and Case Summary/Termination) using a hypothetical client (known as “Greg”). 

 Employers expect that BSW graduates have mastered the writing skills needed to create accurate and well-prepared records. Each agency has its own unique way of formatting and organizing documents; thus, social workers must be flexible when applying writing skills to the various conventions that different agencies use. However, understanding the purpose of and audience for typical casework documents will prepare to you to confidently and effectively write such documents at virtually any agency. 

Course Outcomes:

1. Students will articulate the purposes of client records.
2. Students will develop and practice professional social work writing skills.
3. Students will demonstrate an ability to integrate, describe, and interpret client history, personal information, and the client’s social and economic context into a written assessment.
4. Students will demonstrate an ability to formulate and concisely state service goals and objectives in a written contract.
5. Students will demonstrate an ability to describe and interpret interactive client situations in written documents.
6. Students will demonstrate an ability to advocate for client rights, client situations, and client requests for service through written documents.
7. Students will demonstrate an ability to summarize client activities, client progress and client evaluations through a termination document.

Required Reading:

Sidell, N. (2011). Social work documentation: A guide to strengthening your case recording. Washington, DC: NASW Press. [At EMU Bookstore; but you may be able to get a better price online]

 Materials distributed via Canvas.

Course Format:  This is an online course, in which most course content is presented and most learning activities occur using internet-based materials via Canvas. Although this format provides students greater flexibility for scheduling their work in the course, the course is NOT self-paced. All assignments have due-dates (see the course calendar below), and I penalize any work submitted after the due date.

The material for each week will be on Canvas on or before 12:01 am on Monday of each week. Any assignments for that week are due on or before 11:59 pm on Sunday of that week. 

This may seem like an obvious point, but in the past it hasn't been obvious to some students. You must learn to use Canvas to be successful in this course. In particular ...

YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS VIA CANVAS, NOT AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT. I WILL NOT GRADE ANYTHING THAT COMES TO ME AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT.

THIS IS IMPORTANT, SO I'LL REPEAT IT -- YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS VIA CANVAS, NOT AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT. I WILL NOT GRADE ANYTHING THAT COMES TO ME AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT.

ONE MORE TIME: YOU MUST SUBMIT ALL OF YOUR ASSIGNMENTS VIA CANVAS, NOT AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT. I WILL NOT GRADE ANYTHING THAT COMES TO ME AS AN EMAIL ATTACHMENT.

I'm glad to give you feedback on your assignments before you turn them in for grading. You can send a draft for which you'd like feedback to me as an email attachment, BUT NOT ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE GRADED.

 Assignments:

The semester encompasses the following writing assignments based on the Greg case:

1. Intake (15 pts.) Students will use the Intake document to record the client referral and start a client file.
2. Biopsychosocial Assessment (59 points). Students will write a biopsychosocial assessment using the format provided by the instructor. The assessment will be included in the client file.
3. Plan of Care (23 points). Students will develop treatment goals, objectives, methods, and a review plan. The plan of care will be included in the client file.
4. Case Notes (18 points). Students will write up sessions describing interventions used toward achieving the service goals. The case notes will be included in the client file.
5. Collegial Correspondence (26 points). Students will write a professional memo, a professional email, and an advocacy letter. All will be included in the client file.
6. Termination Summary (18 points). Students will write a final summary of the client’s progress including a final evaluation of the service plan. The termination summary will be included in the client file.

Peer Reviews -- No peer reviews following the Intake. That peer review was worth up to 5 points. 
Revision Plan: You need to write a Revision Plan for each document. The scoring rubrics for each document will include sections evaluating the revision plan/process.
“Read a Case Three Times” assignment (5 points)
Two “One-on-One” meetings with instructor (5 points each, for a total of 10 points). These meetings are mandatory, and are an opportunity for us to exchange feedback about what worked and what could be improved regarding the course, individual areas for focus in strengthening one’s writing, and strategies for continuing to improve writing skills throughout the BSW program and beyond.  

 I can do the one-on-one’s by telephone, if needed. I’d like to meet you face-to-face, but I am sensitive to the time & expense that coming to campus can involve. If you don’t have other reasons to come to campus during the weeks that the one-on-one’s are scheduled, let me know and we’ll arrange a phone appointment.

Exercises/Threaded Discussions: (5 points each, for a total of 25 points). The threaded discussions require you to write a reflective piece in response to a prompt and comment on at least one other student’s piece. Most threaded discussions are asking for your reflections after completing a specific exercise.

 In addition to the above Graded Materials, I will also grade you on Attendance and Participation as follows:

 Attendance/Participation:   15 points

Regular and active online attendance is crucial. I expect that you will read the weekly assignments, listen to the online lectures, and participate in online learning activities within the timeframe set for each activity. Your attendance is reflected in your online presence during the week, as documented in Canvas “User Activity.” You will be marked absent for any week in which you have fewer than 20 minutes of user activity.

 Points for this aspect of the grade are determined as follows: three absences: 14 points; four absences: 13 points; five absences: 12 points, six absences: 11 points, etc.

 Online Learning Etiquette

I am committed to creating an online learning community that is respectful and conducive to learning. To create such an environment, all of us must work within the following policies:

1.  I expect everyone to conform to the course schedule below. Doing so will ensure that you contribute to your fellow students’ learning through your participation in threaded discussions and other activities. In particular, if you are tardy in your peer review, you will be holding your peer review partner up, making it more difficult for him or her to revise and complete the final draft by the deadline.
2.  Whether in a threaded discussion or as a peer reviewer, your online conversations with your fellow students should be clear, courteous, and respectful – just as if you were talking to someone face-to-face. I am committed to treating all of you with respect throughout the course, and I am confident that you will treat me in kind.

Grading Scale

There are 219 total points possible. The grading scale is as follows:

             95-100%          A                                  73-76.9%         C                     

            90-94.9%         A-                                 70-72.9%         C-

            87-89.9%         B+                                67-69.9%         D+

            83-86.9%         B                                  63-66.9%         D

            80-82.9%         B-                                 60-62.9%         D-

            77-79.9%         C+                                   <59.9%         F

            73-76.9%         C

          The Weekly Writing Process:          

         Step 1: Document introduction. I will provide information (based on class readings) on a particular document type. I will also provide models of well written (though not perfect) documents based on the Saundra cases as a guide for student writing.

 My presentation will focus on the purpose, audience(s), and required elements for each document. An Evaluation Rubric for each document will provide structure and guidance as you prepare the assignment and conduct peer reviews.

         Step 2: Drafting and review. Using the models and Evaluation Rubric presented in Step 1, you write a draft document based on the Greg case.

 During this step, I encourage you to seek feedback and advice from me, from the University Writing Center, or from a fellow student. Feel free to email me a draft of you document before you turn it in for grading; if you do so before the weekend, I promise that I will have comments back to you by Sunday evening. 

 You write your revision plan after receiving feedback and/or your own review and reflection on your draft.

Step 3: Revision and submission. Using your revision plan as a guide, revise your document based on feedback from others, your own review and reflection, and my input (if you asked me for feedback). You should also proofread your document thoroughly. You submit your revision plan and final draft to me for scoring on or before the due date for the document (see course calendar). I will only accept late assignments in the event of death of an immediate family member, or a similar level of disaster (e.g., an event that involves ambulances, firefighters, and/or police officers).

I will assume the role of the agency supervisor when reading the documents; usually, I have your documents scored and returned within 4 days. If you do not receive full points for a document, you can submit a rewrite until the due date for the next document.

 Once you have successfully written a final draft, place a clean copy (e.g., all questions & comments addressed) in a folder labeled Client File: Greg. At the end of the semester, this client file will simulate a “typical” client file from intake to closing. If your client file is complete, with clean copies of all documents in proper sequence, you can receive 2 extra credit points towards your final grade.

ADDITIONAL COURSE POLICIES AND INFORMATION

In addition to the articulated course specific policies and expectations, students are responsible for understanding all applicable University guidelines, policies, and procedures. The EMU Student Handbook is the primary resource provided to students to ensure that they have access to all University policies, support resources, and students' rights and responsibilities. Changes may be made to the EMU Student Handbook whenever necessary, and shall be effective immediately, and/or as of the date on which a policy is formally adopted, and/or on the date specified in the amendment.

Please note: Electing not to access the link provided below does not absolve a student of responsibility. For questions about any university policy, procedure, practice, or resource, please contact the Office of the Ombuds: 248 Student Center, 734.487.0074, emu_ombuds@emich.edu, or visit the website: www.emich.edu/ombuds 

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