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Just a little one - thinking about which of my families to do my MI with for the essay, I have a family that are definitely ambivalent about certain things, but they require an interpreter, which was suggested to be not the best to do the recording with.  Would it be suitable to base my MI recording and essay from the focusing section of the MI steps?

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In the recent systemic in unit teaching, i mentioned John Burnham's Approach, Method, Technique paper to a few of you which you can find here: https://www.complextrauma.uk/uploads/2/3/9/4/23949705/burnham_amt.pdf . I am also attaching a short paper by Ziminski which gives an overview of many of the different systemic perspectives/theories including a handy, chronological table of all of them and their key ideas.

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Frances- Pre direct observation reflection

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Frances- Pre direct observation reflection

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Hiya- just a quick one. Is there a word limit for this bit as I can't seem to find it (might just be me). Also are we meant to reply in bullet points or in full sentences/paragraphs. Thank you!

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Hi
Just to clarify, for the self-reflexive bit of the essay, would this be separate to exploring the CD domains or tied in with them? Also, if it is separate would this be of equal weighting to each domain? Just trying to manage structure and word count. Thanks

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Feedback - please do email me with feedback on the session's content/teaching/pacing/materials etc. I did think about setting up a survey monkey but I know we ask you to do this a lot (if this is more helpful let me know). If you want to send some things through anonymously perhaps you can collate some feedback and get one person in your unit to send it back without naming who has said what. All of this is happily received as it helps me learn and adapt my practice and the sessions so that they are more useful!

Tash

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Hi all,

I mentioned to a couple of you over the last few weeks that I have been reading (and watching) some work and discussion by Bell Hooks, a feminist, professor and social activist. I got particularly engrossed in this discussion between her and Gloria Steinem about Feminism and Race (amongst other things) so I thought I would share. It is long but worth tuning into even for a bit! Tash

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bell hooks & Gloria Steinem at Eugene Lang College

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Happy Tuesday,

I just wanted to follow up on our in unit teaching from the last week or so with some further reading and tools.

First off, we spoke a bit about the fact that definitions of reflection/reflexivity are subjective and that much of the research body uses these terms in slightly different ways. D'Cruz et al, have a look at the different definitions and uses of these ideas in recent social work literature and give an excellent oversight of many of the components of reflexive practice. I have attached their article for you to have a look through.

Secondly, in some sessions, we spoke a bit about Gibbs' reflective cycle as a tool for structuring reflective thinking/writing/logs. As I only touched on this, I thought that this overview from the Uni of Edinburgh might be helpful if you are interested in using his model as it describes each stage using a really clear example:  https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle

Finally, we didn't have as much time or opportunity to discuss use of self and the interplay with professional boundaries in the session. The Social Matters podcast, which I posted earlier on the padlet, has episodes on both of these topics and can be found here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-social-matters-podcast/id1436421996. If this an area that people are particularly interested than let me know and I can distribute some other reading.

We have 1 to 1s coming up in the next few weeks so if you want to me to discuss any of these ideas further in those sessions then drop me a line.

Have excellent ends of the week and weekends!

Tash

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Sorry I have quite a few questions about the child observation essay!

-   The marking criteria asks that you have a ‘clearly expressed and convincing argument’ which is ‘insightful and shows signs of originality’. We haven’t been given a specific question to answer so I am finding this hard. Given the huge scope of what we have to cover in the essay, the argument will have to be very broad which leaves little room for originality. Do you have any advice?

I think in this essay ‘the argument’ refers to your ability to apply theory to your observations accurately to both draw conclusions about what you’ve observed and how CD is useful (or not) in practice. My interpretation of originality is perhaps connected to the way in which you critique and give rationale for your theoretical choices and bring in your own reflexive relationship with both the process of observation and your response to theory/research.

-      I’m also not clear whether the argument should relate to child development theories in light of our observations (eg. ‘child development theories are of limited use for understanding development in the real world’) or the actual child we are observing (eg. ‘child development theories would generally suggest that [observed child] is developing typically for her age’)?

I think this is a bit of a both and. It would be useful to locate the relevance of child development theory (and child observation as a skill) in relation to social work perhaps commenting on the strength and limitations of the use of both in practice. I would say the predominant task is to use the theory to analyse your observations of the child, demonstrating how theory helps you to make sense of their development. I would be mindful of staying away from strong assertions about normative development instead exploring how you could understand actions/ sequences of action through the lens of theory.

-      Do they want us to comment on what we have observed purely through the lens of the ‘big’ global theories they introduced to us (eg. Piaget, Erikson, attachment) or can we use smaller, more specific ones (eg. a theory of language development, or a smaller theory which has formed the basis of a research study?). Some of them (eg. Freud) are not really considered relevant now so it seems strange to use them in our essays yet the way the workshop was structured on the recall day seemed to imply that it is those ‘big’ theories that they want us to discuss.

Again a both and, you will need to explore some of the dominant theories however definitely draw on ‘smaller’ theories based on more up to date thought and research. It would be helpful to give a rationale for this based on the (sometimes significant) limitations of the ‘big’ theory.  You don’t need to include every major theorist.

-      Depth vs breadth within each domain – Frontline seem to want a very detailed analysis but given the limited word count it seems that this will be at the expense of breadth. Would it be ok to acknowledge other areas but focus on one area within a domain? For example, for the cognitive domain could you nod to aspects like problem solving and reasoning and then focus almost exclusively on language development (as long as you provide a reflexive rationale)? Or would you recommend doing at least 2 in less depth (there’s a limited amount of analysis/critique/reflexivity you can do in >300 words)?

It is important that you cover all four domains with equal weighting however, yes, I think you could focus within a domain on a particular aspect of the domain (with rationale and reference to the other elements) to demonstrate depth. I wouldn’t solely write about one aspect but perhaps the difference could be made on whether you are discussing broader themes across your observation versus including a vignette or similar to explore a particular ‘episode’. It could also be helpful to compare and contrast how theories might explain a particular sequence as a form of critique.

-      We have to include an ‘appendix including evidence of observation notes from at least one session’ – the notes I wrote immediately after the observation are not in full sentences, they are merely prompts for myself. Should I upload them as they are or write them out more clearly so the examiner knows what I am on about?

I think they are fine in note form, your appendix is not marked and are really there to add context to the reader/marker.

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An interesting read about practice in our new context.

Tash

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Structuring: the way you structure the essay is up to you entirely as long as it is coherent and logical. I do think that structuring it by developmental domain seems logical and it clearly sign posts to the reader/marker that you are discussing all elements of development. That said, the choice is yours!
What If I can't observe in a school or nursery?
It’s an unfortunate reality that lots of participants probably won’t be able to do this. You won’t be penalised in anyway for not seeing a child in a learning setting. What I would encourage though, is trying to observe a child in different ‘settings’ at home i.e. meal time, play time, with different parents or siblings and at the park etc. This should ensure that you still have rich observations to draw on for your assignment.

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In response to a query about linking your reflective logs to the PCFs and a concern that you might not be able to do this yet because you are only shadowing and not really completing direct work....

Your reflective log can be based entirely on your shadowing at placement or it could be on something you learned at the SI or have touched on in your induction.

With the PCFs, what you are learning through shadowing will naturally link to the them. They can be as much about your thinking, reflecting and learning as they are about your physical practice with families, especially at the beginning of your placement/learning.

For example, on your placement so far have you attended a meeting that incorporates different professionals? – if so what has that begun to tell you about ‘the role of the social worker in different professional contexts’ (PCF1.1 professionalism) or have you witnessed some multi-agency working in this kind of meeting (PCF 8.6 organisations and contexts) and what was your experience of it i.e. did everyone agree on actions easily or were there some conflicting roles and responsibilities. Perhaps someone from the health department/police/mental health services had a different view from the social worker? How was this resolved.

Or what professional knowledge (PCF5) have you learned in your placement so far? I.e. the legislative framework that underpins the service or different set of principles/ideas/theories that seem to guide practice in that setting?

Also you are bound to have some reflections (PCF 6) about your experience of your placement– was it similar or different to how you thought it would be and why – what does this tell you about yourself or about the service. Does your experience align with your professional or personal values (PCF 2) or did you find that you disagreed with some of what you saw happening and what was that about?

You don’t need to cover all nine PCFs in each reflection but you will naturally cover at least 3 or 4 I’d guess. The PCFs for this stage of your learning experience are broken down here: https://www.basw.co.uk/system/files/resources/pcf-first-placement.pdf  (frontline’s stage 1 is the equivalent of ‘the first placement’ in other courses).

Keep in mind that you have already demonstrated that you have ‘met’ all 9 pcfs at the readiness for practice level whilst at the SI and in your portfolio or you would not have been able to pass your RFP assignments.

Tash

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Please post your name with your posts so that we all know who to reply to. Also, be mindful of confidentiality - this is a shared board so please think of your own confidentiality and do not use this as a space to talk about families that we are working with.

Tash

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For our reflexivity essay, what kind of examples are appropriate to use? Should we stick to hypothetical ones, or can we use examples from our personal lives/our thoughts about the roleplays we have seen during the SI?

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Hi! Roughly how many references are we expected to include for the law exam, considering it's only 1000 words? Thank you!

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As the posts stack up in each column, older posts will be moved to the bottom. Make sure you scroll down in each column to access older posts or query answers.

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What is the difference between 'Actions' and 'Implementations' in my Emotional Development Plan?

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What is the difference between 'Actions' and 'Implementations' in my Emotional Development Plan?

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These are quite similar so if there's some overlap then don't worry. You might want to consider implementation as being a more detailed and applied level of actions. I.e if your action was to take time out during the day to ensure a better work life balance, your implementation might be: Ensuring I take a lunch break, taking all allocated break during SI or taking 15 minute breaks during the working day and going outside/doing something not connected to work.

Hope that's helpful. Don't stress too much - you will all have written something appropriate I'm sure. This is just to get you thinking about your well being strategies

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Can I name my borough in my RFP assignment?

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Can I name my borough in my RFP assignment?

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Please do not specifically name your borough in the body of the text and use 'metropolitan borough' or similar. If you references reveal your LA then don't worry. You can't do much about that!

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Here's the article that i discussed in our PT check in today about professionalism and professional boundaries in particular. Great to see you all!

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Some of the longstanding practice tutors in London and the East have put together this (awesome) social work podcast and i thought that this episode might be particularly useful when thinking about your readiness for practice portfolio....

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Three friends that happen to be social workers discuss current social work issues from their front room. Following on from the diversity discussion in episode 4, Nadia, Eugene and Fran expand the conversation to discuss the notion of Reflexivity in...

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episode 5. reflexivity; who we are and what we bring

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‎The Social Matters Podcast: Episode 5. Reflexivity; who we are and what we bring on Apple Podcasts

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‎Three friends that happen to be social workers discuss current social work issues from their front room. Following on from the diversity discussion in episode 4, Nadia, Eugene and Fran expand the conversation to discuss the notion of Reflexivity in...