Outline

Overview

Field education is a core component in all social work degree programs. The 60 days of this first placement and the fortnightly seminars provide a forum in which to explore issues concerning the theory/practice relationship, the development of core social work practice knowledge, skills and values as well as opportunities for support and consultation with other students and Faculty staff. The written assignments comprise the placement portfolio.

Unit details and rules

Unit code	SCWK5004
Academic unit	Social Work
Credit points	18
Prohibitions ?	None
Prerequisites ?	SCWK5010
Corequisites ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Pam Joseph, pam.joseph@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Amelia Boyers, amelia.boyers@sydney.edu.au
Tutor(s)	Pam Joseph, pam.joseph@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Placement	Placement portfolio 1: Learning plan Written task	0%	-	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Placement	Placement portfolio 2: Mid placement evaluation report Written assessment	0%	-	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Placement	Placement portfolio 3: End of placement report (and full portfolio) Professional experience placement and written portfolio	0%	-	2000 words
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Learning circle group presentation Presentation	0%	Week 13	Maximum 30 minutes including Q&A.
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ? = group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Placement portfolio (i) Learning plan: The Learning plan should be approximately 1500 - 2000 words. The learning plan must be signed by your field educator, external social work supervisor (if relevant) and the student. As part of the overall learning process, you are also required to keep a learning journal, which should be incorporated into your learning plan, as a learning strategy.
Placement portfolio (ii) Mid placement evaluation report: The mid-placement report should be between 1500 and 2000 words. It is to be written in a critically reflective style and not in the format of the original learning plan. The mid-placement report is written by the student, following the mid-placement liaison visit and after further discussions with the field educator and external social work supervisor (if relevant). The field educator and external social work supervisor (if relevant) read, sign and date the report and add their comments. The student signs and dates the report once she/he receives the comments from her/his field educator and if relevant, external social work supervisor.
Placement portfolio (iii) End of placement report (and full portfolio): The end of placement report should be between 1500 and 2000 words. It is written by the student, following discussions with the field educator and external social work supervisor, if relevant. It should be presented as part of the final portfolio. End of placement portfolio - a hard copy of the whole portfolio must be submitted. This will comprise a copy of the following:
- learning plan
- mid-placement report
- mid-placement evaluation report
- final placement report including the field educator's comments and recommendations
- completed time sheet
Learning circle group presentation: Each group will present on a placement topic which has been common to their experiences. Each group (learning circle) presentation is to be no more than 30 minutes, including 10 minutes for questions and
discussions.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

You may only use artificial intelligence and writing assistance tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator, and if you do use them, you must also acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section.

Studiosity is permitted for postgraduate units unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Compulsory pre-placement seminar	Seminar (6 hr)
Week 04	Mapping the terrain: understanding the organisational context	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 06	Self care and critically reflective social work practice	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 08	Aboriginal kinship and cultural diversity	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 10	Privileging service users' knowledge	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 12	Ethical responses to conflict and complexity.	Seminar (3 hr)
Week 14 (STUVAC)	Group presentations	Seminar (3 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Attendance: The Sydney School of Education and Social Work requires attendance of at least 90 percent of all seminars, workshops or lectures. Where a student is unable to attend at the required rate evidence of illness or misadventure may be required and the student may be required to undertake extra work. Students should discuss the circumstances of their absence(s) with the co-ordinator of the unit of study. Further details are provided in the School canvas site: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/13426

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 18 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 360-450 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings for this unit can be accessed through the Library eReserve, available on Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. demonstrate knowledge of professional social work and the social, political and economic context in which it is located
LO2. act professionally, with ability to separate personal and professional issues
LO3. demonstrate your knowledge of social work interventions and ability to use a range of social work skills
LO4. demonstrate your knowledge and ability to work within organisations
LO5. demonstrate your capacity to assess situations, advocate, negotiate effectively and communicate clearly in both written and oral form
LO6. evaluate and critically reflect on practice
LO7. demonstrate an openness to learning
LO8. demonstrate your readiness to progress and undertake second placement.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

If you are undertaking professional experience/field education placement as part of your enrolment in this unit of study, please assess your specific needs and requirements for the safe and successful completion of an external placement within a host organization. You will be given the opportunity to disclose any health issues that have a work health and safety significance before arranging a placement so that your safety, and the safety of others, can be properly assessed. The Professional Experience Coordinator/Field Education Manager will work to ensure that the workplace assignment to you is appropriate for your needs and requirements. If you are experiencing disability, and require reasonable adjustments to be arranged, please contact Disability Services as early as possible prior to commencing the internship. Please note, in all cases, and for the purpose of organizing reasonable adjustments, only the impact and not the nature, of your disability will be disclosed to the host organization.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

SCWK5004: Practice Learning 1

Semester 2 Early, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Site visit guidelines

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect