5.14.1 Similarities and differences between the practitioners
Similarities between educators and FI supervisors were their passion and desire to teach and facilitate the integration between theory and practice, so that students can develop their professional practice skills. Another aspect shared between the two groups was the moderate use of technology, with some participants in both groups feeling more comfortable to use technology than others. The educators and the supervisors were able to acknowledge student differences, while the supervisors were in a better a position to form more meaningful relationships with the students, through the use of group supervision; FI supervisors also offered support to students at a personal and professional level.
Both educators and supervisors saw the value of using real world examples for teaching. These practitioners were also able to provide role model behaviours appropriate to the profession. Implications for course design are to facilitate opportunities for students to work in small groups, as well as to use real world examples, so that students are able to see the link between theory and practice.
5.14.2 Lessons Learnt
Nevertheless some of the lessons learnt from phase two, and the implications for course design are as follows:
● All the field instruction supervisors at second year level are external supervisors who conduct group supervision, as it is too costly to conduct individual supervision with
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students. While this is not ideal, group supervision creates opportunities for students to learn from each other.
● Practitioners acknowledged the need to consider issues of diversity within the HEI environment and the meso practice method was used at one HEI to facilitate first year students’ adjustment to the HEI space.
● An educator, Nick described students were recognised to take more than regulation time to complete their studies. These comments suggest that course design would need to scaffold content for students, and incorporate activities that encourage learning and reflection. At the same time, consideration will be given to the similarities that students share.
● The class sizes are large, with educators teaching between 33 and 311 students in a meso practice class. The size of classes requires use of creative solutions to support students’ learning, through the considered use of TEL and tutorials to create multiple platforms for communication amongst the educator and the students. Hornsby and Osman, (2014, p. 717) suggest that methods to support teaching and learning within large classes flourish when educators “privilege student learning in their pedagogical designs”, which is a central aspect of authentic learning.
● The FI supervisors indicated that the use of schools as sites for students to conduct meso practice can be challenging, as students need to conduct promotive groups at schools without onsite supervision. Students need to have a level of competency in meso practice skills before they commence conducting groups at these placements. ● The practitioners noted that student demonstrated difficulty “to bridge the gap
between theory and practice” (Nkosi, 2013). It was suggested that students need to understand better how aspects of theory are related to practice. The redesigned course should therefore include activities that assist students to make better links between theory and practice such as the use of experiential learning methods.
● The practitioners suggest that teaching of meso practice and FI placements should emulate what students will encounter in professional practice; this requires that students are confronted with real world, complex and messy problems to develop the required social work skills.
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Phase two of this study provided greater understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of current meso practice teaching and field work as well the opportunities in the meso practice setting, and guidelines that can be used when redesigning the course. It made me aware of the characteristics and the attributes that are valuable for practitioners in conducting meso practice. It was clear that different practitioners brought their own lived experiences and passion to their teaching.
This chapter shows how the objectives that were set for this phase, noted in section 5.1 of Chapter Five were achieved. The data suggests that student collaboration, reflection, well- chosen activities and the use of technology enhanced learning are assets that could be further engaged in course design. Challenges noted included the lack of indigenous content material on group work, and the poor use of technology which could be used to a greater extent to support skills development and strengthening of meso practice education.
Evidence from the interviews with the practitioners suggested the potential value of authentic learning: for example, this could take the form of designing activities that give students the experience of being a group, (as described by educator Rene), and it suggests ways to strengthen these aspects in the redesigned meso practice course. Thus opportunities for course design that incorporate the elements of authentic learning and the use of diverse real world activities will be considered.
Chapter Six provides an understanding of the contents of the course and how the learning management system was designed to support the incorporation of the elements of authentic learning.
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