The student, the Department, and the agency interact within a systems context, giving and receiving feedback in the ongoing educational process. Recognizing the interdependence of these elements, the Department conducts ongoing evaluation on a multitude of levels, with all participants in the field program responsible for feedback and maintenance.
The Learning Contract
Within field, students have various resources available for the development of their field experience. In most cases the field instructor is both the administrative and the educational supervisor, although portions of the administrative component may be delegated to other agency personnel with whom the student
addresses the various field assignments. Another key resource is the student’s faculty liaison, who is not only available during site visits, but can provide consultation or direct intervention as requested by the student and/or the field instructor. The student, with their field instructor, will design a learning contract by which their professional goals, the field objectives, and opportunities and resources provided by the agency and school can best be used. The learning contract is completed within IPT.
Students must be active participants in the development of their own field program, reflecting on past experiences, current demands of the semester objectives, and the nature of the field agency to determine where to focus learning. The field instructor and faculty liaison can reinforce the learning environment and help to sequence learning so as to make it manageable and appropriate to the contexts of the agency and classroom instruction.
In general, learning contracts include several types of goals:
4. Goals related to semester objectives in which the student predicts learning opportunities provided by the field setting. For example, the agency may not require the development of case assessments, yet there is an educational objective that calls for skill in this area of professional activity.
5. Goals related to the knowledge and skills required for service delivery in a particular agency. For example, although first semester MSW field objectives do not call for skill in the use of the DSM-IV, students placed in mental health agencies, which routinely use the DSM-IV, should promptly find out what it is and how to use it.
6. Goals related to the student’s own career and/or personal goals. For example, students who want to supplement their practice experience with a special population group may develop relevant educational goals/objectives to broaden their field experience in relation to that clientele. Another example is one in which a student incorporates a personal goal to become more assertive in his/her interaction with others.
The educational objectives and competencies are statements of minimal expectations for all students. Students are expected to further individualize their field experience by developing relevant and feasible contracts that meet their unique needs.
Student Self-Evaluation
Students are expected to take an active, participatory role in completing their evaluation forms with their field instructors. Additionally, students submit self-evaluations each semester under the direction of their faculty liaison. The end of the semester self-evaluation should use the field objectives, as well as the objectives from the educational contract.
Field Instructor Ongoing Evaluation of Student Progress
Evaluation of student performance in field is an ongoing process throughout the placement. The purpose of the evaluation process is to help the student examine educational progress in meeting the objectives for each semester. As previously emphasized, these objectives and competencies represent the minimum expectations of performance at the completion of each course. It is the ongoing responsibility of the field instructor to work with the student in addressing these goals and the final responsibility to evaluate how well the student has mastered the necessary material within a given agency setting.
Opportunity must be provided for each student to meet each objective. The objectives serve as the ultimate basis for course planning and evaluation of student performance. The progress made by each student is assessed in the following ways throughout the semester:
8. Verbal presentation of material
9. Discussion of agency tasks with the field instructor 10. Agency documentation
11. Interaction with the student’s peer group 12. Interaction with other personnel in the setting
13. Direct observation of the student at work on a particular task or working with clients 14. Discussion during faculty liaison visits
Field Instructor Online Evaluation of Student Progress
The field instructor prepares an online evaluation of each student at specific points in the course of the placement. Guidelines and procedures for evaluation of student performance are standardized throughout the field sequence. The evaluation instruments are designed to measure the performance of each student as assessed against course objectives and the goals of the Educational Contract. All forms are found in Section VII: Selected Forms and are to be completed in IPT.
The student is expected not only to participate in the process, but also to have an opportunity to review the evaluation. However, in the final analysis, the evaluation is the field instructor’s assessment of student performance. Neither the student nor the faculty liaison can change the content; however, the faculty liaison has the responsibility to assign the final grade. The faculty liaison also has the option of appending material. The field instructor, student and faculty liaison electronically sign the evaluation. Copies of all components of the final evaluation will be furnished to the school, the agency and the student. The original will be kept in the student’s electronic field file. Students will also submit their self-evaluation and/or other material with the final evaluation for inclusion in their permanent record.