Orientation & Training





For information about
Orientation & Training,
please choose the program
your student is in


BSW               MSW










 

BSW Field Instructor Orientation & Training

Professionals involved in the UAA field education process take on a role crucial to the development and training of Alaska's future professional social workers. This includes the responsibility to understand the educational objectives of the program and his/her role in assisting the student to attain them. The BSW program annually provides a comprehensive orientation to its field education program. A variety of means are utilized to help field instructors and other agency personnel who work with students prepare for their roles, including group orientation, site visits, provision of written materials, and telephone consultation. The faculty liaison and the BSW Field Education Coordinator are available for consultation as needed in addition to regularly scheduled contacts.

 

Social workers who apply to serve as field instructors for BSW students must complete an orientation/training held at the beginning of the fall semester each year. The orientation is designed to answer many common questions, introduce School faculty, encourage interaction between field instructors, and prepare the field instructor for the role he/she is taking on. Agency representatives other than the field instructors are encouraged to attend these sessions. Certificates of attendance are provided for all training activities, indicating content and number of hours of the training. All field instructors attend the orientation session even if they have attended during an earlier year. Students attend the same orientation session to ensure both parties hear the same material and begin to work together as a team on the field education experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

MSW Field Instructor Orientation & Training

New field instructors and new agency representatives must participate and complete a mandatory field instructor orientation/training workshop or work with the MSW Field Education Coordinator to find an alternative way to ensure critical information is communicated. The workshop is designed to answer many common questions, introduce people to the faculty of the School of Social Work and other supervisors, and prepare the supervisor for the supervisory role. Additional training sessions may be held as need arises. Workshops typically include the following topics:
  • orientation to the MSW foundation and concentration year curricula and to field work
  • orientation to generalist and advanced generalist social work practice as taught at University of Alaska Anchorage
  • introduction to teaching principles relevant to field instruction and to stages in the learning process
  • orientation to the field education course expectations
  • orientation to expectations of the student regarding learning contracts and the writing of objectives
  • evaluation measures and criteria for evaluation
  • problem solving