Instructor Responsibilities

Direct Practice

Social Work Field Instruction is crucial to the educational process of our students. Most students report that their field practicum is the most rewarding aspect of their educational program. UWM Social Work
students are a diverse group with varied professional and personal experiences and should be matched with learning experiences consistent with their abilities and the social work competency objectives outlined on the field evaluation. Students should not be considered employees in this role and should have specific learning objectives outlined in their Learning Plan each semester.

To ensure continuity across field placements, the following educational experiences are required for direct practice field education students. Timely feedback to students is crucial to the optimal development of their social work competencies. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather a brief overview of the minimum requirements for social work field education.

  1. Provide a minimum of one hour of face-to-face structured supervision weekly; Provide feedback on the development of their social work competencies and needed areas of improvement.
  2. Monitor student’s communication (verbal and non-verbal), engagement, and collaboration with agency consumers, agency staff, community collaterals, and assigned Field Instructor.
  3. Monitor student’s professional development including accountability, reliability, timeliness, and writing skills, etc.
  4. Expect that a student adhere to NASW Code of ethics and values and provide timely and constructive and timely feedback to them; Assist students in understanding how ethics and values guide agency policy and practice
  5. Monitor the student’s self-awareness and their capacity to develop professional relationships with agency consumers
  6. Ensure that students acquire engagement, interviewing and assessment skills.
  7. Ensure that students understand the role and function of the agency services in addressing social and economic justice.
  8. Ensure that students understand the continuum of termination with agency consumers as a process, not an event, at the end of service provision.
  9. Sensitize students to the impact that ethnicity, age, gender, religion or spiritual orientation, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and relationship to the dominant culture has on professional relationships and to their own feelings or emotions about the issues; and ensure that they are capable of dealing with these differences in an open, constructive manner.
  10. Provide the knowledge base necessary for students to objectively and scientifically assess a client system’s functioning and capacity to be involved in the helping process.
  11. Ensure that the student has the opportunity to assist the agency consumers in developing appropriate goals and intervention plans
  12. Ensure that the student complies with confidentiality requirements and other organizational policies and procedures.
  13. Provide the student with exposure to program outcome goals, program evaluation, accreditation, etc.
  14. Ensure that students understand the agency organizational structure, funding streams and macro influences on agency policies and programs
Macro Practice

Social Work Field Instruction is crucial to the educational process of our students. Most students report that their field practicum is the most rewarding aspect of their educational program. UWM Social Work students are a diverse group with varied professional and personal experiences and should be matched with learning experiences consistent with their abilities and the social work competency objectives outlined on the field evaluation. Students should not be considered employees in this role and should have specific learning objectives outlined in their Learning Plan each semester.

To ensure continuity across field placements, the following educational experiences are required for macro practice field education students. Timely feedback to students is crucial to the optimal development of their social work competencies. This list is not intended to be exhaustive, but rather a brief overview of the minimum requirements for social work field education.

  1. Monitor student’s communication (verbal and non-verbal) processes with agency consumers, agency staff, community collaterals and assigned Field Instructor.
  2. Monitor student’s professional development including accountability, reliability, timeliness, and writing skills, etc.
  3. Expect that a student adheres to NASW Code of ethics and values and provide timely and constructive and timely feedback to them; Assist students in understanding how ethics and values guide agency policy and practice.
  4. Ensure that students understand the role and function of the agency services in addressing social and economic justice.
  5. Monitors student’s demonstration of cultural sensitivity and their ability to communicate effectively with a diverse group of professionals and consumers.
  6. Sensitize students to understand how ethnicity, age, gender, religion or spiritual orientation, sexual orientation, socio-economic status guides the development of agency services.
  7. Assist the student in understanding how community needs assessments are done.
  8. Ensure that the student complies with confidentiality requirements and other organizational policies and procedures.
  9. Provide the student with opportunities to learn about and/or contribute to the updating or development of program policies and/or procedures.
  10. Expose student to a variety of administrative functions (e.g., budgeting, fund raising, grant writing,marketing, personnel issues, program development, etc.).
  11. Expose student to agency and program goals, outcomes, evaluation, and accreditation, etc.
  12. Ensure that students understand the agency organizational structure, the culture and history of the organization, the mechanisms for ensuring job satisfaction and providing feedback loops for all levels of employees.
  13. Educate the student about the direct impact of local, state, and federal policy and legislation on the agency’s funding and services, and on the agency consumers.
  14. Provide a minimum of one hour of face-to-face structured supervision weekly.

Field Course Objectives

Field Advisory Board

Deadlines for Submitting Field Applications

Fall Semester:
General Applications – May 15
School Social Work – Feb. 15
Veteran’s Administration – Feb. 15

Spring Semester:
General Applications – Sept. 15

Summer Semester:
General Applications – Feb. 15