Social Work 5970

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:   SW 5970
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a Social Work course for undergraduate or graduate students by Anh-Luu Huynh-Hohnbaum at California State University, Los Angeles. The open textbook provides [brief description of highlights and any instructor supplements]. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to have all of the online resources in one easily accessible page for students to reference when needed. Most student access the open textbook directly online in website format.

Course Title and Number: SW 5970 Advanced Social Work Research 
Brief Description of course highlights:  Independent research towards a thesis or a culminating research project under guidance of faculty member. Acceptable final written report required.
https://ecatalog.calstatela.edu/preview_course_nopop.php?catoid=70&coid=513995

Student population: Master’s of Social Work students in their advanced year of the program.
Learning or student outcomes:   Students will learn 

1. To be able to conceptualize an overarching plan for a research project, including problem formulation and research design skills. 
2. To identify ethical principles in the protection of human subjects, particularly vulnerable populations, and to identify necessary measures to protect those participants.
3. To identify research problem, including the background and scope, and research questions.
4. To identify literature to present comprehensive theoretical and methodological review of the topic.

 Key challenges faced and how resolved: All of the articles need to be accessed through the website, and some students had connection issues at home, making it difficult to download the sources.  

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: 

Brief Description: Multiple journal articles were used for readings and as case examples. Students were able to download directly from the Canvas website. Youtube videos and website links are also shared.
Please provide a link to the resource
Authors:  multiple journal articles, youtube videos, website links
Student access:  Students access directly on line with links through the Canvas webpage.

Supplemental resources: I have students access an online resource for APA citations. This is in lieu of purchasing the APA manual. The website is not only free, it gives very clear directions on the various citation rules.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html
I've also uploaded various Youtube videos that focus on various steps of research (e.g. problem formulation, searching for articles, writing a literature review).

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.
License: The majority of material is copyrighted, but accessed through the library subscription of journals.

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. The primary motivation was to lower costs for students. A second motivation was to provide all of the resources together on website for easy access and organization. The other goal was to engage students through the use of short videos. The videos not only helped different types of learners, but students could watch the videos again if they had questions.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I used resources from other universities, as well as consulted with faculty.

Sharing Best Practices: The sustainability of open education relies on sharing with others. Please give suggestions for faculty who are just getting started with OER or Low Cost options.  List anything you wish that you had known earlier.

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned.  The main challenge would be students accessing some of the resources at home if they have poor or limited wifi access.  To address this, I have given time at the beginning of each class period for students to download the necessary articles. 

Instructor Name:  Anh-Luu Huynh-Hohnbaum
I am a Social Work professor at the California State University, Los Angeles. I teach research methods, and master's thesis/culminating research projects.  I have also taught Introduction to Social Work and Human Behavior. 

Please describe the courses you teach.  Dr. Huynh-Hohnbaum’s research focuses on juvenile delinquency, parental incarceration, multiracial families and cross-cultural competency. She teaches in the research sequence as well as supervises master’s thesis and projects.

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  My goal in teaching is encourage students to actively engage in developing their own ability to think critically and to communicate thoughtfully and effectively. I believe it is my role to teach students to acquire and develop those critical thinking skills, which are invaluable in helping them problem-solve. I also try to incorporate readings that include diverse backgrounds in order to increase inclusion and representation of under-represented populations.