SW 582: Program Evaluation in Social Work Practice

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID:   SW 582: Program Evaluation in Social Work Practice
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a social work course for graduate students by Pam Bowers at Cal Poly Humboldt. The open textbook provides a framework for understanding and conducting program evaluation in Indigenous communities. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to use the best possible option and the most affordable cost. Most students access the open textbook in the accessible pdf or through their website link to the text. 

Course Title and Number: SW 582: Program Evaluation in Social Work Practice
Brief Description of course highlights:  This required graduate-level program evaluation course is intended to prepare students to produce research in social work practice at the agency and community level in rural and Native American communities. In this class research concepts are applied to real-world situations and contexts. A significant part of the class focuses on the compromises necessary in conducting agency-based research and how to think about when the quality of a project has been compromised too much to be of value. The class also addresses new content specific to program evaluation including: summative vs. formative evaluations and research methods for each, logic models, cost-benefit analyses, and other evaluation models commonly required by program funders. Students gain an understanding of the politics and ethics of conducting and using research in environments where gaining knowledge per se is not the only purpose.

Student population: Graduate social work students who are in their foundation year of coursework will take this course. Prerequisites include admission to the MSW program.

Learning or student outcomes: 
Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior, particularly with respect to work with Indigenous and rural Communities.
Competency 4: Engage In Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice, particularly with respect to work with Indigenous and rural Communities.
Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities particularly with respect to work with Indigenous and rural Communities.

Key challenges faced and how resolved: I am mainly focusing on ensuring I have the appropriate permissions to use the book. It is copyrighted and openly available, but I want to ensure I am using the tool with respect to their intentions and implementation goals. I have been communicating with the authors to address my concerns and permissions.

Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption:  Students will complete a program evaluation proposal as one of their assignments and include specific Indigenous frameworks in their design. The book will support their learning in this area.

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: Telling Our Story in Our Place and Time:  Indigenous Evaluation Framework

https://portalcentral.aihec.org/indigeval/lists/indigenousevaluationfrmwork/allitems.aspx

Brief Description: Contents include: Framing evaluation in our communities, Weaving the basket, Creating Knowledge, Core cultural values, Engaging community in evaluation, Creating our story, Building the scaffolding, Responsive information gathering, and Planning, implementing and celebrating. The resource includes personal stories, dialogue, and articles from web sites as well as copyrighted articles that have been reprinted by permission.
Please provide a link to the resource   www.aihec.org

Authors: Joan LaFrance and Richard Nichols written for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.
Student access:  Students will use Canvas to access resources and information for the course.

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Students are saving around $80-$100 depending on the type of program evaluation textbook being required.

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. Save students money, identify best practices for working with Indigenous populations with regard to program evaluation.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? Google search of relevant authors brought me to this site.

Sharing Best Practices: Give it a try, you never know what you might find that can save your students money. It does take some time to review materials, so plan ahead!

Describe any challenges you experienced, and lessons learned. Making sure I had permission from the organization first. But the conversation was honest and ongoing to ensure I am offering quality educational materials for students at a low/affordable cost.

Instructor Name Pam Bowers
I am a Social Work Professor at Cal Poly Humboldt.  I teach Program Evaluation, Research Methods, Qualitative and Indigenous Methods, Master's Projects, Macro Practice. 

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://socialwork.humboldt.edu/people/pam-bowers

Please describe the courses you teach.  The courses I teach are mainly in the area of research and community practice in social work. I teach more courses at the graduate level and focus on integrating relational approaches to research.

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  I aim to utilize a relational approach to my teaching and adapt to students needs depending on the student cohort and their years of experience in the discipline of social work. This is an evolving profession, with a long history, so it is important we stay current and students become good consumers of the vast amount of information that is out there.

My research interests are in community based participatory research approaches, scholarship of teaching and learning, technology in social work, cultural relevancy & adaptation, and basic needs research.