Syllabus
Social Work 260 - Introduction to Social Work
Required Text
Popple, P.R. & Leighninger, L. (2011). Social Work, Social Welfare, and American Society. (8th Ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson Publishing Company. Compare prices for your textbooks through the University Store Price Comparison site. They will show you all of the options from the University Store plus several online options to help you find the best price.
Course Description
The course introduces students to the profession of Social Work as well as to the Baccalaureate Social Work program. We will examine the history of Social Work and the broader field of Social Welfare. On overarching goal of this course is to assist students in understanding what Social work is and whether it is a field in which they wish to pursue a career.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course the students will be able to:
- Discuss the history of Social Work
- Describe practice settings and career opportunities in Social Work
- Discuss some of the problems and approaches addressed by Social Work, such as: mental illness, substance abuse, criminal justice, social inequality, poverty, and family violence
- Describe what generalist Social Work practice is
- Evaluate a practice setting
- Evaluate personal interest in and capacity for pursuing Social Work as a career
Assignments
Note: See the course schedule to understand the pattern of assignment due dates. See the calendar for specific due dates and times.
Documentation
It is expected that all work other than your own will be documented as such. Failure to do will result in complete loss of credit for the assignment and the incident will be reported to the student honor office for review.
During this course we will be examining multiple issues that confront Social Work clients and the challenges of using Social Work knowledge and skills to address those issues. Each week you will be reading from the text, taking a quiz, doing an experiential activity, and a learning activity. There are three exams.
Grading
- 13 Quizzes – 20 points each (20% of final grade)
- 3 Exams – 100 points each (30% of final grade)
- Experiential Activities (25% of final grade)
- Introductions Discussion – 10 points
- Social History Interview – 10 points
- Trust Activity – 15 points
- Social Worker Interview – 15 points
- “Helium” Hula Hoop – 15 points
- IAT or Insider/Outsider – 15 points
- Site Visit Discussion – 10 points
- Poverty – 15 points
- ReMoved Discussion – 10 points
- Traffic Jam – 15 points
- Food Drive – 30 points
- Visit – 15 points
- Homelessness Discussion – 10 points
- Age Related Physical Changes Simulation – 15 points
- Learning Activities (25% of final grade)
- Case Studies – 5 points
- Political Perspectives – 15 points
- Change Agent Discussion – 10 points
- BLS Discussion – 10 points
- Social Work Values – 15 points
- Human Knot – 15 points
- Wheatley House – 15 points
- Change Agents Orgs Discussion – 10 points
- Angry Eye Discussion – 10 points
- Learning Activity 2 – 15 points
- Consequences of Abuse – 15 points
- Smith Family – 10 points
- Social Welfare Programs – 15 points
- Freedom Writers – 15 points
- Tammy’s Story – 15 points
- When Kids Get Life – 15 points
- What’s Medically Wrong with This? – 15 points
- Mental Health Discussion – 10 points
- Homelessness Solutions – 15 points
- Living Old Discussion - 10 points
Quizzes total points = 260
Exams total points possible = 300
Experiential activities total points possible = 200
Learning activities total points possible = 255
Mid-course feedback total points possible = 1
Total points possible overall = 1016
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Grading by points: |
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945 points or more = A 915-944 = A – 885-914 = B + 845-884 = B |
815-844 = B – 785-814 = C + 745-784 = C 715-744 = C – |
685-714 = D + 645-684 = D 615-644 = D – 614 or less = F |
Special Accommodations for Students with a Disability
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, all qualified students enrolled in this course are entitled to “reasonable accommodation.” It is the student’s responsibility to disclose to the teacher any special need she/he may have before the end of the first week of class. BYU Idaho will provide upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Disability Services at (208) 496-9210.