Social Work 360
Spring 2013
SW Intervention Methods II
Social Group Work
3credits
Instructor: Faculty
Tuesday & Thursday 9:10-11:00
What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is
woven into the lives of others. Pericles
Course Overview: Throughout this semester we will intentionally weave our lives in and around
and through each other. That is the nature of being in intentional groups. Learning how to do this
with grace and effectiveness is part of group work. Group work and team work have been
essential components of social work throughout history. They were key parts of early social
work efforts to change oppressive social conditions, promote democratic participation and heal
individual lives. Groups have been used to strengthen individual skills and capacities, enhance
organizational functioning (think “staff meetings”), improve quality of community life, and to
advocate for just social policies, institutions, and practices. Group as a psycho-therapeutic
modality has an equally rich history.
Most social work group practice occurs in organizational settings, requires collaboration
with others, and is shaped by community context. Further, the problems confronting individuals
and groups cannot be effectively understood or addressed outside the larger contexts in which
they occur. Personal struggles are intimately tied to social issues of poverty, inequality,
violence, mental illness, chemical dependency and discrimination. Group processes of critical
reflection, power analysis and participatory planning, action, and evaluation provide an
important bridge between personal struggles and public issues. Rare indeed is the agency which
does not offer some sort of group counseling process as well.
Effective social work practice calls for effective group participation, leadership skills,
and engagement in change efforts. It is through ongoing learning and teaching of the skills of
group work and team building that we craft spaces for collaborative action and we create
opportunities to empower people in the decision-making that affects their lives.
Course Content: In this course we will examine the opportunities for change and empowerment
through social work group practice. Course materials and assignments will focus on
engagement, assessment, participation, change and the principles and processes of facilitating
group work. . You will have hands-on opportunities to develop skills in group leadership and
facilitation. Lessons for practice will be drawn from case studies, set in diverse historical,
political and cultural contexts that document group efforts to promote change.
Relation to Other Courses: This course is the third in a series of social work practice courses.
It introduces students to work with groups, and prepares them to function as a group facilitator;
students will also gain skills for working as team members in agencies, organizations and
communities and as members of task forces.
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Important Course Policies: The number one course policy revolves around attendance and
responsibility. You are expected to be here and to participate. When you are assigned to lead a
group or participate in a group as a group member or contribute your labor to a group’s efforts
you simply must be here. There is no way around that. I am well aware that life gets
complicated. But when a group of people count on us we really have no choice but to be there for
them. We can’t reschedule an entire group with the same ease we can re-schedule an individual
meeting or appointment. And groups tend to move very, very quickly. Being absent from one
group meeting can put you light years behind, leave you out, and send the message that your
mates can not count on you.
If you intend to be a practicing social worker you must demonstrate your ability to be responsible
to those who count on you. If your life looks crazy, hectic, over loaded with obligations, and
stressful I am going to suggest you find an alternative time to take the class. If you miss class
meetings and are not excused then I will meet with you for the purpose of suggesting you drop
the course. This behavior will also substantially reduce your grade.
Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct is subject to an academic penalty by the course
instructor and/or a disciplinary sanction by the University of Montana. All students need to be
familiar with the Student Conduct Code. The Code is available for review online at
www.umt.edu/SA/VPSA/index.cfm/page/1321
Disability Accommodation: Students with disabilities who wish reasonable accommodations
should notify UM Disability Services and present documentation of accommodations needed to
the instructor.
Face to Face and On-Line Time: In this class you are asked to divide your time between faceto-face work and on-line work. For the first two weeks of class we will meet as a class face-toface on both Tuesday and Thursday. For the 3rd through the 8th weeks of class you will be in the
field running groups with diverse agencies. On one day during those weeks you will be in the
field and on the other day of the week you will be doing on line activities on your own. These
will include readings, a quiz, a discussion entry and a knowledge generation entry. After we
have participated in group work in the field for 6 weeks we will meet to process our experiences
and then it is back to the field.
Shulman, L. (2009). The skills of helping Individuals, families, groups and communities
(6th ed.).
Kaner, S. (2009). Facilitator’s guide to participatory decision-making.
Readings: Readings are assigned on a weekly basis. I will not take the time to tell you what is in
the readings. You must do the readings for yourself. And use the knowledge you have gleaned
from the readings to assist you in making wise practice decisions in the field, completing the
quiz, participating in the discussion forum and generating knowledge. On the days when we meet
face-to-face, please have done your readings prior to coming to class. On the days when we are
in the field, please have done your readings prior to heading into the field. All weekly reading
assignments are posted on Moodle.
Course Objectives: Here are the course objectives and how you will meet them this semester.
You will be leading and participating in mutual aid groups, meetings and task groups.
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Learning Goals
1: Understand the relationship between
of group work, meetings and task
forces taking an empowerment
approach to generalist social work.
Learning Outcomes
Students co-facilitate six weeks of group activities for clients in
the field. Class will be divided into two groups; Group one will be
in the field on Tuesday and on-line on Thursday. Group two will
be in the field on Thursday and on line on Tuesday.
2: Understand how the values and
ethics of the social work profession (i.e.
respect for human diversity, social
justice, self determination and equality)
influences the development and
implementation of intervention
strategies in agencies with groups and.
Ethical dilemmas will be documented and processed through
a series of group logs submitted weekly via a graded discussion
forum on Moodle.
3: Know group stages and processes in
mutual aid, task and problem solving
groups.
Student experience with each stage, with processes and in the
Problem solving groups will be documented weekly.
4: Identify and practice skills of group
work including group formation,
assessment and planning, group
development and intervention and
evaluation and termination.
Through a series of guided discussions students will verbally
Express their fluency with the language necessary for forming and
Facilitating groups and team meetings.
5: Become competent group
facilitators, knowledgeable of group
stage development and skilled at
facilitating the beginning, middle and
ending phases of task, educational and
mutual aid groups.
Each stage of group development will be documented through
student logs.
6: Identify evaluation methods for
assessing the effectiveness of
intervention efforts with groups and
teams
Goals, objectives and outcomes for each group will be specified,
observed and documented through student written work on
Moodle discussion board.
Practice groups in community
Weekly quiz on readings, each…………………….
Weekly knowledge sharing, each………………………
Weekly discussion, each ………………………………
Paper on group process………………………………..
10 pts
10 pts
10 pts.
30 pts.
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Group Work involvement
-Journals
-Final-reflection
paper……………………………………
451 - 500 points
436 - 450 points
401 - 435 points
381 - 400 points
351 - 380 points
301 - 350 points
0 - 300 points
30 pts
10 pts.
10 pts.
_____
A
B+
B
C+
C
D
F
Course Assignments and Due Dates:
All written assignments are due by Week 13. However, I highly recommend that you not wait
until that time to turn your work in as you will simply not be able to complete a semester’s
worth of written work under pressure. Instead, pace yourself. Decide when it makes the best
sense for you to finish your written work. Turn it in all along. I will not give extensions. I will
not allow you to turn your work in late. It is due on Week 13 and that is when it is due. Please
plan accordingly.
Paper on Group Process
This work requires you to reflect on your role in the group process. What did you contribute?
How was that for you? Why was your contribution important to the life and sustenance of the
group? What were the power dynamics you observed? What issues surfaced as important in
the life of students? It also asks you to talk about the stage of the group, how you knew it was
in a particular stage and to bring in at least two articles on the stages of group development to
document what you observed or experienced.
Course Schedule: please see Moodle for the weekly course
schedule of readings and assignments.
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