The importance of teamwork - article, please help

While this is most probably NOT your area of focus, the whole history of Sporting Teams is a good source of the necessity of teamwork. Children in industrialized countries learn important truths in team sports.

In more 'primitive' societies, hunting and war provides similar lessons.

Here is a bunch of stuff on team-building, and the importance of guided education, i.e. teamwork:

Team-building exercises may be seen as "simulations", providing learners with new and challenging experiences, but protecting them from some of the risks and anxieties associated with experiential learning in real practice. The environment of the simulation gives learners opportunities to process and generalize their learning at the time of the experience (Kenyon, 1995).

Group simulations offer students opportunities to work with a group and learn from feedback given by their peers and the instructor, The simulated group, with its practice challenges, presents a classroom learning experience for all the students together, and provides "cognitive, interactive, and affective learning in a safe and controlled environment" (Kenyon, 1995, p.179).

Use of a simulated group in team-building is a unique, collective, experiential learning opportunity. The learning process becomes a shared endeavour of students participating with one another and the instructor in a spirit of mutual support and enterprise.

The simulation was an intense classroom experience for everyone. It felt authentic, and engaged the focus and energy of us all in the struggle to work with this most challenging group. The powerful experiential learning occurred in four dimensions: personally for the students, whether they were playing the worker or observing, from the feedback given by each simulated group member, from the teaching points offered by the two instructors present, and, significantly, from the constructive and supportive input shared by student peers in the class. Their excellent observational skills, and sensitivity in articulating praise and helpful critiquing were remarkably evident. The experience served as a rallying point for the class, expediting the development of a collegial mutual support and aid learning environment. Though a class is not a group, a collective approach to the learning process may usefully and enjoyably assist in the integration of course content for groupworkers in the making, firmly establishing their foundation of knowledge for social work practice with groups.

References
Barsky, A., Rogers, G., Krysik, J., & Langevin, P. (1997). Building a community of learners: Innovations in course design. Paper presented at the CASSW/ACESS Conference and Learned Societies, St. John's, Newfoundland.

Kenyon, G. (1995). Live simulation in field instructor training. In G. Rogers (Ed.), Social work field education: Views and visions (pp. 174-184). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.

Kurland, R. and Salmon, R. (1998). Teaching a methods course in social work with groups. Alexandria, VA: CSWE.

Papell, C. (1997). Dilemmas in social work education in these challenging times. In
P. Sachdev, G. Burford, L. Cregheur, D. Kimberley, & A. Hurley (Eds.), Trends in social work education (pp. 5-23). School of Social work, Memorial University of Newfoundland.



TO WHAT EXTENT IS THEORY APPLIED IN PRACTICE?

• Donald Schön (1983): Study of 5 professions (engineering, architecture, management, town planning, and psychotherapy) concluded that much of professional practice does not involve the application of established theory and technique.

• Schön suggested that most professional practice involves what he calls "knowing-in-action" and "reflection-in-action". In social work, these two concepts equate to "practice wisdom".
• "Knowing-in-action": the spontaneous behaviour of skillful practice ... which does not stem from a prior intellectual operation".
• "Knowing-in-action" may, at times, reflect prior learning that has become internalized; however, Schön maintains that much of this develops naturally as "knowing how" and is not dependent on "knowing that".
• Schön views "reflection-in-action" as the key to good professional practice of any kind.
• It involves "thinking on your feet" when faced with an uncertain or unique situation.
• Schön contends that this happens commonly and involves improvising and reasoning inductively to "construct a new theory of the unique case" (Schön, 1983).
• Schön also notes that "because professionalism is still mainly identified with technical expertise, reflection-in-action is not generally accepted - even by those who do it - as a legitimate form of professional knowing".
• There is a growing body of evidence and opinion that social work practitioners may not apply theory in their practice to the extent that is commonly assumed. Instead, it would seem that many social workers are "reflective practitioners" whose working styles are characterized more by spontaneity, intuition, and inductive reasoning than by the conscious, deductive application of theory and techniques.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE PRACTICE

• Research in the field of individual psychotherapy, much of which includes social work practice, suggests that practice effectiveness is not associated primarily with the use of theory and technique.
• Two major striking and consistent empirical findings over the last two decades: (1) there is little evidence of clinically meaningful superiority of one form of psychotherapy over another (Lambert and Bergin, 1994); and (2) there is overwhelming evidence to support the strong association between client outcome and therapeutic relationship that is characterized by warmth, empathy, trust, and acceptance.
• Two other sets of research findings reinforce these conclusions. (1) many studies have demonstrated that paraprofessionals ... are sometimes able to be as helpful as practicing clinicians; and (2) studies on the concept of social support suggest that having a close, emotionally supportive relationship is associated with physical and psychological health across many different life-stress situations.
• Thus, there is a wide body of empirical evidence which suggests that practitioners' effectiveness is dependent to a large degree on "relationship skills, facilitative attitudes, wisdom based on experience, and related nontechnical skills: (Lambert and Bergin, 1994).
• This research suggests that practitioners' interpersonal style and personal qualities are more important than their theoretical knowledge or technical proficiency.

A REFLECTIVE/INDUCTIVE MODEL OF PRACTICE

• The view that is being proposed is NOT that theory and technique are unimportant, but that effective practice does not consist solely, or even primarily, on a deductive application of theory and technique.
• Effective practice has more similarity with the reflective/inductive theory-building paradigm of qualitative research than with the positivistic, technical-rational outlook that stresses the deductive application of theory.
• The qualitative research paradigm fits with the view that the practitioner is "more of a theory-developer than a theory-consumer" (Goldstein, 1986).
• A qualitative approach uses inductive analysis.
• In inductive analysis, one "attempts to make sense of the situation without imposing preexisting expectations on the phenomenon or setting under study" (Patton, 1990).
• Theories about clients' problems-situations are developed gradually from a felt understanding of their direct experience rather than imposed a priori through theoretical frameworks.
• The reflective/inductive, theory-building approach of qualitative research requires the social work practitioner to "develop the skills for finding courage in the face of the uncertain" (Papell and Skolnick, 1992).
• This type of practice is based on the recognition that each client's problem-situation is unique and that the practitioner needs to work collaboratively with the client to build a new theory of the unique case that is grounded in the client's experience.
• This type of reflective/inductive practice involves the "elevation of art, intuition, creativity and practice wisdom to essential places in professional functioning" (Papell and Skolnick, 1992).

STAGES OF LEARNING

Students progress through stages of learning, albeit in a variable and flexible manner. They generally move from greater to lesser anxiety and from lesser to greater confidence and competence. Bertha Reynolds (1942/1985) outlined five distinct stages of student development:

State One: Acute Consciousness of Self
• students may be immobilized by fear and confusion about their ability to intervene in the lives of others;
• can be seen as a stumbling block and a motivating force as students struggle to love forward
• for "mature" students, particularly, this stage may be particularly troubling as they seek to balance their need for autonomy and self-direction with the dependency inherent in this stage of the learning process.


Stage Two: Sink-or-Swim Attitude
• can be characterized by sometime robot-like activity;
• "Like a poor swimmer falling into the water, he may have little sense of where the wharf is or how to get there, but he may succeed in keeping afloat at least, till he knows where he is and can save himself or be rescued" (Reynolds. P.77).
• during this stage, students evidence a beginning grasp of social work principles but without consistent application or ownership.
• students may appear to be devoted to "getting it right" and gaining approval from the field instructor and this may limit their ability to use themselves effectively.
• this stage can be characterized by a "just do it" philosophy than can vary with different types of learners.
• While some students benefit from this sense of abandon as an entry point to learning, others may end up believing that "doing it" without thought is enough.
• therefore, at the same time field instructors are urging students to jump in without worrying so much, they must also establish the norm that unexamined practice is poor practice.
• the learning in this stage is in the struggle, and field instructors may have to match students; concrete thinking during this stage by providing clear direction.
• Focusing on successful elements of students' interventions will help build a fund of experience, increase self-confidence, and improve students' abilities to integrate theory from the classroom with field education as they move to advanced stages of learning.

Stage Three: Understanding the Situation without Power to Control One's Own Activity
• students' capacity for insight increases and they are able to learn from reviewing their practice.
• students demonstrate their ability to understand what should be done in a particular situation (sometimes too late to intervene effectively at the time) but are not able to act on that knowledge on a consistent basis.
• while students cannot always put their knowledge into practice at this time, their self awareness often becomes a topic for supervisory discussion.
• However, as Gitterman (1987) points out, self-awareness is necessary but insufficient in providing professional service. Gitterman suggests that field instructors and students must remember to focus on the application of the student's self awareness to their practice with clients.

Stage Four: Relative Mastery
• Involves the integration of student's personal and professional selves, enabling them to thoughtfully engage in the appropriate use of self with clients.
• Gordon and Gordon (1982) describe this level as when students bring their personally constructed reality to the educational situation.
• students at this stage have the capacity to honour previous life experiences but are not held captive to the past.
• students often describe stage four as one of greater self assurance and skill, and also as one of knowing how much is still to be learned.

Stage Five: Learning to Teach What One Has Mastered
• Students in field education may achieve relative mastery as well as demonstrate beginning progression to stage five.
• student progress may be stronger in some areas than others, due to different educational paths.
• collaborative approaches to learning will move students forward at any stage and is particularly important as the students' skills become more advanced.
• sharing knowledge and skills is always important but can become a dominant theme at this stage.
• this stage is characterized by release from the preoccupation with subject matter, accompanied by the ability to understand and respond to the particular challenges of the learner.










DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• If we agree that "learning by doing" is an important part of professional education, what types of tools do you employ in your field settings to promote reflective/inductive practice?






• When is theorizing/analyzing important? What do you do in field supervision to develop these skills?







• As field instructors, how would you describe your use of theory in your own practice?







• What are your goals for learning for the second semester?







BIBLIOGRAPHY


Coady, N. (1995). A reflective/inductive model of practice: Emphasizing theory-building for unique cases versus applying theory to practice. In G. Rogers (Ed.). Social work field education: Views and visions (pp. 139-151). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt.
DeRoos, Y.S. (1990). The development of practice wisdom through human problem-solving processes. Social Service Review, 64, 276-287.

Gitterman, A. (1987). Field instruction in social work education: Issues, tasks and skills. Jewish Social Work Forum, 23,24-27.

Goldstein, H. (1986). Toward the integration of theory and practice: A humanistic approach. Social Work, 31, 352-357.

Gordon, W.E. & Gordon, M.S. (1982). The role of frames of reference in field instruction. In B.W. Sheafor & L.E. Jenkins (Eds.), Quality field instruction in social work (pp. 21-36). New York: Longman.

Lambert, M.J. & Bergin, A.E. (1994). The effectiveness of psychotherapy. In A.E. Bergin & S.L. Garfield (Eds.). Handbook of psychotherapy and behavior change (4th ed., pp. 143-189). New York: Wiley.

Papell, C.P. & Skolnick. L. (1992). The reflective practitioner: A contemporary paradigm's relevance for social work education. Journal of Social Work Education, 28, 18-26.

Patton, M.Q. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods (2nd ed.). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Reynolds, B. (1985). Learning and teaching in the practice of social work. Silver Springs: MD: National Association of Social Workers. (Original work published in 1942).

Schön, D.A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professional think in action. New York: Basic Books.
Schön, D.A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Scott, D. (1990). Practice wisdom: The neglected source of practice research. Social Work, 35, 564-568.



Shulman, L., & Gitterman, A. (1988). Integrating the personal with the professional self (Videotape). Montreal, QB: McGill University, Instructional Communications Centre.