Course Description
Builds a foundation for effective communication for generalist social work practice. Emphasizes meta-competencies to ground learning of basic communication and interviewing skills, effective professional writing and presenting, and some spoken eloquence. Social work values, norms, and expectations are embedded in the multiple dimensions of professional communication.
Athena Title
Professional SW Communication
Prerequisite
SOWK 2154 or SOWK 2154S or SOWK 2156 or SOWK 2160S
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Identify and describe the principles, dynamics, and skills related to professional communication competence. 2. Identify and define the components of professional communication and the ways in which they are transactional. 3. Identify and describe how social work values and ethics apply to all forms of professional communication. 4. Recognize the ways in which cultural awareness, sensitivity, compassion, and competence must be infused in considerations of professional communication. 5. Develop cultural awareness, sensitivity, compassion, and competence as essential meta-competencies that inform professional communication. 6. Describe and exemplify how meta-competencies (like self-awareness) relate to professional communication competence. 7. Facilitate acquisition of meta-competencies as a foundation for professional communication. 8. Provide experiential and applied opportunities to develop and hone foundational professional communication skills.
Topical Outline
Unit 1: (Weeks 1-4) Meta-Skills/Meta-Competence (and meta-intro to the integration of professional communication skills, including: interpersonal, written, spoken eloquence). • This unit of the course will emphasize a series of relevant meta-competencies and orientations, including, for example, self-awareness, empathy, cultural awareness/sensitivity/compassion/competence, meta-cognition re: content and process. • It will also offer an introduction to the organization of the course as grounded in the integration of professional communication skills (interpersonal, written (and information gathering), and spoken eloquence). The integrated approach relies upon the foundation of meta-competencies and then the infusion of these throughout the other units. Unit 2: (Weeks 5-6) Preparation •This unit will focus on skills related to preparation for professional communication. Unit 3: (Weeks 7-10) Attending/Responding • This unit will emphasize the many attending/responding/supportive communication skills. • Students will learn about the skills via readings and in-class lecture, media presentations, discussion and then will workshop the skills in class as well. • Students will have written and spoken eloquence assignments in-class and as “homework” that will focus on these skills and will serve as vehicles for developing the others. o For example, students might be asked to write an APA-style literature review re: barriers to effective communication in practice with a particular population (this emphasizes how to locate and effectively consume scholarly literature as a professional and how to write effectively in a scholarly voice using APA style). o Then they might be asked to do a brief in-class presentation (using PPT or Prezi) re: the findings of their literature review (a form of spoken eloquence). • These integrated assignments reinforce learning about the interpersonal communication skills themselves while also facilitating the development of professional writing skills and a spoken eloquence skill. Unit 4: (Weeks 11-13) Facilitating the Interview • This unit emphasizes the skills necessary to facilitate the process of a client interview and/or meeting. • Students will learn about the skills via readings and in-class lecture, media presentations, discussion and then will workshop the skills in class as well. • Students will have written and spoken eloquence assignments in-class and as “homework” that will focus on these skills. o For example, students might be asked to: Read a case example (how to consume information as a professional). Role-play an aspect of that case (direct interpersonal skills development). Write up a case note re: the role play (another professional writing skill) and then do a brief case presentation (spoken eloquence). Unit 5: Tying it together/Reinforcing meta-competencies and the skills developed. • This unit will focus on coming back to the meta-competencies as a way to tie together the more concrete and applied competencies.