Field Directors

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  • 1.  Student medical leave

    Posted Oct 01, 2024 10:21

    Hello,

    We have had a senior BSW student need to go on medical leave for 6 weeks during the fall term. Per our school's policies she can take an incomplete for a course in the fall, complete in during the following semester (the spring) and as long as it is completed by mid-term of the spring get full credit. Has anyone had experience having to do this with field placements. There is a possibility she will need to take an incomplete for her field practicum class in the fall and complete those hours in the spring. However, she is suppose to be starting field practicum II in the spring. How would I go about accommodating this student to continue field practicum I in the spring while also starting field practicum II, specifically with the learning plan. 

    Thank you all! 



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    Kathy Stockner
    Field Education Director
    Tennessee Wesleyan University
    Athens TN
    +1 (423) 746-3258
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  • 2.  RE: Student medical leave

    Posted Oct 01, 2024 12:45

    I'm not clear as to how your program differentiates "Practicum 1" from "Practicum 2."  Do students remain in the same placement?
    In our program students remain in the same practicum setting through two semesters.  We've had a challenge similar to what you've described. We handled that by issuing an incomplete in the first semester and allowing enrollment in the second semester course.  Hour requirements remain (but don't double up.)  Student technically completes "practicum 1" 6 weeks into practicum 2. Then begins practicum work. At end of regularly scheduled practicum 2, student rcvs another incomplete and completes the requirements for practicum 2, ideally over the next 6 weeks. (In our  experience each of these incidents carried over into the summer, beyond graduation.)   Of course  all of this requires the agreement and collaboration of the student, the field agency, community based field instructor, the  Director of Field Education and or the faculty based field instructor. We've done this several times. In these situations, students were allowed to "walk" at graduation, but didn' receive their diplomas until work was completed.
    Although not necessarily a requirement, In each instance, while on medical leave, students were able to follow along with the seminar class on the course canvas and by use of zoom. this allowed them to remain connected with their peers and learn from their experiences.
    I hope this is useful.



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    Gary Bachman
    Emeritus Professor
    Park University
    Overland Park KS
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  • 3.  RE: Student medical leave

    Posted Oct 01, 2024 13:24

    That is helpful. To clarify, students remain in the same placement for 2 semester just as your program. When registering for classes the fall course is field practicum I and the spring is field practicum II which respectively pair with field seminar I and field seminar II. For our learning plans the students have one learning plan for the fall semester and then creates a new learn plan goals for the spring. If you do something similar, did you have the student wait 6 weeks to make the new learning plan for the spring semester?

    Thank you!



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    Kathy Stockner
    Field Education Director
    Tennessee Wesleyan University
    Athens TN
    +1 (423) 746-3258
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  • 4.  RE: Student medical leave

    Posted Oct 01, 2024 14:59

    I've always thought of the learning plan as a living fluid entity: depending on events in the agency some items are accentuated, others diminished. But learning objectives remain a priority. Field 2 had slightly different objectives from Field 1. But on occasion, some students in field 1  are performing / accomplishing and even excelling in field 2 objectives -beyond the field 1 objectives.  Nothing should prevent that.  Students -delayed for whatever reason- but completing Field 1 objectives midway through the  the second semester should be expected to meet  field 1 objectives, but nothing should prevent them from pursuing the field 2 objectives as well. (Except perhaps individual capacity.)

    Did you ever see the movie  Ben Hur?  In the chariot race scene, it's observed that any team of horses may be limited by the slowest horse on the team. Placement is everything: in the oval track, the horses teamed closest to the inside of the oval can run slower while the horses teamed on the outside of can run faster.  It is a brilliant coordination of each participants ability.   And OK, were not racing horse drawn chariots, but our students have differing strengths, skills, and needs. If as educators we wish to see  students succeed across the spectrum, we need to be attentive to those individual details. Far too often we are stuck  teaching to the lowest denominator. This begins in our elementary schools and sadly persists through graduate studies.  Consider the popular notion pedagogy. I hear graduate faculty talking about it all the time. But it is essentially the notion of teaching to children. Now think of andragogy: the notion of teaching adults. Students come to us with a vast range of experience.  How do we harness all the past experience of students to strengthen individual outcomes?  Higher education at its best is often a product of imagination and creativity.



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    Gary Bachman
    Emeritus Professor
    Park University
    Overland Park KS
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