Social Work Simulator is a USC game research / prototyping project created as part of a larger university grant from the National Insititutes of Health to the USC School of Social Work. Researchers from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts collaborated with researchers from USC’s School of Social Work during development of the prototype.
The primary objective of the project is to develop a prototype of ‘Practitioner in the Classroom Simulation’ (PICS). PICS refers to a computer-based form of instruction designed to enhance social worker competence by training Masters of Social Work (MSW) students to more effectively address complex issues related to professional social work practice with culturally diverse urban populations. The project aims to enhance student learning and outcomes specifically by engaging students in a learner-centered classroom. The term ‘learner-centered’ refers to instruction that encourages “students’ interaction with the content, with one another and the teacher, and with the learning process. It encourages students’ reflection, dialogue, and engagement, and requires a reliable assessment of their content mastery” (Committee on Academic Programs and Teaching, n.d.). In this sense, PICS will provide practice experience, instruction, and feedback that will help students to better integrate academic course content and field experiences through the use of a computer-simulated case study program. PICS will be used to supplement classroom instruction in the Integrative Learning for Social Work Practice seminars (SoWk 587a; SoWk 587b) offered to first year MSW students in USC’s School of Social Work.
Background
The NASW Code of Ethics calls for social work professionals to use knowledge, values, and skills to understand and respect differences, to protect and empower those most vulnerable to marginalization and oppression as a result of their differences, to change discriminatory practices, and to promote social justice in all social work (Anderson & Carter, 2003). Accordingly, the purposes of social work education, as suggested by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), are to prepare competent and effective professionals, to advance social work knowledge, and to provide leadership in the development of service delivery systems. One of the means through which social work education achieves these purposes is providing curricula and teaching practices that are at the forefront of the new and changing knowledge base of social work and related disciplines (Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, CSWE, 2002).
When teaching occurs exclusively in the university context, however, there will inevitably exist gaps between school learning and real-world applications because the separation of learning and authentic use creates an incongruity in which students learn content framed in the culture of schools, but whose use and value is attributed to authentic communities of practice that are not directly in evidence (Barab, Squire, & Dueber, 2000). Learning environments are authentic, suggests Barab and her colleagues, when there is a similarity between structured learning activities and some meaningful context for those activities.
Simulation models are commonly used for creating authentic learning environments of sorts. Such an approach is predicated on the assumption that classroom activity should be made to be as similar as possible to communities of practice outside of school; that is, that they be as authentic as possible. This includes factual authenticity, in which the environmental particulars of the task are made to be similar to those of the real world; procedural authenticity, in which practices are similar to those that one would be engaged in outside of school, and task authenticity, in which the tasks being addressed are similar to those being undertaken by communities of practice. The creation of simulation models is a learner-centered strategy for establishing authenticity. The classroom, from the simulation perspective, can be viewed as a practice field. Practice fields are distinct from real fields, but they are contexts in which learners can practice the kinds of activities that they will encounter outside of schools (Barab, Squire, & Dueber, 2000). Simulation as an educational tool is particularly appealing for situations in which physical safety is an issue; though, it seems to be useful for activities that require learners to become better or more informed decision makers regardless of the relative safety of the actual situation. Indeed, proponents of the use of simulations as an instructional approach suggest that humans have a tendency to learn through mimesis, that a simulation offers a safe environment in which to explore possibilities, and that there is a genuine need for opportunities to experiment with decision making before actually entering certain professional arenas.
A widely-used method of instruction is the written case method approach. Written case studies allow students to apply knowledge acquired in didactic instruction to novel situations. Although written case studies can challenge students to assess and interpret the information provided, students are not actively involved in the information collection process—a key element in clinical reasoning (Turner et al. 2000)—in a dynamic, interactive environment. Use of computers to present case studies, or “computer-based simulation,” however, is a promising, learner-centered alternative to the traditional written case study method. Such an approach is consistent with the purposes of social work education as suggested by CSWE, and it promotes the goals and mission of USC’s School of Social Work (see http://www.usc.edu/dept/socialwork/about/ataglance.php). Further, the approach is consistent with several of the University’s strategic initiatives including those revolving around societal ills, learner-centered education, and the use of technological advances in the class room. Yet, computer-based simulation is not a common mode of instruction in social work education. In other disciplines (e.g., medicine, education, aviation, transportation, law, sports, business, and military sciences), these types of simulations are used widely, and their use has proven to be a viable method of enhancing professional skill development (Turner et al., 2000).
Generally speaking, computer-based simulation refers to the artificial replication of a model of a system—video or graphic—comprised of sufficient components of a real-world situation in order to achieve certain goals (Gaba, 1997, as cited in Ziv, Small & Wolpe, 2000). Computer-based simulation (hereinafter referred to simply as ‘simulation’) places trainees in lifelike situations that provide immediate feedback about questions, decisions, and actions. A key feature of simulations is that they require participation; that is, those involved must take some action (or deliberately choose inaction) for the activity to progress. Thus, simulation is a learner-centered pedagogical approach that is particularly well suited for the testing of skills and decision making. Further, unlike real situations, simulations can be developed to satisfy specific curriculum needs; simulation tools can be programmed to replicate selected conditions, findings, and complications; to allow standardized experiences for all trainees; to be used repeatedly with fidelity and reproducibility; and to be used to train both for procedures and difficult management situations (Issenberge et al., 1999). Moreover, simulations offer student practitioners a means of learning to apply skills in a clinical context without the pressures of clinical responsibility. This makes simulated instruction ideal for novices, such as “social workers in training” (i.e., MSW students).
Methodology
The proposed innovative teaching project will consist of the development, implementation and evaluation of a Practitioner in the Classroom Simulation (PICS), an interactive DVD-formatted tool-kit that will be incorporated into USC’s Integrative Learning for Social Work Practice field seminars. PICS will provide MSW students with social work practice experience through simulation training, an innovative, computer-based and learner-centered pedagogical approach heretofore largely absent from social work education. Development of PICS supports the initiatives of both the School of Social Work and the University, and reflects a first step towards the establishment of a permanent, technology-supported curriculum development capability. Following completion of PICS, the School will be prepared to develop subsequent PICS tool-kits incorporating more advanced simulation training, with the potential to establish a superior standardized learning method for MSW students across the nation. This method is not, however, limited to MSW students; it has potential application for graduate and undergraduate students from all disciplines, other educational/instructional settings, the training of graduate and undergraduate faculty, administrators and supervisors, and the training of professionals. This section details the proposed methodology of the PICS project. Some of the details of the methodological approach will be finalized during Phase I of the project period.
Characteristics of PICS
PICS refers to a multimedia DVD tool-kit that will be designed to engage MSW students in a fully interactive simulated professional learning environment. The tool-kit will be used to help student practitioners experience and address dilemmas that professional social workers routinely encounter, as well as the multiple stakeholder perspectives that contribute to the complexity of the dilemmas. Students will role play social work practitioners in situations in which both clients and practitioners interact at multiple levels and in various capacities. The tool-kit will thus provide factual, procedural and task authenticity to case-based instruction that otherwise would only be available to actual practitioners. As such, this role playing approach will provide MSW students with a firsthand awareness of client-practitioner dynamics that, with regard to social work education, has never before been available in the classroom setting. Specifically, the tool-kit will incorporate simulations in which the point of view of the camera represents the point of view of the student practitioner. Using both the point-and-click function of a mouse and graphic menus, students will interact with the people and systems within the simulations, based on predetermined choices provided in text and audio format. Each scenario will have multiple “plot-paths” to simulate the variety of outcomes, both positive and negative, that social workers’ decision making can produce; and the choices made by the student (or groups of students) will directly determine how the scenarios unfold. Once scenarios have been completed, a grading scale (based on standard values assigned to either risk-levels or outcomes) will provide quantifiable data on student knowledge, decision making and practice skills.
Expected Outcomes
The project is congruent with the objectives of the Larson Endowment for Innovative Research and Teaching, the mission and initiatives of both the School of Social Work and the University. It is anticipated that the project will lead to the subsequent proposals focused on developing a comprehensive PICS curriculum for use either in the classroom or through distance education. Ultimately, results of the project will lead to improvements in the USC School of Social Work curriculum and to the development of new pedagogical approaches than can improve student performance in social work programs across the country. Implications of the project extend far beyond the discipline of social work education, however. PICS can be used in disciplines and universities across the nation and world, as well as in professional training and supervision.
References
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