Study Guide

Objective

Students are prepared to use activity-based group work methods in their work with clients. Students know laws of group dynamics. They know which factors influence starting, maintaining and ending group processes. Students recognise needs for activity-based group methods and are familiar with various action models. Students know how activity-based methods can be used to support various client group's wellbeing, ability to function and self-realization and how the methods can promote group formation, sense of community and clients' goals. Students know the principles of social encouragement and sociocultural work in Finnish and international contexts. They know how to encourage groups of clients to recognise their own way of expressing themselves through activities or interests and how to encourage clients to acquire the necessary skills and other resources and to commit themselves to common activity. Students are able to promote the group process to ensure group members' participation and constructive solutions to potential conflicts.

Content

- group work as a method in social work
- group dynamics, group process
- goal-oriented group facilitation
- sociocultural methods. social encouragement
- activity-based group methods in the Bachelor of Social Services' work, e.g. music, drama, sport actitivity, painting, graft

Materials

Toseland, R. W. ja Rivas, R. F. (2017). An introduction to group work practice. Eighth edition. Pearson Education limited.
Bradley T. Erford, Group work. Processes and Applications. (2011). The Merrill Counseling series.
The other material will be announced at the beginning of the course.

Teaching methods

lectures, discussions, drama and interaction exercises, group supervision exercises, experiments, action-based and interactive study methods, report of supervision excercises, individual essay

International connections

Studying in international group

Student workload

106 hours of work for a course participant including:
- contact lessons: 26h
- individual work of students:80h

Further information

Students can choose between this and the following courses:
- Facilitating Pedagogical Groups
- Facilitating Psychosocial Groups

Evaluation scale

1-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Students
- are able to name activity-based group work methods in the field of social work
- know the principles of group dynamics
- are able to recognize the needs for and models of activity-based group work
- are able to recognize, how a goal-oriented, activity-based group can support well-being, functional capacities and self-realization , how it strengthens group process and community spirit.
- can recognize, how to act in different activity-based group supervising situations
- are able to recognize the main principles of social encouragement and sociocultural work both in national and in international context
- they have capacities to promote the group-process in activity-based groups under supervision

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Students
- are able to use activity-based group work methods in the field of social work
- know the principles of group dynamics
- are able to recognize the needs for and models of activity-based group work
- are able to recognize, how a goal-oriented, activity-based group can support well-being, functional capacities and self-realization , how it strengthens group process and community spirit.
- can recognize, how to act in different activity-based group supervising situations
- are able to recognize the principles of social encouragement and sociocultural work both in national and in international context
- have competences to client-centered and sensitive acting in different supervision situations
- have competences to goal-oriented acting in complex group situations
- know how to be flexible, systematic, creative and active while supervising a activity-based group

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Students
- are able to use different activity-based group work methods in the field of social work
- have competences to indicate creative and innovative problem-solving capacity while supervising activity-based groups
- are able to analyze, how a goal-oriented, activity-based group supports well-being, functional capacities and self-realization , how it strengthens group process and community spirit.
- possess the knowledge of the principles of social encouragement and sociocultural work both in national and in international context
- have capacities to review and critically evaluate their individual group supervision skills and acting in the group
- have capacities to supervise activity-based groups in flexible, systematic, creative and active way
- have readiness to create and develop professional interaction and co-operation which support the clients? participation, while acting as supervisor of a activity-based group

Assessment methods and criteria

interactive exercises, report of supervision excercises, individual essay

Qualifications

Students of the Degree Programme in Social Services: Most part of the Basic studies

Further information

Students of the degree programme can choose between this and the following courses:
- Facilitating Pedagogical Groups
- Facilitating Psychosocial Groups