By
Denise
Anderson
Associate
Professor
Shippensburg
University
1871
Old Main Drive
Social
Work Department
Shippensburg
PA 17257 USA
Writing, Web-Based training
The purpose of this web-based professional writing module is to enable students in the fields of human services to learn how to communicate more concise and accurate information. While most institutions require at least one writing course, the specialized writing needed in the human service fields must be taught within the field courses.
This informational presentation will involve presenting and
sharing information from a web-based (html) writing module that was developed by
the presenter and a colleague to teach technical/professional writing skills to
enhance undergraduate students' writing abilities. The module (via internet
access) will be used in the presentation as well as a power point presentation
of a one-year evaluation of the impact of this module on students' abilities to
write social work assessments. All
faculty who aim to improve students writing abilities should attend to learn of
a way to teach students without spending hours of classroom instruction or
individual tutorials.
The module provides assessment examples by persons in the
fields of education and human services. Because
writing is so important to these fields of practice, it is essential that
students write well by the time they reach field placement/internship/student
teaching. If students do not write
well, they may not learn as much as is necessary for success in the field and
may be held back in their careers by weak writing skills.
The students access the module on their own time. This module provides information and tutorial activities for professional writing, examples of reports in each field of practice, opportunities (assignments) to practice their writing, and links to learn more about specific areas of individual concern (i.e. basic grammar). It is designed for the student to complete independently and at a pace that is comfortable. The instructor then, can use it to supplement a writing assignment. The way in which the presenter utilizes the web-based instruction is to give students the web address in the beginning of the semester and ask the students to complete ‘mock family assessments’ after reading the information on the module. The students, later in the semester are required to write a ‘real’ family assessment (based on the family with whom they work that semester), using the module as a guide. After seven years of having students complete the family assessments without the web-based instruction and one year of using it, the difference in the final product is significant.