Susan R.

Wysor Nguema
5135 Brown Street Philadelphia, PA 1 13 !"#$% 33&'3(&3 Susan.Wysor)gmail.*om

Teaching Philosophy I believe my role as a social worker and an educator is to present the work in which social workers are engaged in a meaningful context to any audience, whether its a classroom full of students, a colleague in my field, or a stranger on an airplane. While the needs of each audience can differ greatly, my primary goal remains the same: to encourage growth and knowledge by creating connections between what an audience knows and what it has yet to learn. Being able to recogni e the need for this connection and how it can be made is essential to any field of learning. !reating personal connections with students is an essential aspect of my teaching. I cannot gauge the personal strengths and educational needs of each student without these connections. "herefore, I make my first goal of every class I teach to learn the names of all of my students during the first week of class. "his empowers students to engage in discussions and it empowers me to address confused stares and compliment student insights. I believe it also shows my students that I am committed to them as individuals. #s an educator it is a vital part of my $ob to share my experience and knowledge as a professional social worker with my students in order to shape their professional foundations. It is essential for students to see the link between theory and practice and I believe real%life experiences brought to the classroom by instructors and guests is second only to the field practicum. It is important that my students are able to identify themselves as individuals within the field of social work, so that they may carry on this role outside of the classroom and after the semester has passed. In order to develop this individuality I focus on three foundational principles: &.' (acilitation of critical thinking ).' *thical decision making +.' ,wnership of knowledge Facilitation of Critical Thinking It is not enough to read materials, attend class, take notes, and pass exams. In order to advance the profession and progress awareness of the social work field students must leave their program with the ability to think critically and challenge current theories, practice, each other, and themselves. In order to accomplish this, I focus on creating a strong theoretical foundation in which students may build their knowledge base from the most basic of concepts to the most complex. In addition to building this knowledge base I incorporate activities that allow students to practice newly learned skills and perspectives in real%life situations. "his may include the use of role%playing or discussions around current events. "hrough participation and engagement, I am able to encourage students to look at old situations in a new light. #dditionally, I try to develop multi%step assignments. #n example of this is an *thnographic -esearch .resentation. "he first step of the assignment is a personal reaction paper, the most informal aspect of the larger pro$ect/ it allows the student to explore a social, racial, religious, or other group with which they would find it difficult to practice social work. "he student is asked to critically think about biases, stereotypes, or lack of knowledge they may have about their chosen group. "he second piece of the assignment is an annotated bibliography, which allows

Susan R. Wysor Nguema

5135 Brown Street Philadelphia, PA 1 13 !"#$% 33&'3(&3 Susan.Wysor)gmail.*om

the student to gain research experience as well as to analy e what the professional literature says about their chosen group. 0tudents are then expected to identify at least two individuals who are members of their chosen group to interview at length as well as participate in observation of their chosen group. "he pro$ect culminates in a presentation about why they chose their group, what they learned and whether or not their original biases or stereotypes held up to the research completed. #ssignments like this are beneficial because they allow me to assess the students understanding of the end goal at multiple points during the semester. #dditionally, it cultivates a habit of critically thinking about the development of an assignment because the student must address the topic from different angles and at increasing intensity throughout the course of the semester. Ethical Decision Making "he 1#0W !ode of *thics is a large component of what makes social work a profession as opposed to a trade and so much of what I teach refers back to the values and ethics of the profession. It is critical for social work students to not only be able to comprehend the principles of the !ode of *thics, but to also be able to interpret them in different practice settings. "herefore, I encourage students through discussion of current events and mini%practice activities to explore the potential ethical dilemmas of different situations. #s a professional social worker who has practiced for several years, I am aware that the !ode of *thics is not as black and white as it reads. "here are many grey areas in which achieving one value may compromise maintaining another and students must be coached on how to navigate sometimes very difficult decisions. 2earning how to assess ethical dilemmas is a lifelong process, but as students start to develop their own decision making process they find themselves more confident in their personal role as social workers. Ownership of Knowledge ,wnership of knowledge refers to the idea that students take the information learned in class and they integrate it into their knowledge foundation, as opposed to memori ing it short term for the purpose of an exam or paper and then discarding it later. It is important for students to recogni e that the learning process is cumulative and therefore owning information gained in introductory courses will link to more complex knowledge gained in later courses. In order to help students see this linkage, I focus class content not only on lecture of materials and facts, but on discussion of current events, recent findings in research, and their own personal experiences. !onnecting student experiences to course content reinforces the idea that this knowledge is important not $ust to me as the instructor, but to others in society, including themselves and their families. 0eeing this connection further encourages ownership of the knowledge presented. 3ltimately, I hope that students who take my courses have a better understanding of the social work field. "hey are able to critically think about current issues facing clients and the profession and they are able to make ethically sound decisions about how to move forward with interventions and research. I know that not every student I teach will be a social work ma$or, but it is my hope that even those ma$oring in other disciplines will leave my course owning the knowledge they gained during the semester and that knowledge will further their ability to succeed in their discipline of choice.