Remember, no class this week. I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

Due to the Thanksgiving Holidays, we do not have an in-person class this week, and our focus is on introspection about our personal growth and development. We have spent the rest of the semester discussing how we can support, affect change, and understand our client’s needs. This week, I want us to turn inward and consider how we do that for ourselves. The following are the objectives I have for you this week.

• Be introduced to the concept of the Wounded healer
• Consider gratitude as a type of self-care
• Consider what you can do to enhance your personal growth as you go through school

Unit Assignments

Content

• Read Newcomb et al. (2015) and O’Connell et al. (2018)
• Watch Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2019)

A-01: Class Participation and Engagement

For week 14, we are just having class online, and I am giving you the opportunity to respond in a couple of forums. My hope and expectation is that you spend some time being introspective this week and write about it. There are three forums open for you to participate in; you don’t have to write in all three, but you must post at least two replies across any of the three forums (feel free to post more if you are interested). The following are the three forums:

• First, there is a forum to be able to discuss your own personal development and education and what things you have done or want to do to improve yourself.
• Second, it is a forum to discuss the reading and concept of considering the wounded healer and practice
• Finally, there is a forum regarding taking on the perspective of gratitude

Your posts are due by 8 am on Monday, 12/01/25.

Assignment 04: Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play and Reflection Paper

Worth 200 points, or 50% of the student’s final grade, the assignment has two parts, each worth 100 points. The Interviewing Skills Video Role-Play is a key assignment¹ for the social work program. This assignment allows you to view yourself as a social worker conducting an interview. The Interviewing Skills Reflection Paper provides a space to self-critique your engagement and interviewing skills.

Assignment 04b: Interviewing Skills Reflective Paper

Meta: Points 100 pts (25% of student’s final grade); Deadline Monday 12/01/25 at 08:00 AM; Submission via Assignments section of My Heritage; Locations MyHeritage Assignment, Syllabus Assignment Handout;

Purpose: The Interviewing Skills Reflective Paper offers students a chance to reflect on the experience of their role-play after having watched themselves using a critical eye, increasing students’ self-reflection.

Task: After students have completed their role-play and had an opportunity to review their performance, they will individually author a reflective paper describing their experience and what they learned. The reflection should be between 500 and 750 words long, formatted using the APA 7th edition style guide. Abstracts are optional, and if your paper does not cite any sources, there is no need for a reference page. Students must include the following in their writing:

• Areas of Strengths: The paper should discuss your areas of strength demonstrated in the role-play. For example, “I used attentive body language because I leaned in slightly and maintained eye contact.” Be specific about what went well. Include quotes from either party.
• Areas for Improvement: The paper should also discuss your areas for improvement. Again, be specific and use concrete language. State how you will work on these skills.

Success: Students will submit a paper demonstrating their ability to self-reflect and write using strong academic writing skills. Grades are assigned based on the Reflective Paper Rubric. Feedback from the instructor will be completed by final Grades, due Wednesday, 12/17/25, at 5:00 PM.

Reflective Paper Rubric

The Reflective Paper Rubric is used to evaluate written reflective-style papers. The rubric assesses students based on the following aspects: paper content, professionalism, spelling, grammar, timeliness, and length. The following assignments in this course will be graded according to the reflective paper rubric: A-04b – Video Role Reflective Paper and A-_05a – Empathetic Communication Self-Evaluation Reflective Paper_.

Description	Initial	Emerging	Developed	Highly Developed
Paper Content: General Content (relevant, legitimate, and follows syllabus topics)	The paper does not match the assignment description or includes false or misleading information.	The paper tangentially follows the course syllabus but misses some of the significant aspects of the assignment directly. It presents primarily relevant facts but cannot connect the research to a broader understanding of the study area.	The paper appears to fit within the assignment description’s general idea but is disconnected from the finer points of the assignment implementation. The paper is based on credible sources and develops an argument for the presented information.	The paper’s content is of high quality and written scientifically, using accurate sources and information. It adheres to the assignment description.
Paper Content: Organization (logical order, smooth transitions, and logical reasoning)	The paper’s content is disconnected, and following themes and ideas throughout the document is challenging. The author jumps between these themes and concepts without any type of transition. The paper is either driven by emotional or individualized arguments, lacking research-based evidence or logical reasoning.	The paper content is generally presented in a logical sequence. The themes of the paper are not correctly grouped. There are limited transitions used. Some of the writing includes emotional or individualized arguments.	The paper content is generally presented in a logical sequence. Some of the themes of the paper are not rationally organized. Most of the themes include transitions. The basis of the writing is primarily using research-based evidence or logical reasoning.	The paper’s content is presented in a logical order. The themes and ideas presented in the essay use smooth transitions. The argument in the writing uses logical reasoning and uses research-based evidence.
Paper Content: General Feel(compelling and engaging writing)	The paper’s content is exasperating to read. There is a lack of variation in vocabulary and writing techniques.	The paper’s content is readable. There is limited variation in writing techniques and vocabulary.	The paper’s content is interesting. There is some variation in writing techniques and vocabulary.	The paper’s content is written compellingly and encourages the audience to continue reading. There is a variance in writing techniques and vocabulary used to introduce topics.
Professionalism: Tone (appropriate for academic writing, and appropriate use of first-person)	The paper inappropriately uses first-person in multiple instances. There are numerous examples of colloquial phrases and or informal manners of writing. The topics are not clearly identified or described. There are many problems with APA writing conventions and style.	There are a couple of uses of first-person. The paper has much of it that is written more formally and follows the APA writing conventions.	The paper is predominantly written using the third person, with one slip into inappropriately used first person. Colloquial phrases are limited, and the report is generally written formally. Most of the APA writing conventions are used.	The paper does not use colloquial phrases, and topics are clearly described so the reader can understand. The report appropriately uses APA writing conventions (i.e., numbers, quotes, abbreviations, etc.).
Professionalism: Page Format (APA paper sections, headers and footers, page layout, and spacing)	The paper has more than four problems related to formatting.	The paper has three or four problems related to formatting.	The paper has one or two problems related to formatting.	The paper has no found problems related to APA formatting. The document includes a title page, an abstract if the syllabus requires it, a title at the beginning of the paper, and a reference page. The headings for these pages are correctly labeled. The report is double-spaced.
Spelling and grammatical (grammar and writing mechanics)	The paper has many spelling and grammatical errors.	The paper has some spelling and grammatical errors.	The paper has one or two spelling and or grammatical errors.	Grammar and writing mechanics are correctly adhered to.
Timeliness	The paper is submitted more than 48 hours after the deadline, as described in the syllabus.	The paper is submitted 48 hours after the deadline, as described in the syllabus.	The paper is submitted within 24 hours of the deadline, as described in the syllabus.	The paper is submitted by or before the deadline listed in the description.
Length	The paper is more than 100 words over or under the described word length.	The paper is 50 words over or under the described word length.	The paper is a few words over or under the described word length.	The paper is within the described word length.

Unit Resources

In thinking about being introspective, I want students to consider gratitude. I am including a powerful YouTube video by Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell titled An Antidote to Dissatisfaction as an assignment this week.

I have provided two journal articles as handouts for you to read. First, O’Connell et al. (2018) share context for the use of gratitude in a counseling setting. The second is related to Jung’s concept of the wounded healer and how it can provide insight and guidance into the impact of entering social work as a wounded healer (Newcomb et al., 2015).

Make sure you have a wonderful break.

To-Do List

• Read Newcomb et al. (2015) and O’Connell et al. (2018).
• Watch Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2019)
• Post at least two replies across any of the forums
• Submit your A-04b: Interviewing Skills Reflective Paper