See you guys on Saturday.

Unit Introduction and What You Will Learn

Developing a strong understanding of appropriate resources in a school setting is vital for school-based social workers. The forums for week 12 are related to discussing some of the district/school-wide resources and the intentionality and critical thinking required for addressing school-related problems. This week’s reading in Jarolmen & Bautista-Thomas (2023) addresses group work in schools. There are forums for students to reflect on this content. This week is also synchronous with class on 04/12/25. During class, we will work further with groups to understand what they look like and examples of group interventions that can be used in a school-based setting.

The agenda for our class session is as follows:

• Experiences in group work
• Demo of WhyTry group
• Solution-focused group work
• Policy paper

The learning objectives for this week include:

• Identify examples of group work done in a school setting
• Reflect on facilitation skills
• Explore and reflect on the selection, development, and facilitation of group interventions in school settings
• Be able to engage in solution-focused group work
• Identify and describe system-wide resources such as RTI, MTSS, and PBIS used to support students in schools
• Demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills in identifying gaps and needs in school resources.

Unit Assignments

Content

• Read Jarolmen and Batista-Thomas (2023) Chapter 10: Engagement, Assessment, and Intervention Skills in the School for Groups

W-12 Small Group Discussion Forums

This week’s forum content is focused on supporting students’ ability to demonstrate knowledge of appropriate resources in the school setting (competency C in Professional Transitions to Public Schools Course Work Requirement, 2021). You can find what group you are in the A-02 Group Assignments and Description handout. Students must submit at least three replies this week in their group’s forum. The forums include discussion of district/school-wide resources in a school setting (e.g., RTI, MTSS, PBIS) and students are presented with an opportunity to consider examples from the literature or experience for their implementation and outcomes. There is also space to reflect on how critical thinking is used to select, implement, or address gaps in school resources. Also, based on the week’s reading (Jarolmen & Bautista-Thomas, 2023), students may explore topics related to group work in schools, such as group selection, confidentiality, goal-setting, multicultural dynamics, and evaluation. Discussing types of groups for underachievement issues, adapting groups for online settings, managing confidentiality breaches, creating group plans, and handling cultural diversity in groups.

• Small Group Discussion Forums - Group 01
• Small Group Discussion Forums - Group 02
• Small Group Discussion Forums - Group 03
• Small Group Discussion Forums - Group 04

As I am posting this late, I do not have synthesis posts for this week.

Unit Resources

One common group that social workers facilitate is that of psychoeducational, especially focused on social emotional learning (SEL). The School Social Work Association of America (2022) has a post Top Curriculums Recommended by School Social Workers that lists many great ideas for curriculum. I will demonstrate a group session from the WhyTry curriculum during class. You can see how they discuss a flexible lesson plan. I have attached a copy of the Pyramid of Cups activity we are going to do to this week’s page.

I will upload the slides closer to class. I will also connect the lecture video here after class.

To-Do Lists

• Attend class on Saturday
• Read chapter 10
• Make at least three replies in the group forums