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 focus on district/school-wide resources and the intentionality and critical thinking required to address 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 04/11/26. 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 A-01: Asynchronous Participation and Engagement
The expectation is that each of your replies will be substantive and provide meaningful perspectives, contributing to the forum’s conversation and scholarship. They can be related to the prompts or building on conversations shared by peers. There are three forums for this week, and you are expected to make at least 3 replies across any of the forums and read all of your peers’ replies. These forums include the following:
- Examples and research on the effects of RTI, MTSS, and PBIS on schools and districts are the focus of District/School-Wide Resources in a School Setting, where students connect these frameworks to their own placement experiences.
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving asks students to reflect on how they approach decision-making about school resources, identify educational challenges, and consider where gaps in existing support systems exist.
- Group work practice in school settings is explored through textbook prompts in Group Work and Chapter 10 Textbook Discussion.
Unit Resources
Slides will be added closer to class.
The Lecture Videos tab in the MyHeritage course is where you will be able to find class recordings. The video this week is at [Spring 2026 SOWK 587 Week 12]().
Reference
Jarolmen, J., & Bautista-Thomas, C. (2023). School social work: A direct practice guide (2nd ed.). Waveland Press.
Professional transitions to public schools coursework requirement, WAC 181-79A-224. (2021). https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=181-79A-224
To-Do Lists
- Attend class on Saturday
- Read chapter 10
- Make at least three replies across any of the forums