Learning how to help :an in-depth look at social work education teaching methods utilized by the Ball State University Social Work Department focusing on the classroom as organization model

Learning stretches across a person's entire life span. Infants learn to hold their heads up, toddlers learn to talk, young children learn to read, and adults learn how to navigate the intricacies of having jobs and being in relationships. Formalized education and teachers seek to communicate information to students through models and methods of teaching so that their students learn quickly, efficiently, and deeply. The social work field is no different. Social work education uses traditional methods of education in conjunction with a field instruction, or practicum, the field's signature pedagogy. Essentially, students learn in a classroom and then are pushed into the "real world" to operate as social workers. Ball State University is unique in its approach to social work education as traditional methods of teaching are employed along with practicum; however, there is an additional class that allows students to operate as a not-for-profit while exploring organizational culture and processes. This paper discusses traditional education methods and models used in social work education and social work's signature pedagogy. Also, discussed is a unique model, the Classroom as Organization model. The model is examined and praised for its uniqueness and effectiveness. An older model similar to the classroom-as-organization method is discussed, and recommendations are made to the Ball State University Social Work program as to how elements of the Classroom as Organization model can be used in other courses to increase student experiential learning. This paper aims to highlight the need for practical application of classroom material to "real life" practice.