Instruction & Evaluation

A field instructor who is selected by the agency and approved by the school will supervise you at your field placement. 

Field Instructors

The field instructor is a licensed social worker with at least three years of post-MSW experience and has completed or is willing to complete the Seminar in Field Instruction (SIFI). You will meet with your field instructor each week for 60-90 minutes. It’s an opportunity to review that week’s sessions and assignments, and to provide critical feedback regarding practice questions, techniques and issues of concern.

Your field instructor will write up a formal evaluation of your performance at the end of each semester. Before the official evaluation is written your field instructor will meet with you to assess your performance. The meeting is an opportunity to address significant learning issues and themes for your future work together.

The formal evaluation looks at:

  • the student’s practice
  • the student’s involvement in the field instruction process and his/her involvement in the agency
  • the student’s process recordings as they indicate strengths and weaknesses in his/her learning style; and the ability to record significant data critically and with self-reflection; the ability to use theory to inform practice
  • issues of self-awareness and use of self
  • the student’s relationships with other staff members 
  • the student’s comprehension of the ethics and values of the profession of social work
  • You may also be assigned a task supervisor if the field instructor is not regularly on site or if the field instructor is responsible for a large part of the day-to-day operation of the agency. The task supervisor is not required to be a social worker but can be another professional, like a case manager or psychologist, employed by the agency. 

Field Seminar

While in field placement, your curriculum includes the integrative practice field seminars (Integrative Practice Field Seminar in the first year, and Advanced Integrative Field Seminar in the second year). The seminars are each a year-long course and are the link between the theoretical coursework and the field experience. The instructor for the field seminar also serves as the field liaison who will monitor and support you throughout your field placement.