2 Practice educator knowledge and skills
Having familiarised yourself with the updated PEPS guidance, you will now have the opportunity to engage in an audit of your own knowledge and skills.
You will repeat this exercise at the end of the course so that you can self-assess your progress. This contributes to the assessment of your learning and progress in the course.
Activity 2 Self-assessment of your skills and knowledge as a practice educator
Allow approximately 30 minutes
The four domains shown in Tables 1–4 set out what is expected of you as a practice educator.
Work through each of the four domains and consider the descriptors. You should rate how confident you feel in your PE role against each standard on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 means you need to focus on this as you refresh your skills and knowledge and 5 means you feel confident in this standard. Note down your score and add examples or make notes relating to each standard in the boxes below. You will then repeat this activity at the end of the course to help you reflect on how you have progressed.
Table 1: Domain 1 – Working with others to organise an effective learning environment
| Standard | Rating (1–5) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| (A1) Establish an effective collaborative working relationship with learners and manage the power and authority in the educator/assessor role skilfully. | ||
| (A2) Devise an induction programme that considers learners’ needs and their previous experience. | ||
| (A3) Create reflective spaces for learners’ growth and development and provide regular reflective supervision. | ||
| (A4) Ensure all those involved in supporting the student have clarity and understanding of each other’s roles. | ||
| (A5) Work openly and cooperatively with others in the planning of learning opportunities and key activities at all stages of learning and assessment. | ||
| (A6) Consider student confidentiality and ensure all student information is maintained in a secure environment according to General Data Protection Regulations. | ||
| (A7) Contribute to the learning and development of the agency as a learning organisation. This may include encouraging the student to make links with others in the team by working alongside, making presentations and contributing to team resources. It may also include showing leadership by helping to review and improve the provision, policies and procedures of the learning organisation and identify barriers for learners. |
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Table 2: Domain 2 – Teaching, facilitating and supporting learning and professional development in practice
| Standard | Rating (1–5) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| (B1) Demonstrate informed expertise in their practitioner role, e.g. an applied knowledge of contemporary issues in research and relevant policy, legislation and practice. | ||
| (B2) Using a range of learning methods, including modelling good social work practice. Teach and support the learning of relevant social work knowledge and research, and the integration of theory and research in practice. Knowledge taught should include the powers and duties, and policy and procedures of the agency. | ||
| (B3) Help students to understand their own learning processes and to develop different models and strategies for critical reflection and analysis. | ||
| (B4) Discuss and plan with the student the learning and assessment programme, the student’s particular needs and capabilities, and how best the learner can derive further support for learning. | ||
| (B5) Make sound reasoned judgements about the level of work the student can be allocated, and the support required to achieve both learning and the work goals. | ||
| (B6) Demonstrate an understanding of, and critical engagement with, learning theories, to make professional educational judgements about students’ needs and how to meet them. |
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Table 3: Domain 3 – Managing the fair and transparent assessment of students in practice
| Standard | Rating (1–5) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| (C1) Ensure that holistic assessment decisions are the outcomes of informed, evidence-based judgements, drawing on evidence, which is relevant, valid, reliable and sufficient from a range of sources, including direct observation. Clearly explain the decisions to students. | ||
| (C2) Encourage students to self-evaluate and seek service users, carers and work-based colleagues feedback to develop their performance. | ||
| (C3) Provide timely, honest and constructive feedback on student performance in an appropriate format. Review student progress throughout the assessment process, identifying strengths and any areas requiring improvement, making clear to students how they may improve to meet the acceptable standard. | ||
| (C4) Ensure that all assessment decisions, and the supporting evidence, are documented and recorded according to the required standard. Provide holistic assessment reports which demonstrate clear evidence for decisions. Demonstrate ability to work well with others in the assessment process, particularly if learner’s practice is marginal or failing. | ||
| (C5) Engage students in the design, planning and implementation of methods to assess students’ performance against the appropriate standards. | ||
| (C6) Extend the development of all students including those who already have strong skills or are experiencing difficulties. Ensure that disagreements about assessment judgements and complaints made about the assessment process are managed in accordance with agreed procedures. |
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Table 4: Domain 4 – Developing knowledge and continuing performance as a practice educator
| Standard | Rating (1–5) | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| (D1) Seek feedback from students on their experience of being assessed and the consequences of the assessment programme for them. Incorporate the feedback into future assessment activity. | ||
| (D2) Show understanding of, and the ability to apply, models and theories of supervision, knowledge and research on assessment, teaching and learning, and critical reflection. | ||
| (D3) Establish and maintain effective resources for their own support and supervision in respect of their role in workplace learning. Demonstrate the ability to consult and work with others in contentious and challenging contexts such as dealing with struggling students and formal appeals and complaints. | ||
| (D4) Demonstrate critical reflection on their own development as practice educators, including the use of feedback from direct observations, colleagues and HEI tutors and other assessment sources. | ||
| (D5) Apply learning to subsequent practice education experience using a range of methods. |
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OpenLearn - Supporting social work learners: practice educator refresher (England)
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