1. University College Zealand March 24th 2017
TEMPUS SHESPSS
Strengthening Higher Education
for Social Policy making and Social Services delivery Curricular Reform
TEMPUS RS-TEMPUS-JPCR
Final Conference
University College Zealand
March 24th 2017

2. Universiy College Zealand’s main aims in SHESPSS project is to:
Delivering EU curricula for benchmarking along with good practice examples for inspiration 
Outlining Danish educational practices connected to similar curricula with the aim to modernize or detail Serbian curricula through collaboration.
Teacher training and peer-to-peer support

3. Engaging in Work packages 1 and 2 in order to:
Support the quality of the curricula development 
Contribute to alignment between new courses and needs for competence among Serbian social workers
‘Critical/constructive’ dialogue on course descriptions, curricula composition, learning outcomes and assessment methods
Peer support concerning material for the future national qualification standards. 

4. Study visit in Denmark 2nd-6th of June 2014
Getting inspired by teaching methods in Denmark
The Danish Higher Education System
Danish BA Programme in Social Work
Practice placement
The Danish Study Activity Model
New methods and teaching activities

5. Workshop in Catania 3th-7th of March 2015
Existing practice placements of SW students and related regulations in the partner countries from EU-27
Inspiration aimed at improving the theory-practice connection in new curricula
Didactical strategies to improve the theory-practice relation in professional BA-programs
Mobility paths in Danish SW education.

6. Review of SHESPSS curriculum materials, Oct. 2016
Comments in conjunction with Biggs’ model of Constructive Alignment with a special focus on:
Learning outcomes and modules
Range of assessment methods
The literature and their relevance with regard to achieving the learning outcomes
Strengths of the programmes
Areas for development

7. UCZ – focus on theoretical and practical learning
Social work as a practice-based profession (IFSW/IASSW, 2014)
requires a combination of
theoretical &
practical learning
Both types of learning are important for students to become professional social workers, and they take place inside and outside the university classroom (through the practice placement experiences).

8. TEMPUS / SHESPSS Handbook
provides an overview of key learning from the project (from the perspectives of EU partners)
examples of pedagogical approaches, course designs, lesson plans and assessment methods

9. Handbook
Effective learning strategies to move from information giving/teacher-centred approaches, to those, which are more participatory/interactive and student-focused
Including experiential learning and reflection as effective methods to promote deep learning

10. UCZ’s contribution to the Handbook
Examples of practical assignments for students
Description of our work with teaching plans
Examples of teaching methods, learning methods, forms of work
Examples of evaluation and how we try to align teaching, evaluation and learning outcomes
Description of our work with development of competencies, which are usable in practice
The manner of realizing professional practice – the use of practice journal, self-evaluation of students in practice, practice visits etc.

11. The Danish Specialized Field Model of SW education
The multi-dimensional approach to social problems
Moving from class-based learning to “learning by doing”
Field learning is regarded as the missing link between theory and professional practice (Parker, 2007)

12. For the future… Formal learning Informal learning Institutionalised
Academic
Classroom-based
Highly structured
Linked to explicit knowledge from lectures, courses, books etc.
Field placement
Highly unstructured
Self – directed
Experiential
Linked with dayly activities
Daily contact with the real world of practice

13. Continued development of practice placement program:
Interact with the real world of the profession and its demands
Acquire knowledge about social reality
Challenge the student to apply theoretical knowledge taught in academic settings
Gaining practical skills necessary for the profession

14. Experiential learning
A process, that links
Education
Work
Personal development.
Learning is more meaningful if it has been done through actual experience, because experience is the key to success (Kolb, 1984)