UW-Green Bay
Professor& Director, Social Work Professional Programs
Wisconsin Teaching Fellow, 2019-20
My interest in assessing learning through my courses’ outcomes preceded my involvement in SOTL—in fact, as a new higher education instructor, I had never heard of the scholarship of teaching and learning. I had presented in two different venues on teaching strategies and their assessment, also learning at those conferences about additional teaching strategies and ways to measure learning. I first learned of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning from a colleague who had participated in UW-Green Bay’s Teaching Scholars program. So, I completed a project through that program before applying to the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars program. I participated in the Wisconsin SOTL program in 2019-20.
My involvement with UW-Green Bay’s SOTL activities was in 2016. While in that program, I studied the impact of instructor feedback on undergraduate social work students’ abilities to apply concepts to their future practice. Through the mentorship of the individuals leading that program, I was able to examine my model of assessment as well as further enhance how I assess teaching and learning in the classroom. Although I have never published or presented on that initial project, the lessons learned did help to frame future SOTL activities in my classes. I also learned the many ways SOTL can be applied in courses as we met as a group and discussed each other’s projects.
My teaching, scholarship, and service, has focused heavily on social work ethics and boundaries and professionalism in practice as well as instructional strategies within the classroom. I don’t think I can truly separate the scholarship of teaching and learning from evaluating my courses on a consistent basis. Initially, I began assessing retention on course concepts and supported MSW students in their research applied to an ethics course I have taught since 2008. As part of the process, we retrospectively evaluated students’ abilities to describe key concepts in three pilot projects over multiple years. Additionally, I worked with another colleague in offering an interdisciplinary ethics exercise and we evaluated the process and outcomes of that ongoing exercise, publishing and presenting on that activity. Having learned different active learning techniques and best-practices throughout university’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, I added a module within one of my courses critiquing birth order theory. Students applied the framework for the theory and through analysis of their combined responses, we critiqued the theory as well as applying general research practices within the discussion. I was able to publish on that project in a key social work journal, Social Work Education.
As a Wisconsin Teaching Scholar, my SOTL project involved examining undergraduate social work student’s perspectives of professionalism both before and after completion of a course which focused on professionalism and teamwork. Another instructor taught one section of the course but since the topic is central to practice, we jointly taught the modules which focused specifically on the intent of the project rather than using a control group. We utilized a SOTL practice I had learned about at the OPID Conference with students creating a pre-essay before the topic was introduced and then another at the completion of the program. The course was taught and data collected in Spring 2020. We continue to analyze the data from the students’ essays but due to the pandemic, and our program’s accreditation process, we did not finish that process. I did present a poster at the OPID Conference (virtual because of COVID restrictions) which highlighted the process as well at the Council on Social Work Education conference in 2020 via a recorded narrative presentation since that, too, was held virtually due to COVID restrictions.
We collaborated and reviewed each other’s proposals while also learning more of the approaches to the scholarship of teaching and learning with the Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars. The program was so well organized and emphasis on the craft of SOTL aided me in further analyzing my own approaches. Through my own projects, I learned of the strength of design by being able to see if my teaching was successful for learning, and I have been able to integrate that learning in additional classes and in how I approach teaching social work, as we are competency-based. The most recent teaching-related article I published was as a course exercise in critique, involving students in the assessment of applicability of a theory through use of their own responses. Students were highly engaged because of the relevance to their own family positionality.
Biography:
Joan Groessl, MSW, PhD, LCSW is Professor and Director of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She has been on faculty at UWGB since 2008, beginning first as a lecturer before subsequent promotions to full professor. She teaches undergraduate, Bachelor of Social Work, and Master of Social Work courses. Dr. Groessl’s research interests include ethics, leadership, interprofessional practice, scholarship of teaching and learning, and continuing education.
As an instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Dr. Groessl is certified as an online instructor through the University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and learning. Enjoying the continual learning and improvement activities, she has participated in many programs designed to promote best practice in teaching, open educational resources, and most recently completed an online artificial intelligence course. Joan is active in course development and design within the social work programs.
Dr. Groessl has published an open access book with her social work colleagues and has published on teaching strategies utilized within her classroom, including use of an interdisciplinary ethics exercise, problem-based learning, critiquing theory in an undergraduate course, and inclusive teaching.
SOTL Articles and Presentations:
Articles:
Groessl, J. (2020) Teaching note: Birth order theory critique as a learning opportunity. Social Work Education. [Online.] https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2020.1819972
Kennedy, S. & Groessl, J. (2020). Teaching for retention through the lens of inclusion. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 26(4), 79-85. https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org
Vandenhouten, C., Groessl, J. & Levintova, K. (2017). How do you use problem-based learning to improve interdisciplinary thinking? (pp. 117- 133). In R. Gurung and D. Voelker (eds.). New Directions for Teaching & Learning, Wiley Online Library. DOI: 10.1002/tl.20252
Groessl, J. (2015). Teaching note: Conceptualization of a contemporary social work ethics course. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(4), 691-698. DOI:10.1080/10437797.2015.1076276
Vandenhouten, C.L., & Groessl, J. (2014). My Sister’s Keeper: An innovative Interprofessional ethics teaching and learning strategy for nursing and social work students. Health and Interprofessional Practice (2):eP1055. doi.org/10.7772/2159-1253.1055
Groessl, J. (2013). An interdisciplinary ethics module for MSW and nursing students. Social Work Education: The International Journal, 32(5), 639-649. DOI: 10.1080/02615479.2012.695342
Presentations:
Groessl, J. (2020). Effectiveness of Teaching Professionalism in a BSW Course. Council on Social Work Education Annual Conference, November 12-14, 2020.
Groessl, J. (April 2020). Poster presentation: Wisconsin Teaching Fellows & Scholars. OPID Conference, Madison, WI. [Cancelled due to COVID Pandemic].
Groessl, J. (2015). Critical thinking through problem-based learning: Survival exercise and other activities. Baccalaureate Program Directors Annual Conference, Kansas City, MO.
Groessl, J. (2014). Problem- based learning: Exploratory studies on the effects on moral development levels, learning and development of social work ethics. International Society for Ethics across the Curriculum Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ.