A Reflection on Special Challenges and Amending Pedagogy in Clinical Social Work Practice Courses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many social work students and educators had to switch gears quickly and replace face-to-face courses with online delivery. While most had had experience with remote learning, the unexpected and immediate transition was challenging. Students and educators who had chosen in-person instruction had to adapt quickly to a learning paradigm for which they had not planned, while simultaneously coping with the anxieties brought on by the pandemic, such as economic hardships, threat of illness, and new family responsibilities. The pandemic has engendered fear, trauma, grief, and loss, all of which negatively affect instruction and learning. This reflection paper identifies special challenges and issues with regard to teaching and learning in social work clinical practice courses brought on by the pandemic. Utilizing the theoretical frameworks of ambiguous loss, interpersonal neurobiology, and the here and now approach, this paper suggests effective teaching methods and collaborative learning strategies to inform social work education during academic disruption in this and future emergencies (e.g., natural disasters). It is suggested that social presence, as well as group cohesion among students and between students and instructors, can serve as a protective factor to ensure continued productive motivation for teaching and learning while facing the challenges that are experienced during such times.