Peer Review

A Toolkit for Teaching Communication Skills in Social Work

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 3, 2022 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

This toolkit is a website that includes an array of downloadable and fully editable resources that may be useful for any instructor who teaches communication skills in either a face-to-face or online environment. Available resources include five (5) videos that demonstrate key communication skills (e.g., attending, paraphrasing, and responding; empathic responses; asking questions), a well-detailed teaching guide for instructors, and a student guide on giving peer feedback.

The materials will assist anyone teaching communication skills in social work practice as well as other disciplines and courses where communication skills figure prominently.

Type of Material:

Website that houses a collection of videos and teaching resources.

Recommended Uses:

The toolkit materials can be used in class or as out of class assignments in either face-to-face or online courses. For example, the five (5) videos may be used effectively as a "show-and-discuss" in class with the teaching guide providing opportunities for students to practice the skills in different situations or role plays. Alternatively, the videos and guides also allow for independent study (e.g., reflection and feedback assignments) or online discussion.
NOTE: These materials would be useful in social work or psychology as well as in any programs focusing on building communication skills.

Technical Requirements:

This website includes embedded Google documents as well as YouTube hosted videos. Technical requirements include a basic web browser (such as Google Chrome), the ability to navigate and view Google documents, and the ability to hear and view YouTube videos.

Identify Major Learning Goals:

This particular resource is most useful as a demonstration tool for students who are learning skill sets that are critical in counseling. The collection of videos (and supporting resources) can support both undergraduate and graduate students in defining, identifying/recognizing, and applying/practicing key communication skills.

Target Student Population:

College General Ed, College Lower Division, College Upper Division, Graduate School
Also: Professional training and counseling services, professionals in psychology, sociology and social work, and counseling centers at colleges and universities.

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Prerequisite knowledge is not strictly required, but it would be beneficial to have had some introduction (readings or discussions) to good communication prior to using these materials. In addition, some knowledge and understanding of counseling theory and practice would be helpful for immediate understanding and application of knowledge.

NOTE: The Teaching Guide contains suggested readings for students. These can be assigned in advance.

Content Quality

Rating:

Strengths:

The site includes five different videos to build core communication skills: Introduction and Limits to Confidentiality; Attending, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing; Empathic Responses and Use of Silence; Questions and Probing for Concreteness; and Amalgamated Skills.
The embedded videos as well as downloadable guides provided for faculty (Teaching Guide) as well as for students (Student Guide to Giving Feedback) are exceptional resources. The videos that are provided as examples are high quality both in content and film quality.
The Teaching Guide contains a variety of beneficial resources on both pedagogy (e.g., teaching with multimedia) and communication skills (with emphasis on social work practice).

Concerns:

It may not be immediately clear (to the site visitor) why there are two (2) sets of video transcripts--student transcripts and instructor transcripts. Upon opening these files, one finds labels and an explanation; however, a centrally located explanation on the main webpage would be a beneficial enhancement.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The toolkit offers a complete teaching and learning experience that includes clearly defined skills/objectives, high-quality supporting media, and a well-detailed teaching guide.

Teaching Guide

The teaching guide includes a list of all the microskills demonstrated, complete "how to" information for the guide and videos, numerous teaching tips, and additional information about each video.
The teaching guide can be read online or downloaded.

The Videos

The five (5) videos are well designed; the content in each of the videos is clearly well thought out and immediately applicable for new practitioners or those in training to become practitioners.
The embedded labels (e.g., "Open Questions") on the videos are a wonderful teaching tool for students, and they may be readily used by faculty to help students understand and immediately demonstrate (in a small group setting, for example) a variety of specific communication behaviors/skills.

Concerns:

None.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:

Strengths:

Overall, the site is clear, well-designed, and easy to navigate. All videos and resources are easy to navigate and access.
The site includes transcripts for the videos, both a student copy and an instructor copy. The instructor copy includes notations on the particular skills being developed.
The relevant microskills are listed at the beginning of each video.

Concerns:

Closed captioning is accurate regarding the words spoken, but it would be better (and easier to follow) if it included appropriate capitalization and punctuation. This is also required in order to meet ADA/WCAG standards.
The linked Google documents should be set to open in an external window; they currently are configured to open within the same/current page, and this setting kicks current users out of the toolkit if/when they close the window.

Other Issues and Comments:

A terrific teaching and learning resource. Although the toolkit is geared toward social work practice, its coverage of important communication skills offers cross-disciplinary relevance.

UPDATE from the authors (2022): "Thank you so much for your comprehensive feedback about our Toolkit. We have included a centrally located explanation for having two sets of video transcripts, we updated closed captioning with capitalization and punctuation and the Google documents now open in separate pages. We appreciate the time and consideration you put into your reviews."

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