Social Work Education

The International Journal

ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cswe20

Active learning lessons, activities, and assignments

for the modern social work educators
by Karen Zgoda, New York, Routledge, 2022, 388 pp., £120.00 (hardback),
ISBN: 9780367237295, £31.49 (e-book), ISBN: 9780429281396

Chiara Emi & Andika Pratama

To cite this article: Chiara Emi & Andika Pratama (2023): Active learning lessons, activities,
and assignments for the modern social work educators, Social Work Education, DOI:
10.1080/02615479.2023.2189783

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2023.2189783

Published online: 16 Mar 2023.

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SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

BOOK REVIEW

Active learning lessons, activities, and assignments for the modern social work
educators, by Karen Zgoda, New York, Routledge, 2022, 388 pp., £120.00 (hardback),
ISBN: 9780367237295, £31.49 (e-book), ISBN: 9780429281396

In this very dynamic era, social workers must be able to adapt to various changes to remain
capable of playing a role in solving various social problems (Tan & Shajahan, 2022). With
rapid changes in the modern era, social work graduates are expected to be able to master
social work technology and meet various needs of society in the digital era. On the other hand,
social work educators must understand various pedagogical concepts to facilitate student
learning processes properly (Baikady et al., 2022).
This book is designed for readers to learn how to plan social work lessons quickly. This
book comprises 11 chapters, each containing exercises arranged according to the syllabus and
following the micro and macro social work functions. Each chapter was contributed by
different authors who were leading scholars in the field of social work. One of them, Karen
Zgoda, LMSW, is the Director of the Treatment Center at Villa Maria College. She has
extensive experience in social work, social work technology, higher education, and course
development.
The first chapter of this book discusses the History of Social Work Practice. The authors
discuss Charity Organization Society Workers and the Settlement House Workers Debate.
These two organizations are the cores that contribute to the profession of social workers
established in the Progressive Era.
Social work practice requires us to examine issues from multiple perspectives and dis­
ciplinary approaches. Chapters 2 and 3 discuss how social workers’ professionalism can be
obtained through effective teamwork, including accountability, respecting others, and prac­
tical communication skills.
In chapters 4 and 5, the author explains the simulation as a case example with many layers
that can be used in identifying root problems in cases and how to address them. Moreover, the
different ideas and strategies make social work a dynamic and vast field.
In the sixth chapter, the author explains simulation leadership skills. This activity inte­
grates two learning activities; Exploration of effective Case Presentation and SOAP
(Subjective, Objective, Assessment & Plan) offers a framework for presenting a clinical case
for review and consultation. This approach is concise and easy to apply.
In chapters 9 and 10, the author discusses the technology that aims to improve social
workers’ technological skills. Furthermore, the author explains social fairness and activism.
The purpose of this exercise is to prepare students with a deeper understanding related to
social fairness issues.
The book’s final section presents a discussion related to social workers’ self-care. Exercises
and simulations in this chapter mainly focus on self-care implications in the social work field
and health. Self-care among social workers encompasses physical fitness, emotional and
psychological sanity, cognitive needs, spiritual sanity, and personal and professional
relationships.
The strength of this book is that it provides critical theoretical concepts that are
applicable and easily understood by social work students. This book also discusses
complex social work topics such as social work technology, renewable social work
2 BOOK REVIEW

trends, and the latest research on social work. Each chapter in this book is equipped
with assignment instructions so students can understand, analyze, discuss with other
students, and practice every aspect in this book. This book is also equipped with study
plans and assignment instructions, making it handy for educators and social work
students to help the learning process be more easily understood and implemented.
Social workers will also benefit from this book because various materials in it can be
used as references which will significantly assist their work. However, this book needs
to go deeper into social work theory. Most chapters of this book only discuss basic
social work practice.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (LPDP)
for supporting the publication of this article.

References
Baikady, R., Sajid, S. M., Nadesan, V., & Islam, M. R. (2022). The Routledge handbook of social work field
education in the global South. Taylor & Francis.
Tan, N. T., & Shajahan, P. K. (2022). Remaking social work for the new global era. Springer Nature.

Chiara Emi
Community Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
[email protected]
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6442-9584
Andika Pratama
Community Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia
[email protected]
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4366-534X
© 2023 Chiara Emi and Andika Pratama
https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2023.2189783