Here at the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers we are committed to ensuring the provision and delivery of safe(r) social work services in the province through the professional development of our members. We offer many webinars, workshops and panel discussions that provide formal learning opportunities on social work ethics, social justice, vicarious trauma, clinical skills, supervision, and more; many of these are recorded for later viewing on our YouTube channel.
However, we recognize that online learning doesn’t replace in-person learning with others. As a member of the college, you are also empowered to develop and deliver your own professional development activities with support from the college! We offer financial support for the delivery of professional development activities, as well as support in planning and promotion.
We encourage our members to partake in and plan your own professional development activities in your own communities. There are educators and facilitators in each of your communities and regions that specialize in learning opportunities related to safe(r) social work practice.
Past learning opportunities arising from these collaborations have included an environmental racism webinar, a 3-part series on grief and trauma, several in-person events for social workers to network and co-create responses to regional concerns, and more. We look forward to learning what our members can imagine next.
To request support from the College, you can complete this form to let us know what you have in mind:
Collaborate and listen
At times it might be difficult to know where to start when planning a learning activity. Joining our quarterly Communities of Practice sessions (the next one is on October 24), is a great opportunity to connect with your peers and explore options for learning together.
The pre-recorded webinars we already have available on our YouTube channel can be helpful for not just immediate learning, but also for sparking ideas about topics you would like to explore for future professional development.
You are also welcome to reach out to me at any time if you are curious about planning your own professional development activity.
Whatever you do, the most important step is the first one.
Design the learning you wish to see
There are a few steps you can follow to create an enriching learning experience. The list below is the approach I take when planning professional development and it could offer some guidance to you in planning your own learning experiences.
- Purpose: The purpose of a learning activity can be about addressing a challenge by building knowledge, values, or skills related to the issue. There are also other reasons to hosts learning activities including bringing people together, having fun, and building relationships. When I am identifying the purpose of a learning activity, I am often thinking about, “What is the need and how does this activity meet that need?”
- Date, time, & location: Is it online, in-person? Is it during the day or evening, and for how long? Many of our PD sessions are 1-1.5 hours, but some learning activities are better suited to longer sessions where people can connect, engage, and integrate learning together.
- Who will be involved: Will you have partners in this work, a paid facilitator/educator, or co-hosts? Who is the audience for this learning activity? How will you reach them?
- Resources: Do you have everything you need to run this activity? What might you need to acquire for this activity? Learning can happen just about anywhere with very few resources. However, it can be helpful to have flipcharts, presentations, and visual aids to support learning. Will there be snacks and drinks for attendees? Many people find it helpful to have fidget toys and resources if there is an in-person workshop.
- Accessibility: How can you support learning for everyone in a way that reduces or eliminates barriers? Do you need an interpreter, is the space you want to use accessible, and are their ways to support disability justice in your planning and delivery of this session?
- Feeling & Vibes: How do you want to feel in this work? How might you want to the attendees and participants of this learning activity to feel? Sometimes planning for how you want to feel and how you want the participants to feel can help you make decisions for activities. For instance, if you want people to leave feeling engaged and empowered, perhaps you want to include activities that allow them to co-create and process as part of smaller teams, rather than having a lecture.
- Agenda & Flow: What is the timing of the session? Will there be breaks? I find it most helpful to always plan for a thorough welcome, land acknowledgement, framing, and check-in, along with a check-out.
- Objectives & Outcomes: What will attendees leave with? How can your activity support shifts in knowledge, values, and skills? We cannot always predict what learnings participants will take away from an event, or when this learning will arrive, however attendees should have a general idea of what the objectives and outcomes of the activity are. It can be helpful to write the objectives with active language like, “You will leave with increased knowledge in…” and outcomes with language like, “You will be able to better understand the…”.
- Evaluation: How will you know your learning activity was successful? What will you change if you were to offer this activity again? It can be helpful to evaluate the objectives and outcomes, but also the process you used to develop your learning activity.
Most of our members are required to complete 40 hours of professional development each year, including six hours of training on specific topics selected to support safe(r) social work in our province:
- Social work ethics (1 hour)
- Anti-racist and anti-discriminatory practice (1 hour)
- Truth & reconciliation (1 hour)
- Vicarious trauma & secondary stress (2 hours)
- Social justice (1 hour)
Each of these topics offer rich opportunities for learning, growth and collaboration.
Keep it simple
There are many factors to consider when planning learning and professional development activities, from logistics to desired learning outcomes. However, it is also important to not overcomplicate or overplan.
I am a big believer in the Eight Principles of Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown, who writes, “Less prep, more presence” (brown, 2017). There are many times I have fallen into the trap of over planning and by doing so, I missed out on the opportunities for learning that were only possible because of the people who were participating in the learning engagement. There is a lot of wisdom in social workers, and professional development activities are often better when people get to share their lived and professional experience.
Get started & get in touch
If you want to plan your own professional development activity in your region with your peers, please reach out and consider requesting support from the College. We have resources and can support you and your colleagues in achieving your professional development goals.
I am beginning to chart our professional development activities for 2025, and I am eager to know what you would like to see more of. If you have questions or comments, please reach out to me at [email protected].
Tyler Colbourne, RSW
Professional Development Consultant
NSCSW
Reference
brown, adrienne maree. (2017). Emergent strategy: shaping change, changing worlds. AK Press.