Planning problem based learning opportunities for students in social work and nursing at Staffordshire: A case study in learning and teaching about assessment in social work education

Description

This case study focuses on the initial planning of some joint teaching for social work and nursing students at the University of Staffordshire, using a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach to teach the process of assessment. Five two-hour sessions are planned with each group having equal numbers of nursing and social work students. Not only will this provide opportunities for joint working at an early stage in their professional training, but it is envisaged that it will lead to improved skills in professional problem identification and seeking out relevant information to answer questions raised by the scenarios. Factors which have facilitated this development are noted along with issues which need to be addressed in the planning of teaching multidisciplinary groups of students.