Professional Development Award in Practice Learning

The Professional Development Award (PDA) in Practice Learning is a crucial qualification for social work professional who intend to supervise social work students during their practice learning opportunities.

Ideal for aspiring leaders in supporting, supervising, and assessing learning, and valuable for those aiming to become practice educators in social work.

How to apply

The programme aims to equip learners with the skills and knowledge to become practice educators. It has two components: a taught course and compiling the portfolio necessary to gain the PDA.

The taught course comprises 8 days, which learners must attend and concentrates of the practical skills and underpinning theory and knowledge associated with practice teaching.

The social work degree and the role of the Practice Educator
Supporting Adult Learning
Reflection and critical analysis
Learning cultures
Design of learning opportunities
Knowledge, theory, research and evidence-based practice
Planning and managing a student placement
The SiSWE and matching learning objectives and learning opportunities
Working with diversity and students with disabilities
Managing change
Supervision
Giving feedback
Conducting direct observations
Assessment of students
Evaluation
Leadership for Learning
Continuous Professional Development

The Professional Development Award itself is an SQA award and consists of 7 units (total of 64 SQA credit points) at SQCF Level10 (Honours Degree Level equivalent). The taught programme runs in parallel with the Award and covers relevant knowledge.

You'll be assigned a Practice Assessor to guide you toward earning the award and evaluate your progress. Achieving the award involves creating a portfolio of evidence, including reflective essays, observations, discussions, presentations, and documents from your work with students. Before working with a social work student, you'll complete several assessable tasks, with additional tasks completed during and after supporting a student.

Practice Learning Hub

Welcome to the Practice Learning Resource Hub, your go-to platform for continued learning and support. Here, you’ll find a wealth of resources, including detailed training notes and summaries, practical guides and toolkits, useful videos, and expert talks. You can also join our forum to connect with other link workers and find answers to various questions.

Access Practice Learning Hub

Professional Development Award in Practice Learning

Practice Learning Hub

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