Vanessa Drew-Branch

HSS 1110 The Art and Science of Human Service Studies/ELR: This course explores the history, values and ethics of the human services profession. Students are introduced to the theoretical approaches to human services work, issues of social justice, and the evidence used to guide interventions and policy designed to address human problems. 

HSS 2120 COUNSELING INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES: This course examines various theories and methods used in helping families and individuals resolve problems. Students gain skills in applying these theories and methods through the use of case studies, role-playing, simulations, and other experiential methods.

HSS 2130 WORKING WITH GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES: This course examines the interaction of group dynamics and community empowerment to resolve individual and social problems. Topics addressed in the course include group development and dynamics, power and decision making, communication, and using groups to develop community capacity through coalitions and activism. Students will gain awareness of the power of groups in influencing both positive and negative change within individuals and communities.

HSS 4790 Senior Seminar: In this capstone course, students analyze their personal and professional development during their university experience and are required to research, write, and present a scholarly paper.

COR 4430: As an interdisciplinary capstone seminar for the Elon Core Curriculum, this course is designed to examine the topics of poverty and social justice from a variety of disciplinary perspectives while prompting students to consider their own relationship to the causes and solutions to poverty both domestically and internationally. This course also serves as the capstone experience for the Poverty and Social Justice program. In this capacity, the course helps students integrate their learning about poverty over the course of their program and helps deepen student's knowledge of the scholarly treatments of poverty by examining and discussing poverty research from a variety of disciplinary perspectives including economics, legal studies, philosophy, politics, and policy analysis. Student work will focus on examining how poverty alleviation can be engaged from multiple disciplinary approaches and will include particular attention to practical strategies for pursuing poverty alleviation. The goal of the capstone course for both General Studies students and PSJ minors is to help students think in creative and critical ways about how their career pathways and civic engagement opportunities after graduation might contribute to poverty alleviation. This course is writing-intensive. Open to students in the third or fourth year of study. Counts as a capstone course in the Poverty and Social Justice minor. **Currently bring taught as an Independent Study Course.

Courses Taught at Previous Insitutions

SOC-210 Minority Group Relations (Online): An analysis of dominant-minority group interaction with special emphasis given to Native American, African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian American minorities in our society. From its conception, the United States has contained diverse groups seeking a place for them.  This has led to numerous moments of conflict and synthesis throughout the country’s history.  In this class, we will explore the history and contemporary circumstances of some of the country’s different ethnic and minority groups.  Our primary goals will be to gain greater empathy for these groups’ cultural differences and the difficult issues of group relations that face our country. This course is asynchronous.

SWK-342: Human Behavior and Social Environment I (Online): This course is the first of two required HBSE courses.  Although both courses focus on human behavior in the social environment and how our behavior is shaped by our own experiences or influenced by oppression, social injustice, and gender, this course places emphasis on human behavior across the life span, with a focus on developmental behavior.  

SWK-343: Human Behavior and Social Environment II (Online) This course is the second of two required HBSE courses. While both courses focus on human behavior in the social environment, and how behavior is shaped or influenced by oppression, social injustice, and gender, this course examines human behavior as it relates primarily to macro systems such as family, groups, organizations, and communities. Both courses will place a significant emphasis on growth and development as influenced by social injustice and oppression and how these effect human growth and development.

SWK-170: Introduction to Social Work (Online): This course, the first in the Social Work program, is designed to introduce students to the profession of social work. In this course, students will gain an understanding of the concepts fundamental to the understanding of social welfare, as well as values, knowledge, and skills of the social work profession.  Students will also gain an understanding of the function and roles of the social worker and the efforts of social work on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed populations. 

SOWK 2182 - Human Behavior in the Social Environment I (Online): Human development within the biological, psychological, and social structure as it occurs throughout the lifespan.

**SOC-582 Social Research (Online): This course addresses the principles and methods of research design. It prepares students to become competent consumers and producers of research. Students explore the relationship between social science research and social work practice. Quantitative and qualitative research methods are critiqued. Students translate evidence to inform and improve practice, policy, and service delivery. This course is asynchronous.

**SOWK 6242 Advocacy and Policy Change:  The role of advocacy in the social work profession, tools for bringing about policy change, and the use of advocacy to promote social justice, especially for vulnerable populations.

**SOWK 6252 Mental Health Assessment:  This course introduces mental health diagnostic, assessment, and treatment planning skills necessary for social work practice, including exposure to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  

**SOWK 6141 Foundations of Social Work: Introduction to professional development as a social worker, with attention to social work history, ethics, professional identity, and critical thinking.  Other topics include self-reflection, the importance of career-long learning, and practitioner comportment.

**SOWK 6151 Social Work, Social Justice, and Diversity: This course examines individual, systemic, and ideological factors related to diversity and social justice. Theories and perspectives that contribute to understanding oppression and privilege are emphasized. Implications for social work practice, research, and policy are examined.  Strategies to counter discrimination and oppression are identified. This course requires considerable critical analysis and self-reflection on the part of participants.

**SOWK 7125 Advanced Social Work Practice with Groups and Families: Expands knowledge, values, and skills with regard to advanced micro practice with groups and families especially vulnerable populations. 

SOWK 3182 Practice Methods II: Generalist social work practice methods with an emphasis on working with families and groups.

Social Welfare History, Policy Analysis, and Social Service Delivery: This course examines the history and philosophy of social welfare policy and the basic process of policy development. Students apply a conceptual framework to analyze and evaluate policies and their consequences. Students pay particular attention to the impact of social policy on people and human service organizations. Built on an interdisciplinary base (economic, political, science, and sociological theories).

**Human Diversity: This course provides foundation knowledge about human diversity and an understanding of the emphasis of the social work profession on culturally competent social work practice. Students develop skills to identify strengths, bicultural adaptation, patterns of oppression, and both change and continuity during the aging process, with particular emphasis on rural and small-town communities. The course assists students in understanding the impact of oppression on human growth and development and social functioning for the integration of individual, family, group, community and organization level interventions to promote or enhance social justice. 

**Practice with Aging Integration of knowledge about aging, rural aging, services for the aging and the principles of social work and practice with various diverse populations in rural environments.

**Practice Mental Health/Mental Retardation Overview of MH/MR policies and services; issues of rehabilitation, advocacy and case management; and how treatment approaches (crisis behavioral and chemical) are related to social work roles and values in the context of community needs. 

Social Welfare History, Policy Analysis, and Social Service Delivery This course examines the history and philosophy of social welfare policy and the basic process of policy development. Students apply a conceptual framework to analyze and evaluate policies and their consequences. Students pay particular attention to the impact of social policy on people and human service organizations. Built on an interdisciplinary base (economic, political, science, and sociological theories), the course prepares students for policy practice skills taught in Policy Practice in Social Work (SOW 370).

Diversity in a Changing World This course provides an analysis of the historical, economic, and political relations of American religious, ethnic, and racial minorities in terms of social change and social structure. Special attention is given to Puerto Rican, Chicano, and Indian subcultures, as well as minority experience in the rural environment. Sources of prejudice and discrimination and social processes, including conflict, segregation, assimilation, accommodation, and cooperation, are examined.

Social Work Policy 1: Explores the social welfare policy-making process. Analyzes current social welfare programs and possible reforms, policy responses to social issues, and strategies for shaping and influencing policy and their impact on vulnerable populations.

Social Work Skills Lab: This experiential component of SOWK 320 focuses on developing communication and interviewing skills, relationship building, and problem-solving.

Human Diversity:  Covers a range of diverse populations, especially those historically subjected to oppression and social and economic injustice. Addresses the causes and effects of institutionalized forms of oppression.

Above course, descriptions were taken from the West Virginia University, California University of Pennsylvania, Indiana Wesleyan University, University of North Carolina Charlotte, Elon University course catalogs. **Graduate Level Courses