Expanding engagement: Infusing creative arts into the asynchronous social work classroom
Asynchronous online education has become a central modality in social work programs, yet instructional design in these courses often relies heavily on discussion boards and written assignments. Although creative arts-based pedagogies are well established in face-to-face social work education, limited research has examined their integration in asynchronous online environments. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore social work faculty experiences incorporating creative arts into asynchronous Master of Social Work (MSW) and Doctor of Social Work (DSW) courses, including perceived benefits, challenges, and implications for student learning. Using purposive and snowball sampling, eight faculty members from accredited online programs participated in semi-structured interviews conducted via Zoom. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four primary themes emerged: creative arts examples, benefits of doing creative assignments, faculty challenges infusing creative arts, and faculty recommendations for meaningful implementation. Faculty described using diverse modalities, including poetry, visual art, multimedia projects, and collaborative digital activities. Reported benefits included enhanced critical thinking, deeper self-awareness, increased empathy, collaboration, and greater engagement compared to traditional discussion boards and assignments. Challenges included resistance to pedagogical change, evaluation complexities, student discomfort with ambiguity, and technology-related considerations. Findings suggest that creative arts-based assignments can be thoughtfully integrated into asynchronous online social work courses and may support experiential, reflective, and competency-based learning. Limitations include the small sample size and lack of institutional context analysis. Further research is needed to examine how institutional support structures influence and sustain the integration of creative arts within asynchronous online social work classrooms.
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