Using podcasts for continuing professional development

Podcasts are becoming an increasingly popular source of learning for social workers. Either for continuing professional development (CPD) or just a bit of fun, the format provides a flexible and accessible way to engage with new knowledge.

There are now an immense variety of podcasts on a range of interesting topics, some of which are relevant for social work. With lots of choice and the possibility of listening whenever and wherever you want, podcasts are an ideal way to fit professional development into a busy life.

Social Work Research Podcast

I created the Social Work Research Podcast a year ago to help make research papers more accessible for students and practitioners. Each episode features an in-depth conversation with a researcher about a study they have conducted of relevance to social work practice. A large variety of papers and topics have been covered in the past year and each episode can be accessed here.

To mark the first anniversary of the podcast, I have created some tools to support listeners’ use of the podcast for their continuing professional development.

Firstly, I have developed a template for listeners to record their reflections or notes as they listen to episodes. It follows the flow of conversation and includes the following questions to prompt reflections:

Background – What was the context for the research? What were the research questions?

Methods – What methods were used? What were the strengths and limitations of the methods used?

Findings – What were the results of the research? What is new from these findings?

Implications for my practice – What have I learnt from listening to this podcast / reading this paper? What does this mean for my practice? What do I wish to discuss further with my colleagues?

The final set of questions relate to the Social Work England requirements to describe the learning from the CPD; reflect on the impact of the learning on practice; and discuss the CPD with a colleague. This is perhaps the most important part of listening to the podcast for your CPD. Considering what it means for your practice and reflecting on it with a colleague is likely to enhance the usefulness of the podcast for your learning.

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To support the recording of learning from the Social Work Research Podcast, I have created a template with the fields which are required by Social Work England’s online form. This can be used to draft your responses and then can be copied and pasted into the online form when complete. Two of these are required for re-registration, at least one of which must include a discussion with a peer. More information about the CPD requirements of Social Work England can be found here.

This template relates to the requirements for Social Work England, but I am happy to produce ones for other regulators if that will be of use. Please leave a message in the comments section below, with a link to the relevant regulator’s requirements. Thank you.

Podnotes

Template for recording your podcast reflections [.docx]

Template for recording your continuing professional development (Social Work England) [.docx]

Here’s a presentation which provides an introduction to the podcast and introduces the podnotes: