{"id":55537,"date":"2019-04-12T16:37:58","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T20:37:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.carleton.ca\/?post_type=cu_story&p=55537"},"modified":"2025-10-20T10:39:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T14:39:49","slug":"leading-edge-social-work-research-laboratory-opens","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/leading-edge-social-work-research-laboratory-opens\/","title":{"rendered":"Leading-Edge Social Work Research Laboratory Opens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n\n \n \n \n \n
\n\n
<\/div>\n \n
\n
\n\n

\n Leading-Edge Social Work Research Laboratory Opens\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n

Carleton University\u2019s School of Social Work<\/a> recently launched its new clinical social work lab, generating excitement within the school and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is such a huge step for research at Carleton and it will have repercussions across Canada,\u201d says Andr\u00e9 Plourde, Dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs<\/a>. \u201cNot only will it enrich the teaching of social work students, but also improve the skills of practitioners already working in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kenta
Social Work Professors Sarah Todd and Kenta Asakura.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The event also featured a keynote address from University of Toronto Professor Marion Bogo, a pioneer in the use of simulation in the field of social work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SIM Social Work Research Lab<\/a> (SIM stands for Strengthen, Innovate and Mobilize) enables students and practitioners to participate in research to engage with simulated clients\u2014whether an actor or through artificial intelligence technology\u2014while researchers record the session and observe through a one-way mirror and AV technologies. The lab was created with the help of a $143,000 grant from Canadian Foundations for Innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"People<\/figure>\n\n\n

Artificial Intelligence as a Teaching Method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is being directed by Social Work Professors Kenta Asakura and Sarah Todd, who will be analyzing the use of Artificial Intelligence as a teaching method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis allows us to practice working with clients who navigate different life experiences without experimenting on human beings and potentially harming them,\u201d explains Todd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SIM Social Work Research Lab will also enable the researchers to assess the nuances of interactions between social work students, and practitioners, with simulated clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are studying implicit elements of practice\u2014those aspects that are hard to observe,\u201d explains Asakura. \u201cIn one study, we want to look at moments of uncertainty and how social workers negotiate those moments, because those little things matter in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a seasoned social worker, finding the right response to a client might seem intuitive. But Todd and Asakura think it\u2019s more than intuition\u2014that it can be learned.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n

Watching for Small Cues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re asking their students to identify a moment of uncertainty during a counselling session and then review it. The team is watching for the small cues that distinguish more experienced practitioners from someone with less experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSocial workers need to navigate uncertainty and not rush to have an answer,\u201d explains Todd. \u201cIn fact, previous research has found that experienced practitioners are more likely to embrace uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research will eventually extend to community partners, as well. Their hope is to strengthen social work practice both on and off the university campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the SIM Social Work Research Lab, visit: carleton.ca\/socialwork\/simlab<\/a>. The lab is actively recruiting PhD students and community partners.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carleton University\u2019s School of Social Work recently launched its new clinical social work lab, generating excitement within the school and beyond. \u201cThis is such a huge step for research at Carleton and it will have repercussions across Canada,\u201d says Andr\u00e9 Plourde, Dean of the Faculty of Public Affairs. \u201cNot only will it enrich the teaching […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":55554,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[13],"cu_story_tag":[1921],"class_list":["post-55537","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-research-discovery","cu_story_tag-faculty-of-public-and-global-affairs"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":"blueprint"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/55537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/410"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/55537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":98488,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/55537\/revisions\/98488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=55537"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=55537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}