Using Enquiry Action Learning to help students understand their decision-making

An Enquiry Action Learning sequence was undertaken by MSc social work students at a Scottish University as part of a decision-making module, to assist them to work together in gathering information to present to a case conference. Drawing on the taught sessions on ethics, legislation, policy and human rights, the students plan their research, explore community resources and prepare a case report. Through this research, the students gained understanding of multi-agency roles and perspectives and built their knowledge throughout the activity. This paper analyses what the students learnt from Enquiry Action Learning, with particular emphasis on how it will impact on their decision-making practice in the future, and evaluates the EAL activity using the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (RBT). The benefits of Enquiry Action Learning are multiple, and the findings show that the students developed group work skills and acquired knowledge of multi-agency decision-making processes in practice. They learned how to evidence their decision-making, applying theoretical knowledge to practice situations. They were able to relate and contextualize their classroom-based learning in practice situations, developing a deeper understanding of the social work role.