Agency / Community Partners

1. [Intro]
2. [Agency Request for Students]
3. [SIFI Certificate]
4. [Requirement for Field Instruction]
5. [Highlight Partnering Agencies / Communities (logos)]

Seminar in Field Instruction (SIFI)

Please note, all field instructors must be Seminar in Field Instruction (SIFI)-certified in order to provide field instruction for students at the Silberman School of Social Work. Field instructors who are certified by virtue of completing the SIFI at another school of social work in the New York area are not required to take a seminar at Silberman. New field instructors should review the requirements listed in the Requirements Letter found at the bottom of this page.

The SIFI is offered by Silberman to qualified agency personnel. It is intended to facilitate the transition from practitioner or supervisor to field educator. The primary objectives of the SIFI are to help experienced social work practitioners acquire competence as field instructors of graduate social work students in relation to relevant educational principles and methodology, Silberman’s curriculum and expectations for field teaching, and criteria for evaluation of field education performance. The SIFI helps the new field instructor design and choose appropriate assignments for the student, develop learning goals and objectives with the student, evaluate the student’s performance, and manage issues or concerns that arise in the course of the field instruction relationship. The SIFI provides a forum for learning and the mutual exchange of ideas and concerns related to acquiring the role, knowledge, and skills of field teaching.