Patricia Samson

Patricia Samson is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Calgary, joining the Central and Northern Alberta Region in 2016. She brings in a depth of practice experience that spans multiple fields over 28 years, at both service and management levels including: family violence, criminal justice, mental health, and community-based health care. Her research interests include critical thinking; social work education (i.e. transformative learning, integrated/collaborative curriculum design); Communities of Practice and their application to social work practice in supporting a commitment to lifelong learning; healthcare (i.e. supporting ongoing professional development, education, and building capacity of social work in healthcare at national and international levels); and mental health. Dr. Samson is committed to social work education and practice, particularly in relation to promoting the role and value of social workers within the healthcare milieu. Her publications are related to the scholarship of teaching and learning, supervision, wellness, and how these intersect in the context of social work field education and practice. She teaches courses on social policy, organizational development and practice, field education, social justice and vulnerable populations, history and philosophical foundations of the profession, and social welfare more broadly across these course areas. 

• Critical thinking and transformative learning in social work education
• Children and youth mental health via a Canada-China collaboration
• Collaborative learning and teaching through digital course site integration
• Social work field education
• Communities of Practice to support social workers in a healthcare context
• Teaching social justice within the context of social work education and practice
• Building social work knowledge in the area of teaching and learning in social work education

Dr. Samson is currently the Principal Investigator on a funded Faculty of Social Work Teaching Development Grant related to an integrated D2L course site: Enhancing Collaborative Learning and Teaching Through Digital Course Integration: A Graduate-Level Pilot Project. She is a Co-Investigator on a SSHRC-Partnership Development Grant led by Dr. Dora Tam: Promising Practices for Children and Youth: A Model of Canada-China Collaboration, which will examine children and youth mental health services on an international scale. Dr. Samson is also a Collaborator on a SSHRC-Partnership grant examining field education: Transforming the Field Education Landscape: Intersections of Research and Practice in Canadian Social Work Field Education.

University of Windsor- PhD - 2018

University of Windsor- MSW - 2009

University of Windsor- BSW - 1988

Dr. Samson is active in several professional organizations and community associations, including:

• Alberta College of Social Workers 2016-2020
• Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) 2011-2020
• Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) 2018-2020
• Research Affiliate with the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, Edmonton, AB 2019-2024
• Social Work Provincial Professional Council with Alberta Health Services, as a faculty member (2019-2020)

Publications:

Drolet, J., Samson, P., Tanchak, S., Kreitzer, L., & Hilsen, L. (2017). Self-care and well-being in social work education: Creating new spaces for learning. Journal of Educational Thought, 50(2&3), 200-215. Retrieved from https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/jet/article/view/44322

Samson, P. L. (2016). Critical thinking in Social Work education: A research synthesis. Journal of Social Work Education, 52(2), 147-156. doi.org/ 10.1080/10437797.2016.1151270

Samson, P. L. (2015). Practice wisdom: The art and science of social work. Journal of Social Work Practice, 29(2), 119-131. doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2014.922058

Samson, P. L. (2015). Fostering student engagement: Using CPS in small group facilitations. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 8, 153-164.Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1069715

Selected Refereed Conference Presentations

Samson, P. L. (2018). Critical Thinking in Social Work Education: Findings from an International Delphi Study. International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) Conference: Environmental and Community Sustainability: Human Solutions in an Evolving Society (Dublin, Ireland).

Samson, P., McGlaughlin, A. M., Fehr, L., & Ayala, J. (2018). A Pedagogy in Support of Social Justice. Canadian Association for Social Work Education (CASWE) Conference: Honoring Reconciliation and Respecting Our Differences (University of Regina).

Samson, P. L. (2018). Participatory Collaboration: Building Partnerships in Curriculum Planning.Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching: Students as Creators, Drivers, Innovators and Collaborators, (University of Calgary, Taylor Institute).

Samson, P. (2018). The Delphi Method: Building Consensus Through Thematic Analysis. 16th International Qualitative Methods Conference (Banff, AB).

Samson, P. (2017). Teaching for Critical Thinking.Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) Conference-Gateways in Higher Education: Cultures, Transitions, Transformations (Dalhousie University).

Samson, P., & Hilsen, L. (2017). Collaborative Learning in Professional Education: Learning Communities in Support of Field Integration. IDEAS: Leading Educational Change (Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary).

Samson, P. L., & Tanchak, S.(2017). Spaces and Interspaces: A Dialogue in Support of a Culture of Learning. Post-Secondary Conference on Learning and Teaching-Conversations that Matter: Creating a Learning Culture (Taylor Institute, University of Calgary).

Samson, P. (2017). Social Justice and Critical Thinking: Implications for Curriculum and Pedagogy.9^th Meeting of the Social Work Research Symposium, Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary. Social Work Research and Social Justice: A Call to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (University of Calgary, CNAR).

Samson, P. L. (2015). Ethical Dilemmas: Interprofessional Collaboration in a Community Healthcare Setting. CASWE Conference: Social Work at the Intersection of Ideas, Languages and Cultures/Le travail social à la croisée des idées, des langues et des cultures. (University of Ottawa).

Samson, P. L. (2014). Transcending Boundaries: The Role of Social Work in the Changing Landscape of Healthcare. CASW-Canadian Association of Social Work Education (CASWE) Conference: Borders without Boundaries: Navigating the New Frontiers of Social Work (Brock University).

Tam, D (PI); Kwok, J., Burke, S., Archer-Kuhn, B., Dimitropolous, G., Kwok, S., Samson, P., & Zhoa, X. (2020-2023). Promising Practices for Children and Youth: A Model of Canada-China Collaboration. Social Sciences and Research Humanities Council (SSHRC)-Partnership Development Grant. $199,590.

Samson, P (PI)., McLaughlin, A. M., & Enns, R. (2019-2022). Enhancing Collaborative Learning and Teaching Through Digital Course Integration: A Graduate-Level Pilot Project. Faculty of Social Work Teaching Development Grant, University of Calgary. $7500.

Drolet, J (PI)., Wulf, D, Nicholas, D., McKee, E., Charles, G., Hanley, J., Bogo, M., Reid, M., Clark, N., St. George, S., McConnell, S., Sussman, T., Anucha, U., (Collaborators) Fulton, A., Parent, A., Judge-Stasiak, A., McLaughlin, A., Tran, C., Blaugh, C., Aro, C., Hall, C., Maltias, D., Sullivan, D.,  Tam, D., Giason,  F., Margolin, I., Shortridge, J.,Chaplin, J., Schmid, J., Robertson, J., Garlic,J.,  Hewson, J., Dunlop, J., Mann-Johnson, J., Fletcher, K., Hilsen, L.,  Lorenzetti, L., Letkmann, L.,  Kang,L., Gibson, M., Freymond, N., Ives, N., Trocme, N., Orzek, P., Samson, P., Sanford, R., King, R., Babins-Wagner, R., Caron, R., Sammon, S., Tanchak, S., Hanley, S., MacDonald, S., Pearson, T., Duek, T., Heinonen, T., Katic, U., Ambrose-Miller, W., Lee, W., & Al-Adeimi, Y. Transforming the Field Education Landscape: Intersections of Research and Practice in Canadian Social Work Field Education. Social Sciences and Research Humanities Council (SSHRC)-Partnership Grant. $1,980,640.00.

Samson, P., (PI)Nicholas, D., & Samek, D. Communities of Practice: Supporting Social Workers in a Health Context. University Research Grant Council-Partnership Seed Grant, University of Calgary. $10,000.

McLaughlin, A., Samson, P.L., Fehr, L., & Ayala, J. Teaching Social Justice. Faculty of Social Work Teaching Development Grant, University of Calgary. $10,000.

Samson, P. L. Critical Thinking in Social Work Education: A Delphi Study of Faculty Understanding. Unfunded.

• Courses