EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY, CONCEPTS, METHODS, AND SKILLS IN TEACHING THE LIFE MODEL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE T he Life Model of Social Work Practice: Advances in Theory and Practice, fourth edition—its theory, values, ethical bases, and the associated modalities, methods, and skills—is a textbook for students in social work generalist and foundation practice courses. We under- stand that every social work program organizes its practice courses differently, but we believe that the content presented here can be adapted to any number of curricular arrangements. We do assume that the text will be used across two semesters—in the senior year for undergraduate social work majors and the foundation year for first- year master’s students, when students are engaged in their field practicum. We are also aware that some schools will use the book in advanced practice courses. We assume that students already will have taken—or will be taking simultaneously—courses in human behavior and social work research, and also will have learned about social welfare policy and its history. This guide presents sequential units of material without specifying the number of sessions devoted to each one, leaving it to the individual teacher to decide the points at which particular elements of each unit can be expanded upon, deferred, or deepened over time. The approach to practice presented in the book is readily applicable to the full range of practice contexts in which students will practice, from rural to urban, and marginalized to more privi- leged communities. In this first part of the Teacher’s Guide, we present some general educational concepts and teaching strategies that we have found useful in creating a learning