Teaching

David Hage is a passionate educator committed to helping social work students develop the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to ensure competent generalist and clinical social work practice. David is dedicated to also teaching students pursuing training across various allied health professions principles of case management, geriatric care management, gerontology, and leadership. David currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Social Work, Field Director, and Coordinator of Gerontology Education at Misericordia University, a private Catholic University in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Students can find course related and other helpful external links on the “Resources” page.

Teaching Philosophy

When I reflect on the impact that several of my teaching mentors have had on my present identity as an educator, there are several core values that I have carried over into my teaching approach. Each of these educators had a strong student-centered approach rooted in the dignity and worth of each diverse person and the value of relationships with students and those they will work with professionally in the future. They were ethically grounded and competent in professional standards of practice. Their approaches also highly valued truth, justice, and service to others. The teaching philosophy that I have developed embodies these core values.

As an educator with training and experience in social work, interdisciplinary health care, mental health, leadership, and gerontology, I have the privilege of using my varied practice experience and education to help students translate theory into practice as they begin to develop and refine their professional identities. As a social worker, I value the person-in-environment framework, which considers strategies to professionally assist individuals, families, groups, communities, and organizations execute needed change in micro, mezzo, and macro systems. As a clinical social work healthcare provider with management and leadership experience, I aspire to help students understand principles of population health, health promotion, and health policy in support of developing future healthcare leaders and administrators. As a gerontologist, I am interested in understanding the complex needs of a rapidly aging society and advancing strategies to help this population maximize independence and quality of life across the life course. These overlapping content areas are closely aligned and helpful in engaging students as they increase their confidence and competence in interdisciplinary healthcare and leadership roles.

My concept of learning acknowledges situated cognition for students, which notes that students learn best when the learning environment provides sufficient structure and personally meaningful content that offers opportunities to utilize new cognitive skills and strategies (Wilson, 1993). I also integrate Collingwood’s flexible Three-Stage Theory Framework, which accounts for staged contexts of learning (Collingwood, 2005). In this theory, a service user profile is obtained, a theory is introduced to inform and intervene, and the appropriate knowledge, skills, and values are incorporated (Collingwood, 2005). This theoretical orientation provides students in the classroom or field with a practical and validated learning approach, which applies to students with various levels of preparation and individual learning needs. In sum, my teaching approach carefully combines structured evidence-based learning strategies in the context of the real-world application, informed by a strong value base.

References

Collingwood, P. (2005). Integrating theory and practice. The Journal of Practice Teaching and Learning, 6(1), 6-23. doi:10.1921/17466105.6.1.6

Wilson, A. L. (1993). The promise of situated cognition. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 1993(57), 71-79. doi:10.1002/ace.36719935709 …

 Descriptions of Courses Taught

Letters of Recommendation

Guidance For Requesting Recommendation Letters from Professor Hage

It is my honor to write letters of recommendation for students who I have come to know in the classroom or other campus settings. It is generally a best practice to request letters of recommendation from people who know you well, and it is even better to have a more substantive and stronger letter written by someone who can meaningfully say something about your unique knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests.

If I have written a letter of recommendation for you before, please make requests for new recommendation letters at least two weeks in advance of your deadline when possible. If I have not written you a recommendation letter before, please make your request for your recommendation letter at least three weeks in advance when possible. I will do my best to accommodate your request, however, teaching responsibilities, presentations, research projects, and other work-related responsibilities may make my availability variable at times, so this advanced notice helps increase my ability to accommodate your request.

Please include the following information with your requests for a reference letter:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your phone number
  
• Your email
• Name of the program, scholarship, award, or job, etc. you are applying for
• The name/title of the recipient of the letter
• Address of the recipient of the letter
• *Please note that in some cases, recipients of recommendations may require recommendations be provided in a specific format or digitally, if this is the case, please have the recommendation letter recipient email the request or please forward it to me directly.
• Current resumé/C.V.
• Recommendation deadline
• List the class(es) of mine you took/year/grade achieved (I will review my records before completing the letter) or send your unofficial transcript if you would like me to speak to your overall academic performance in addition to course(s) you took with me.
• Please provide a 1 paragraph description written in the third-person describing why your background/achievement is a good match for the opportunity you are applying for. I will not rely upon this information alone for your letter, but this will better help inform my writing and focus.