Digital Reconstruction of Empathy and Praxis: A Mixed-Methods Investigation into the Effectiveness of Online Social Work Experimental Teaching Strategies

Abstract

The unanticipated onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has functioned as a profound exogenous shock to the global ecosystem of higher education, precipitating a radical migration from traditional pedagogical environments to digital modalities. While theoretical disciplines have adapted to this "Emergency Remote Teaching" with relative fluidity, practice-based professions such as social work face a unique ontological crisis. Grounded in the interpretivist paradigm and utilizing the specific reform context of the School of Shandong Technology and Business University, this study empirically investigates the efficacy and optimization strategies of online experimental teaching for the "Group Social Work" curriculum. Adopting a rigorous convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research synthesizes quantitative data from 165 undergraduate respondents with thick qualitative descriptions derived from semi-structured interviews with 25 participants. The empirical results unveil a complex "Digital Paradox": while purely online instruction successfully transmits declarative knowledge, it creates a significant "Empathy Gap" that hinders the cultivation of intersubjective professional skills. However, the data further suggests that a "Blended Experiential Learning" model, when supported by high "Teaching Presence" and "Social Presence," can effectively mitigate these deficits. Drawing upon the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, this paper proposes a systemic optimization strategy—the "Three-Dimensional Reconstruction Model"—integrating pedagogical process re-engineering, technological affordance maximization, and developmental assessment reform. The findings offer a critical roadmap for the modernization of social work education in the post-pandemic era, arguing for a shift from "virtual replication" to "digital transformation."