Behavioral characteristics

      Intuitive learners meet with few major problems at the beginning of their placement. They are practical, extremely sensitive, and have a high degree of natural talent and established security in relating to people. Basically giving persons, they are enthusiastic about beginning with their cases and keenly motivated to understand how the agency can be utilized for the benefit of clients. Utilizing tangible services reinforces feelings of adequacy and encourages them to exhibit more initiative in discovering additional resources. They work steadily and diligently and assume considerable responsibility for managing their work load. At times, especially early in placement, they move ahead too quickly and fail to realize the need to explore existing agency policies and procedures. This failure is not usually based on an undue amount of conflict with authority but rather on their desire to follow their feeling instincts.

      Intuitive learners tend to avoid an analytical, orderly approach to problem solving and spend a disproportionate amount of time on field-practice activities, often to the detriment of classroom demands for acquiring a broad base of theoretical knowledge. Early in their field-placement experience, they are quite enthusiastic about social work theory because they find it so compatible with their natural way of responding to others. Content from "Human Behavior in the Social Environment" and other theoretical courses is viewed as interesting but not especially useful except for its contribution to their general fund of knowledge. Because these students are so actively involved with the current functioning of clients, they question the emphasis on acquiring knowledge and understanding the dynamics of behavior. When intuitive learners begin to appreciate the benefits of an orderly, structured approach to problem solving, they begin to integrate theoretical content, improve their conceptual ability, and consciously use self in the helping process.

      Early recordings reveal special skills in individualizing clients, recognizing strengths, and, to a lesser degree, weaknesses. Intuitive learners are able to identify client needs and focus on practical problems. They pay less attention to viewing the entire case situation. Their feeling responses toward clients are easily available to them, readily heard, and usually appropriate. As greater conceptualization is demanded from them, their style becomes more stilted and recordings briefer. During this period the students are especially resistant to integrating and using new knowledge. Although anxiety increases during this period, students are pushed toward self-examination in the helping process.

      Initially, field instructors are quite impressed with the intuitive learner's ability to verbalize his or her identification with the social work profession. These students are amazed that they have found a profession in which they feel so comfortable, curious, and eager to learn. They feel free to question and are eager to engage the instructor in interesting discussions about the social work profession. However, when discussions are limited to helping students see concepts and understand principles in social work, intuitive learners often resist. They know they are successful with clients and initially feel defensive and fearful that they will lose their intuitive skill in helping people. Rather than becoming dependent on field instruction, they go through a phase in which they operate quite independently and often experience difficulty turning recordings in on time. This behavior continues until they gain confidence in themselves as learners. After they realize that integrating theoretical content with practical experience is not a major problem, they begin asking for and using instructional help.

      Teaching approach. A teaching plan for intuitive learners should contain two key elements: (1) helping the students to conceptualize and (2) providing them with a clearly defined structure with which they can meet the intellectual demands. For all students, the ability to think conceptually is connected with their understanding of underlying theory. Intuitive learners must be stimulated to relate their skill in developing relationships to a more scientific and theoretical framework. They should be encouraged to relate their assessments and intervention plans in a particular case assignment to the general theoretical principles that are involved. Recognizing similarities as well as differences in their cases also facilitates changes in thinking and doing.

      Early in the placement, intuitive learners need to become consciously aware of their strengths and to have these strengths reinforced. This awareness is essential if they are to understand their positive characteristics so they can change their negative characteristics. Improvement in handling cases can be achieved by limiting the number of cases assigned and curtailing undisciplined case activity, unlike the experiential or intellectual learner who requires a variety of case experiences. Selection of cases requires special consideration. Usually, these students work quite effectively with hostile, deprived, or acting-out clients. These clients are viewed as a challenge. Although they need to experience success from such cases, their integrative capacity can be facilitated through the assignment of other case situations. Nonverbal clients stimulate questions regarding the conscious use of self as well as more reflective thinking about cause-and-effect relationships.

      The early inclusion of the social worker's role in recordings also helps develop the intuitive learner's integrative capacity by developing operational self-awareness. Summarization recording of several interviews often helps these students see a pattern of behavior. Focusing on the social worker's role, impressions, and planning also improves conceptualization. Without this emphasis, the written material remains essentially descriptive; although often accurate and lengthy, the material lacks succinctness and professionalism.

      Intuitive learners need time, patience, and instructional help before they can be expected to integrate theory adequately and consistently. Field instructors should be prepared for the slumps that will occur, usually in proportion to the demands for depth in their assessments and interventions. Field instructors must set standards of performance and hold students accountable for the formulation of their own thinking about a case. Although intuitive learners do not harm clients, damage is done to students if they are not helped to think logically, to reflect, and to integrate theory with practice.