This practicum applies a modern systems approach to field work instruction. It is an experiment with an innovation in field teaching that addresses itself to three major problems that have been identified by social work educators. These are (1) integrating classroom and field work instruction; (2) providing an equal opportunity for basic field learning for all students; (3) promoting increased independence for the student in learning. The systems approach was implemented in this investigation by developing and evaluating a self-contained unit of instruction for field supervisors and their students. In this manner, field work was conceptualized as a course for which behavioral objectives could be defined, content selected, learning opportunities planned, and student learning assessed. The results of this study are that a modern systems approach to social work field instruction is (1) extremely effective in augmenting student learning and (2) a valuable tool for alleviating educational problems inherent in field instruction. These findings suggest that graduate social work education would be more effective if modern educational principles and methods were utilized in teaching students in agency placement. The module evaluation and a self-instructional unit are included in the appendix. (Author/PG)