Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education
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ONTARIO NORMAL SCHOOL MANUALS
SCIENCE OF EDUCATION
AUTHORIZED BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
TORONTO THE RYERSON PRESS
COPYRIGHT, CANADA, 1915, BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION FOR ONTARIO
Second Printing, 1919.
Third Printing, 1923.
CONTENTS
PART I
THE PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION
CHAPTER I PAGE
NATURE AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION 1
Conditions of Growth and Development 2
Worth in Human Life 4
Factors in Social Efficiency 6
CHAPTER II
FORMS OF REACTION 9
Instinctive Reaction 9
Habitual Reaction 10
Conscious Reaction 11
Factors in process 12
Experience 13
Relative value of experiences 15
Influence of Conscious Reaction 17
CHAPTER III
PROCESS OF EDUCATION 19
Conscious Adjustment 19
Education as Adjustment 19
Education as Control of Adjustment 22
Requirements of the Instructor 24
CHAPTER IV
THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM 25
Purposes of Curriculum 25
Dangers in Use of Curriculum 28
CHAPTER V
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 34
The School 34
Other Educative Agents 35
The church 35
The home 36
The vocation 36
Other institutions 36
CHAPTER VI
THE PURPOSE OF THE SCHOOL 38
Civic Views 38
Individualistic Views 40
The Eclectic View 43
CHAPTER VII
DIVISIONS OF EDUCATIONAL STUDY 46
Control of Experience 46
The Instructor's Problems 48
General method 49
Special methods 49
School management 50
History of education 50
PART II
METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER VIII
GENERAL METHOD 52
Subdivisions of Method 52
Method and Mind 53
CHAPTER IX
THE LESSON PROBLEM 55
Nature of Problem 55
Need of Problem 57
Pupil's Motive 59
Awakening Interest 61
Knowledge of Problem 67
How to Set Problem 69
Examples of Motivation 71
CHAPTER X
LEARNING AS A SELECTING ACTIVITY 75
The Selecting Process 77
Law of Preparation 82
Value of preparation 83
Precautions 84
Necessity of preparation 85
Examples of preparation 86
CHAPTER XI
LEARNING AS A RELATING ACTIVITY 89
Nature of Synthesis 90
Interaction of Processes 91
Knowledge unified 94
CHAPTER XII
APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE 95
Types of Action 96
Nature of Expression 97
Types of Expression 99
Value of Expression 100
Dangers of Omitting 102
Expression and Impression 103
CHAPTER XIII
FORMS OF LESSON PRESENTATION 106
The Lecture Method 106
The Text-book Method 109
Uses of text-book 111
Abuse of text-book 113
The Developing Method 113
The Objective Method 116
The Illustrative Method 118
Precautions 119
Modes of Presentation Compared 121
CHAPTER XIV
CLASSIFICATION OF KNOWLEDGE 122
Acquisition of Particular Knowledge 122
Through senses 122
Through imagination 122
By deduction 123
Acquisition of General Knowledge 124
By conception 124
By induction 125
Applied knowledge general 126
Processes of Acquiring Knowledge Similar 127
CHAPTER XV
MODES OF LEARNING 129
Development of Particular Knowledge 129
Learning through senses 129
Learning through imagination 131
Learning by deduction 133
Examples for study 137
Development of General Knowledge 139
The conceptual lesson 139
The inductive lesson 140
The formal steps 141
Conception as learning process 143
Induction as learning process 144
Further examples 145
The inductive-deductive lesson 148
CHAPTER XVI
THE LESSON UNIT 150
Whole to Parts 151
Parts to Whole 154
Precautions 155
CHAPTER XVII
LESSON TYPES 156
The Study Lesson 157
The Recitation Lesson 160
Conducting recitation lesson 161
The Drill Lesson 162
The Review Lesson 165
The topical review 166
The comparative review 169
CHAPTER XVIII
QUESTIONING 171
Qualifications of Good Questioner 171
Purposes of Questioning 173
Socratic Questioning 174
The Question 177
The Answer 179
Limitations 181
PART III
EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER XIX
CONSCIOUSNESS 183
Value of Educational Psychology 186
Limitations 186
Methods of Psychology 187
Phases of Consciousness 189
CHAPTER XX
MIND AND BODY 192
The Nervous System 192
The Cortex 198
Reflex Acts 199
Characteristics of Nervous Matter 202
CHAPTER XXI
INSTINCT 207
Human Instincts 209
Curiosity 214
Imitation 217
Play 221
Play in education 223
CHAPTER XXII
HABIT 226
Formation of Habits 230
Value of Habits 231
Improvement of Habits 234
CHAPTER XXIII
ATTENTION 237
Attention Selective 240
Involuntary Attention 243
Non-voluntary Attention 245
Voluntary Attention 246
Attention in Education 251
CHAPTER XXIV
THE FEELING OF INTEREST 257
Classes of Feelings 258
Interest in Education 261
Development of interests 264
CHAPTER XXV
SENSE PERCEPTION 267
Genesis of Perception 270
Factors in Sensation 273
Classification of Sensations 274
Education of the Senses 276
CHAPTER XXVI
MEMORY AND APPERCEPTION 282
Distinguished 283
Factors of Memory 284
Conditions of Memory 285
Types of Recall 288
Localization of Time 290
Classification of Memories 290
Memory in Education 291
Apperception 293
Conditions of Apperception 294
Factors in Apperception 296
CHAPTER XXVII
IMAGINATION 298
Types of Imagination 299
Passive 299
Active 300
Uses of Imagination 301
CHAPTER XXVIII
THINKING 304
Conception 305
Factors in concept 309
Aims of conceptual lessons 310
The definition 313
Judgment 315
Errors in judgment 317
Reasoning 320
Deduction 320
Induction 323
Development of Reasoning Power 328
CHAPTER XXIX
FEELING 330
Conditions of Feeling Tone 331
Sensuous Feelings 334
Emotion 334
Conditions of emotion 335
Other Types of Feeling 340
Mood 340
Disposition 340
Temperament 340
Sentiments 341
CHAPTER XXX
THE WILL 342
Types of Movement 342
Development of Control 343
Volition 345
Factors in volitional act 346
Abnormal Types of Will 348
CHAPTER XXXI
CHILD STUDY 352
Methods of Child Study 355
Periods of Development 358
Infancy 358
Childhood 359
Adolescence 361
Individual Differences 363
APPENDIX
SUGGESTED READINGS 369
THE SCIENCE OF EDUCATION
PART I. PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATION
CHAPTER I
NATURE AND PURPOSE OF EDUCATION
=Value of Scientific Knowledge.=--In the practice of any intelligent
occupation or art, in so far as the practice attains to perfection,
there are manifested in the processes certain scientific principles and
methods to which the work of the one practising the art conforms. In the
successful practice, for example, of the art of composition, there are
manifested the principles of rhetoric; in that of housebuilding, the
principles of architecture; and in that of government, the principles of
civil polity. In practising any such art, moreover, the worker finds
that a knowledge of these scientific principles and methods will guide
him in the correct practice of the art,--a knowledge of the science of
rhetoric assisting in the art of composition; of the science of
architecture, in the art of housebuilding; and of the science of civil
polity, in the art of government.
=The Science of Education.=--If the practice of teaching is an
intelligent art, there must, in like manner, be found in its processes
certain principles and methods which may be set forth in systematic form
as a science of education, and applied by the educator in the art of
teaching. Assuming the existence of a science of education, it is
further evident that the student-teacher should make himself acquainted
with its leading principles, and likewise learn to apply these
principles in his practice of the art of teaching. To this end,
however, it becomes necessary at the outset to determine the limits of
the subject-matter of the science. We shall, therefore, first consider
the general nature and purpose of education so far as to decide the
facts to be included in this science.
CONDITIONS OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
=A. Physical Growth.=--Although differing in their particular conception
of the nature of education, all educators agree in setting the child as
the central figure in the educative process. As an individual, the
child, like other living organisms, develops through a process of inner
changes which are largely conditioned by outside influences. In the case
of animals and plants, physical growth, or development, is found to
consist of changes caused in the main through the individual responding
to external stimulation. Taking one of the simplest forms of animal
life, for example, the amoeba, we find that when stimulated by any
foreign matter not constituting its food, say a particle of sand, such
an organism at once withdraws itself from the stimulating elements. On
the other hand, if it comes in contact with suitable food, the amoeba
not only flows toward it, but by assimilating it, at once begins to
increase in size, or grow, until it finally divides, or reproduces,
itself as shown in the following figures. Hence the amoeba as an
organism is not only able to react appropriately toward different
stimuli, but is also able to change itself, or develop, by its
appropriate reactions upon such stimulations.
In plant life, also, the same principle holds. As long as a grain of
corn, wheat, etc., is kept in a dry place, the life principle stored up
within the seed is unable to manifest itself in growth. When, on the
other hand, it is appropriately stimulated by water, heat, and light,
the seed awakens to life, or germinates. In other words, the seed
reacts upon the external stimulations of water, heat, and light, and
manifests the activity known as growth, or development. Thus all
physical growth, whether of the plant or the animal, is conditioned on
the energizing of the inherent life principle, in response to
appropriate stimulation of the environment.
[Illustration: A. Simple amoeba.
B. An amoeba developing as a result of assimilating food.
C. An amoeba about to divide, or propagate.]
=B. Development in Human Life.=--In addition to its physical nature,
human life has within it a spiritual law, or principle, which enables
the individual to respond to suitable stimulations and by that means
develop into an intelligent and moral being. When, for instance, waves
of light from an external object stimulate the nervous system through
the eye, man is able, through his intelligent nature, to react mentally
upon these stimulations and, by interpreting them, build up within his
experience conscious images of light, colour, and form. In like manner,
when the nerves in the hand are stimulated by an external object, the
mind is able to react upon the impressions and, by interpreting them,
obtain images of touch, temperature, and weight. In the sphere of
action, also, the child who is stimulated by the sight of his elder
pounding with a hammer, sweeping with a broom, etc., reacts imitatively
upon such stimulations, and thus acquires skill in action. So also when
stimulated by means of his human surroundings, as, for example, through
the kindly acts of his mother, father, etc., he reacts morally toward
these stimulations and thus develops such social qualities as sympathy,
love, and kindness. Nor are the conditions of development different in
more complex intellectual problems. If a child is given nine blocks on
which are printed the nine digits, and is asked to arrange them in the
form of a square so that each of the horizontal and the vertical columns
will add up to fifteen, there is equally an inner growth through
stimulation and response. In such a case, since the answer is unknown to
the child, the problem serves as a stimulation to his mind. Furthermore,
it is only by reacting upon this problem with his present knowledge of
the value of the various digits when combined in threes, as 1, 6, 8; 5,
7, 3; 9, 2, 4; 1, 5, 9; etc., that the necessary growth of knowledge
relative to the solution of the problem will take place within the mind.
WORTH IN HUMAN LIFE
But the possession of an intellectual and moral nature which responds to
appropriate stimulations implies, also, that as man develops
intellectually, he will find meaning in human life as realized in
himself and others. Thus he becomes able to recognize worth in human
life and to determine the conditions which favour its highest growth, or
development.
=The Worthy Life not a Natural Growth.=--Granting that it is thus
possible to recognize that "life is not a blank," but that it should
develop into something of worth, it by no means follows that the young
child will adequately recognize and desire a worthy life, or be able to
understand and control the conditions which make for its development.
Although, indeed, there is implanted in his nature a spiritual tendency,
yet his early interests are almost wholly physical and his attitude
impulsive and selfish. Left to himself, therefore, he is likely to
develop largely as a creature of appetite, controlled by blind passions
and the chance impressions of the moment. Until such time, therefore, as
he obtains an adequate development of his intellectual and moral life,
his behaviour conforms largely to the wants of his physical nature, and
his actions are irrational and wasteful. Under such conditions the young
child, if left to himself to develop in accordance with his native
tendencies through the chance impressions which may stimulate him from
without, must fall short of attaining to a life of worth. For this
reason education is designed to control the growth, or development, of
the child, by directing his stimulations and responses in such a way
that his life may develop into one of worth.
=Character of the Worthy Life.=--If, however, it is possible to add to
the worth of the life of the child by controlling and modifying his
natural reactions, the first problem confronting the scientific educator
is to decide what constitutes a life of worth. This question belongs
primarily to ethics, or the science of right living, to which the
educator must turn for his solution. Here it will be learned that the
higher life is one made up of moral relations. In other words, the
perfect man is a social man and the perfect life is a life made up of
social rights and duties, wherein one is able to realize his own good
in conformity with the good of others, and seek his own happiness by
including within it the happiness of others. But to live a life of
social worth, man must gain such control over his lower physical wants
and desires that he can conform them to the needs and rights of others.
He must, in other words, in adapting himself to his social environment,
develop a sense of duty toward his fellows which will cause him to act
in co-operation with others. He must refuse, for instance, to satisfy
his own want by causing want to others, or to promote his own desires by
giving pain to others. Secondly, he must obtain such control over his
physical surroundings, including his own body, that he is able to make
these serve in promoting the common good. In the worthy life, therefore,
man has so adjusted himself to his fellow men that he is able to
co-operate with them, and has so adjusted himself to his physical
surroundings that he is able to make this co-operation effective, and
thus live a socially efficient life.
FACTORS IN SOCIAL EFFICIENCY
=A. Knowledge, a Factor in Social Efficiency.=--The following simple
examples will more fully demonstrate the factors which enter into the
socially efficient life. The young child, for instance, who lives on the
shore of one of our great lakes, may learn through his knowledge of
colour to distinguish between the water and the sky on the horizon line.
This knowledge, he finds, however, does not enter in any degree into his
social life within the home. When on the same basis, however, he learns
to distinguish between the ripe and the unripe berries in the garden, he
finds this knowledge of service in the community, or home, life, since
it enables him to distinguish the fruit his mother may desire for use
in the home. One mark of social efficiency, therefore, is to possess
knowledge that will enable us to serve effectively in society.
=B. Skill, a Factor in Social Efficiency.=--In the sphere of action,
also, the child might acquire skill in making stones skip over the
surface of the lake. Here, again, however, the acquired skill would
serve no purpose in the community life, except perhaps occasionally to
enable him to amuse himself or his fellows. When, on the other hand, he
acquires skill in various home occupations, as opening and closing the
gates, attending to the furnace, harnessing and driving the horse, or
playing a musical instrument, he finds that this skill enables him in
some measure to serve in the community life of which he is a member. A
second factor in social efficiency, therefore, is the possession of such
skill as will enable us to co-operate effectively within our social
environment.
=C. Right Feeling, a Factor in Social Efficiency.=--But granting the
possession of adequate knowledge and skill, a man may yet fall far short
of the socially efficient life. The machinist, for instance, may know
fully all that pertains to the making of an excellent engine for the
intended steamboat. He may further possess the skill necessary to its
actual construction. But through indifference or a desire for selfish
gain, this man may build for the vessel an engine which later, through
its poor construction, causes the loss of the ship and its crew. A third
necessary requisite in social efficiency, therefore, is the possession
of a sense of duty which compels us to use our knowledge and skill with
full regard to the feelings and rights of others. Thus a certain amount
of socially useful knowledge, a certain measure of socially effective
skill, and a certain sense of moral obligation, or right feeling, all
enter as factors into the socially efficient life.
FORMAL EDUCATION
Assuming that the educator is thus able to distinguish what constitutes
a life of worth, and to recognize and in some measure control the
stimulations and reactions of the child, it is evident that he should be
able to devise ways and means by which the child may grow into a more
worthy, that is, into a more socially efficient, life. Such an attempt
to control the reactions of the child as he adjusts himself to the
physical and social world about him, in order to render him a more
socially efficient member of the society to which he belongs, is
described as formal education.
CHAPTER II
FORMS OF REACTION
INSTINCTIVE REACTION
Since the educator aims to direct the development of the child by
controlling his reactions upon his physical and social surroundings, we
have next to consider the forms under which these reactions occur. Even
at birth the human organism is endowed with certain tendencies, which
enable it to react effectively upon the presentation of appropriate
stimuli. Our instinctive movements, such as sucking, hiding, grasping,
etc., being inherited tendencies to react under given conditions in a
more or less effective manner for our own good, constitute one type of
reactive movement. At birth, therefore, the child is endowed with
powers, or tendencies, which enable him to adapt himself more or less
effectively to his surroundings. Because, however, the child's early
needs are largely physical, many of his instincts, such as those of
feeding, fighting, etc., lead only to self-preservative acts, and are,
therefore, individual rather than social in character. Even these
individual tendencies, however, enable the child to adjust himself to
his surroundings, and thus assist that physical growth without which, as
will be learned later, there could be no adequate intellectual and moral
development. But besides these, the child inherits many social and
adaptive tendencies--love of approbation, sympathy, imitation,
curiosity, etc., which enable him of himself to participate in some
measure in the social life about him.
=Instinct and Education.=--Our instincts being inherited tendencies, it
follows that they must cause us to react in a somewhat fixed manner upon
particular external stimulation. For this reason, it might be assumed
that these tendencies would build up our character independently of
outside interference or direction. If such were the case, instinctive
reactions would not only lie beyond the province of formal education,
but might even seriously interfere with its operation, since our
instinctive acts differ widely in value from the standpoint of the
efficient life. It is found, however, that human instincts may not only
be modified but even suppressed through education. For example, as we
shall learn in the following paragraphs, instinctive action in man may
be gradually supplanted by more effective habitual modes of reaction.
Although, therefore, the child's instinctive tendencies undoubtedly play
a large part in the early informal development of his character outside
the school, it is equally true that they can be brought under the
direction of the educator in the work of formal education. For that
reason a more thorough study of instinctive forms of reaction, and of
their relation to formal education, will be made in Chapter XXI.