Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education

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VI. RELINQUISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS:

1. Canadian Government claimed that the rule of the Company
hindered development of Western Canada because it was interested
only in trade.

2. _Agreement with Canadian Government._--

(_a_) Company sold Prince Rupert's Land and gave up its trade
monopoly.

(_b_) In return.--

(i) Received L300,000.

(ii) Retained one twentieth of land south of the Saskatchewan.

(iii) Retained its posts and trading privileges.

3. Company still exists as a trading organization with many posts in the
West and large stores in many cities.

VII. SERVICES OF H.B. CO. TO CANADA AND THE EMPIRE:

1. Opened up a valuable trade in Western Canada.

2. Explored and opened up the West for settlement.

3. Retained for Britain the territory west of Rockies when it was
in danger of falling into other hands.

The subjects of the Public and Separate School Course where topical
reviews are most necessary are history and geography.

THE COMPARATIVE REVIEW

A thing always stands out most vividly in the mind when the relations of
similarity and difference are perceived between it and other things.
When we compare and contrast two things, certain features of each that
would otherwise escape our attention are brought to light. We get a
clearer idea of both the rabbit and the squirrel when we compare their
various characteristics. Great Britain and Germany are each better
understood geographically, when we set up comparisons between them; Pitt
and Walpole stand out more clearly as statesmen when we compare and
contrast them. One of the most effective forms of review is that in
which the relations of likeness and difference are set up between
subjects that have already been studied. For instance, the geographical
features of Manitoba and British Columbia may be effectively reviewed by
instituting comparisons between them in regard to (1) position and size,
(2) physical features, (3) climate, (4) industries, (5) products, (6)
commercial centres. The careers of Walpole and Pitt might be reviewed by
comparing and contrasting them with regard to (1) circumstances under
which each became Prime Minister, (2) domestic policy, (3) foreign
policy, (4) circumstances surrounding the resignation of each, (5)
personal character.

Whatever form the review lesson may take, the teacher should always keep
in mind its two main purposes, namely, (1) the organization of knowledge
which comes through the apprehension of new relationships, and (2) the
deeper impression of facts on the mind which comes through attentive
repetition.

CHAPTER XVIII

QUESTIONING

=Importance.=--As a teaching device, questioning must always occupy a
place of the highest importance. While it may not be always true that
good questioning is synonymous with good teaching, there can be no doubt
that the good teacher must have, as one of his qualifications, the
ability to question well. A good question is a problem to solve. A
stimulating problem arouses and directs mental activity. Well-directed
mental activity is the prime requisite of all learning and one of the
ends which all effective teaching endeavours to realize. Questioning is
one of the best means of securing that desirable activity of mind
without which intellectual progress is impossible. The teacher who would
master the technique of his art must study to attain skill in
questioning.

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE GOOD QUESTIONER

=A. Knowledge of Subject and of Mind.=--The most obvious essentials are
familiarity with the subject-matter and a knowledge of the mental
processes of the child. Without the first, the questions will be
pointless, haphazard, and unsystematic; without the second, they will be
ill-adjusted to the interests and attainments of the pupils. A thorough
knowledge of the facts of the lesson and a keen insight into the
workings of the child mind are indispensable.

=B. Analytic Ability.=--As an accompaniment of the first of these
qualifications, the good questioner must have analytic ability. The
material of the lesson must be analysed into its elements and the
relations of these must be clearly perceived if it is to be effectively
presented to the pupils. The teacher must further have the power to
discriminate between the important and the unimportant. The ability to
seize upon the essential features and to give due prominence to these is
one of the most valuable accomplishments a teacher can have.

=C. Knowledge of Pupils' Experiences.=--As an accompaniment of the
second qualification, the good questioner must have a knowledge of the
previous experience and of the capacities of the pupils. Good teaching
consists largely in the skilful adjustment of the new to the old. The
teacher must ascertain what the pupils already know, what their
interests are, and what matter they may reasonably be expected to
apprehend, if he is to have them assimilate properly the facts of the
lesson. He must further show sympathy and tact in order to inspire the
pupils to their best effort. He must be able to detect unerringly the
symptoms of inattention, listlessness, and misbehaviour, and by a
well-directed question to bring back the wandering attention to the
subject in hand.

=Faults in Questioning.=--There are two serious weaknesses that many
young teachers exhibit, namely, questioning when they ought to tell and
telling when they ought to question. To tell pupils what they might
easily discover for themselves is to deprive them of the joy of conquest
and to miss an opportunity of exercising and strengthening their mental
powers. On the other hand, to question upon matter which the pupils
cannot reasonably be expected to know or discover is to discourage
effort and encourage guessing. To know just when to question and when
to tell requires considerable discrimination and insight on the part of
the teacher.

PURPOSES OF QUESTIONING

Questioning has three main purposes, namely:

1. To determine the limits of the pupil's present knowledge in order
that the teacher may have a definite basis upon which to build the new
material;

2. To direct the pupil's thought along a prescribed channel to a
definite end, to lead him to make discoveries and form conclusions on
his own account;

3. To ascertain how far he has grasped the meaning of the new material
that has been presented.

=A. Preparatory.=--The first of these purposes may be designated as
preparatory. Here the teacher clears the ground for the presentation of
the new matter by recalling the old related facts necessary to the
interpretation of the new. In thus sounding the depths of the pupil's
previous knowledge, the teacher should usually ask questions that demand
fairly long answers instead of those which may be answered briefly. The
onus of the recall should be placed largely upon the pupil. The teacher
will do comparatively little talking; the pupil will do much.

=B. Developing.=--The second purpose may be described as developing. The
pupil is led step by step to a conclusion. Each question grows naturally
out of the preceding question, the responsibility for this logical
connection falling upon the teacher. The pupil has before him a certain
set of conditions, and he is asked to infer the logical result of such
conditions. He forms inferences, makes new discoveries, sets up new
relationships, and formulates definitions and laws. It should be noted
that this form of questioning gives no entirely new information to the
pupil. It merely classifies and organizes what is already in his mind in
a more or less indistinct and nebulous form. New information cannot be
questioned out of a pupil; it must be given to him directly.

=C. Recapitulation.=--The third purpose of questioning may be described
as recapitulatory. The pupil is asked to reproduce what he has learned
during the progress of the lesson. At convenient intervals during the
presentation and at the close, he should be asked to summarize in a
connected manner the main points already covered. Thus the teacher tests
the pupil's comprehension of the facts of the lesson. The pupil, on his
side, as a result of such reproduction, has the facts more clearly fixed
in his mind. As in the first stage of the lesson, the answers should be
of considerable length, logically connected, and expressed in good
language. The responsibility for this is again thrown largely upon the
pupil. He does most of the talking; the teacher does little.

=How Employed in Lesson.=--It will thus be recognized that questioning
is employed for different purposes at the three different stages of the
lesson. At the opening of the lesson it prepares the mind of the pupil
for what is to follow. During the presentation it leads the pupil to
form his own inferences. At the close of the lesson it tests his grasp
of the facts and gives these greater clearness and fixity in his mind.
The first and third might both be designated as _testing_ purposes, and
the second _training_.

SOCRATIC QUESTIONING

=Its Characteristics.=--Developing, or training, questions, are
sometimes referred to as Socratic questions. The terms are, however, not
altogether synonymous. The method of Socrates had two divisions, known
as _irony_ and _maieutics_. The former consisted in leading the pupil
to express an opinion on some subject of current interest, an opinion
that was apparently accepted by Socrates. Then, by a series of questions
adroitly put, he drove his pupil into a contradiction or an absurd
position, thus revealing the inadequacy of the answer. This phase of the
Socratic method is rarely applicable with young children. Occasionally,
in grammar or arithmetic, for instance, an incorrect answer may properly
be followed up so as to lead the pupil into a contradiction, but it is
usually not desirable to embarrass him unnecessarily. It is never
agreeable to be covered with the confusion which such a situation
usually brings about. The other phase of the Socratic method, the
_maieutics_, consisted in leading the pupil, by a further series of
questions, to formulate the correct opinion of which the first
hastily-given answer was only a fragment. This coincides with the
developing method and may sometimes be profitably employed with young
children.

EXAMPLE OF SOCRATIC QUESTIONING.--As an example of Socratic
questioning may be noted the following taken from Plato's _Minos_.
Socrates has questioned his companion concerning the nature of Law and
has received the answer, "Law is the decree of the city." To show his
companion the inadequacy of this definition, Socrates engages with him
in the following dialogue:

_Socrates_: Justice and law, are highly honourable; injustice and
lawlessness, highly dishonourable; the former preserves cities, the
latter ruins them?

_Pupil_: Yes, it does.

_Socrates_: Well, then! we must consider law as something
honourable; and seek after it, under the assumption that it is a
good thing. You defined law to be the decree of the city: Are not
some decrees good, others evil?

_Pupil_: Unquestionably.

_Socrates_: But we have already said that law is not evil?

_Pupil_: I admit it.

_Socrates_: It is incorrect therefore to answer, as you did
broadly, that law is the decree of the city. An evil decree cannot
be law.

_Pupil_: I see that it is incorrect.

Having shown his pupil the fallacy of his first definition, Socrates
proceeds to teach him that only what is right is lawful. This part of
the dialogue proceeds as follows:

_Socrates_: Those who know, must of necessity hold the same opinion
with each other, on matters which they know: always and everywhere?

_Pupil_: Yes--always and everywhere.

_Socrates_: Physicians write respecting matters of health what they
account to be true, and these writings of theirs are the medical
laws?

_Pupil_: Certainly they are.

_Socrates_: The like is true respecting the laws of farming, the
laws of gardening, the laws of cookery. All these are the writings
of persons, knowing in each of the respective pursuits?

_Pupil_: Yes.

_Socrates_: In like manner, what are the laws respecting the
government of a city? Are they not the writings of those who know
how to govern--kings, statesmen, and men of superior excellence?

_Pupil_: Truly so.

_Socrates_: Knowing men like these will not write differently from
each other about the same things, nor change what they have once
written. If, then, we see some doing this, are we to declare them
knowing or ignorant?

_Pupil_: Ignorant, undoubtedly.

_Socrates_: Whatever is right, therefore, we may pronounce to be
lawful in medicine, gardening, or cookery; whatever is not right,
not to be lawful but lawless. And the like in treatises respecting
just and unjust, prescribing how the city is to be administered.
That which is right, is the regal law; that which is not right, is
not so, but only seems to be law in the eyes of the ignorant, being
in truth lawless.

_Pupil_: Yes.

It will be seen from the above examples, that much of the Socratic
questioning is really explanatory; the questions, though interrogative
in form, being often rhetorical, and therefore assertive in value.

THE QUESTION

=Characteristics of a Good Question.=--Good questions should seize upon
the important features and emphasize these. Unimportant details, though
useful in giving vividness to a narrative and enabling the pupil to
build up a clear picture of the scene or incident, may well be ignored
in questioning. The teacher must see that the pupil grasps the
essentials and must direct his questions towards the attainment of that
end. The questions should be arranged in logical sequence, so that the
answers, if written out in the order given, would form a connected
account of the topic under discussion. Further, the questions should
require the expression of a judgment on the part of the pupil. In the
main they should not be answerable by a single word or a brief phrase.
One of the greatest weaknesses in the answers of pupils is the tendency
_to_ extreme brevity. As a result, it is difficult to get pupils to give
a connected and continuous narration, description, or exposition in any
subject. The remedy for this defect is to ask questions which demand
answers of considerable length, and to avoid those which require only a
scrappy answer.

=Form of the Question.=--It should ever be borne in mind that the
teacher's language influences the language habits of his pupils.
Carelessly worded, poorly constructed questions are likely to result in
answers having similar characteristics. On the other hand, correctness
in the form of the questions asked, accuracy in the use of words,
simple, straightforward statements of the thing wanted, will be
reflected, dimly perhaps, in the form of the pupils' answers. Care must,
therefore, be exercised as to the form in which questions are asked.
They should be stripped of all superfluous introductory words, such as,
"Who can tell?" "How many of you know?" etc. Such prefaces are not only
useless and a waste of time, but they also put before pupils a bad model
if we are to expect concise and direct statements from them. The
questions should be so clear and definite in meaning as to admit of only
one interpretation. Questions such as, "What happened after this?" "What
did Cromwell become?" "What about the rivers of Germany?" "What might we
say of this word?" are objectionable on the score of indefiniteness.
Many correct answers might be given for each and the pupils can only
guess at what is required. If the question cannot be so stated as to
make what is desired unmistakable, the information had better be given
outright. Questions should be brief and usually deal with only one
point, except, perhaps in asking for summaries of what has been covered
in the lesson. In the latter case it is frequently desirable to put a
question involving several points in order to ensure definiteness,
conciseness, and connectedness in the answer; for example, "For what is
Alexander Mackenzie noted? State his great aim and describe his two most
important undertakings connected therewith." But in dealing with matter
taken up for the first time or involving original thought, this type of
question, demanding as it does attention to several points, would put
too great a demand upon the powers of young children. Under such
conditions it is best to ask questions requiring only one point in
answer.

THE ANSWER

=Form of Answers.=--The possibility of improving the pupil's language
power through his answers has already been referred to. To secure the
best results in this regard, the teacher should insist on answers that
are grammatically correct and, usually, in complete sentences. It would
be pedantic, however, to insist always upon the latter condition. For
such questions as, "What British officer was killed at Queenston
Heights?" or "What province lies west of Manitoba?" the natural answers
are "General Brock," or "Saskatchewan." To require pupils to say, "The
British officer killed at Queenston Heights was General Brock," or "The
province west of Manitoba is Saskatchewan," would be to make the
recitation unnatural and formal. When answers are a mere echo of the
question, with some slight inversion or addition, they become
exceedingly mechanical, and useless from the point of view of language
training. While it is desirable to avoid, as far as possible, questions
that admit of answers of a single word or short phrase, such questions
are sometimes necessary and are not objectionable. Questions should not
be thrown into the form of an elliptical statement in which the pupil
merely fills a blank, for example, "The capital of Ontario is...?" "The
first English parliament was called by...?" Nor should they be given in
inverted form, as, "Montreal is situated where?" "The Great Charter was
signed by what king?" Alternative questions such as, "Is this a noun or
an adjective?" "Was Charles I willing or unwilling to sign the Petition
of Right?" as well as those questions that are answerable by "Yes" or
"No," require little thought to answer and should be avoided if
possible. When they are used, the pupil should at once be required to
give reasons for his answer. Neither the form of the question nor the
teacher's tone of voice or manner should afford any inkling as to the
answer expected.

=Calling for Answers.=--In order that the attention of the whole class
may be maintained, the question should be proposed before the pupil who
is to answer is indicated. No fixed order in calling upon the pupils
should be adopted. If the pupils are never certain beforehand who is to
be named to answer the question, they are more likely to be kept
constantly on the alert. The questions should be carefully distributed
among the class, the duller pupils being given rather more and easier
questions than the brighter ones. One of the temptations that the
teacher has to overcome is that of giving the clever and willing pupils
the majority of the questions. The question should seldom be repeated
unless the first wording is so unfortunate that the meaning is not clear
and it is found necessary to recast it. To repeat questions habitually
is to put a premium on inattention on the part of the pupils. A bad
habit often noted among teachers is that of wording the question in
several ways before any one is asked to answer it.

=Methods of Dealing with Answers.=--As has been already indicated in
another connection, the answers of the pupils should be generally in
complete sentences and frequently should be in the form of a continuous
paragraph or series of paragraphs, especially in summaries and reviews.
The continuous answer should be cultivated much more than it is, as a
means of training pupils to organize their information and to express
themselves in clear and connected discourse. On the other hand, however,
children should be discouraged from giving more information than is
demanded by the question. While it is desirable that the correctness of
an answer should be indicated in some way, the teacher should guard
against forming the habit of indicating every correct answer by a
stereotyped word or phrase, such as, "Yes" or "That's right." Answers
should seldom be repeated by the teacher, unless it is desirable to
re-word them for purposes of emphasis. Repetition of answers encourages
careless articulation on the part of the pupil answering and inattention
on the part of the others. One of the worst habits a teacher can
contract is the "gramophonic" repetition of pupils' answers. The answers
given by the pupils should almost invariably be individual, not
collective. Simultaneous answering makes a noisy class-room, cultivates
a monotonous and measured method of speaking, and encourages the habit
of relying on others. There are always a few leaders in the class that
are willing to take the initiative in answering, and the others merely
chime in with them. The method is not suitable for the expression of
individual opinion, for all pupils must answer alike. There is, further,
the possibility that absurd blunders may pass uncorrected, because in
the general repetition the teacher cannot detect them.

LIMITATIONS

Though questioning is the most valuable of teaching devices, it is quite
susceptible of being overworked. There is quite as much danger of using
it too extensively as there is of using it too little. Frequently,
teachers try to question from pupils what they could not be expected to
know. Further, it is possible by too much questioning to cover up the
point of the lesson rather than reveal it, and to mystify the pupils
rather than clarify their ideas. These are the two main abuses of the
device. After all, it should be remembered that, important as good
questioning undoubtedly is, it is not the only thing in lesson
technique. In teaching, as elsewhere, variety is the spice of life.
Sympathy, sincerity, enthusiasm in the teacher will do more to secure
mental activity in the pupils than mere excellence in questioning. The
energetic, enthusiastic, sympathetic teacher may secure better results
than the teacher whose ability in questioning is well-nigh perfect, but
who lacks these other qualities. If, however, to these qualities he adds
a high degree of efficiency in questioning, his success in teaching is
so much the more assured.

PART III. EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

CHAPTER XIX

CONSCIOUSNESS

=Data of Psychology.=--Throughout the earlier parts of the text,
occasional reference has been made to various classes of mental states,
and to psychology, as the science which treats of these mental states,
under the assumption that such references would be understood in a
general way by the student-teacher. At the outset of a study of
psychology as the science of mind, however, it becomes necessary to
inquire somewhat more fully into the nature of the data with which the
science is to deal. Mind is usually defined either by contrasting it
with the concrete world of matter, or by describing its activities. It
is said, for instance, that mind is that which feels and knows, which
hopes, fears, determines, etc. By some, indeed, mind is described as
merely the sum of these states of knowing and feeling and willing. The
practical man says, however, _I_ know and feel so-and-so, and _my_ wish
is so-and-so. Here an evident distinction is drawn between the knower,
or conscious self, and his conscious activities. While, however, we may
agree with the practical man that there is a mind, or self, that knows
and wills and feels; yet it is evident that the self, or knower, can
know himself only through his conscious states. It must be understood,
therefore, that mind in its ultimate sense cannot be studied directly,
but only the conscious states, or conditions of mind. Thus psychology
becomes a study of mental states, or states of consciousness; and it
is, in fact, frequently described as the science of consciousness.

=Nature of Consciousness.=--Our previous study of the nature of
experience has shown that various kinds of conscious states may arise in
the mind, now the smell of burning cloth, now the sound of a ringing
bell, now the feeling of bodily pain, now a remembered joy, now a future
expectation or a resolution. Such a conscious state was seen, moreover,
to represent on the part of the mind, not a mere passive impression
coming from some external source, but an active attitude resulting in
definite experience. It signifies, in other words, a power to react in a
fixed way toward impressions, and direct our conduct in accordance with
the resulting states of consciousness. Consciousness in the individual
implies, therefore, that he is aware of phenomena as they are
experienced, and is able to modify his behaviour accordingly.

=Types of Consciousness.=--Although allowable, from the standpoint of
the learning process, to describe a conscious state as an attitude of
awareness in which the individual grasps the significance of an
experience in relation to his own needs; it must be recognized that not
all consciousness manifests this meaningful quality, or this relation to
a felt aim, or end. While lying, for instance, in a vague, half-awake
state, although one is conscious, the mental condition is quite devoid
of the meaningful quality referred to, and entirely lacks the feeling of
reaction, or of mental effort. In this case there is no distinct
reference to the needs of the self, and a lack of that focusing of
attention necessary to give the consciousness a meaning and purpose in
the life of the individual. All such passive, or effortless, states of
consciousness, which make up those portions of mental existence in
which no definite presentation seems to hold the attention, although
falling within the sphere of the scientific psychologist, may
nevertheless be left out of consideration in a study of educational
psychology. Learning involves apperception, and apperception is always
giving a meaning to new presentations by actively bringing old knowledge
to bear upon them. For the educator, therefore, psychology may be
limited to a study of the definite states of consciousness which arise
through an apperceiving act of attention, that is, to our states of
experience and the processes connected therewith. For this reason,
psychology is by some appropriately enough defined as the science of
experience.

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