Ontario Normal School Manuals: Science of Education

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=The Method Difficult.=--To expect of young children a ready ability in
thus interpreting words would, however, be an evident mistake. To
translate such sound symbols into ideas, and immediately adjust them to
the problem, demands a power of language interpretation and of
reflection not usually found in school children. The purely lecture
method, therefore, has very small place with young children, whatever
may be its value with advanced students. Pupils in the primary grades
have not sufficient power of attention to listen to a long lecture on
any subject, and no teacher should think of conducting a lesson by that
method alone. The purpose of the lecture is merely to give information,
and that is seldom the sole purpose of a lesson in elementary classes.
There the more important purposes are to train pupils to acquire
knowledge by thinking for themselves, and to express themselves, both of
which are well-nigh impossible if the purely lecture method is followed.

=Does not Insure Selection.=--The weakness of such a method is well
illustrated in the case of the young teacher who, in giving her class a
conception of the equator, followed the above method, and carefully
explained to the pupils that the equator is an imaginary line running
around the earth equally distant from the two poles. When the teacher
came later to review the work with the class, one bright lad described
the equator as a menagerie lion running around the earth. Here evidently
the child, true to the law of apperception, had interpreted, or rather
misinterpreted, the words of the teacher, by means of the only ideas in
his possession which seemed to fit the uttered sounds. It is evident,
therefore, that too often in this method the pupils will either thus
misinterpret the meaning of the teacher's words, or else fail to
interpret them at all, because they are not able to call up any definite
images from what the teacher may be telling them.

=When to be Used.=--It may be noted, however, that there is some place
for the method in teaching. For example, when young children are
presented with a suitable story, they will usually have no difficulty in
fitting ideas to words, and thus building up the story. It requires, in
fact, the continuity found in the telling method to keep the children's
attention on the story, the tone of voice and gesture of the reciter
going a long way in helping the child to call up the ideas which enable
him to construct the story plot. Moreover, some telling must be done by
the teacher in every lesson. Everything cannot be discovered by the
pupils themselves. Even if it were possible, it would often be
undesirable. Some facts are relatively unimportant, and it is much
better to tell these outright than to spend a long time in trying to
lead pupils to discover them. The lecture method, or telling method,
should be used, then, to supply pupils with information they could not
find out for themselves, or which they could find out only by spending
an amount of time disproportionate to the importance of the facts. The
teacher must use good judgment in discriminating between those facts
which the pupils may reasonably be expected to find out for themselves
and those facts which had better be told. Many teachers tell too much
and do not throw the pupils sufficiently on their own resources. On the
other hand, many teachers tell too little and waste valuable time in
trying to "draw" from the pupils what they do not know, with the result
that the pupils fall back upon the pernicious practice of guessing. The
teacher needs to be on his guard against "the toil of dropping buckets
into empty wells, and growing old in drawing nothing up."

It may be added further that, in practical life, man is constantly
required to interpret through spoken language. For this reason,
therefore, all children should become proficient in securing knowledge
through spoken language, that is, by means of the lecture, or telling,
method.

THE TEXT-BOOK METHOD

=Nature of Text-book Method.=--In the text-book method, in place of
listening to the words of the teacher, the pupil is expected to read in
a text-book, in connection with each lesson problem, a series of facts
which will aid him in calling up, or selecting, the ideas essential to
the mastery of the new knowledge. This method is similar, therefore, in
a general way, to the lecture method; since it implies ability in the
pupil to interpret language, and thus recall the ideas bearing upon the
topic being presented. Although the text-book method lacks the
interpretation which may come through gesture and tone of voice, it
nevertheless gives the pupil abundance of time for reflecting upon the
meaning of the language without the danger of losing the succeeding
context, as would be almost sure to happen in the lecture method.
Moreover, the language and mode of presentation of the writer of the
text-book is likely to be more effective in awakening the necessary old
knowledge, than would be the less perfect descriptions of the ordinary
teacher. On the whole, therefore, the text-book seems more likely to
meet the conditions of the laws of apperception and self-activity, than
would the lecture method.

=Method Difficult for Young Children.=--The words of the text-book,
however, like the words of the teacher, are often open to
misinterpretation, especially in the case of young pupils. This may be
illustrated by the case of the student, who upon reading in her history
of the mettle of the defenders of Lacolle Mill, interpreted it as the
possession on their part of superior arms. An amusing illustration of
the same tendency to misinterpret printed language, in spite of the time
and opportunity for studying the text, is seen in the case of the
student who, after reading the song entitled "The Old Oaken Bucket," was
called upon to illustrate in a drawing his interpretation of the scene.
His picture displayed three buckets arranged in a row. On being called
upon for an explanation, he stated that the first represented "The old
oaken bucket"; the second, "The iron-bound bucket"; and the third, "The
moss-covered bucket." Another student, when called upon to express in
art his conception of the well-known lines:

All at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze;

represented on his paper a bed of daffodils blooming in front of a
platform, upon which a number of female figures were actively engaged in
the terpsichorean art.

=Pupil's Mind Often Passive.=--As in the lecture method, also, the pupil
may often go over the language of the text in a passive way without
attempting actively to call up old knowledge and relate it to the
problem before him. It is evident, therefore, that without further aid
from a teacher, the text-book could not be depended upon to guide the
pupil in selecting the necessary interpreting ideas. As with the lecture
method, however, it is to be recognized that, both in the school and in
after life, the student must secure much information by reading, and
that he should at some time gain the power of gathering information from
books. The use of the text-book in school should assist in the
acquisition of this power. The teacher must, therefore, distinguish
between the proper _use_ of the text-book and the _abuse_ of it. There
are several ways in which the text-book may be effectively used.

USES OF TEXT-BOOK

1. After a lesson has been taught, the pupils may be required by way of
review to read the matter covered by the lesson as stated by the
text-book. This plan is particularly useful in history and geography
lessons. The text-book strengthens and clarifies the impression made by
the lesson.

2. Before assigning the portion to be read in the text-book, the teacher
may prepare the way by presenting or reviewing any matter upon which the
interpretation of the text depends. This preparatory work should be just
sufficient to put the pupils in a position to read intelligently the
portion assigned, and to give them a zest for the reading. Sometimes in
this assignment, it is well to indicate definitely what facts are
sufficiently important to be learned, and where these are discussed in
the text-book.

3. The mastery of the text by the pupils may sometimes be aided by a
series of questions for which answers are to be found by a careful
reading. Such questions give the pupils a definite purpose. They
constitute a set of problems which are to be solved. They are likely to
be interesting, because problems within the range of the pupils'
capacity are a challenge to their intelligence. Further, these questions
will emphasize the things that are essential, and the pupils will be
enabled to grasp the main points of the lesson assigned. Occasionally,
to avoid monotony, the pupils should be required, as a variation of this
plan, to make such a series of questions themselves. In these cases, the
pupil with the best list might be permitted, as a reward for his effort,
to "put" his questions to the class.

4. In the more advanced classes, the pupils should frequently be
required to make a topical outline of a section or chapter of the
text-book. This demands considerable analytic power, and the pupil who
can do it successfully has mastered the art of reading. The ability is
acquired slowly, and the teacher must use discretion in what he exacts
from the pupil in this regard. If the plan were followed persistently,
there would be less time wasted in cursory reading, the results of which
are fleeting. What is read in this careful way will become the real
possession of the mind and, even if less material is read, more will be
permanently retained.

The facts thus learned from the text-book should be discussed by the
teacher and pupils in a subsequent recitation period. This may be done
by the question and answer method, the teacher asking questions to which
the pupils give brief answers; or by the topical recitation method, the
pupils reporting in connected form the facts under topics suggested by
the teacher. The teacher has thus an opportunity of emphasizing the
important facts, of correcting misconceptions, and of amplifying and
illustrating the facts given in the text-book. Further, the pupils are
given an opportunity of expressing themselves, and have thus an exercise
in language which is a valuable means of clarifying their impressions.

ABUSE OF TEXT-BOOK

As instances of the abuse of the text-book, the following might be
cited:

1. The memorization by the pupils of the words of the text-book without
any understanding of the meaning.

2. The assignment of a certain number of pages or sections to be learned
by the pupils without any preliminary preparation for the study.

3. The employment of the text-book by the teacher during the recitation
as a means of guiding him in the questions he is to ask--a confession
that he does not know what he requires the pupils to know.

=Limitation of Text-book.=--The chief limitation of the text-book method
of teaching is that the pupil makes few discoveries on his own account,
and is, therefore, not trained to think for himself. The problems being
largely solved for him by the writer, the knowledge is not valued as
highly as it would be if it came as an original discovery. We always
place a higher estimation on that knowledge which we discover for
ourselves than on that which somebody else gives us.

THE DEVELOPING METHOD

=Characteristics of the Method.=--The third, or developing, method of
directing the selecting activity of the learner, is so called because
in this method the teacher as an instructor aims to keep the child's
mind actively engaged throughout each step of the learning process. He
sees, in other words, that step by step the pupil brings forward
whatever old knowledge is necessary to the problem, and that he relates
it in a definite way to this problem. Instead of telling the pupils
directly, for instance, the teacher may question them upon certain known
facts in such a way that they are able themselves to discover the new
truth. In teaching alluvial fans, for example, the teacher would begin
questioning the pupil regarding his knowledge of river valleys,
tributary streams, the relation of the force of the tributary water to
the steepness of the side of the river valley, the presence of detritus,
etc., and thus lead the pupil to form his own conclusion as to the
collecting of detritus at the entrance to the level valley and the
probable shape of the deposit. So also in teaching the conjunctive
pronoun from such an example as:

He gave it to a boy _who_ stood near him;

the teacher brings forward, one by one, the elements of old knowledge
necessary to a full understanding of the new word, and tests at each
step whether the pupil is himself apprehending the new presentation in
terms of his former grammatical knowledge. Beginning with the clause
"who stood near him," the teacher may, by question and answer, assure
himself that the pupil, through his former knowledge of subordinate
clauses, apprehends that the clause is joined adjectively to _boy_, by
the word _who_. Next, he assures himself that the pupil, through his
former knowledge of the conjunction, apprehends clearly the consequent
_conjunctive_ force of the word _who_. Finally, by means of the pupil's
former knowledge of the subjective and pronoun functions, the teacher
assures himself that the pupil appreciates clearly the _pronoun_
function of the word _who_. Thus, step by step, throughout the learning
process, the teacher makes certain that he has awakened in the mind of
the learner the exact old knowledge which will unify into a clearly
understood and adequately controlled new experience, as signified by the
term _conjunctive pronoun_.

=Question and Answer.=--On account of the large use of questioning as a
means of directing and testing the pupils' selecting of old knowledge,
or interpreting ideas, the developing method is often identified with
the question and answer method. But the real mark of the developing
method of teaching is the effort of an instructor to assure himself
that, step by step, throughout the learning process, the pupil himself
is actively apprehending the significance of the new problem by a use of
his own previous experience. It is true, however, that the method of
interrogation is the most universal, and perhaps the most effective,
mode by which a teacher is able to assure himself that the learner's
mind is really active throughout each step of the learning process.
Moreover, as will be seen later, the other subsidiary methods of the
developing method usually involve an accompanying use of question and
answer for their successful operation. It is for this reason that the
question is sometimes termed the teacher's best instrument of
instruction. For the same reason, also, the young teacher should early
aim to secure facility in the art of questioning. An outline of the
leading principles of questioning will, therefore, be given in Chapter
XVIII.

=Other Forms of Development.=--Notwithstanding the large part played by
question and answer in the developing method, it must be observed that
there are other important means which the teacher at times may use in
the learning process in order to awaken clear interpreting ideas in the
mind of the learner. In so far, moreover, as any such methods on the
part of the teacher quicken the apperceptive process in the child, or
cause him to apply his former knowledge in a more active and definite
way to the problem in hand, they must be classified as phases of the
developing method. Two of these subsidiary methods will now be
considered.

THE OBJECTIVE METHOD

=Characteristics of the Objective Method.=--One important sub-section of
the developing method is known as the objective method. In this method
the teacher seeks, as far as possible, (1) to present the lesson problem
through the use of concrete materials, and (2) to have the child
interpret the problem by examining this concrete material. A child's
interest and knowledge being largely centred in objects and their
qualities and uses, many truths can best be presented to children
through the medium of objective teaching. For example, in arithmetic,
weights and measures should be taught by actually handling weights and
measures and building up the various tables by experiment. Tables of
lengths, areas, and volumes may be taught by measurements of lines,
surfaces, and solids. Geographical facts are taught by actual contact
with the neighbouring hills, streams, and ponds; and by visits to
markets and manufacturing plants. In nature study, plants and animals
are studied in their natural habitat or by bringing them into the
class-room.

=Advantages of the Objective Method.=--The advantages of this method in
such cases are readily manifest. Although, for instance, the pupil who
knows in a general way an inch space and the numbers 144, 9, 30-1/4, 40,
and 4, might be supposed to be able to organize out of his former
experiences a perfect knowledge of surface measure, yet it will be found
that compared with that of the pupil who has worked out the measure
concretely in the school garden, the control of the former student over
this knowledge will be very weak indeed. In like manner, when a student
gains from a verbal description a knowledge of a plant or an animal, not
only does he find it much more difficult to apply his old knowledge in
interpreting the word description than he would in interpreting a
concrete example, but his knowledge of the plant or animal is likely to
be imperfect. Objective teaching is important, therefore, for two
reasons:

1. It makes an appeal to the mind through the senses, the avenue through
which the most vivid images come. Frequently several senses are brought
to bear and the impressions thereby multiplied.

2. On account of his interest in objects, the young child's store of old
experiences is mainly of objects and of their sensuous qualities and
uses. To teach the abstract and unfamiliar through these, therefore, is
an application of the law of apperception, since the object makes it
easier for the child's former knowledge to be related to the presented
problem.

=Limitations of Objective Method.=--It must be recognized, however, that
objective teaching is only a means to a higher end. The concrete is
valuable very often only as a means of grasping the abstract. The
progress of humanity has ever been from the sensuous and concrete to the
ideal and abstract. Not the objects themselves, but what the objects
symbolize is the important thing. It would be a pedagogical mistake,
then, to make instruction begin, continue, and end in the concrete. It
is evident, moreover, that no progress could be made through
object-teaching, unless the question and answer method is used in
conjunction.

THE ILLUSTRATIVE METHOD

=Characteristics of the Illustrative Method.=--In many cases it is
impossible or impracticable to bring the concrete object into the
school-room, or to take the pupils to see it outside. In such cases,
somewhat the same result may be obtained by means of some form of
graphic illustration of the object, as a picture, sketch, diagram, map,
model, lantern slide, etc. The graphic representation of an object may
present to the eye most of the characteristics that the actual object
would. For this reason pictures are being more and more used in
teaching, though it is a question whether teachers make as good use of
the pictures of the text-book, in geography for instance, as might be
made.

=Illustrative Method Involves Imagination.=--In the illustrative method,
however, the pupil, instead of being able to apply directly former
knowledge obtained through the senses, in interpreting the actual
object, must make use of his imagination to bridge over the gulf between
the actual object and the representation. When, for example, the child
is called upon to form his conception of the earth with its two
hemispheres through its representation on a globe, the knowledge will
become adequate only as the child's imagination is able to picture in
his mind the actual object out of his own experience of land, water,
form, and space, in harmony with the mere suggestions offered by the
model. It is evident, for the above reason, that the illustrative method
often demands more from the pupil than does the more concrete objective
method. For instance, the child who is able to see an actual mountain,
lake, canal, etc., is far more likely to obtain an accurate idea of
these, than the student who learns them by means of illustrations. The
cause for this lies mainly in the failure of the child to form a perfect
image of the real object through the exercise of his imagination. In
fact it sometimes happens that he makes very little use of his
imagination, his mental picture of the real object differing little from
the model placed before him. The writer was informed of a case in which
a teacher endeavoured to give some young pupils a knowledge of the earth
by means of a large school globe. When later the children were
questioned thereon, it was discovered that their earth corresponded in
almost every particular with the large globe in the school. The
successful use of the illustrative method, therefore, demands from the
teacher a careful test by the question and answer method, to see that
the learner has properly bridged over, through his imagination, the gulf
separating the actual object from its illustration. For this reason an
acquaintance with the mental process of imagination is of great value to
the teacher. The leading facts connected with this process will be set
forth in Chapter XXVII.

PRECAUTIONS IN USE OF MATERIALS

In the use of objective and illustrative materials the following
precautions are advisable:

1. Their use in the lesson should not be continued too long. It should
be remembered that their office is illustrative, and the aim of the
teacher should be to have the pupils think in the abstract as soon as
possible. To make pupils constantly dependent on the concrete is to make
their thinking weak.

2. The pupils must be mentally active while the concrete object or
illustrative material is being used, and not merely gaze in a passive
way upon the objects. It requires mental activity to grasp the abstract
facts that the objects or illustrations typify. A tellurion will not
teach the changes of the seasons; bundles of splints, notation; nor
black-board examples, the law of agreement; unless these are brought
under the child's mental apprehension. The sole purpose of such
materials is, therefore, to start a flow of imagery or ideas which bear
upon the presented problem.

3. The objects should not be so intrinsically interesting that they
distract the attention from what they are intended to illustrate. It
would be injudicious to use candies or other inherently attractive
objects to illustrate number facts in primary arithmetic. The objects,
not the number facts, would be of supreme interest. The teacher who used
a heap of sand and some gunpowder to teach what a volcano is, found his
pupils anxious for "fireworks" in subsequent geography classes. The
science teacher may make his experiments so interesting that his
students neglect to grasp what the experiments illustrate. The preacher
who uses a large number of anecdotes to illustrate the points of his
sermon, would be probably disappointed to know that the only part of his
discourse remembered by the majority of his hearers was these very
anecdotes. In his enthusiasm for objective teaching, the teacher may
easily make the objects so attractive that the pupils fail altogether to
grasp what they signify.

4. In the case of pictures, maps, and sketches, it is well to present
those that are not too detailed. A map drawn on the black-board by the
teacher is usually better for purposes of illustration than a printed
wall map. The latter shows so many details that it is often difficult
for the pupil to single out those required in the lesson. The
black-board map, on the other hand, will emphasize just those details
that are necessary. For the same reason the sketch is often better than
the printed picture or photograph. Any one who can sketch rapidly and
accurately has at his disposal a valuable means of communicating
knowledge, and every teacher should strive to cultivate this power.

MODES OF PRESENTATION COMPARED

The relative clearness of different modes of presenting knowledge may be
seen from the following:

If a teacher stated to his pupils that he saw a guava yesterday,
possibly no information would be conveyed to them other than that some
unknown object has been referred to. Merely to name any object of
thought, therefore, does not guarantee any real understanding in the
mind of the pupil. If the teacher describes the object as a fruit,
fragrant, yellow, fleshy, and pear-shaped, the mental picture of the
pupil is likely to be much more definite. If, on the other hand, a
picture of the fruit is shown, it is likely that the pupil will more
fully realize at least some of the features of the fruit. If the pupil
is given the object and allowed to bring all his senses to bear upon it,
his knowledge will become both more full and more definite. If he were
allowed to express himself through drawing and modelling, his knowledge
would become still more thorough, while if he grew, marketed, and
manufactured the fruit into jelly, his knowledge of the fruit might be
considered complete.

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