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diff --git a/12769-0.txt b/12769-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f702c2c --- /dev/null +++ b/12769-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9765 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12769 *** + +HOW TO TEACH + +BY GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER AND NAOMI NORSWORTHY + + + +February, 1917. + + + +PREFACE + + +The art of teaching is based primarily upon the science of psychology. +In this book the authors have sought to make clear the principles of +psychology which are involved in teaching, and to show definitely their +application in the work of the classroom. The book has been written in +language as free from technical terms as is possible. + +In a discussion of the methods of teaching it is necessary to consider +the ends or aims involved, as well as the process. The authors have, on +this account, included a chapter on the work of the teacher, in which is +discussed the aims of education. The success or failure of the work of a +teacher is determined by the changes which are brought to pass in the +children who are being taught. This book, therefore, includes a chapter +on the measurement of the achievements of children. Throughout the book +the discussion of the art of teaching is always modified by an +acceptance upon the part of the writers of the social purpose of +education. The treatment of each topic will be found to be based upon +investigations and researches in the fields of psychology and education +which involve the measurement of the achievements of children and of +adults under varying conditions. Wherever possible, the relation between +the principle of teaching laid down and the scientific inquiry upon +which it is based is indicated. + +Any careful study of the mental life and development of children reveals +at the same time the unity and the diversity of the process involved. +For the sake of definiteness and clearness, the authors have +differentiated between types of mental activity and the corresponding +types of classroom exercises. They have, at the same time, sought to +make clear the interdependence of the various aspects of teaching method +and the unity involved in mental development. + + GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER. + NAOMI NORSWORTHY. + NOVEMBER 15, 1916. + + * * * * * + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER + + II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK + + III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING + + IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS + + V. HOW TO MEMORIZE + + VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION + + VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED + + VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION + + IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION + + X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER + + XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT + + XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING + + XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES + + XIV. HOW TO STUDY + + XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN + + * * * * * + + + + + +I. THE WORK OF THE TEACHER + + +Education is a group enterprise. We establish schools in which we seek +to develop whatever capacities or abilities the individual may possess +in order that he may become intelligently active for the common good. +Schools do not exist primarily for the individual, but, rather, for the +group of which he is a member. Individual growth and development are +significant in terms of their meaning for the welfare of the whole +group. We believe that the greatest opportunity for the individual, as +well as his greatest satisfaction, are secured only when he works with +others for the common welfare. In the discussions which follow we are +concerned not simply with the individual's development, but also with +the necessity for inhibitions. There are traits or activities which +develop normally, but which are from the social point of view +undesirable. It is quite as much the work of the teacher to know how to +provide for the inhibition of the type of activity which is socially +undesirable, or how to substitute for such reactions other forms of +expression which are worthy, as it is to stimulate those types of +activity which promise a contribution to the common good. It is assumed +that the aim of education can be expressed most satisfactorily in terms +of social efficiency. + +An acceptance of the aim of education stated in terms of social +efficiency leads us to discard other statements of aim which have been +more or less current. Chief among these aims, or statements of aim, are +the following: (1) culture; (2) the harmonious development of the +capacities or abilities of the individual; (3) preparing an individual +to make a living; (4) knowledge. We will examine these aims briefly +before discussing at length the implications of the social aim. + +Those who declare that it is the aim of education to develop men and +women of culture vary in the content which they give to the term +culture. It is conceivable that the person of culture is one who, by +virtue of his education, has come to understand and appreciate the many +aspects of the social environment in which he lives; that he is a man of +intelligence, essentially reasonable; and that he is willing and able to +devote himself to the common good. It is to be feared, however, that the +term culture, as commonly used, is interpreted much more narrowly. For +many people culture is synonymous with knowledge or information, and is +not interpreted to involve preparation for active participation in the +work of the world. Still others think of the person of culture as one +who has a type or kind of training which separates him from the ordinary +man. A more or less popular notion of the man of culture pictures him as +one living apart from those who think through present-day problems and +who devote themselves to their solution. It seems best, on account of +this variation in interpretation, as well as on account of the +unfortunate meaning sometimes attached to the term, to discard this +statement of the aim of education. + +The difficulty with a statement of aim in terms of the harmonious +development of the abilities or capacities possessed by the individual +is found in the lack of any criterion by which we may determine the +desirability of any particular kind of development or action. We may +well ask for what purpose are the capacities or abilities of the +individual to be developed. It is possible to develop an ability or +capacity for lying, for stealing, or for fighting without a just cause. +What society has a right to expect and to demand of our schools is that +they develop or nourish certain tendencies to behave, and that they +strive earnestly to eliminate or to have inhibited other tendencies just +as marked. Another difficulty with the statement of aim in terms of the +harmonious development of the capacities is found in the difficulty of +interpreting what is meant by harmonious development. Do we mean equal +development of each and every capacity, or do we seek to develop each +capacity to the maximum of the individual's possibility of training? Are +we to try to secure equal development in all directions? Of one thing we +can be certain. We cannot secure equality in achievement among +individuals who vary in capacity. One boy may make a good mechanic, +another a successful business man, and still another a musician. It is +only as we read into the statement of harmonious development meanings +which do not appear upon the surface, that we can accept this statement +as a satisfactory wording of the aim of education. + +The narrow utilitarian statement of aim that asserts that the purpose of +education is to enable people to make a living neglects to take account +of the necessity for social coöperation. The difficulty with this +statement of aim is that it is too narrow. We do hope by means of +education to help people to make a living, but we ought also to be +concerned with the kind of a life they lead. They ought not to make a +living by injuring or exploiting others. They ought to be able to enjoy +the nobler pleasures as well as to make enough money to buy food, +clothing, shelter, and the like. The bread-and-butter aim breaks down as +does the all-around development aim because it fails to consider the +individual in relation to the social group of which he is a member. + +To declare that knowledge is the aim of education is to ignore the issue +of the relative worth of that which we call knowledge. No one may know +all. What, then, from among all of the facts or principles which are +available are we to select and what are we to reject? The knowledge aim +gives us no satisfactory answer. We are again thrown back upon the +question of purpose. Knowledge we must have, but for the individual who +is to live in our modern, industrial, democratic society some knowledges +are more important than others. Society cannot afford to permit the +school to do anything less than provide that equipment in knowledge, in +skill, in ideal, or in appreciation which promises to develop an +individual who will contribute to social progress, one who will find his +own greatest satisfaction in working for the common good. + +In seeking to relate the aim of education to the school activities of +boys and girls, it is necessary to inquire concerning the ideals or +purposes which actuate them in their regular school work. _Ideals of +service_ may be gradually developed, and may eventually come to control +in some measure the activities of boys and girls, but these ideals do +not normally develop in a school situation in which competition is the +dominating factor. We may discuss at great length the desirability of +working for others, and we may teach many precepts which look in the +direction of service, and still fail to achieve the purpose for which +our schools exist. An overemphasis upon marks and distinctions, and a +lack of attention to the opportunities which the school offers for +helpfulness and coöperation, have often resulted in the development of +an individualistic attitude almost entirely opposed to the purpose or +aim of education as we commonly accept it. + +There is need for much reorganization in our schools in the light of our +professed aim. There are only two places in our whole school system +where children are commonly so seated that it is easy for them to work +in coöperation with each other. In the kindergarten, in the circle, or +at the tables, children normally discuss the problems in which they are +interested, and help each other in their work. In the seminar room for +graduate students in a university, it is not uncommon to find men +working together for the solution of problems in which they have a +common interest. In most classrooms in elementary and in high schools, +and even in colleges, boys and girls are seated in rows, the one back of +the other, with little or no opportunity for communication or +coöperation. Indeed, helping one's neighbor has often been declared +against the rule by teachers. It is true that pupils must in many cases +work as individuals for the sake of the attainment of skill, the +acquirement of knowledge, or of methods of work, but a school which +professes to develop ideals of service must provide on every possible +occasion situations in which children work in coöperation with each +other, and in which they measure their success in terms of the +contribution which they make toward the achievement of a common end. + +The socially efficient individual must not only be actuated by ideals of +service, but must in the responses which he makes to social demands be +governed by his own careful thinking, or by his ability to distinguish +from among those who would influence him one whose solution of the +problem presented is based upon careful investigation or inquiry. +Especially is it true in a democratic society that the measure of the +success of our education is found in the degree to which we develop the +scientific attitude. Even those who are actuated by noble motives may, +if they trust to their emotions, to their prejudices, or to those +superstitions which are commonly accepted, engage in activities which +are positively harmful to the social group of which they are members. +Our schools should strive to encourage the spirit of inquiry and +investigation. + +A large part of the work in most elementary schools and high schools +consists in having boys and girls repeat what they have heard or read. +It is true that such accumulation of facts may, in some cases, either at +the time at which they are learned, or later, be used as the basis for +thinking; but a teacher may feel satisfied that she has contributed +largely toward the development of the scientific spirit upon the part of +children only when this inquiring attitude is commonly found in her +classroom. The association of ideas which will result from an honest +attempt upon the part of boys and girls to find the solution of a real +problem will furnish the very best possible basis for the recall of the +facts or information which may be involved. The attempt to remember +pages of history or of geography, or the facts of chemistry or of +physics, however well they may be organized in the text-book, is usually +successful only until the examination period is passed. Children who +have engaged in this type of activity quite commonly show an appalling +lack of knowledge of the subjects which they have studied a very short +time after they have satisfied the examination requirement. The same +amount of energy devoted to the solution of problems in which children +may be normally interested may be expected not only to develop some +appreciation of scientific method in the fields in which they have +worked, but also to result in a control of knowledge or a memory of +facts that will last over a longer period of time. + +Recitations should be places where children meet for the discussion of +problems which are vital to them. The question by the pupil should be as +common as the question by the teacher. Laboratory periods should not +consist of following directions, but rather in undertaking, in so far as +it is possible, real experiments. We may not hope that an investigating +or inquiring turn of mind encouraged in school will always be found +operating in the solution of problems which occur outside of school, but +the school which insists merely upon memory and upon following +instructions may scarcely claim to have made any considerable +contribution to the equipment of citizens of a democracy who should +solve their common problems in terms of the evidence presented. The +unthinking acceptance of the words of the book or the statement of the +teacher prepares the way for the blind following of the boss, for faith +in the demagogue, or even for acceptance of the statements of the quack. + +The ideal school situation is one in which the spirit of inquiry and +investigation is constantly encouraged and in which children are +developing ideals of service by virtue of their _activity_. A high +school class in English literature in which children are at work in +small groups, asking each other questions and helping each other in the +solution of their problems, seems to the writer to afford unusual +opportunity for the realization of the social aim of education. A first +grade class in beginning reading, in which the stronger children seek to +help those who are less able, involves something more significant in +education than merely the command of the tool we call reading. A teacher +of a class in physics who suggested to his pupils that they find out +which was the more economical way to heat their homes,--with hot air, +with steam, or with hot water,--evidently hoped to have them use +whatever power of investigation they possessed, as well as to have them +come to understand and to remember the principles of physics which were +involved. In many schools the coöperation of children in the preparation +of school plays, or school festivals, in the writing and printing of +school papers, in the participation in the school assembly, in the +making of shelves, tables, or other school equipment, in the working for +community betterment with respect to clean streets and the like, may be +considered even more significant from the standpoint of the realization +of the social aim of education than are the recitations in which they +are commonly engaged. + +We have emphasized thus far the meaning of the social aim of education +in terms of methods of work upon the part of pupils. It is important to +call attention to the fact that the materials or content of education +are also determined by the same consideration of purposes. If we really +accept the idea of participation upon the part of children in modern +social life as the purpose of education, we must include in our courses +of study only such subject matter as may be judged to contribute toward +the realization of this aim. We must, of course, provide children with +the tools of investigation or of inquiry; but their importance should +not be overemphasized, and in their acquirement significant experiences +with respect to life activities should dominate, rather than the mere +acquisition of the tool. Beginning reading, for example, is important +not merely from the standpoint of learning to read. The teaching of +beginning reading should involve the enlarging and enriching of +experience. Thought getting is of primary importance for little children +who are to learn to read, and the recognition of symbols is important +only in so far as they contribute to this end. The best reading books no +longer print meaningless sentences for children to decipher. Mother +Goose rhymes, popular stories and fables, language reading lessons, in +which children relate their own experience for the teacher to print or +write on the board, satisfy the demand for content and aid, by virtue of +the interest which is advanced, in the mastering of the symbols. + +It is, of course, necessary for one who would understand modern social +conditions or problems, to know of the past out of which our modern life +has developed. It is also necessary for one who would understand the +problems of one community, or of one nation, to know, in so far as it is +possible, of the experiences of other peoples. History and geography +furnish a background, without which our current problems could not be +reasonably attacked. Literature and science, the study of the fine arts, +and of our social institutions, all become significant in proportion as +they make possible contributions, by the individual who has been +educated, to the common good. + +Any proper interpretation of the social purpose of education leads +inevitably to the conclusion that much that we have taught is of very +little significance. Processes in arithmetic which are not used in +modern life have little or no worth for the great majority of boys and +girls. Partnership settlements involving time, exact interest, the +extraction of cube and of square roots, partial payments, and many of +the problems in mensuration, might well be omitted from all courses of +study in arithmetic. Many of the unimportant dates in history and much +of the locational geography should disappear in order that a better +appreciation of the larger social movements can be secured, or in order +that the laws which control in nature may be taught. In English, any +attempt to realize the aim which we have in mind would lay greater +stress upon the accomplishment of children in speaking and writing our +language, and relatively less upon the rules of grammar. + +It may well be asked how our conception of aim can be related to the +present tendency to offer a variety of courses of instruction, or to +provide different types of schools. The answer is found in an +understanding and appreciation of the fact that children vary +tremendously in ability, and that the largest contribution by each +individual to the welfare of the whole group can be made only when each +is trained in the field for which his capacity fits him. The movement +for the development of vocational education means, above all else, an +attempt to train all members of the group to the highest possible degree +of efficiency, instead of offering a common education which, though +liberal in its character, is actually neglected or refused by a large +part of our population. + +Our interest in the physical welfare of children is accounted for by the +fact that no individual may make the most significant contribution to +the common good who does not enjoy a maximum of physical efficiency. The +current emphasis upon moral training can be understood when we accept +that conception of morality which measures the individual in terms of +his contribution to the welfare of others. However important it may be +that individuals be restrained or that they inhibit those impulses which +might lead to anti-social activity, of even greater importance must be +the part actually played by each member of the social group in the +development of the common welfare. + +If we think of the problems of teaching in terms of habits to be fixed, +we must ask ourselves are these habits desirable or necessary for an +individual who is to work as a member of the social group. If we +consider the problem of teaching from the standpoint of development in +intelligence, we must constantly seek to present problems which are +worth while, not simply from the standpoint of the curiosity which they +arouse, but also on account of their relation to the life activities +with which our modern world is concerned. We must seek to develop the +power of appreciating that which is noble and beautiful primarily +because the highest efficiency can be secured only by those who use +their time in occupations which are truly recreative and not enervating. + +As we seek to understand the problem of teaching as determined by the +normal mental development of boys and girls, we must have in mind +constantly the use to which their capacities and abilities are to be +put. Any adequate recognition of the social purpose of education +suggests the necessity for eliminating, as far as possible, that type of +action which is socially undesirable, while we strive for the +development of those capacities which mean at least the possibility of +contribution to the common good. We study the principles of teaching in +order that we may better adapt ourselves to the children's possibilities +of learning, but we must keep in mind constantly that kind of learning +and those methods of work which look to the development of socially +efficient boys and girls. We must seek to provide situations which are +in themselves significant in our modern social life as the subject +matter with which children may struggle in accomplishing their +individual development. We need constantly to have in mind the ideal of +school work which will value most highly opportunities for coöperation +and for contribution to the common good upon the part of children, which +are in the last analysis entirely like the situations in which older +people contribute to social progress. More and more we must seek to +develop the type of pupil who knows the meaning of duty and who gladly +recognizes his obligations to a social group which is growing larger +with each new experience and each new opportunity. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. Why would you not be satisfied with a statement of the aim of +education which was expressed in terms of the harmonious development of +an individual's abilities and capacities? + +2. Suggest any part of the courses of study now in force in your school +system the omission of which would be in accordance with the social aim +of education. + +3. Name any subjects or parts of subjects which might be added for the +sake of realizing the aim of education. + +4. How may a teacher who insists upon having children ask permission +before they move in the room interfere with the realization of the +social aim of education? + +5. Can you name any physical habits which may be considered socially +undesirable? Desirable? + +6. What is the significance of pupil participation in school government? + +7. How does the teacher who stands behind his desk at the front of the +room interfere with the development of the right social attitude upon +the part of pupils? + +8. Why is the desire to excel one's own previous record preferable to +striving for the highest mark? + +9. In one elementary school, products of the school garden were sold and +from the funds thus secured apparatus for the playground was bought. In +another school, children sold the vegetables and kept the money. Which, +in your judgment, was the most worth while from the standpoint of the +social development of boys and girls? + +10. A teacher of Latin had children collect words of Latin origin, +references to Latin characters, and even advertisements in which Latin +words or literary references were to be found. The children in the class +were enthusiastic in making these collections, and considerable interest +was added to the work in Latin. Are you able to discover in the exercise +any other value? + +11. Describe some teaching in which you have recently engaged, or which +you have observed, in which the methods of work employed by teacher and +pupils seemed to you to contribute to a realization of the social +purpose of education. + +12. How can a reading lesson in the sixth grade, or a history lesson in +the high school, be conducted to make children feel that they are doing +something for the whole group? + +13. In what activities may children engage outside of school which may +count toward the betterment of the community in which they live? + + * * * * * + + + + +II. ORIGINAL NATURE, THE CAPITAL WITH WHICH TEACHERS WORK + + +After deciding upon the aims of education, the goals towards which all +teaching must strive, the fundamental question to be answered is, "What +have we to work with?" "What is the makeup with which children start in +life?" Given a certain nature, certain definite results are possible; +but if the nature is different, the results must of necessity differ. +The possibility of education or of teaching along any line depends upon +the presence of an original nature which possesses corresponding +abilities. The development of intellect, of character, of interest, or +of any other trait depends absolutely upon the presence in human beings +of capacity for growth or development. What the child inherits, his +original nature, is the capital with which education must work; beyond +the limits which are determined by inheritance education cannot go. + +All original nature is in terms of a nervous system. What a child +inherits is not ideas, or feelings, or habits, as such, but a nervous +system whose correlate is human intelligence and emotion. Just what +relationship exists between the action of the nervous system and +consciousness or intellect or emotion is still an open question and need +not be discussed here. One thing seems fairly certain, that the original +of any individual is bound up in some way with the kind of nervous +system he has inherited. What we have in common, as a human race, of +imagination, or reason, or tact, or skill is correlated in some fashion +to the inheritance of a human nervous system. What we have as individual +abilities, which distinguish us from our fellows, depends primarily upon +our family inheritance. Certain traits such as interest in people, and +accuracy in perception of details, seem to be dependent upon the sex +inheritance. All traits, whether racial, or family, or sex, are +inherited in terms of a plastic nervous system. + +The racial inheritance, the capital which all normal children bring into +the world, is usually discussed under several heads: reflexes, +physiological actions, impulsive actions, instincts, capacities, etc., +the particular heads chosen varying with the author. They all depend for +their existence upon the fact that certain bonds of connection are +performed in the nervous system. Just what this connection is which is +found between the nerve cells is still open to question. It may be +chemical or it may be electrical. We know it is not a growing together +of the neurones,[1] but further than that nothing is definitely known. +That there are very definite pathways of discharge developed by the laws +of inner growth and independent of individual learning, there can be no +doubt. This of course means that in the early days of a child's life, +and later in so far as he is governed by these inborn tendencies, his +conduct is machine-like and blind--with no purpose and no consciousness +controlling or initiating the responses. Only after experience and +learning have had an opportunity to influence these responses can the +child be held responsible for his conduct, for only then does his +conduct become conscious instead of merely physiological. + +There are many facts concerning the psychology of these inborn +tendencies that are interesting and important from a purely theoretical +point of view, but only those which are of primary importance in +teaching will be considered here. A fact that is often overlooked by +teachers is that these inborn tendencies to connections of various kinds +exist in the intellectual and emotional fields just as truly as in the +field of action or motor response. The capacity to think in terms of +words and of generals; to understand relationships; to remember; to +imagine; to be satisfied with thinking,--all these, as well as such +special abilities as skill in music, in managing people or affairs, in +tact, or in sympathy, are due to just the same factors as produce fear +or curiosity. These former types of tendencies differ from the latter in +complexity of situation and response, in definiteness of response, in +variability amongst individuals of the same family, and in +modifiability; but in the essential element they do not differ from the +more evident inborn tendencies. + +Just what these original tendencies are and just what the situations are +to which they come as responses are both unknown except in a very few +instances. The psychology of original nature has enumerated the +so-called instincts and discussed a few of their characteristics, but +has left almost untouched the inborn capacities that are more peculiarly +human. Even the treatment of instincts has been misleading. For +instance, instincts have been discussed under such heads as the +"self-preservative instincts," "the social instincts," just as if the +child had an inborn, mystical something that told him how to preserve +his life, or become a social king. Original nature does not work in that +way; it is only as the experience of the individual modifies the blind +instinctive responses through learning that these results can just as +easily come about unless the care of parents provides the right sort of +surroundings. There is nothing in the child's natural makeup that warns +him against eating pins and buttons and poisonous berries, or encourages +him to eat milk and eggs and cereal instead of cake and sweets. He will +do one sort of thing just as easily as the other. All nature provides +him with is a blind tendency to put all objects that attract his +attention into his mouth. This response may preserve his life or destroy +it, depending on the conditions in which he lives. The same thing is +true of the "social instinct"--the child may become the most selfish +egotist imaginable or the most self-sacrificing of men, according as his +surroundings and training influence the original tendencies towards +behavior to other people in one way or the other. Of course it is very +evident that no one has ever consistently lived up to the idea indicated +by such a treatment of original nature, but certain tendencies in +education are traceable to such psychology. What the child has by nature +is neither good nor bad, right nor wrong--it may become either according +to the habits which grow out of these tendencies. A child's inborn +nature cannot determine the goal of his education. His nature has +remained practically the same from the days of primitive man, while the +goals of education have changed. What nature does provide is an immense +number of definite responses to definite situations. These provide the +capital which education and training may use as it will. + +It is just because education does need to use these tendencies as +capital that the lack of knowledge of just what the responses are is +such a serious one. And yet the difficulties of determining just what +original nature gives are so tremendous that the task seems a hopeless +one to many investigators. The fact that in the human being these +tendencies are so easily modified means that from the first they are +being influenced and changed by the experiences of the child. Because of +the quality of our inheritance the response to a situation is not a +one-to-one affair, like a key in a lock, but all sorts of minor causes +in the individual are operative in determining his response; and, on the +other side, situations are so complex in themselves that they contain +that which may call out several different instincts. For example, a +child's response to an animal will be influenced by his own physical +condition, emotional attitude, and recent mental status and by the +conditions of size and nearness of the animal, whether it is shaggy or +not, moving or still, whether he is alone or with others, on the floor +or in his chair, and the like. It will depend on just how these factors +combine as to whether the response is one of fear, of curiosity, of +manipulation, or of friendliness. When to these facts are added the fact +that the age and previous habits of the child also influence his +response, the immense complexity of the problem of discovering just what +the situations are to which there are original tendencies to respond and +just how these tendencies show themselves is evident. And yet this is +what psychologists must finally do if the use by teachers of these +tendencies is to be both economical and wise. Just as an illustration of +the possibilities of analysis, Thorndike in his "Original Nature of Man" +lists eleven different situations which call out an instinctive +expression of fear and thirty-one different responses which may occur in +that expression. Under fighting he says, "There seem, indeed, to be at +least six separable sets of connections in the so-called 'fighting +instinct,'" in each of which the situation and the response differ from +any other one. + +Very few of the instincts are present at birth; most of them develop +later in the child's life. Pillsbury says, "One may recognize the +food-taking instincts, the vocal protests at discomfort, but relatively +few others." This delay in the appearance of instincts and capacities is +dependent upon the development of the nervous system. No one of them can +appear until the connections between nerve centers are ready, making the +path of discharge perfect. Just when these various nervous connections +mature, and therefore just when the respective tendencies should appear, +is largely unknown. In only a few of the most prominent and +comparatively simple responses is it even approximately known. Holding +the head up is accomplished about the fourth month, walking and talking +somewhere near the twelfth, but the more complex the tendency and the +more they involve intellectual factors, the greater is the uncertainty +as to the time of development. We are told that fear is most prominent +at about "three or four" years of age, spontaneous imitation "becomes +very prominent the latter part of the first year," the gang instinct is +characteristic of the preadolescent period, desire for adventure shows +itself in early adolescence, altruism "appears in the early teens," and +the sex instinct "after about a dozen years of life." The child of from +four to six is largely sensory, from seven to nine he is motor, from +then to twelve the retentive powers are prominent. In the adolescent +period he is capable of thinking logically and reasoning, while maturity +finds him a man of responsibilities and affairs. Although there is some +truth in the belief that certain tendencies are more prominent at +certain periods in the development of the child than at others, still it +must be borne in mind that just when these optimum periods occur is not +known. Three of the most important reasons for this lack of knowledge +are: first, the fact that all inborn tendencies mature gradually and do +not burst into being; second, we do not know how transitory they are; +and, third, the fact of the great influence of environment in +stimulating or repressing such capacities. + +Although the tendency to make collections is most prominent at nine, the +beginnings of it may be found before the child is five. Moll finds that +the sex instinct begins its development at about six years of age, +despite the fact that it is always quoted as the adolescent instinct. +Children in the kindergarten can think out their little problems +purposively, even though reasoning is supposed to mark the high school +pupil. The elements of most tendencies show themselves early in crude, +almost unrecognizable, beginnings, and from these they grow gradually to +maturity. + +In the second place how quickly do these tendencies fade? How transitory +are they? It has always been stated in general psychology that instincts +are transitory, that therefore it was the business of teachers to strike +while the iron was hot, to seize the wave of interest or response at its +crest before the ebb had begun. There was supposed to be a "happy moment +for fixing in children skill in drawing, for making collections in +natural history," for developing the appreciative emotions, for training +the social instinct, or the memory or the imagination. Children are +supposed to be interested and attracted by novelty, rhythm, and +movement,--to be creatures of play and imagination and to become +different merely as a matter of the transitoriness of these tendencies +due to growth. When the activities of the adult and the child are +analyzed to see what tendencies have really passed, are transitory, it +is difficult to find any that have disappeared. True, they have changed +their form, have been influenced by the third factor mentioned above, +but change the surroundings a little and the tendency appears. Free the +adult from the restraints of his ordinary life and turn him out for a +holiday and the childish tendencies of interest in novelty and the +mysterious, in physical prowess and adventure and play, all make their +appearance. In how many adults does the collecting instinct still +persist, and the instinct of personal rivalry? In how many has the crude +desire for material ownership or the impulse to punish an affront by +physical attack died out? Experimental evidence is even proving that the +general plasticity of the nervous system, which has always been +considered to be transitory, is of very, very much longer duration than +has been supposed. + +In illustration of the third fact, namely, the effect of environment to +stimulate or repress, witness the "little mothers" of five and the wage +earners of twelve who have assumed all the responsibilities with all +that they entail of maturity. On the other side of the picture is the +indulged petted child of fortune who never grows up because he has had +everything done for him all his life, and therefore the tendencies which +normally might be expected to pass and give place to others remain and +those others never appear. That inborn tendencies do wax, reach a +maximum, and wane is probably true, but the onset is much more gradual +and the waning much less frequent than has been taken for granted. Our +ignorance concerning all these matters outweighs our knowledge; only +careful experimentation which allows for all the other factors involved +can give a reliable answer. + +One reason why the facts of delayedness and transitoriness in instincts +have been so generally accepted without being thoroughly tested has been +the belief in the recapitulation or repeating by the individual of +racial development. So long as this was accepted as explaining the +development of inborn tendencies and their order of appearance, +transitoriness and delayedness must necessarily be postulated. This +theory is being seriously questioned by psychologists of note, and even +its strongest advocate, President Hall, finds many questions concerning +it which cannot be answered. + +The chief reasons for its acceptance were first, on logical grounds as +an outgrowth of the doctrine of evolution, and second, because of an +analogy with the growth of the physical body which was pushed to an +extreme. On the physiological side, although there is some likeness +between the human embryo and that of the lower animals, still the stages +passed through by the two are not the same, being alike only in rough +outline, and only in the case of a few of the bodily organs is the +series of changes similar. In the case of the physical structure which +should be recapitulated most closely, if behavior is to follow the same +law,--namely, in that of the brain and nervous system,--there is least +evidence of recapitulation. The brain of man does not follow in its +development at all the same course taken in the development of brains in +the lower animals. And, moreover, it is perfectly possible to explain +any similarity or parallelism which does exist between the development +of man's embryo and that of lower animals by postulating a general order +of development followed by nature as the easiest or most economical, +traces of which must then be found in all animal life. When it comes to +the actual test of the theory, that of finding actual cases of +recapitulation in behavior, it fails. No one has been able to point out +just when a child passes through any stage of racial development, and +any attempt to do so has resulted in confusion. There is no clear-cut +marking off into stages, but, instead, overlapping and coexistence of +tendencies characterize the development of the child. The infant of a +few days old may show the swimming movements, but at the same time he +can support his own weight by clinging to a horizontal stick. Which +stage is he recapitulating, that of the fishes or the monkeys? The +nine-year-old boy loves to swim, climb trees, and hunt like a savage all +at the same period, and, what is more, some of these same tendencies +characterize the college man. The late maturing of the sex instinct, so +old and strong in the race, and the early appearing of the tendencies +towards vocalization and grasping, both of late date in the race, are +facts that are hard to explain on the basis of the theory of +recapitulation. + +As has been already suggested, one of the most important characteristics +of all these tendencies is their modifiability. The very ease with which +they can be modified suggests that this is what has most often to be +done with them. On examination of the lists of original tendencies there +are none which can be kept and fixed in the form in which they first +appear. Even the best of them are crude and impossible from the +standpoint of civilized society. Take as an illustration mother-love; +what are the original tendencies and behavior? "All women possess +originally, from early childhood to death, some interest in human +babies, and a responsiveness to the instinctive looks, calls, gestures, +and cries of infancy and childhood, being satisfied by childish +gurglings, smiles, and affectionate gestures, and moved to instinctive +comforting acts of childish signs of pain, grief, and misery." But the +mother has to learn not to cuddle the baby and talk to it all the time +it is awake and not to run to it and take it up at every cry, to steel +her heart against the wheedling of the coaxing gurgles and even to allow +the baby to hurt himself, all for his own good. This comes about only as +original nature is modified in line with knowledge and ideals. The same +need is evidenced by such a valuable tendency as curiosity. So far as +original nature goes, the tendency to attend to novel objects, to human +behavior, to explore with the eyes and manipulate with the hands, to +enjoy having sensations of all kinds merely for their own sakes, make up +what is known as the instinct of curiosity. But what a tremendous amount +of modification is necessary before these crude responses result in the +valuable scientific curiosity. Not blind following where instinct leads, +but modification, must be the watchword. + +On the other hand, there are equally few tendencies that could be +spared, could be absolutely voted out without loss to the individual or +the race. Bullying as an original tendency seems to add nothing to the +possibilities of development, but every other inborn tendency has its +value. Jealousy, anger, fighting, rivalry, possessiveness, fear, each +has its quota to contribute to valuable manhood and womanhood. Again, +not suppression but a wise control must be the attitude of the educator. +Inhibition of certain phases or elements of some of the tendencies is +necessary for the most valuable development of the individual, but the +entire loss of any save one or two would be disastrous to some form of +adult usefulness or enjoyment. The method by which valuable elements or +phases of an original tendency are fixed and strengthened is the general +method of habit formation and will be taken up under that head in +Chapter IV. When the modification involves definite inhibition, there +are three possible methods,--punishment, disuse, and substitution. As an +example of the use of the three methods take the case of a child who +develops a fear of the dark. In using the first method the child would +be punished every time he exhibited fear of the dark. By using the +second method he would never be allowed to go into a dark room, a light +being left burning in his bedroom, etc., until the tendency to fear the +dark had passed. In the third method the emotion of fear would be +replaced by that of joy or satisfaction by making the bedtime the +occasion for telling a favorite story or for being allowed to have the +best-loved toy, or for being played with or cuddled. The situation of +darkness might be met in still another way. If the child were old +enough, the emotion of courage might replace that of fear by having him +make believe he was a soldier or a policeman. + +The method of punishment is the usual one, the one most teachers and +parents use first. It relies for its effectiveness on the general law of +the nervous system that pain tends to weaken the connections with whose +activity it is associated. The method is weak in that pain is not a +strong enough weapon to break the fundamental connections; it is not +known how much of it is necessary to break even weaker ones; it is +negative in its results--breaking one connection but replacing it by +nothing else. The second method of inhibition is that of disuse. It is +possible to inhibit by this means, because lack of use of connections in +the nervous system results in atrophy. As a method it is valuable +because it does not arouse resistance or anger. It is weak in that as +neither the delayedness nor the transitoriness of instincts is known, +when to begin to keep the situation from the child, and how long to keep +it away in order to provide for the dying out of the connections, are +not known. The method is negative and very unsure of results. The method +of substitution depends for its use upon the presence in the individual +of opposing tendencies and of different levels of development in the +same tendency. Because of this fact a certain response to a situation +may be inhibited by forming the habit of meeting the situation in +another way or of replacing a lower phase of a tendency by a higher one. +This method is difficult to handle because of the need of knowledge of +the original tendencies of children in general which it implies as well +as the knowledge of the capacities and development of the individual +child with whom the work is being done. The amount of time and +individual attention necessary adds another difficulty. However, it is +by far the best method of the three, for it is sure, is economical, +using the energy that is provided by nature, is educative, and is +positive. To replace what is poor or harmful by something better is one +of the greatest problems of human life--and this is the outcome of the +method of substitution. All three methods have their place in a system +of education, and certain of them are more in place at certain times +than at others, but at all times if the method of substitution can be +used it should be. + +The instinct of physical activity is one of the most noticeable ones in +babyhood. The young baby seems to be in constant movement. Even when +asleep, the twitchings and squirmings may continue. This continued +muscular activity is necessary because the motor nerves offer the only +possible path of discharge at first. As higher centers in the brain are +developed, the ingoing currents, aroused by all sense stimuli, find +other connections, and ideas, images, trains of thoughts, are aroused, +and so the energy is consumed; but at first all that these currents can +do is to arouse physical activity. The strength of this instinct is but +little diminished by the time the child comes to school. His natural +inclination is to do things requiring movement of all the growing +muscles. Inhibition, "sitting still," "being quiet," takes real effort +on his part, and is extremely fatiguing. This instinct is extremely +valuable in several ways: it gives the exercise necessary to a growing +body, provides the experience of muscle movements necessary for control, +and stimulates mental growth through the increase and variety of +experiences it gives. + +The tendency to enjoy mental activity, to be satisfied with it for its +own sake, is peculiarly a human trait. This capacity shows itself in two +important ways--in the interest in sensory stimuli, usually discussed +under the head of curiosity, and in the delight in "being a cause" or +mental control. The interest in tastes, sounds, sights, touches, etc., +merely for their own sake, is very evident in a baby. He spends most of +his waking time in just that enjoyment. Though more complex, it is still +strong when the child enters school, and for years any object of sense +which attracts his attention is material which arouses this instinct. +The second form in which the instinct for mental ability shows itself is +later in development and involves the secondary brain connections. It is +the satisfaction aroused by results of which the individual is the +cause. For example, the enjoyment of a child in seeing a ball swing or +hearing a whistle blown would be a manifestation of curiosity, while the +added interest which is always present when the child not only sees the +ball swing but swings it, not only hears the whistle but blows it +himself, is a result of the second tendency, that of joy in being a +cause. As the child grows older the same tendency shows itself on a +higher level when the materials dealt with, instead of being sensations +or percepts, are images or ideas. The interest in following out a train +of ideas to a logical conclusion, of building "castles in the air," of +making plans and getting results, all find their taproot in this +instinctive tendency towards mental activity. + +In close connection with the general tendency towards physical activity +is the instinct of manipulation. From this crude root grows +constructiveness and destructiveness. As it shows itself at first it has +the elements of neither. The child inherits the tendency to respond by +"many different arm, hand, and finger movements to many different +objects"--poking, pulling, handling, tearing, piling, digging, and +dropping objects. Just what habits of using tools, and the like, will +grow out of this tendency will depend on the education and training it +gets. The habits of constructiveness may be developed in different sorts +of media. The order of their availability is roughly as follows: first, +in the use of materials such as wood, clay, raffia, etc.; second, in the +use of pencil and brush with color, etc.; third, in the use of words. We +should therefore expect and provide for considerable development along +manual lines before demanding much in the way of literary expression. +Indeed, it may be argued that richness of experience in doing is +prerequisite to verbal expression. + +Acquisitiveness and collecting are two closely allied tendencies of +great strength. Every child has a tendency to approach, grasp, and carry +off any object not too large which attracts his attention, and to be +satisfied by its mere possession. Blind hoarding and collecting of +objects sometimes valueless in themselves results. This instinct is very +much influenced in its manifestation by others which are present at the +same time, such as the food-getting instinct, rivalry, love of approval, +etc. The time at which the tendency to collect seems strongest is at +about nine years, judged by the number of collections per child. + +Rivalry as an instinct shows itself in increased vigor, in instinctive +activity when others are engaged in the same activity, and in +satisfaction when superiority is attained. There is probably no inborn +tendency whereby these responses of increased vigor and satisfaction are +aroused in connection with any kind of activity. We do not try to +surpass others in the way we talk or in our moral habits or in our +intellectual attainments, as a result of nature, but rather as a result +of painstaking education. As an instinct, rivalry is aroused only in +connection with other instinctive responses. In getting food, in +securing attention or approval, in hunting and collecting, the activity +would be increased by seeing another doing the same thing, and +satisfaction would be aroused at success or annoyance at failure. The +use of rivalry in other activities and at other levels comes as a result +of experience. + +The fighting responses are called out by a variety of situations. These +situations are definite and the responses to them differ from each +other. In each case the child tries by physical force of some kind, by +scratching, kicking, biting, slapping, throwing, and the like, to change +the situation into a more agreeable one. This is true whether he be +trying to escape from the restraining arms of his mother or to compel +another child to recognize his mastery. Original nature endows us with +the pugnacious instinct on the physical level and in connection with +situations which for various reasons annoy us. If this is to be raised +in its manner of response from the physical to the intellectual level, +if the occasions calling it out are to be changed from those that merely +annoy one to those which involve the rights of others and matters of +principle, it must be as a result of education. Nature provides only +this crude root. + +Imitation has long been discussed as one of the most important and +influential of human instincts. It has been regarded as a big general +tendency to attempt to do whatever one saw any one else doing. As such a +tendency it does not exist. It is only in certain narrow lines that the +tendency to imitate shows itself, such as smiling when smiled at, +yelling when others yell, looking and listening, running, crouching, +attacking, etc., when others do. To this extent and in similar +situations the tendency to imitate seems to be truly an instinct. +Imitating in other lines, such as writing as another writes, talking, +dressing, acting like a friend, trying to use the methods used by +others, etc., are a result of experience and education. The +"spontaneous," "dramatic," and "voluntary" imitation discussed by some +authors are the stages of development of _habits_ of imitation. + +The desire to be with others of the same species, the satisfaction at +company and the discomfort aroused by solitude, is one of the strongest +roots of all social tendencies and customs. It manifests itself in young +babies, and continues a strong force throughout life. As an instinct it +has nothing to do with either being interested in taking one's share in +the duties or pleasures of the group or with being interested in people +for their own sakes. It is merely that company makes one comfortable and +solitude annoys one. Anything further must come as a result of +experience. + +Motherliness and kindliness have as their characteristic behavior +tendencies to respond by instinctive comforting acts to signs of pain, +grief, or misery shown by living things, especially, by children, and by +the feeling of satisfaction and the sight of happiness in others. Of +course very often these instinctive responses are interfered with by the +presence of some other instinct, such as fighting, hunting, ownership, +or scorn, but that such tendencies to respond in such situations are a +part of the original equipment of man seems beyond dispute. They are +possessed by both sexes and manifest themselves in very early childhood. + +There are original tendencies to respond both in getting and in giving +approval and scorn. By original nature, smiles, pats, admiration, and +companionship from one to whom submission is given arouses intense +satisfaction; and the withdrawal of such responses, and the expression +of scorn or disapproval, excites great discomfort. Even the expression +of approval or scorn from any one--a stranger or a servant--brings with +it the responses of satisfaction or discomfort. Just as strongly marked +are original tendencies which cause responses of approval and cause as a +result of "relief from hunger, rescue from fear, gorgeous display, +instinctive acts of strength, daring and victory," and responses of +scorn "to the observation of empty-handedness, deformity, physical +meanness, pusillanimity, and defect." The desire for approval is never +outgrown--it is one of the governing forces in society. If it is to be +shown or desired on any but this crude level of instinctive response, it +can only come by education. + +Children come to school with both an original nature determined by their +human inheritance and by their more immediate family relationship, and +with an education more significant, perhaps, than any which the school +can provide. From earliest infancy up to the time of entering a +kindergarten or a first grade, the original equipment in terms of +instincts, capacities, and abilities has been utilized by the child and +directed by his parents and associates in learning to walk and to talk, +to conform to certain social standards or requirements, to accept +certain rules or precepts, or to act in accordance with certain beliefs +or superstitions. The problem which the teacher faces is that of +directing and guiding an individual, who is at the same time both +educated and in possession of tendencies and capacities which make +possible further development. + +Not infrequently the education which children have when they come to +school may in some measure handicap the teacher. It is unfortunate, but +true, that in some homes instinctive tendencies which should have been +overcome have been magnified. The control of children is sometimes +secured through the utilization of the instinct of fear. The fighting +instinct may often have been overdeveloped in a home in which +disagreement and nagging, even to the extent of physical violence, have +taken the place of reason. Pride and jealousy may have taken deep root +on account of the encouragement and approval which have been given by +thoughtless adults. + +The teacher does not attack the problem of education with a clean slate, +but rather it is his to discover what results have already been achieved +in the education of the child, whether they be good or bad, for it is in +the light of original nature or original tendencies to behave, and in +the light of the education already secured, that the teacher must work. + +When one realizes the great variety or differences in ability or +capacity, as determined by heredity, and when there is added to this +difference in original nature the fact of variety in training which +children have experienced prior to their school life, he cannot fail to +emphasize the necessity for individualizing children. While it is true +that we may assume that all children will take delight in achievement, +it may be necessary with one child to stir as much as possible the +spirit of rivalry, to give as far as one can the delight which comes +from success, while for another child in the same class one may need to +minimize success on account of a spirit of arrogance which has been +developed before school life began. It is possible to conceive of a +situation in which some children need to be encouraged to fight, even to +the extent of engaging in physical combat, in order to develop a kind of +courage which will accept physical discomfort rather than give up a +principle or ideal. In the same group there may be children for whom the +teacher must work primarily in terms of developing, in so far as he can, +the willingness to reason or discuss the issue which may have aroused +the fighting instinct. + +For all children in elementary and in high schools the possibility of +utilizing their original nature for the sake of that development which +will result in action which is socially desirable is still present. The +problem which the teacher faces will be more or less difficult in +proportion as the child's endowment by original nature is large or +small, and as previous education has been successful or unsuccessful. +The skillful teacher is the one who will constantly seek to utilize to +the full those instincts or capacities which seem most potent. This +utilization, as has already been pointed out, does not mean a blind +following of the instinctive tendencies, but often the substitution of a +higher form of action for a lower, which may seem to be related to the +instinct in question. It is probably wise to encourage collections of +stamps, of pictures, of different kinds of wood, and the like, upon the +part of children in the elementary school, provided always that the +teacher has in mind the possibility of leading these children, through +their interest in objects, to desire to collect ideas. Indeed, a teacher +might measure her success in utilizing the collecting instinct in +proportion as children become relatively less interested in things +collected, and more interested in the ideas suggested by them, or in the +mastery of fields of knowledge or investigation in which objects have +very little significance. The desire for physical activity upon the part +of children is originally satisfied by very crude performances. +Development is measured not simply in an increase in manual dexterity, +but also in terms of the higher satisfaction which may come from +producing articles which have artistic merit, or engaging in games of +skill which make for the highest physical efficiency. + +During the whole period of childhood and adolescence we may never assume +that the results of previous education, whether they be favorable or +unsatisfactory, are permanent. Whether we succeed or not in achieving +the ends which we desire, the fact of modifiability, of docility, and of +plasticity remains. The teacher who seeks to understand the individuals +with whom he works, both in terms of their original nature and in terms +of their previous education, and who at the same time seeks to +substitute for a lower phase of an instinctive tendency a higher one, or +who tries to have his pupils respond to a situation by inhibiting a +particular tendency by forming the habit of meeting the situation in +another way, need not despair of results which are socially desirable. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. May a teacher ever expect the children in his class to be equal in +achievement? Why? + +2. Why is it not possible to educate children satisfactorily by +following where instincts lead? + +3. Which of the instincts seem most strong in the children in your +class? + +4. Can you give any example of an instinctive tendency which you think +should have been outgrown but which seems to persist among your pupils? + +5. Give examples of the inhibition of undesirable actions based upon +instinctive tendencies by means of (1) punishment, (2) disuse, (3) +substitution. + +6. How can you use the tendency to enjoy mental activity? + +7. Why does building a boat make a stronger appeal to a boy than +engaging in manual training exercises which might involve the same +amount of activity? + +8. Cite examples of collections made by boys and girls in which the +ideas associated with the objects collected may be more important than +the objects themselves. + +9. In what degree are we justified in speaking of the social instinct? +The instinct to imitate? + +10. How can you use the fighting instinct in your work with children? + +11. What can teachers do to influence the education which children have +received or are getting outside of school? + +12. What differences in action among the children in your class do you +attribute to differences in original nature? What to differences in +education? + + * * * * * + + + + +III. ATTENTION AND INTEREST IN TEACHING + + +Attention is a function of consciousness. Wherever consciousness is, +attention must perforce be present. One cannot exist without the other. +According to most psychologists, the term attention is used to describe +the form consciousness takes, to refer to the fact that consciousness is +selective. It simply means that consciousness is always focal and +marginal--that some ideas, facts, or feelings stand out in greater +prominence than do others, and that the presence of this "perspective" +in consciousness is a matter of mechanical adjustment. James describes +consciousness by likening it to a series of waves, each having a crest +and sides which correspond to the focus and margin of attention. The +form of the wave changes from a high sharp crest with almost straight +sides in pointed, concentrated attention, to a series of mere +undulations, when crests are difficult to distinguish, in so-called +states of dispersed attention. The latter states are rare in normal +individuals, although they may be rather frequent in certain types of +low-grade mental defectives. This of course means that states of +"inattention" do not exist in normal people. So long as consciousness is +present one must be attending to something. The "day dream" is often +accompanied by concentrated attention. Only when we are truly thinking +of nothing, and that can only be as unconsciousness approaches, is +attention absent. What is true of attention is also true of interest, +for interest is coming more and more to be considered the "feeling side" +of attention, or the affective accompaniment of attention. The kind of +interest may vary, but some kind is always present. The place the +interest occupies may also vary: sometimes the affective state itself is +so strong that it forces itself into the focal point and becomes the +object of attention. The chief fact of importance, however, is that +attention and interest are inseparable and both are coexistent with +consciousness. + +This selective action of consciousness is mechanical, due to the inborn +tendencies toward attention possessed by human beings. The situations +which by their very nature occupy the focal point in consciousness are +color and brightness, novelty, sudden changes and sharp contrasts, +rhythm and cadence, movement, and all other situations to which there +are other instinctive responses, such as hunting, collecting, curiosity, +manipulation, etc. In other words, children are born with tendencies to +attend to an enormous number of situations because of the number of +instinctive responses they possess. So great is this number that +psychologists used to talk about the omnivorousness of children's +attention, believing that they attended to everything. Such a general +attention seems not to be true. However, it is because so many +situations have the power to force consciousness to a crest that human +beings have developed the intellectual power that puts them so far above +other animals. That these situations do attract attention is shown by +the fact that individuals respond by movements which enable them to be +more deeply impressed or impressed for a longer time by the situations +in question. For example, a baby will focus his eyes upon a bright +object and then move eyes and head to follow it if it moves from his +field of vision. Just what the situations are, then, which will arouse +responses of attention in any given individual will depend in the first +place upon his age, sex, and maturity, and in the second place upon his +experience. The process of learning very quickly modifies the inborn +tendencies to attention by adding new situations which demand it. It is +the things we learn to attend to that make us human rather than merely +animal. + +The fact of attention or selection must of necessity involve also +inhibition or neglect. The very fact of the selection of certain objects +and qualities means the neglect of others. This fact of neglect is at +first just as mechanical as that of attention, but experiences teach us +to neglect some situations which by original nature attracted attention. +From the standpoint of education what we neglect is quite as important +as what is selected for attention. + +The breadth of a person's attention, _i.e.,_ the number of lines along +which attention is possible, must vary with age and experience. The +younger or the more immature an individual is, the greater the number of +different lines to which attention is given. It is the little child +whose attention seems omnivorous, and it is the old person for whom +situations worthy of attention have narrowed down to a few lines. This +must of necessity be so, due to the interrelation of attention and +neglect. The very fact of continuing to give attention along one line +means less and less ability and desire to attend along other lines. + +The question as to how many things, whether objects or ideas, can be +attended to at the same time, has aroused considerable discussion. Most +people think that they are attending to several things, if not to many, +at the same second of consciousness. Experiments show that if four or +five unrelated objects, words, or letters be shown to adults for less +than one quarter of a second, they can be apprehended, but the +probability is that they are photographed, so to speak, on the eye and +counted afterwards. It is the general belief of psychologists at present +that the mind attends to only one thing at a time, that only one idea or +object can occupy the focal point in consciousness. + +The apparent contradiction between ordinary experience and psychological +experience along this line is due to three facts which are often +overlooked. In the first place, the complexity of the idea or thing that +can be attended to as a unit varies tremendously. Differences in people +account for part of this variation, but training and experience account +for still more. Our ideas become more and more complex as experience and +familiarity build them up. Qualities which to a little child demand +separate acts of attention are with the adult merged into his perception +of the object. Just as simple words, although composed of separate +letters, are perceived as units, so with training, more complex units +may be found which can be attended to as wholes. So (to the ignorant or +the uninstructed) what is apparently attending to more than one thing at +a time may be explained by the complexity of the unit which is receiving +the attention. + +In the second place _doing_ more than one thing at a time does not imply +attending to more than one thing at a time. An activity which is +habitual or mechanical does not need attention, but can be carried on by +the control exercised by the fringe of consciousness. Attention may be +needed to start the activity or if a difficulty of any kind should +arise, but that is all. For the rest of the time it can be devoted to +anything else. The great speed with which attention can flash from one +thing to another and back again must be taken into consideration in all +this discussion. So far as attention goes, one can _do_ as many things +at a time as he can make mechanical plus one unfamiliar one. Thus a +woman can rock the baby's cradle, croon a lullaby, knit, and at the same +time be thinking of illustrations for her paper at the Woman's Club, +because only one of these activities needs attention. When no one of the +activities is automatic and the individual must depend on the rapid +change of attention from one to the other to keep them going, the +results obtained are likely to be poor and the fatigue is great. The +attempt to take notes while listening to a lecture is of this order, and +hence the unsatisfactoriness of the results. + +The third fact which helps to explain the apparent contradiction under +discussion is closely related to this one. It is possible when engaged +with one object to have several questions or topics close by in the +fringe of consciousness so that one or the other may flash to the focal +point as the development of the train of thought demands. The individual +is apparently considering many questions at the same time, when in +reality it is the readiness of these associations plus the oscillations +of attention that account for the activity. The ability to do this sort +of thing depends partly on the individual,--some people will always be +"people of one idea,"--but training and experience increase the power. +The child who in the primary can be given only one thing to look for +when he goes on his excursion may grow into the youth who can carry half +a dozen different questions in his mind to which he is looking for +answers. + +By concentration of attention is meant the depth of the attention, and +this is measured by the ease with which a person's attention can be +called off the topic with which he is concerned. The concentration may +be so great that the individual is oblivious to all that goes on about +him. He may forget engagements and meals because of his absorption. +Sometimes even physical pain is not strong enough to distract attention. +On the other hand, the concentration may be so slight that every passing +sense impression, every irrelevant association called up by the topic, +takes the attention away from the subject. The depth of concentration +depends upon four factors. Certain mental and physical conditions have a +great deal to do with the concentration of attention, and these will be +discussed later. Individual differences also account for the presence or +absence of power of concentration--some people concentrate naturally, +others never get very deeply into any topic. Maturity is another factor +that is influential. A little child cannot have great concentration, +simply because he has not had experience enough to give him many +associations with which to work. His attention is easily distracted. +Although apparently absorbed in play, he hears what goes on about him +and notices many things which adults suppose he does not see. This same +lack of power shows itself in any one's attention when a new subject is +taken up if he has few associations with it. Of course this means that +other things being equal the older one is, up to maturity at least, the +greater one's power of concentration. Little children have very little +power, adolescents a great deal, but it is the adult who excels in +concentration. Although this is true, the fourth factor, that of +training in concentration, does much toward increasing the power before +full maturity is reached. One can learn to concentrate just as he can +learn to do anything else. Habits of concentration, of ignoring +distinctions and interruptions, of putting all one's power into the work +in hand, are just as possible as habits of neatness. The laws of habit +formation apply in the field of attention just as truly as in every +other field of mental life. Laboratory experiments prove the large +influence which training has on concentration and the great improvement +that can be made. It is true that few people do show much concentration +of attention when they wish. This is true of adults as well as of +children. They have formed habits of working at half speed, with little +concentration and no real absorption in the topic. This method of work +is both wasteful of time and energy and injurious to the mental +stability and development of the individual. Half-speed work due to lack +of concentration often means that a student will stay with a topic and +fuss over it for hours instead of working hard and then dropping it. +Teachers often do this sort of thing with their school work. Not only +are the results less satisfactory, because the individual never gets +deeply enough into the topic to really get what is there, but the effect +on him is bad. It is like "constant dripping wears away the stone." +Children must be taught to "work when they work and play when they +play," if they are to have habits of concentration as adults. + +The length of time which it is possible to attend to the same object or +idea may be reckoned in seconds. It is impossible to hold the attention +on an object for any appreciable length of time. In order to hold the +attention the object must change. The simple experiment of trying to pay +attention to a blot of ink or the idea of bravery proves that change is +necessary if the attention is not to wander. What happens is that either +the attention goes to something else, or that you begin thinking about +the thing in question. Of course, the minute you begin thinking, new +associations, images, memories, come flocking in, and the attention +occupies itself with each in turn. All may concern the idea with which +you started out, but the very fact that these have been added to the +mental content of the instant makes the percept of ink blot or the +concept of bravery different from the bare thing with which the +attention began. If this change and fluctuation of the mental state does +not take place, the attention flits to something else. The length of +time that the attention may be engaged with a topic will depend, then, +upon the number of associations connected with it. The more one knows +about a topic, the longer he can attend to it. If it is a new topic, the +more suggestive it is in calling up past experience or in offering +incentive for experiment or application, the longer can attention stay +with it. Such a topic is usually called "interesting," but upon analysis +it seems that this means that for one of the above reasons it develops +or changes and therefore holds the attention. This duration of attention +will vary in length from a few seconds to hours. The child who is given +a problem which means almost nothing, which presents a blank wall when +he tries to attend to it, which offers no suggestions for solution, is +an illustration of the first. Attention to such a problem is impossible; +his attention must wander. The genius who, working with his favorite +subject, finds a multitude of trains of thought called up by each idea, +and who therefore spends hours on one topic with no vacillation of +attention, is an illustration of the second. + +Attention has been classified according to the kind of feeling which +accompanies the activity. Sometimes attention comes spontaneously, +freely, and the emotional tone is that accompanying successful activity. +On the other hand, sometimes it has to be forced and is accompanied by +feelings of strain and annoyance. The first type is called Free[2] +attention; the second is Forced attention. + +Free attention is given when the object of attention satisfies a need; +when the situation attended to provides the necessary material for some +self-activity. The activity of the individual at that second needs +something that the situation in question gives, and hence free, +spontaneous attention results. Forced attention is given when there is a +lack of just such feeling of need in connection with the object of +attention. It does not satisfy the individual--it is distinct from his +desires at the time. He attends only because of fear of the results if +he does not, and hence the condition is one of strain. All play takes +free attention. Work which holds the worker because it is satisfying +also takes free attention. Work which has in it the element of drudgery +needs forced attention. The girl making clothes for her doll, the boy +building his shack in the woods, the inventor working over his machine, +the student absorbed in his history lesson,--all these are freely +attending to the thing in hand. The girl running her seam and hating it, +the, boy building the chicken coop while wishing to be at the ball game, +the inventor working over his machine when his thoughts and desires are +with his sick wife, the student trying to study his history when the +debate in the civics club is filling his mind,--these are cases when +forced attention would probably be necessary. + +It is very evident that there is no one situation which will necessarily +take either free or forced attention because the determining factor is +not in the situation _per se_, but in the relation it bears to the mind +engaged with it. Sometimes the same object will call forth forced +attention from one person and free from another. Further, the same +object may at one time demand free attention and at another time forced +attention from the same person, depending on the operation of other +factors. It is also true that attention which was at first forced may +change into free as the activity is persevered in. + +Although these two types of attention are discussed as if they were +entirely separated from each other, as if one occurred in this situation +and the other in that, still as a matter of fact the actual conditions +involve an interplay between the two. It is seldom true that free +attention is given for any great length of time without flashes of +forced attention being scattered through it. Often the forced attention +may be needed for certain parts of the work, although as a whole it may +take free attention. The same thing is true of occasions when forced +attention is used. There are periods in the activity when free attention +will carry the worker on. Every activity, then, is likely to be complex +so far as the kind of attention used, but it is also characterized by +the predominance of one or the other type. + +The question as to the conditions which call out each type of attention +is an important one. As has already been said, free attention is given +when the situation attended to satisfies a need. Physiologically stated, +free attention is given when a neurone series which is ready to act is +called into activity. The situations which do this, other things being +equal, will be those which appeal to some instinctive tendency or +capacity, or to the self-activity or the personal experience of the +individual and which therefore are in accord with his stage of +development and his experience. Forced attention is necessary when the +neurone tracts used by the attention are for some reason unready to act. +Situations to which attention is given through fear of punishment, or +when the activity involves a choice of ideal ends as opposed to personal +desires, or when some instinctive tendency must be inhibited or its free +activity is blocked or interfered with, or when the laws of growth and +experience are violated, take forced attention. Of course fatigue, +disease, and monotony are frequent breeders of forced attention. + +From the above discussion it must be evident that one of the chief +characteristics of free attention is its unity. The mental activity of +the person is all directed along one line, that which leads to the +satisfying of the need. It is unified by the appeal the situation makes. +As a result of such a state the attention is likely to be concentrated, +and can be sustained over a long period. Of course this means that the +work accomplished under such conditions will be greater in amount, more +thorough, and more accurate than could be true were there less unity in +the process. The opposite in all respects is true of forced attention. +It is present when there is divided interest. The topic does not appeal +to the need of the individual. He attends to it because he must. Part of +his full power of attention is given to keeping himself to the work, +leaving only a part to be given to the work itself. If there is any +other object in the field of attention which is particularly attractive, +as there usually is, that claims its share, and the attention is still +further divided. Divided attention cannot be concentrated; it cannot +last long. The very strain and effort involved makes it extremely +fatiguing. The results of work done under such conditions must be poor. +There can be but little thoroughness, for the worker will do just as +much as he must to pass muster, and no more. Inaccuracy and +superficiality will characterize such work. Just as training in giving +concentrated attention results in power along that line, so frequent +necessity for forced attention develops habits of divided attention +which in time will hinder the development of any concentration. + +From a psychological viewpoint there can be no question but what free +attention is the end to be sought by workers of all kinds. It is an +absolutely false notion that things are easy when free attention is +present. It is only when free attention is present that results worth +mentioning are accomplished. It is only under such conditions that the +worker is willing to try and try again, and put up with disappointment +and failure, to use his ingenuity and skill to the utmost, to go out of +his way for material or suggestions; in other words, to put himself into +his work in such a way that it is truly educational. On the other hand, +forced attention has its own value and could not be dispensed with in +the development of a human being. Its value is that of means to end--not +that of an end in itself. It is only as it leads into free attention +that forced attention is truly valuable. In that place the part it plays +is tremendous because things are as they are. There will always be +materials which will not appeal to a need in some individual because of +lack of capacity or experience; there will always be parts of various +activities and processes which seem unnecessary and a waste of time to +some worker; there will always be choices to be made between instinctive +desires and ideal needs, and in each case forced attention is the only +means, perhaps, by which the necessary conditions can be acquired that +make possible free attention. It is evident, therefore, that forced +attention should be called into play only when needed. When needed, it +should be demanded rigorously, but the sooner the individual in question +can pass from it to the other type, the better. This is true in all +fields whether intellectual or moral. + +A second classification of attention has been suggested according to the +answer to the question as to why attention is given. Sometimes attention +is given simply because the material itself demands it; sometimes for +some ulterior reason. The former type is called immediate or intrinsic +attention; the latter is called derived, mediate, or extrinsic +attention. The former is given to the situation for its own sake; the +latter because of something attached to it. Forced attention is always +derived; free attention may be either immediate or derived. It is +immediate and derived free attention that needs further discussion. + +It should be borne in mind that there is no sharp line of division +between immediate and derived attention. Sometimes it is perfectly +evident that the attention is given for the sake of the material--at +other times there can be no doubt but that it is the something beyond +the material that holds the attention. But in big, complex situations it +is not so evident. For instance, the musician composing just for the +love of it is an example of immediate attention, while the small boy +working his arithmetic examples with great care in order to beat his +seatmate is surely giving derived attention. But under some conditions +the motives are mixed and the attention may fluctuate from the value of +the material itself to the values to be derived from it. However this +may be, at the two extremes there is a clear-cut difference between +these two types of attention. The value of rewards and incentives +depends on the psychology of derived free attention, while that of +punishment and deterrents is wrapped up with derived forced attention. + +Immediate free attention is the more valuable of the two types because +it is the most highly unified and most strongly dynamic of all the +attention types. The big accomplishments of human lives have been +brought to pass through this kind of attention. It is the kind the +little child gives to his play--the activity itself is worth while. So +with the artist, the inventor, the poet, the teacher, the physician, the +architect, the banker--to be engaged in that particular activity +satisfies. But this is not true of all artists, bankers, etc., nor with +the others all the time. Even for the child at play, sometimes +conditions arise when the particular part of the activity does not seem +worth while in itself; then if it is to be continued, another kind of +attention must be brought in--derived attention. This illustration shows +the place of derived attention as a means to an end--the same part +played by forced attention in its relation to free. Derived attention +must needs be characteristic of much of the activity of human beings. +People have few well-developed capacities, and there are many kinds of +things they are required to do. If these are to be done with free +attention, heartily, it will only be because of some value that is worth +while that is attached to the necessary activity. As activities grow +complex and as the results of activities grow remote, the need for +something to carry over the attention to the parts of the activity that +are seen to be worth while in the first place, or to the results in the +second, grows imperative. This need is filled by derived attention, and +here it shows its value as means to an end, but it is only when the need +for this carrier disappears, and the activity as a whole for itself +seems worth while, that the best results are obtained. + +There is a very great difference between the kinds of motives or values +chosen for derived attention, and their value varies in accordance with +the following principles. Incentives should be closely connected +naturally with the subject to which they are attached. They should be +suited to the development of the child and be natural rather than +artificial. Their appeal should be permanent, _i.e._, should persist in +the same situation outside of school. They should really stimulate those +to whom they are offered. They should not be too attractive in +themselves. Applying these principles it would seem that derived +interests that have their source in instincts, in special capacities, or +in correlation of subjects are of the best type, while such extremely +artificial incentives as prizes, half holidays, etc., are among the +poorest. + +The value of derived attention is that it gets the work done or the +habit formed. Of course the hope is always there that it will pass over +into the immediate type, but if it does not, at least results are +obtained. It has already been shown that results may also be obtained by +the use of forced attention, which is also derived. Both derived free +attention and forced attention are means to an end. The question as to +the comparative value of the two must be answered in favor of the +derived free attention. The chief reasons for this conclusion are as +follows. First, derived free attention is likely to be more unified than +forced attention. Second, it arouses greater self-activity on the part +of the worker. Third, the emotional tone is that of being satisfied +instead of strain. Fourth, it is more likely to lead to the immediate +attention which is its end. Despite these advantages of derived free +attention over forced attention, it still has some of the same +disadvantages that forced attention has. The chief of these is that it +also may result in division of energy. If the means for gaining the +attention is nothing but sugar coating, if it results in the mere +entertainment of the worker, there is every likelihood that the +attention will be divided between the two. The other disadvantage is +that because of the attractiveness of the means used to gain attention +it may be given just so long as the incentive remains, and no longer. +These difficulties may be largely overcome, however, by the application +of the principles governing good incentives. This must mean that the +choice of types of attention and therefore the provision of situations +calling them out should be in this order: immediate free attention, +derived free attention, forced attention. All three are necessary in the +education of any child, but each should be used in its proper place. + +The conditions which insure the best attention of whatever type have to +do with both physical and mental adjustments. On the physical side there +is need for the adaptation of the sense organ and the body to the +situation. For this adaptation to be effective the environmental +conditions must be controlled by the laws of hygiene. A certain amount +of bodily freedom yields better results than rigidity because the latter +draws energy from the task in hand for purposes of inhibition. On the +mental side there is need for preparation in terms of readiness of the +nerve tracts to be used. James calls this "ideational" preparation. This +simply means that one can attend better if he knows something of what he +is to attend to. Experimental evidence proves without doubt that if the +subject knows that he is to see a color, instead of a word, his +perception of it is much more rapid and accurate than if he does not +have this preparation. This same result is obtained in much more complex +sensory situations, and it also holds when the situation is +intellectual. Contrary to expectation, great quietness is not the best +condition for the maximum of attention; a certain amount of distraction +is beneficial. + +The problem of interest and of attention, from the point of view of +teaching, is not simply to secure attention, but rather to have the +attention fixed upon those activities which are most desirable from the +standpoint of realizing the aim or purpose of education. As has already +been suggested, children are constantly attending to something. They +instinctively respond to the very great variety of stimuli with which +they come in contact. Our schools seek to provide experiences which are +valuable. In school work when we are successful children attend to those +stimuli which promise most for the formation of habits, or the growth in +understanding and appreciation which will fit them for participation in +our social life. We seek constantly in our work as teachers to secure +either free or forced attention to the particular part of our courses of +study or to the particular experiences which are allotted to the grade +or class which we teach. One of the very greatest difficulties in +securing attention upon the part of a class is found in the variety of +experiences which they have already enjoyed, and the differences in the +strength of the appeal which the particular situation may make upon the +several members of the group. In class teaching we have constantly to +vary our appeal and to differentiate our work to suit the individual +differences represented in the class, if we would succeed in holding the +attention of even the majority of the children. + +Boys and girls do their best work only when they concentrate their +attention upon the work to be done. One of the greatest fallacies that +has ever crept into our educational thought is that which suggests that +there is great value in having people work in fields in which they are +not interested, and in which they do not freely give their attention. +Any one who is familiar with children, or with grown-ups, must know that +it is only when interest is at a maximum that the effort put forth +approaches the limit of capacity set by the individual's ability. Boys +concentrate their attention upon baseball or upon fishing to a degree +which demands of them a maximum of effort. A boy may spend hours at a +time seeking to perfect himself in pitching, batting, or fielding. He +may be uncomfortable a large part of the time, he may suffer +considerable pain, and yet continue in his practice by virtue of his +great enthusiasm for perfecting himself in the game. Interest of a not +dissimilar sort leads a man who desires position, or power, or wealth, +to concentrate his attention upon the particular field of his endeavor +to the exclusion of almost everything else. Indeed, men almost literally +kill themselves in the effort which they make to achieve these social +distinctions or rewards. We may not hope always to secure so high a +degree of concentration of attention or of effort, but it is only as we +approach a situation in which children are interested, and in which they +freely give their attention to the subject in hand, that we can claim to +be most successful in our teaching. + +The teacher who is able in beginning reading to discover to children the +tool which will enable them to get the familiar story or rhyme from the +book may hope to get a quality of attention which could never be brought +about by forcing them to attend to formal phonetic drill. The teacher of +biology who has been able to awaken enthusiasm for the investigation of +plant and animal life, and who has allowed children to conduct their own +investigations and to carry out their own experiments, may hope for a +type of attention which is never present in the carrying out of the +directions of the laboratory manual or in naming or classifying plants +or animals merely as a matter of memory. Children who are at work +producing a school play will accomplish more in the study of the history +in which they seek to discover a dramatic situation, by virtue of the +concentration of attention given, than they would in reciting many +lessons in which they seek to remember the paragraphs or pages which +they have read. The boy who gives his attention to the production of a +story for his school paper will work harder than one who is asked to +write a composition covering two pages. Children who are allowed to +prepare for the entertainment of the members of their class a story with +which they alone are familiar will give a quality of attention to the +work in hand which is never secured when all of the members of the class +are asked to reproduce a story which the teacher has read. + +It is necessary at times to have children give forced attention. There +are some things to be accomplished that must be done, regardless of our +success in securing free attention. It is entirely conceivable that some +boy or girl may not want to learn his multiplication tables, or his +words in spelling, or his conjugation or declension in French, and that +all that the teacher has done may fail to arouse any great amount of +interest or enthusiasm for the work in question. In these cases, and in +many others which might be cited, the necessity for the particular habit +may be so great as to demand that every pupil do the work or form the +habit in question. In these cases we may not infrequently hope that +after having given forced attention to the work of the school, children +may in time come to understand the importance of the experiences which +they are having, or even become interested in the work for its own sake. +It is not infrequently true that after a period of forced attention +there follows a time during which, on account of the value which +children are able to understand as attached to or belonging to the +particular exercise, they give free derived attention. Many boys and +girls have worked through their courses in science or in modern +languages because they believed that these subjects would prove valuable +not only in preparing them for college, but in giving them a wider +outlook on life. Their attention was of the free derived type. Later on +some of these same pupils have become tremendously enthusiastic in their +work in the fields in question, and have found such great satisfaction +in the work itself, that their attention might properly be characterized +as free immediate attention. + +The importance of making children conscious of their power of +concentrating their attention needs to be kept constantly in mind. +Exercises in which children are asked to do as much as they can in a +period of five or ten minutes may be used to teach children what +concentration of attention is and of the economy involved in work done +under these conditions. The trouble with a great many adults, as well as +with children, is that they have never learned what it is to work up to +the maximum of their capacity. All too frequently in our attempts to +teach children in classes we neglect to provide even a sufficient amount +of work to demand of the more able members of the group any considerable +amount of continued, concentrated attention. + +We seek in our work as teachers not only to secure a maximum of +attention to the fields of work in which children are engaged, but also +to arouse interests and enthusiasms which will last after school days +are over. We think of interest often, and properly too, as the means +employed to secure a maximum of attention, and, in consequence, a +maximum of accomplishment. It is worth while to think often in our work +in terms of interest as the end to be secured. Children should become +sufficiently interested in some of the subjects that we teach to care to +be students in these fields, or to find enjoyment in further work or +activity along these lines, either as a matter of recreation or, not +infrequently, as a means of discovering their true vocation in life. +That teacher who has aroused sufficient interest in music to enable the +student of musical ability to venture all of the hard work which may be +necessary in order to become a skillful musician, has made possibly his +greatest contribution by arousing interest or creating enthusiasm. The +teacher whose enthusiasm in science has led a boy to desire to continue +in this field, even to the extent of influencing him to undertake work +in an engineering school, may be satisfied, not so much in the +accomplishment of his pupil in the field of science, as in the +enthusiasm which has carried him forward to more significant work. Even +for children who go no farther than the elementary school, interest in +history, or geography, in nature study, or in literature, may mean +throughout the life of the individuals taught a better use of leisure +time and an enjoyment of the nobler pleasures. + +Successful teaching in any part of our school system demands an +adjustment in the amount of work to be done, to the abilities, and even +to the interest of individual children. Much may be accomplished by the +organization of special classes or groups in large school systems, but +even under the most favorable conditions children cannot be expected to +work up to the maximum of their capacity except as teachers recognize +these differences in interest and in ability, and make assignments and +conduct exercises which take account of these differences. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. Why do all children attend when the teacher raps on the desk, when +she writes on the board, when some one opens the door and comes into the +room? + +2. Some teachers are constantly rapping with their pencils and raising +their voices in order to attract attention. What possible weakness is +indicated by this procedure? + +3. Why do adults attend to fewer things than do children? + +4. In what sense is it possible to attend to two things at the same +time? + +5. Why are children less able to concentrate their attention than are +most adults? + +6. Will a boy or girl in your class be more or less easily distracted as +he gives free attention or forced attention to the work in hand? + +7. What educational value is attached to an exercise which requires that +a boy sit at his desk and work, even upon something in which he is not +very much interested, for twenty minutes? + +8. In what sense is it true that we form the habit of concentrating our +attention? + +9. Why is it wrong to extend a lesson beyond the period during which +children are able to concentrate their attention upon the work in hand, +or beyond the period during which they do concentrate their attention? + +10. How is it possible to extend the period devoted to a lesson in +reading, or in geography, or in Latin, beyond the time required to read +a story or draw a map, or translate a paragraph? + +11. Why is it possible to have longer recitation periods in the upper +grades and in the high school than in the primary school? + +12. Give examples from your class work of free attention; of forced +attention; of free derived attention. + +13. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give free +attention? + +14. In what sense is it true that we work hardest when we give forced +attention? + +15. Can you give any example of superficiality or inaccuracy which has +resulted from divided attention, upon the part of any member of one of +your classes? + +16. Does free attention imply lack of effort? + +17. Name incidents which you think might properly be offered boys and +girls in order to secure free derived attention. + +18. Can you cite any example in your teaching in which children have +progressed from forced to free attention? + +19. What interests have been developed in your classes which you think +may make possible the giving of free attention in the field in question, +even after school days are over? + +20. How can you teach children what it is to concentrate their attention +and the value of concentrated attention? + + * * * * * + + + + +IV. THE FORMATION OF HABITS + + +Habit in its simplest form is the tendency to do, think, or act as one +has done, thought, or acted in the past. It is the tendency to repeat +activities of all kinds. It is the tendency which makes one inclined to +do the familiar action rather than a new one. In a broader sense, habit +formation means learning. It is a statement of the fact that conduct +_is_ modifiable and that such modifications may become permanent. + +The fact of learning depends physiologically on the plasticity of the +nervous system. The neurones, particularly those concerned with +intellectual life, are not only sensitive to nerve currents but are +modified by them. The point where the greatest change seems to take +place is at the synapses, but what this modification is, no one knows. +There are several theories offered as explanations of what happens, but +no one of them has been generally accepted, although the theory of +chemical change seems to be receiving the strongest support at present. +There can be no disagreement, however, as to the effects of this change, +whatever it may be. Currents originally passing with difficulty over a +certain conduction unit later pass with greater and greater ease. The +resistance which seems at first to be present gradually disappears, and +to that extent is the conduct modified. This same element of plasticity +accounts for the breaking of habits. In this case the action is double, +for it implies the disuse of certain connections which have been made +and the forming of others; for the breaking of a bad habit means the +beginning of a good one. + +The plasticity of neurone groups seems to vary in two respects--as to +modifiability and as to power to hold modifications. The neurone groups +controlling the reflex and physiological operations are least easily +modified, while those controlling the higher mental processes are most +easily modified. The neurone groups controlling the instincts hold a +middle place. So far as permanence goes, connections between +sensorimotor neurone groups seem to hold modifications longer than do +connections between either associative-motor or associative-association. + +It is probably because of this fact that habit in the minds of so many +people refers to some physical activity. Of course this is a +misconception. Wherever the nervous system is employed, habits are +formed. There are intellectual, moral, emotional, temperamental habits, +just as truly as physical habits. In the intellectual field every +operation that involves association or memory also involves habits. Good +temper, or the reverse, truthfulness, patriotism, thoughtfulness for +others, open-mindedness, are as much matters of learning and of habit as +talking or skating or sewing. Habit is found in all three lines of +mental development: intellect, character, and skill. + +Not only does the law of habit operate in all fields of mental activity, +but the characteristics which mark its operation are the same. Two of +these are important. In the first place, habit formation results in a +lessening of attention to the process. Any process that is habitual can +be taken care of by a minimum of attention. In other words, it need no +longer be in the focal point, but can be relegated to the fringe. At the +beginning of the modification of the neurone tract focal attention is +often necessary, but as it progresses less and less attention is needed +until the activity becomes automatic, apparently running by itself. Not +all habits reach this stage of perfection, but this is the general +tendency. This lessening of the need for attention means that less +energy is used by the activity, and the individual doing the work is +less likely to be fatigued. In the second place, habit tends to make the +process more and more sure in its results. As the resistance is removed +from the synapses, and the one particular series of units come to act +more and more as a unit, the current shoots along the path with no +sidetracking, and the act is performed or the thought reached +unwaveringly with very little chance of error. If the habit being formed +is that of writing, the appropriate movements are made with no +hesitation, and the chances that certain ones will be made the first +time increase in probability. This means a saving of time and an +increase in confidence as to the results. + +A consideration of these characteristics of habits makes clear its +dangers as well as its values. The fact that habit is based on actual +changes which take place in the nervous system, that its foundation is +physical, emphasizes its binding power. Most people in talking and +thinking of habit regard it as something primarily mental in nature and +therefore believe all that is necessary to break any habit is the +sufficient exercise of will power. But will power, however strong, +cannot break actual physical connections, and it is such connections +that bind us to a certain line of activity instead of any other, when +once the habit is formed. It is just as logical to expect a car which is +started on its own track to suddenly go off on to another track where +there is no switch, as to expect a nerve current traveling along its +habitual conduction unit to run off on some other line of nervous +discharge. Habit once formed binds that particular line of thought to +action, either good or bad. Of course habits may be broken, but it is a +work of time and must result from definite physical changes. Every habit +formed lessens the likelihood of any other response coming in that +particular situation. Every interest formed, every act of skill +perfected, every method of work adopted, every principle or ideal +accepted, limits the recognition of any other possible line of action in +that situation. Habit binds to one particular response and at the same +time blinds the individual to any other alternative. The danger of this +is obvious. If the habits formed are bad or wasteful ones, the +individual is handicapped in his growth until new ones can be formed. On +the other hand, habit makes for limitation. + +Despite these dangers, habit is of inestimable value in the development +of both the individual and the human race. It is through it that all +learning is possible. It makes possible the preservation of our social +inheritance. As James says, "Habit is the enormous fly-wheel of society, +its most precious conservative agent." Because of its power of +limitation it is sometimes considered the foe of independence and +originality, but in reality it is the only road to progress. Other +things being equal, the more good habits a person has, the greater the +probability of his doing original work. The genius in science or in art +or in statesmanship is the man who has made habitual many of the +activities demanded by his particular field and who therefore has time +and energy left for the kind of work that demands thinking. Habit won't +make a genius, but all men of exceptional ability excel others in the +number and quality of their habits in the field in which they show +power. As the little child differs from the adult in the number and +quality of his habits, so the ordinary layman differs from the expert. +It is scarcity, not abundance, of habits that forces a man into a rut +and keeps him mediocre. Just as the three year old, having taken four or +five times as long as the adult to dress himself, is tired out at the +end of the task, so the amateur in literature or music or morals as +compared with the expert. The more habits any one has in any line, the +better for him, both from the standpoint of efficiency and productivity, +provided that the habits are good and that among them is found the habit +of breaking habits. + +The two great laws of habit formation are the laws of exercise and +effect. These laws apply in all cases of habit formation, whether they +be the purposeless habits of children or the purposive habits of +maturity. The law of exercise says that the oftener and the more +emphatically a certain response is connected with a certain situation, +the more likely is it to be made to that situation. The two factors of +repetition and intensity are involved. It is a common observance that +the oftener one does a thing, other things being equal, the better he +does it, whether it be good or bad. Drill is the usual method adopted by +all classes of people for habit formation. It is because of the +recognition of the value of repetition that the old maxim of "Practice +makes Perfect" has been so blindly adhered to. Practice may make +perfect, but it also may make imperfect. All that practice can do is to +make more sure and automatic the activity, whatever it is. It cannot +alone make for improvement. A child becomes more and more proficient in +bad writing or posture, in incorrect work in arithmetic and spelling, +with practice just as truly as under other conditions he improves in the +same activities. Evidence from school experiments, which shows that as +many as 40 per cent of the children examined did poorer work along such +lines in a second test than in the first which had been given several +months earlier, bears witness to the inability of mere repetition to get +"perfect" results. To get such results the repetition must be only of +the improvements. There must be a constant variation towards the ideal, +and a selection of just those variations for practice, if perfect as +well as invariable results are to be obtained. + +The amount of repetition necessary in the formation of any given habit +is not known. It will, of course, vary with the habit and with the +individual, but experimental psychology will some day have something to +offer along this line. We could make a great saving if we knew, even +approximately, the amount of practice necessary under the best +conditions to form some of the more simple and elementary habits, such +as learning the facts of multiplication. + +One other fact in connection with repetition should be noted, namely, +that the exercise given any connection by the learner, freely, of his +own initiative counts more than that given under purposive learning. +This method of learning is valuable in that it is incidental and often +saves energy and possible imitation on the part of the child, but it has +certain drawbacks. Habits formed this way are ingrained to such an +extent that they are very difficult to modify. They were not consciously +attended to when they were formed, and hence it is difficult later to +raise them to the focal point. Hence it is best whenever habits are +partial and will need to be modified later, or when the habits must +later be rationalized, or when bad habits must be broken, to have the +process focalized in attention. The methods of gaining attention have +already been discussed. + +In the second place, if the habit being formed is connected with an +instinct, the element of intensity is added. This, of course, means that +a connection already made and one which is strongly ready to act is made +to give its support to the new connection being formed. Of course the +instinct chosen for this purpose must be in accord with the particular +habit and with the nature of the learner. They may vary from the purely +personal and physical up to those which have to do with groups and +intellectual reactions. The added impetus of the instinct hastens the +speed of the direction or supervision. The psychology of the value of +self-activity is operative. It should be borne in mind, however, that +the two kinds of exercise must be of the same degree of accuracy if this +better result in self-initiated practice is to be obtained. + +Not only is it true that repetition makes for automaticity, but +intensity is also an aid. Connections which are made emphatically as +well as often tend to become permanent. This is particularly true of +mental habits. There are two factors of importance which make for +intensity in habit formation. First, the focalization of attention on +the connections being made adds intensity. Bagley in his discussion of +this topic makes "focalization in attention" a necessity in all habits. +Although habits may be formed without such concentration, still it is +true that if attention is given to the process, time is saved; for the +added intensity secured increases the speed of learning. In certain +types of habits, however, when incidental learning plays a large part, +much skill may be acquired without focalization of attention in the +process. Much of the learning of little children is of this type. Their +habits of language, ways of doing things, mannerisms, and emotional +attitudes often come as a result of suggestion and imitation rather than +as a result of definite formation of the new habit. + +The second great law of habit formation is the law of effect. This law +says that any connection whose activity is accompanied by or followed by +satisfaction tends thereby to be strengthened. If the accompanying +emotional tone is annoyance, the connection is weakened. This law that +satisfaction stamps connections in, and annoyance inhibits connections, +is one of the greatest if not the greatest law of human life. Whatever +gives satisfaction, that mankind continues to do. He learns only that +which results in some kind of satisfaction. Because of the working of +this law animals learn to do their tricks, the baby learns to talk, the +child learns to tell the truth, the adult learns to work with the fourth +dimension. Repetition by itself is a wasteful method of habit formation. +The law of effect must work as well as the law of exercise, if the +results are to be satisfactory. As has already been pointed out, it is +not the practice alone that makes perfect, but the _stressing_ of +improvements, and that fixing is made possible only by satisfaction. +Pleasure, in the broad sense, must be the accompaniment or the result of +any connection that is to become habitual. This satisfaction may be of +many different sorts, physical, emotional, or intellectual. It may be +occasioned by a reward or recognition from without or by appreciation +arising from self-criticism. In some form or other it must be present. + +Two further suggestions in habit formation which grow out of the above +laws should be borne in mind. The first is the effect of primacy. In +everyday language, "first impressions last longest." The character of +the first responses made in any given situation have great influence on +all succeeding responses. They make the strongest impression, they are +the hardest to eradicate. From a physiological point of view the +explanation is evident. A connection untraversed or used but a few times +is much more plastic than later when it has been used often. Hence the +first time the connection is used gives a greater set or bent than any +equal subsequent activity. This is true both of the nervous system as a +whole and of any particular conduction unit. Thus impressions made in +childhood count more than those of the same strength made later. The +first few attempts in pronouncing foreign words fixes the pronunciation. +The first few weeks in a subject or in dealing with any person +influences all subsequent responses to a marked degree. + +The second suggestion has to do with the effect of exceptions. James +says, "Never allow an exception to occur" in the course of forming a +habit. Not only will the occurrence of one exception make more likely +its recurrence, but if the exception does not recur, at least the +response is less sure and less accurate than it otherwise would be. It +tends to destroy self-confidence or confidence in the one who allowed +the exception. Sometimes even one exception leads to disastrous +consequences and undoes the work of weeks and months. This is especially +true in breaking a bad habit or in forming a new one which has some +instinctive response working against it. + +There has been a great deal of work done in experimental laboratories +and elsewhere in the study of the formation of particular habits. The +process of habit formation has been shown by learning curves. When these +learning curves are compared, it becomes clear that they have certain +characteristics in common. This is true whether the learning be directed +to such habits as the acquisition of vocabularies in a foreign language +or to skill in the use of a typewriter. Several of the most important +characteristics follow. + +In the first place it is true of all learning that there is rapid +improvement at first. During the beginning of the formation of a habit +more rapid advance is made than at any other time. There are two +principal reasons for this fact. The adjustments required at the +beginning are comparatively simple and easily made and the particular +learning is new and therefore is undertaken with zest and interest. +After a time the work becomes more difficult, the novelty wears off, +therefore the progress becomes less marked and the curve shows +fluctuations. + +Another characteristic of the learning curve is the presence of the +so-called "plateaus." Plateaus show in the curve as flat, level +stretches during which there has apparently been no progress. The +meaning of these level stretches, and whether or not they can be +entirely done away with in any curve, is a matter of dispute. These +pauses may be necessary for some of the habits to reach a certain degree +of perfection before further progress can be made. However this may be, +there are several minor causes which tend to increase the number of +plateaus and to lengthen the time spent in any one. In the first place +an insecure or an inaccurate foundation must result in an increase of +plateaus. If at the beginning, during the initial spurt, for instance, +the learner is allowed to go so fast that what he learns is not +thoroughly learned, or if he is pushed at a pace that for him makes +thoroughness impossible, plateaus must soon occur in his learning curve. +In the second place a fruitful cause of plateaus is loss of +interest,--monotony. If the learner is not interested, he will not put +forth the energy necessary for continued improvement, and a time of no +progress is the result. The attitude of the learner toward the work is +extremely important, not only in the matter of interest, but in the +further attitude of self-confidence. Discouragement usually results in +hindering progress, whereas confidence tends to increase it. The +psychological explanation of this is very evident. Both lack of interest +in the learning and the presence of discouragement are likely to result +in divided attention and that, as has already been shown, results in +unsatisfactory work. A third cause for plateaus is physiological. Not +only must the learner be in the right attitude towards the work, but he +must feel physically "fit." There seem to be certain physiological +rhythms that may disturb the learning process whose cause cannot be +directly determined, but generally the feeling of unfitness can be +traced to a simple cause,--such as physical illness, loss of sleep, +exercise, or food, or undue emotional strain. + +The older psychology has left an impression that improvement in any +function is limited both as to amount and as to the period during which +it must be attained. The physiological limit of improvement has been +thought of as one which was rather easily reached. The loss of +plasticity of the nervous system has been supposed to be rather rapid, +so that marked improvement in a habit after one has passed well into the +twenties was considered improbable. Recent experiments, however, seem to +show that no such condition of affairs exists. There is very great +probability that any function whatsoever is improvable with practice, +and in most cases to a very marked degree. To find a function which has +reached the physiological limit has been very rare, even in experimental +research, and even with extended practice series it has been unusual to +reach a stage of zero improvement even with adults. Thorndike says, "Let +the reader consider that if he should now spend seven hours, well +distributed, in mental multiplication with three place numbers, he would +thereby much more than double his speed and also reduce his errors; or +that, by forty hours of practice, he could come to typewrite (supposing +him to now have had zero practice) approximately as fast as he can write +by hand; or that, starting from zero knowledge, he could learn to copy +English into German script at a rate of fifty letters per minute, in +three hours or a little more."[3] It is probably true that the majority +of adults are much below their limit of efficiency in most of the habits +required by their profession, and that in school habits the same thing +is true of children. Spurious levels of accomplishment have been held up +as worthy goals, and efficiency accepted as ultimate which was only two +thirds, and often less than that, of what was possible. Of course it may +not be worth the time and energy necessary to obtain improvement in +certain lines,--that must be determined by the particular case,--but the +point is, that improvement; is possible with both children and adults in +almost every habit they possess with comparatively little practice. +Neither the physiological limit of a function nor the age limit of the +individual is reached as easily or as soon as has been believed. + +There are certain aids to improvement which must be used in order that +the best results may be obtained. Some of them have already been +discussed and others will be discussed at a later time, so they need +only be listed here, the right physiological conditions, the proper +distribution of the practice periods, interest in the work, interest in +improvement, problem attitude, attention, and absence of both excitement +and worry. + +Habits have been treated in psychology as wholes, just as if each habit +was a unit. This has been true, whether the habits being discussed were +moral habits, such as sharing toys with a younger brother; intellectual +habits, such as reading and understanding the meaning of the word "and"; +or motor habits, such as sitting straight. The slightest consideration +of these habits makes obvious that they differ tremendously in +complexity. The moral habit quoted involves both intellectual and motor +habits--and not one, but several. From a physiological point of view, +this difference in the complexity of habits is made clear by an +examination of the number of neural bonds used in getting the habit +response to a given situation. In some cases they are comparatively +few--in others the number necessary is astonishing. In no case of habit +will the bonds used involve but a single connection. + +Just what bonds are needed in order that a child may learn to add, or to +spell, to appreciate music, or to be industrious, is a question that +only experiment and investigation can answer. At present but little is +known as to just what happens, just what connections are formed, when +from the original tendency towards vocalization the child just learns to +say the word "milk," later reads it, and still later writes it. One +thing is certain, the process is not a unitary one, nor is it a simple +one. Just so long as habit is discussed in general terms, without any +recognition of the complexity of the process or to the specific bonds +involved, just so long will the process of habit formation be wasteful +and inefficient. + +As a sample of the kind of work being done in connection with special +habits, investigation seems to give evidence that in the habit of simple +column addition eight or nine distinct functions are involved, each of +which involves the use of several bonds. Besides these positive +connections, a child in learning must inhibit other connections which +are incorrect, and these must often outnumber the correct ones. And yet +column addition has always been treated as a simple habit--with perhaps +one element of complexity, when carrying was involved. It is evident +that, if the habit concerned does involve eight or nine different +functions, a child might go astray in any one. His difficulty in forming +the habit might be in connection with one or several of the processes +involved. Knowledge on the part of the teacher of these different steps +in the habit, and appreciation by him of the possibilities of making +errors, are the prerequisites of efficient teaching of habits. + +In each one of the subjects there is much need of definite experimental +work, in order that the specific bonds necessary in forming the habits +peculiar to the subject be determined. The psychology of arithmetic, or +of physics, or of spelling should involve such information. Meanwhile +every teacher can do much if she will carefully stop and think just what +she is requiring in the given response. An analysis of the particular +situation and response will make clear at least some of the largest +elements involved, some of the most important connections to be made. It +is the specific nature of the connections to be made and the number of +those connections that need emphasis in the teaching of habits. Not only +must the specific nature of the bonds involved in individual habits be +stressed, but also the specific nature of the entire complex which is +called the habit. There is no such thing as a general curve of learning +that will apply equally well, no matter what the habit. The kind of +curve, the rate of improvement, the possibilities of plateaus, the +permanence of the improvement, all these facts and others vary with the +particular habit. + +In habit formation, as is the case in other types of activity, we get +the most satisfactory results only when we secure a maximum of interest +in the work to be done. The teacher who thinks that she can get +satisfactory results merely by compelling children to repeat over and +over again the particular form to be mastered is doomed to +disappointment. Indeed, it is not infrequently true that the dislike +which children get for the dreary exercises which have little or no +meaning for them interferes to such a degree with the formation of the +habit we hope to secure as to develop a maximum of inaccuracies rather +than any considerable improvement. The teacher who makes a game out of +her word drill in beginning reading may confidently expect to have +children recognize more words the next day than one who has used the +same amount of time, without introducing the motive which has made +children enjoy their work. Children who compare their handwriting with a +scale, which enables them to tell what degree of improvement they have +made over a given period, are much more apt to improve than are children +who are merely asked to fill up sheets of paper with practice writing. A +vocabulary in a modern language will be built up more certainly if +students seek to make a record in the mastery of some hundreds or +thousands of words during a given period, rather than merely to do the +work which is assigned from day to day. A group of boys in a +continuation school have little difficulty in mastering the habits which +are required in order to handle the formal processes in arithmetic, or +to apply the formula of algebra or trigonometry, if the application of +these habitual responses to their everyday work has been made clear. +Wherever we seek to secure an habitual response we should attempt to +have children understand the use to which the given response is to be +put, or, if this is not possible, to introduce some extraneous motive +which will give satisfaction. + +We cannot be too careful in the habits which we seek to have children +form to see to it that the first response is correct. It is well on many +occasions, if we have any doubt as to the knowledge of children, to +anticipate the response which they should give, and to make them +acquainted with it, rather than to allow them to engage in random +guessing. The boy who in writing his composition wishes to use a word +which he does not know how to spell, should feel entirely free to ask +the teacher for the correct spelling, unless there is a dictionary at +hand which he knows how to use. It is very much better for a boy to ask +for a particular form in a foreign language, or to refer to his grammar, +than it is for him to use in his oral or written composition a form +concerning which he is not certain. A mistake made in a formula in +algebra, or in physics, may persist, even after many repetitions might +seem to have rendered the correct form entirely automatic. + +In matters of habit it does not pay to take it for granted that all have +mastered the particular forms which have supposedly been taught, and it +never pays to attempt to present too much at any one time. More +satisfactory work in habit formation would commonly be done were we to +_teach_ fewer words in any one spelling lesson, or attempt to fix fewer +combinations in any particular drill lesson in arithmetic, or assign a +part of a declension or conjugation in a foreign language, or to be +absolutely certain that one or two formulas were fixed in algebra or in +chemistry, rather than in attempting to master several on the same day. +Teachers ought constantly to ask themselves whether every member of the +class is absolutely sure and absolutely accurate in his response before +attempting new work. It is of the utmost importance that particular +difficulties be analyzed, and that attention be fixed upon that which is +new, or that which presents some unusual difficulty. + +As has already been implied, it is important not simply to start with as +strong a motive as possible, but it is also necessary to keep attention +concentrated during the exercises which are supposed to result in habit +formation. However strong the motive for the particular work may have +been at the beginning, it is likely after a few minutes to lack power, +if the particular exercise is continued in exactly the same form. Much +is to be gained by varying the procedure. Oral work alternated with +written work, concert work alternated with individual testing, the +setting of one group over against another, the attempt to see how much +can be done in a given period of minutes,--indeed, any device which will +keep attention fixed is to be most eagerly sought for. In all practice +it is important that the pupil strive to do his very best. If the ideal +of accuracy or of perfection in form is once lost sight of, the +responses given may result in an actual loss rather than in gain in +fixing the habit. When a teacher is no longer able to secure attention +to the work in hand, it is better to stop rather than to continue in +order to provide for a given number of repetitions. Drill periods of +from five to fifteen minutes two or three times a day may almost always +be found to produce better results than the same amount of time used +consecutively. Systematic reviews are most essential in the process of +habit formation. The complaint of a fifth-grade teacher that the work in +long division was not properly taught in the fourth grade may be due in +considerable measure to the fact that she has neglected at the beginning +of the fifth grade's work to spend a week or two in careful or +systematic review of the work covered in the previous year. The +complaint of high school teachers that children are not properly taught +in the elementary school would often be obviated if in each of the +fields in question some systematic review were given from time to time, +especially at the beginning of the work undertaken, in any particular +subject which involves work previously done in the elementary school. +During any year's work that teacher will be most successful who reviews +each day the work of the day before, who reviews each third or fourth +day the particularly difficult parts of the work done during the +previous periods, who reviews each week and each month, and even each +two or three months, the work which has been covered up to that time. +When teachers understand that the intervals between repetitions which +seem to have fixed a habit may only be gradually lengthened, then will +the formation of habits upon the part of boys and girls become more +certain, and the difficulties arising from lapses and inaccuracies +become less frequent. + +As has been suggested in previous discussions, it will be necessary in +habit formation to vary the requirements among the individuals who +compose a group. The motive which we seek to utilize may make a greater +appeal to one child than to another. Physiological differences may +account for the fact that a small number of repetitions will serve to +fix the response for one individual as over against a very much larger +number of repetitions required for another. It is of the utmost +importance that all children work up to the maximum of their capacity. +It is very much better, for example, to excuse a boy entirely from a +given drill exercise than to have him dawdle or loaf during the period. +In some fields a degree of efficiency may be reached which will permit +the most efficient children to be relieved entirely from certain +exercises in order that they may spend their time on other work. On the +other hand, those who are less capable may need to have special drill +exercises arranged which will help them to make up their deficiency. The +teacher who is acquainted with the psychology of habit formation should +secure from the pupils in her class a degree of efficiency which is not +commonly found in our schools. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. In what sense is it true that we have habits of thought? + +2. What habits which may interfere with or aid in your school work are +formed before children enter school? + +3. Why is it hard to break a habit of speech? + +4. Distinguish among actions to which we attribute a moral significance +those which are based upon habit and those which are reasoned. + +5. Professor James said, "Habits are the stuff of which behavior +consists." Indicate the extent to which this is true for the children in +your classes. + +6. In how far is it advantageous to become a creature of habit? + +7. Which of our actions should be the result of reason? + +8. Should school children reason their responses in case of a fire +alarm, in passing pencils, in formal work in arithmetic? Name responses +which should be the result of reason; others which should be habitual. + +9. Why do we sometimes become less efficient when we fix our attention +upon an action that is ordinarily habitual? + +10. Why do children sometimes write more poorly, or make more mistakes +in addition, or in their conjugations or declensions, at the end of the +period than they do at the beginning? + +11. How would you hope to correct habits of speech learned at home? What +particular difficulty is involved? + +12. When, are repetitions most helpful in habit formation? + +13. When may repetitions actually break down or eliminate habitual +responses? + +14. How may the keeping of a record of one's improvement add in the +formation of a habit? + +15. What motives have you found most usable in keeping attention +concentrated during the exercises in habit formation which you conduct? + +16. The approval or disapproval of a group of boys and girls often +brings about a very rapid change in physical, moral, or mental habits on +the part of individual children. Why? + +17. Why should drill work be discontinued when children grow tired and +cease to concentrate their attention? + +18. Why should reviews be undertaken at the beginning of a year's work? +How can reviews be organized to best advantage during the year? + +19. What provision do you make in your work to guard against lapses? + + * * * * * + + + + +V. HOW TO MEMORIZE + + +There is no sharp distinction between habit and memory. Both are +governed by the general laws of association. They shade off into each +other, and what one might call habit another with equal reason might +call memory. Their likenesses are greater than their differences. +However, there is some reason for treating the topic of association +under these two heads. The term memory has been used by different +writers to mean at least four different types of association. It has +been used to refer to the presence of mental images; to refer to the +consciousness of a feeling or event as belonging to one's own past +experience; to refer to the presence of connections between situation +and motor response; and to refer to the ability to recall the +appropriate response to a particular situation. The last meaning of the +term is the one which will be used here. The mere flow of imagery is not +memory, and it matters little whether the appropriate response be +accompanied by the time element and the personal element or not. In +fact, most of the remembering which is done in daily life lacks these +two elements. + +Memory then is the recall of the appropriate response in a given +situation. It differs from habit in that the responses referred to are +more often mental rather than motor; in that it is less automatic, more +purposeful. The fact that the elements involved are so largely mental +makes it true that the given fact is usually found to have several +connections and the given situation to be connected with many facts. +Which particular one will be "appropriate" will depend on all sorts of +subtle factors, hence the need of the control of the connection aeries +by a purpose and the diminishing of the element of automaticity. As was +said before, there is no hard and fast line of division between habit +and memory. The recall of the "sqrt(64)" or of how to spell "home" or of +the French for "table" might be called either or both. All that was said +in the discussion of habit applies to memory. + +This ability to recall appropriate facts in given situations is +dependent primarily on three factors: power of retention, number of +associations, organization of associations. The first factor, power of +retention, is the most fundamental and to some extent limits the +usefulness of the other two. It is determined by the character of the +neurones and varies with different brains. Neurones which are easily +impressed and retain their impression simply because they are so made +are the gift of nature and the corner stone of a good memory. This +retention power is but little, if at all, affected by practice. It is a +primary quality of the nervous system, present or absent to the degree +determined by each individual's original nature. Hence memory as a whole +cannot be unproved, although the absence of certain conditions may mean +that it is not being used up to its maximum capacity. Change in these +conditions, then, will enable a person to make use of all the native +retentiveness his nervous system has. One of the most important of these +conditions is good health. To the extent that good blood, sleep, +exercise, etc., put the nervous system in better tone, to that extent +the retentive power present is put in better working order. Every one +knows how lack of sleep and illness is often accompanied by loss in +memory. Repetition, attention, interest, vividness of impression, all +appeal primarily to this so-called "brute memory," or retentive power. +Pleasurable results seem not to be quite so important, and repetition to +be more so when the connections are between mental states instead of +between mental states and motor responses. An emphasis on, or an +improvement in, the use of any one of these factors may call into play +to a greater extent than before the native retentive power of a given +child. + +The power to recall a fact or an event depends not only upon this +quality of retentiveness, but also upon the number of other facts or +events connected with it. Each one of these connections serves as an +avenue of approach, a clew by means of which the recall may operate. Any +single blockade therefore may not hinder the recall, provided there are +many associates. This is true, no matter how strong the retentive power +may be. It is doubly important if the retentive power is weak. Suppose a +given fact to be held rather weakly because of comparatively poor +retentive power, then the operation of one chain of associates may not +be energetic enough to recall it. But if this same fact may be +approached from several different angles by means of several chains of +associations, the combined power of the activity in the several neurone +chains will likely be enough to lift it above the threshold of recall. +Other things being equal, the likelihood that a needed fact will be +recalled is in proportion to the number of its associations. + +The third factor upon which goodness in memory depends is the +organization of associates. Number of connections is an aid to +memory--but systematization among these connections is an added help. +Logical arrangement of facts in memory, classification according to +various principles, orderly grouping of things that belong together, +make the operation of memory more efficient and economical. The +difference between mere number of associations and orderly arrangement +of those associations may be illustrated by the difference in efficiency +between the housekeeper who starts more or less blindly to look all over +the house for a lost article, and the one who at least knows that it +must be in a certain room and probably in a certain bureau drawer. +Although memory as a whole cannot be improved because of the limiting +power of native retentiveness, memory for any fact or in any definite +field may be improved by emphasizing these two factors: number of +associations and organization among associations. + +Although all three factors are operative in securing the best type of +memory, still the efficiency of a given memory may be due more to the +unusual power of one of them than to the combined effect of the three. +It is this difference in the functioning of these three factors which is +primarily responsible for certain types of memory which will be +discussed later. It must also be borne in mind that the power of these +factors to operate in determining recall varies somewhat with age. +Little children and old people are more dependent upon mere +retentiveness than upon either of the others, the former because of lack +of experience and lack of habits of thought, the latter because of the +loss of both of these factors. The adult depends more on the +organization of his material, while in the years between the number of +the clews is probably the controlling factor. Here again there is no +sharp line of division; all three are needed. So in the primary grades +we begin to require children to organize, and as adults we do all we can +to make the power of retention operate at its maximum. + +Many methods of memorizing have been used by both children and adults. +Recently experimental psychology has been testing some of them. So far +as the learner is concerned, he may use repetition, or concentration, or +recall as a primary method. Repetition means simply the going over and +over again the material to be learned--the element depended upon being +the number of times the connection is made. Concentration means going +over the material with attention. Not the number of connections is +important, but the intensity of those connections. In recall the +emphasis is laid upon reinstating the desired connections from within. +In using this method, for instance, the learner goes over the material +as many times as he sees necessary, then closes the book and recalls +from memory what he can of it. + +The last of the three methods is by far the best, whether the memory +desired be rote or logical, for several reasons. In the first place it +involves both the other methods or goes beyond them. Second, it is +economical, for the learner knows when he knows the lesson. Third, it is +sure, for it establishes connections as they will be used--in other +words, the learning provides for recall, which is the thing desired, +whereas the other two methods establish only connections of impression. +Fourth, it tends to establish habits that are of themselves worth while, +such as assuming responsibility for getting results, testing one's own +power and others. Fifth, it encourages the use of the two factors upon +which memory depends, which are most capable of development, _i.e.,_ +number and organization of associations. + +In connection with the use of the material two methods have been +employed--the part method and the whole method. The learner may break +the material up into sections, and study just one, then the next, and so +on, or he may take all the material and go through with it from the +beginning to the end and then back again. Experimental results show the +whole method to be the better of the two. However, in actual practice, +especially with school children, probably a combination of the two is +still better, because of certain difficulties arising from the exclusive +use of the whole method. The advantages of the whole method are that it +forms the right connections and emphasizes the complete thought and +therefore saves time and gives the right perspective. Its difficulties +are that the material is not all of equal difficulty and therefore it is +wasteful to put the same amount of time on all parts; it is discouraging +to the learner, as no part may be raised above the threshold of recall +at the first study period (particularly true if it is rote memory); it +is difficult to use recall, if the whole method is rigidly adhered to. A +combination of the two is therefore wise. The learner should be +encouraged to go over the material from beginning to end, until the +difficult parts become apparent, then to concentrate on these parts for +a time and again go over from the beginning--using recall whenever +possible. + +A consideration of the time element involved in memorizing has given use +to two other methods, the so-called concentrated and distributive. Given +a certain amount of time to spend on a certain subject, the learner may +distribute it in almost an infinite number of ways, varying not only the +length of the period of practice, but also the length of time elapsing +between periods. The experimental work done in connection with these +methods has not resulted in agreement. No doubt there is an optimum +length of period for practice and an optimum interval, but too many +factors enter in to make any one statement. "The experimental results +justify in a rough way the avoidance of very long practice periods and +of very short intervals. They seem to show, on the other hand, that much +longer practice periods than are customary in the common schools are +probably entirely allowable, and that much shorter intervals are +allowable than those customary between the just learning and successive +'reviews' in schools."[4] This statement leaves the terms very long and +very short to be defined, but at present the experimental results are +too contradictory to permit of anything more specific. However, a few +suggestions do grow from these results. The practice period should be +short in proportion as these factors are present: first, young or +immature minds; second, mechanical mental processes as opposed to +thought material; third, a learner who "warms up" quickly; the presence +of fatigue; a function near its limit. Thus the length of the optimum +period must vary with the age of the learner, the subject matter, the +stage of proficiency in the subject, and the particular learner. The +same facts must be taken into consideration in deciding on the optimum +interval. One fact seems pretty well established in connection with the +interval, and that is that a comparatively short period of practice with +a review after a night's rest counts more than a much longer period +added to the time spent the evening before. + +There are certain suggestions which if carried out help the learner in +his memorizing. In the first place, as the number of associates is one +factor determining recall, the fact to be remembered should be presented +in many ways, _i.e.,_ appealing to as many senses as possible. In +carrying this out, it has been the practice of many teachers to require +the material to be remembered to be acted out or written. This is all +right in so far as the muscular reactions required are mechanical and +take little attention. If, on the other hand, the child has to give much +attention to how he is to dramatize it, or if writing in itself is as +yet a partially learned process, the attention must be divided between +the fact to be memorized and its expression, and hence the desired +result is not accomplished. Colvin claims that "writing is not an aid to +learning until the sixth or seventh grade in the schools." This same +fact that an association only partly known is a hindrance rather than a +help in fixing another is often violated both in teaching spelling and +language. If the spelling of "two" is unknown or only partly known, it +is a hindrance instead of a help to teach it at the same time "too" is +being taught. Second, the learner should be allowed to find his own +speed, as it varies tremendously with the individual. Third, rhythm is +always an aid when it can be used, such as learning the number of days +in each month in rhyme. Fourth, after a period of hard mental work a few +minutes (Pillsbury thinks three to six) should elapse before definitely +taking up a new line of work. This allows for the so-called "setting" of +associations, due to the action of the general law of inertia, and tends +to diminish the possibility of interference from the bonds called into +play by the new work. Fifth, mnemonic devices of simple type are +sometimes an aid. Most of these devices are of questionable value, as +they themselves require more memory work than the facts they are +supposed to be fixing. However, if devised by the learner, or if +suggested by some one else after failure on the part of the learner to +fix the material, they are permissible. + +Memory has been classified in various ways, according to the time +element, as immediate and permanent. Immediate memory is the one which +holds for a short time, whereas permanent memory holds for a long time. +People differ markedly in this respect. Some can if tested after the +study period reproduce the material with a high degree of accuracy, but +lose most of it in a comparatively short time. Others, if tested in the +same way, reproduce less immediately, but hold what they have over a +long period. Children as a whole differ from adults in having poorer +immediate memories, but in holding what is fixed through years. Of +course permanent memory is the more valuable of the two types for most +of life, but on the other hand immediate memory has its own special +value. Lawyers, physicians, politicians, ministers, lecturers, all need +great power of immediate memory in their particular professions. They +need to be able to hold a large amount of material for a short time, but +then they may forget a great deal of it. + +Memory is also classified according to the arrangement of the material +as desultory, rote, and logical memory. In desultory memory the facts +just "stick" because of the great retentive power of the brain, there +are few connections, the material is disconnected and disjointed. Rote +memory depends on a special memory for words, aided by serial +connections and often rhythm. Logical is primarily a memory for meanings +and depends upon arrangement and system for its power. Little children +as a class have good desultory memories and poor logical memories. Rote +memory is probably at its best in the pre-adolescent and early +adolescent years. Logical memory is characteristic of mature, adult +minds. However, some people excel in one rather than another type, and +each renders its own peculiar service. A genius in any line finds a good +desultory memory of immense help, despite the fact that logical memory +is the one he finds most valuable. Teachers, politicians, linguists, +clerks, waiters, and others need a well-developed desultory memory. Rote +memory is, of course, necessary if an individual is to make a success as +an actor, a singer, or a musician. + +According to the rate of acquisition memory has been classified into +quick and slow. One learner gets his material so much more quickly than +another. Up to rather recent years the quick learner has been +commiserated, for we believed, "quickly come, quickly go." Experimental +results have proved this not to be true, but in fact the reverse is more +true, _i.e.,_ "quickly come, slowly go." The one who learns quickly, +provided he really learns it, retains it just as long and on the average +longer than the one who learns much more slowly. The danger, from a +practical point of view, is that the quick learner, because of his +ability, gets careless and learns the material only well enough to +reproduce at the time, whereas the slow learner, because of his lack of +ability, raises his efficiency to a higher level and therefore retains. +If the quick learner had spent five minutes more on the material, he +would have raised his work to the same level as that of the slow one and +yet have finished in perhaps half the time. + +All through the discussion of kinds of memory the term "memory" should +have been used in the plural, for after all we possess "memories" and +not a single faculty memory which may be quick, or desultory, or +permanent. The actual condition of affairs is much more complex, for +although it has been the individual who has been designated as quick or +logical, it would be much more accurate to designate the particular +memory. The same person may have a splendid desultory memory for gossip +and yet in science be of the logical type. In learning French +vocabularies he may have only a good immediate memory, whereas his +memory for faces may be most lasting. His ability to learn facts in +history may class him as a quick learner, whereas his slowness in +learning music may be proverbial. The degree to which quickness of +learning or permanence of memory in one line is correlated with that +same ability in others has not yet been ascertained. That there is some +correlation is probable, but at present the safest way is to think in +terms of special memories and special acquisitions. Some experimental +work has been done to discover the order in which special memories +develop in children. The results, however, are not in agreement and the +experiments themselves are unsatisfactory. That there is some more or +less definite order of development, paralleling to a certain extent the +growth of instincts, is probable, but nothing more definite is known +than observation teaches. For instance, every observer of children knows +that memory for objects develops before memory for words; that memory +for gestures preceded memory for words; that memory for oral language +preceded memory for written language; that memory for concrete objects +preceded memory for abstractions. Further knowledge of the development +of special memories should be accompanied by knowledge as to how far +this development is dependent on training and to what extent lack of +memory involves lack of understanding before it can be of much practical +value to the teacher. + +Just as repetition or exercise tends to fix a fact in memory, so disuse +of a connection results in the fact fading from memory. "Forgetting" is +a matter of everyday experience for every one. The rate of forgetting +has been the subject of experimental work. Ebbinghaus's investigation is +the historical one. The results from this particular series of +experiments are as follows: During the first hour after study over half +of what was learned had been forgotten; at the end of the first day two +thirds, and at the end of a month about four fifths. These results have +been accepted as capable of rather general application until within the +last few years. Recent experiments in learning poetry, translation of +French into English, practice in addition and multiplication, learning +to toss balls and to typewrite, and others, make clear that there is no +general curve of forgetting. The rate of forgetting is more rapid soon +after the practice period than later, but the total amount forgotten and +the rate of deterioration depend upon the particular function tested. No +one function can serve as a sample for others. No one curve of +forgetting exists for different functions at the same stage of +advancement or for the same function at different stages of advancement +in the same individual, much less for different functions, at different +stages of advancement, in different individuals. Much more experimental +work is needed before definite general results can be stated. + +This experimental work, however, is suggestive along several lines, (1) +It seems possible that habits of skill, involving direct sensori-motor +bonds, are more permanent than memories involving connections between +association bonds. In other words, that physical habits are more lasting +than memories of intellectual facts. (2) Overlearning seems a necessary +correlate of permanence of connection. That is, what seems to be +overlearning at beginning stages is really only raising the material to +the necessary level above the threshold for retention. How far +overlearning is necessary and when it becomes wasteful are yet to be +determined. (3) Deterioration is hastened by competing connections. If +during the time a particular function is lying idle other bonds of +connection are being formed into some parts or elements of it, the rate +of forgetting of the function in question is hastened and the +possibility of recall made more problematic. The less the interference, +the greater will be the permanence of the particular bonds. + +A belief maintained by some psychologists is in direct opposition to +this general law that disuse causes deterioration. It is usually stated +something like this, that periods of incubation are necessary in +acquiring skill, or that letting a function lie fallow results in +greater skill at the end of that period, or briefly one learns to skate +in summer and swim in winter. To some extent this is true, but as stated +it is misleading. The general law of the effect of disuse on a memory is +true, but under some circumstances its effect is mitigated by the +presence of other factors whose presence has been unnoted. Sometimes +this improvement without practice is explained by the fact that at the +last practice period the actual improvement was masked by fatigue or +boredom, so that disuse involving rest and the disappearance of fatigue +and boredom produces apparent gain, when in reality it but allows the +real improvement to become evident. Sometimes a particular practice +period was accompanied by certain undesirable elements such as worry, +excitement, misunderstandings, and so on, and therefore the improvement +hindered or masked, whereas at the next period under different +conditions there would be less interference and therefore added gain. +All experimental evidence is against the opinion that mere disuse in and +of itself produces gain. In fact, all results point to the fact that +disuse brings deterioration. + +In the case of memory, as has already been described in habit formation, +reviews which are organized with the period between repetitions only +gradually lengthened may do much to insure permanence. It is entirely +feasible to have children at the end of any school year able to repeat +the poems or prose selections which they have memorized, provided that +they have been recalled with sufficient frequency during the course of +the year. In a subject like geography or history, or in the study of +mathematics or science, in which logical memory is demanded, systematic +reviews, rather than cramming for examinations, will result in +permanence of command of the facts or principles involved, especially +when these reviews have involved the right type of organization and as +many associations as is possible. + +It is important in those subjects which involve a logical organization +of ideas to have ideas associated around some particular problem or +situation in which the individual is vitally interested. Children may +readily forget a large number of facts which they have learned about +cats in the first grade, while the same children might remember, very +many of them, had these facts been organized round the problem of taking +care of cats, and of how cats take care of themselves. A group of +children in an upper grade may forget with great rapidity the facts of +climate, soil, surface drainage, industries, and the like, while they +may remember with little difficulty facts which belong under each of +these categories on account of the interest which they have taken in the +problem, "Why is the western part of the United States much more +sparsely populated than the Mississippi Valley?" Boys and girls who +study physics in the high school may find it difficult to remember the +principles involved in their study of heat if they are given only in +their logical order and are applied only in laboratory exercises which +have little or no meaning for them, while the same group of high school +pupils may remember without difficulty these same laws or principles if +associated round the issue of the most economical way of heating their +houses, or of the best way to build an icehouse. + +There has been in our school system during the past few years more or +less of a reaction against verbatim memorization, which is certainly +justified when we are considering those subjects which involve primarily +an organization of ideas in terms of problems to be solved, rather than +memory for the particular form of expression of the ideas in question. +It is worth while, however, at every stage of education to use whatever +power children may possess for verbatim memorization, especially in the +field of literature, and to some extent in other fields as well. It +seems to the writers to be worth while to indicate as clearly as +possible in the illustration which follows the method to be employed in +verbatim memorization. As will be easily recognized, the number and +organization of associations are an important consideration. It is +especially important to call attention to the fact that any attempt at +verbatim memorization should follow a very careful thinking through of +the whole selection to be memorized. An organization of the ideas in +terms of that which is most important, and that which can be +subordinated to these larger thoughts, a combination of method of +learning by wholes and by parts, is involved. + +It is not easy to indicate fully the method by which one would attempt +to teach to a group of sixth-grade boys or girls Wordsworth's +"Daffodils." The main outline of the method may, however, be indicated +as follows: The first thing to be done is to arouse, in so far as is +possible, some interest and enthusiasm for the poem in question. One +might suggest to the class something of the beauty of the high, rugged +hills, and of the lakes nestling among them in the region which is +called the "Lake Region" in England. The Wordsworth cottage near one of +the lakes, and at the foot of one of the high hills, together with the +walk which is to this day called Wordsworth's Walk, can be brought to +the mind, especially by a teacher who has taken the trouble to know +something of Wordsworth's home life. The enthusiasm of the poet for the +beauties of nature and his enjoyment in walking over the hills and +around the lakes, is suggested by the poem itself. One might suggest to +the pupils that this is the story of a walk which he took one morning +early in the spring. + +The attempt will be made from this point on to give the illustration as +the writer might have hoped to have it recorded as presented to a +particular class. The poet tells us first of his loneliness and of the +surprise which was his when he caught sight for the first time of the +daffodils which had blossomed since the last time that he had taken this +particular walk: + + "I wandered lonely as a cloud + That floats on high o'er vales and hills, + When all at once I saw a crowd, + A host, of golden daffodils; + Beside the lake, beneath the trees, + Fluttering and dancing in the breeze." + +You see, he was not expecting to meet any one or to have any unusual +experience. He "wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er +vales and hills," and his surprise was complete when he saw +suddenly,--"all at once I saw a crowd, a _host_ of _golden_ daffodils, +beside the lake, beneath the trees." You might have said that they were +waving in the wind, but he saw them "fluttering and dancing in the +breeze." + +The daffodils as they waved and danced in the breeze suggested to him +the experience which he had had on other walks which he had taken when +the stars were shining, and he compares the golden daffodils to the +shining, twinkling stars: + + "Continuous as the stars that shine + And twinkle on the Milky Way, + They stretched in never-ending line + Along the margin of a bay; + Ten thousand saw I at a glance, + Tossing their heads in sprightly dance." + +The daffodils were as "continuous as the stars that shine and twinkle on +the Milky Way." There was no beginning and no end to the line,--"They +stretched in never-ending line along the margin of a bay." He saw as +many daffodils as one might see stars,--"Ten thousand saw I at a glance, +tossing their heads in sprightly dance." + +The poet has enjoyed the beauty of the little rippling waves in the +lake, and he tells us that + + "The waves beside them danced; but they + Outdid the sparkling waves in glee: + A poet could not but be gay, + In such a jocund company: + I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought + What wealth the show to me had brought:" + +The daffodils have really left the poet with a great joy,--the waves +beside the daffodils are dancing, "but they outdid the _sparkling_ waves +in glee," and of course "a poet could not but be gay in such a jocund +company." Had you ever thought of flowers as a jocund company? You +remember they fluttered and danced in the breeze, they lifted their +heads in sprightly dance. Do you wonder that the poet says of his +experience, "I gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the +show to me had brought"? I wonder if any of you have ever had a similar +experience. I remember the days when I used to go fishing, and there is +a great joy even now in recalling the twitter of the birds and the hum +of the bees as I lay on the bank and waited for the fish to bite. + +And what is the great joy which is his, and which may belong to us, if +we really see the beautiful things in nature? He tells us when he says + + "For oft, when on my couch I lie + In vacant or in pensive mood, + They flash upon that inward eye + Which is the bliss of solitude; + And then my heart with pleasure fills, + And dances with the daffodils." + +There are days when we cannot get out of doors,--"For oft, when on my +couch I lie in vacant or in pensive mood,"--these are the days when we +recall the experiences which we have enjoyed in the days which are +gone,--"they flash upon that inward eye which is the bliss of solitude." +And then for the poet, as well as for us, "And then my heart with +pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils." + +Now let us get the main ideas in the story which the poet tells us of +his adventure. "I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats on high o'er +vales and hills," "I saw a crowd, a host, of golden daffodils," they +were "beside the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the +breeze." They reminded me as I saw the beautiful arched line of "the +stars that shine and twinkle on the Milky Way," because "they stretched +in never-ending line along the margin of a bay"; and as I watched "ten +thousand" I saw, "tossing their heads in sprightly dance." And then they +reminded me of the waves which sparkled near by, "but they outdid the +sparkling waves in glee," and in the happiness which was mine, "I +gazed--and gazed,--but little thought what wealth the show to me had +brought." And that happiness I can depend upon when upon my couch I lie +in vacant or in pensive mood, for "they flash upon that inward eye which +is the bliss of solitude," and my heart will fill with pleasure and +dance with the daffodils. + +These, then, are the big ideas which the poet has,--he wanders lonely as +a cloud, he enjoys the great surprise of the daffodils, the great crowd, +the host, of golden daffodils, fluttering and dancing in the breeze; he +thinks of the stars that twinkle in the Milky Way, because the line of +daffodils seems to have no beginning and no end,--he sees ten thousand +of them at a glance, tossing their heads in sprightly dance. And as he +looks at them he thinks of the beauty of the sparkling waves, and thinks +of them as they dance with glee, and he gazes and gazes without thinking +of the wealth of the experience. But later when he writes the poem, he +tells us of the wealth of the experience which can last through all of +the days when he lies on his couch in vacant or in pensive mood, for it +is then that this experience flashes upon that inward eye which is the +bliss of solitude, and his heart fills with pleasure and dances with the +daffodils. + +Now let us say it all over again, and see how nearly we are able to +recall the story of his experience in just the words that he used. I +will read it for you first, and then you may all try to repeat it after +me. + +The teacher then reads the whole poem through, possibly more than once, +and then asks all of the children to recite it with him, repeating +possibly the first stanza twice or three times until they get it, and +then the second stanza two or three times, then the third as often as +may be necessary, and finally the fourth. It may be well then to go back +and again analyze the thought, and indicate, using as far as possible +the author's own words, the development of ideas through the poem. Then +the poem should be recited as a whole by the teacher and children. The +children may then be left to study it so that they may individually on +the next day recite it verbatim. The writer has found it possible to +have a number of children in a sixth grade able to repeat the poem +verbatim after the kind of treatment indicated above, and at the end of +a period of fifteen minutes. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. Distinguish in so far as you can between habit and memory. + +2. Name the factors which determine one's ability to recall. + +3. How can you hope to improve children's memories? Which of the factors +involved are subject to improvement? + +4. In what way can you improve the organization of associations upon the +part of children in any one of the subjects which you teach? How +increase the number of associations? + +5. What advantage has the method of concentration over the method of +repetition in memorization? + +6. Give the reasons why the method of recall is the best method of +memorization. + +7. If you were teaching a poem of four stanzas, would you use the method +of memorization by wholes or by parts? Indicate clearly the degree to +which the one or the other method should be used or the nature of the +combination of methods for the particular selection which you use for +the purposes of illustration. + +8. How long do children in your classes seem to be able to work hard at +verbatim memorization? + +9. Under what conditions may the writing of the material being memorized +actually interfere with the process? When may it help? + +10. Why may it not be wise to attempt to teach "their" and "there" at +the same time? + +11. What is the type of memory employed by children who have +considerable ability in cramming for examinations? Is this type of +memory ever useful in later life? + +12. What precaution do we need to take to insure permanence in memory +upon the part of those who learn quickly? + +13. What is meant by saying that we possess memories rather than a power +or capacity called memory? + +14. Do we forget with equal rapidity in all fields in which we have +learned? What factors determine the rate of forgetting? + +15. Why should a boy think through a poem to be memorized rather than +beginning his work by trying to repeat the first two lines? + + * * * * * + + + +VI. THE TEACHER'S USE OF THE IMAGINATION + + +Imagination is governed by the same general laws of association which +control habit and memory. In these two former topics the emphasis was +upon getting a desired result without any attention to the form of that +result. Imagination, on the other hand, has to do with the way past +experience is used and the form taken by the result. It merges into +memory in one direction and into thinking in another. No one definition +has been found acceptable--in fact, in no field of psychology is there +more difference of opinion, in no topic are terms used more loosely, +than in this one of imagination. Stated in very general terms, +imagination is the process of reproducing, or reconstructing any form of +experience. The result of such a process is a mental image. When the +fact that it is reproduction or reconstruction is lost sight of, and the +image reacted to as if it were present, an illusion or hallucination +results. + +Images may be classified according to the sense through which the +original experience came, into visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile, +kinæsthetic, and so on. In many discussions of imagery the term +"picture" has been used to describe it, and hence in the thought of many +it is limited rather definitely to the visual field. Of course this is +entirely wrong. The recall of a melody, or of the touch of velvet, or of +the fragrance of a rose, is just as much mental imagery as the recall of +the sight of a friend. + +Three points of dispute in connection with image types are worth while +noting. First, the question is raised by some psychologists as to +whether kinæsthetic or motor images really exist. An example of such an +image would be to imagine yourself as dancing, or walking downstairs, or +writing your name, or saying the word "bubble." Those who object to such +an image type claim that when one tries to get such an image, the +attempt initiates slight muscle movements and the result is a sense +experience instead of an imaged one. They believe this always happens +and that therefore a motor image is an impossibility. Others agree that +this reinstatement of actual movements often happens, but contend that +in such cases the image precedes the movement and that the resulting +movement does not always take place. The question is still in dispute. + +The second question in dispute is as to the possibility of classifying +people according to the predominant type of their imagery. People used +to be classed as "visualizers," "audiles." etc., the supposition being +that their mental imagery was predominantly in terms of vision or +hearing. This is being seriously questioned, and experimental work seems +to show that such a classification, at least with the majority of +people, is impossible. The results which are believed to warrant such a +conclusion are as follows: First, no one has ever been tested who always +used one type of image. Second, the type of image used changed with the +following factors: the material, the purpose of the subject, the +familiarity of the subject with the experience imagined. For example, +the same person would, perhaps, visualize if he were imaging landscape, +but get an auditory image of a friend's voice instead of a visual image +of him. He might, when under experimental conditions with the +controlling purpose,--that of examining his images,--get visual images, +but, when under ordinary conditions, get a larger number of auditory and +kinæsthetic images. He might when thought was flowing smoothly be using +auditory and motor images, but upon the appearance of some obstacle or +difficulty in the process find himself flooded with visual images. +Third, subjects who ranked high in one type of imagery ranked high in +others, and subjects who ranked low in one type ranked low also in +others. The ability seems to be that of getting clear image types, or +the lack of it, rather than the ability to get one type. Fourth, most of +the subjects reported that the first image was usually followed by +others of different types. The conclusions then, that individuals, +children as well as adults, are rarely of one fixed type, the mixed type +being the usual one, is being generally accepted. In fact, it seems much +more probable that materials and outside conditions can more easily be +classified as usually arousing a certain type of image, than people can +be classified into types. + +The third point of controversy grows out of the second. Some +psychologists are asking what is the value of such a classification? +Suppose people could be put under types in imagery, what would be the +practical advantage? Such an attempt at classification is futile and not +worth while, for two reasons. First, the result of the mental +processes--the goal arrived at is the important thing, and the +particular type of image used is of little importance. Does it make any +difference to the business man whether his clerk thinks in terms of the +visual images of words or in terms of motor images so long as he sells +the goods? To the teacher of geography, does it make any difference +whether John in his thinking of the value of trees is seeing them in his +mind's eye, or hearing the wind rustle through the leaves, or smelling +the moist earth, leaf-mold, or having none of these images, if he gets +the meaning, and reaches a right conclusion? Second, the sense which +gives the clearest, most dependable impressions is not the one +necessarily in terms of which the experience is recalled. One of the +chief values urged for a classification according to image type of +people, especially children, has been that the appeal could then be made +through the corresponding sense organs. For instance, Group A, being +visualizers, will be asked to read the material silently; Group B, +audiles, will have the material read to them; Group C, motiles, will be +asked to read the material orally, or asked to dramatize it. For each +group the major appeal should be made in terms of the sense +corresponding to their image type. But such a correspondence as this +does not exist. An individual may learn best by use of his eyes and yet +very seldom use visual images in recall. This is true of most people in +reading. Most people grasp the meaning of a passage better when they +read it than when they hear it read, and yet the predominant type of +word image is auditory-motor. Hence if any classification of children is +attempted it should be according to the sense by means of which they +learn best, and not according to some supposed image type. Many methods +of appeal for all children is the safest practical suggestion. + +Images may also be classified according to the use made of past +experience. Past experience may be recalled in approximately the same +form in which it occurred, or it may be reconstructed. In the former +case the image is called reproductive image or memory image; in the +latter form it is called productive or creative image, or image of the +imagination. The reproductive image never duplicates experience, but in +its major features it closely corresponds to it, whereas the productive +image breaks up old experiences and from them makes new wholes which +correspond to no definite occurrence. The elements found in both kinds +of imagery must come from experience. One cannot imagine anything the +elements of which he has not experienced. Creative imagination +transcends experience only in the sense that it remodels and remakes, +but the result of that activity produces new wholes as far removed from +the actual occurrences as "Alice in Wonderland" is from the humdrum life +of a tenement dweller. Just the same, the fact that the elements used in +creative work must be drawn from experience is extremely suggestive from +a practical point of view. It demonstrates the need of a rich sensory +life for every child. It also explains the reason for the lack of +appreciation on the part of immature children of certain types of +literature and certain moral questions. + +No more need be said here of the reproductive image, as it is synonymous +with the memory image and was therefore treated fully under the topic of +memory. One fact should be borne in mind, however, and that is, that the +creative image is to some extent dependent on the reproductive image as +it involves recall. However, as productive imagery involves the recall +of elements or parts rather than wholes, an individual may have talent +in creative imagery without being above the average in exact +reproduction. + +Productive imagery may be classified as fanciful, realistic, and +idealistic according to the character of the material used. Fanciful +productive imagery is characterized by its spontaneity, its disregard of +the probable and possible, its vividness of detail. It is its own +reward, and does not look to any result beyond itself. Little children's +imaginations are of this type--it is their play world of make-believe. +The incongruity and absurdity of their images have been compared to the +dreams of adults. Lacking in experience, without knowledge of natural +laws, their imagination runs riot with the materials it has at its +command. Some adults still retain it to a high degree--witness the myths +and fairy stories, "Alice in Wonderland," and the like. All adults in +their "castle-building" indulge in this type of imagery to some extent. +Realistic productive imagery, as its name implies, adheres more strictly +to actual conditions, it deals with the probable. It usually is +constructed for a purpose, being put to some end beyond itself. It lacks +much of the emotional element possessed by the other two types. This is +the kind most valuable in reasoning and thinking. It deals with new +situations--constructs them, creates means of dealing with them, and +forecasts the results. It is the type of productive imagery called into +play by inventors, by craftsmen, by physicians, by teachers--in fact, by +any one who tries to bring about a change in conditions by the +functioning of a definite thought process. This is the kind of imagery +which most interests grammar school pupils. They demand facts, not +fancies. They are most active in making changes in a world of things. + +Idealistic productive imagery does not fly in the face of reality as +does the fanciful, nor does it adhere so strictly to facts as does the +realistic. It deals with the possible--with what may be, but with what +is not yet. It always looks to the future, for if realized it is no +longer idealistic. It is enjoyed for its own sake but does not exist for +that alone, but looks towards some result. It is concerned primarily +with human lives and has a strong emotional tone. It is the heart of +ideals. The adolescent revels in this type of productive imagery. His +dreams concerning his own future, his service to his fellow men, his +success, and the like involve much idealistic imagery. Hero worship +involves it. It is one of the differences between the man with "vision" +and the man without. + +The importance of productive imagery cannot be overemphasized. This +power to create the new out of the old is one of the greatest +possessions of mankind. All progress in every field, whether individual +or racial, depends upon it. From the fertility and richness of man's +productive imagination must come all the suggestions which will make +this world other than what it is. Therefore one of the greatest tasks of +education at present is to cherish and cultivate this power. One cannot +fail to recognize, however, that with the emphasis at present so largely +upon memory, the cultivation of the imagination is being pushed into the +background despite all our theories to the contrary. Not only is +productive imagery as a whole worth while, but each type is valuable. An +adult lacking power of fanciful imagination lacks power to enjoy certain +elements in life and lacks a very definite means of recreation. Lacking +in realistic imagination he is unable to deal successfully with new +situations, but must forever remain in bondage to the past. Without +idealistic imagination he lacks the motive which makes men strive to be +better, more efficient--other than what they are. At certain times in +child development one type may need special encouragement, and at +another time some other. All should, however, be borne in mind and +developed along right and wholesome lines; otherwise, left to itself, +any one of these, and especially the last, may be a source of danger to +the character. + +Images may be classified according to the material dealt with into +object images or concrete images and into word or abstract images. No +one of these terms is very good as a name of the image referred to. The +first group--object or concrete image--refers to an image in which the +sensory qualities, such as color, size, rhythm, sweetness, harmony, +etc., are present. The images of a friend, of a text-book, of the +national anthem, of an orange, of the schoolroom, and so on, would all +be object images. A word or abstract image is one which is a symbol. It +stands for and represents certain sensory experiences, the quality of +which does not appear in the image. Any word, number, mathematical or +chemical symbol--in fact, any abstract symbol will come under this type +of image. If in the first list of illustrations, instead of having +images of the real objects, an individual had images of words in each +case, the images would be abstract or verbal images. Abstract images +shade into concrete by gradual degrees--there is no sharp line of +division between the two; however, they do form two different kinds of +images, two forms which may have the same meaning. + +The question as to the respective use and value of these two kinds of +images is given different answers. There is no question but that the +verbal image is more economical than the object image. It saves energy +and time. It brings with it less of irrelevant detail and is more stable +than the object image, and therefore results in more accurate thinking. +It is abstract in nature and therefore has more general application. On +the other hand, it has been claimed for the object image that it +necessarily precedes the verbal image--is fundamental to it; that it is +essential in creative work dealing with materials and sounds and in the +appreciation of certain types of descriptive literature, and that in any +part of the thinking process when, because of difficulty of some kind, a +percept would help, an object image would be of the same assistance. It +is concerning these supposed advantages of the object image that there +has been most dispute. There is no proof that the line of growth is +necessarily from percept, through object image, to verbal image. In +certain fields, notably smell, the object image is almost absent and yet +the verbal images in that field carry meaning. It is also true that +people whose power of getting clear-cut, vivid object images is almost +nil seem to be in nowise hampered by that fact in their use of the +symbols. Knowing the unreliability of the object image, it would seem +very unsafe to use it as the link between percept and symbol. Much +better to connect the symbol directly with the experience and let it +gain its meaning from that. As to its value in constructive work in +arts, literature, drama, and invention, the testimony of some experts in +each field bears witness that it is not a necessary accompaniment of +success. The musician need not hear, mentally, all the harmonies, +changes, intervals; he may think them in terms of notes, rests, etc., as +he composes. The poet need not see the scene he is describing; verbal +images may bear his meanings. Of course this does not mean that object +images may not be present too, but the point is that the worker is not +dependent on them. The aid offered by object images in time of +difficulty is still more open to doubt. As an illustration of what is +meant by this: Suppose a child to be given a carpeting example in +arithmetic which he finds himself unable to solve. The claim is made +that if he will then call up a concrete image of the room, he will see +that the carpet is laid in strips and that suggestion may set him right. +But it has been proved experimentally over and over again that if he +doesn't know that carpets are laid that way, he will never get it from +the image, and if he does know it, he doesn't need an object image. It +seems to be a fact that object images do not function, in the sense that +one cannot get a correct answer as to color, or form, or number from +them. One can read off from a concrete image what he knows to be true of +it--or else it is just guessing. "Knowing" in each case involves +observation and judgment, and that means verbal images. Students whose +power of concrete imagery is low do, on the average, in situations where +a concrete image would supposedly help, just as well as students whose +power in this field is high. It does seem to be true that object images +give a vividness and color to mental life which may result in a keener +appreciation of certain types of literature. This warmth and vividness +which object images add to the mental processes of those who have them +is a boon. + +On the whole, then, word images are the more valuable of the two types. +Upon them depends, primarily, the ability to handle new situations, and +even in the constructive fields they are all sufficient. These two +facts, added to the fact that they are more accurate, speedy, and +general in application, makes them a necessary part of the mental +equipment of an efficient worker, and means that much more attention +must be given to the development of productive symbol images. + +Two warnings should be borne in mind: First, although the object images +are not necessary in general, as discussed above, to any given +individual, because of his particular habits of thought, they may be +necessary accompaniments to his mental processes. Second, although +object images may not help in giving understanding or appreciation under +new conditions, still the method of asking students to try to image +certain conditions is worth while because it makes them stop and think, +which is always a help. Whether they get object or word images in the +process makes no difference. + +The discussion concerning the possibility of "imageless" thought, while +an interesting one, cannot be entered into here. Whether "meanings" can +exist in the human mind apart from any carrier in the form of some +sensory or imaginal state is unsettled, but the discussion has drawn +attention to at least the very fragmentary nature of those carriers. A +few fragments of words, a mental shrug of the shoulder, a feeling of the +direction in which a certain course is leading, a consciousness of one's +attitude towards a plan or person--and the conclusion is reached. The +thinking, or it may even have been reasoning, involved few clear-cut +images of any kind. The fragmentary, schematic nature of the carriers +and the large part played by feelings of direction and attitude are the +rather astonishing results of the introspective analysis resulting from +this discussion. This sort of thinking is valuable for the same reasons +that thinking in terms of words is valuable--it only goes a step +further, but it needs direction and training. + +Images of all kinds have been discussed as if they stood out clearly +differentiated from all other types of mental states. This is necessary +in order that their peculiar characteristics and functions may be clear. +However, they are not so clearly defined in actual mental life, but +shade into each other and into other mental states, giving rise to +confusion and error. The two greatest sources of error are: first, the +confusion of image with percept, and second, the confusion of memory +image with image of the imagination. The chief difference between these +mental states as they exist is a difference in kind and amount of +associations. These different associates usually give to the percept a +vividness and material reality which the other two lack. They give to +the memory image a feeling of pastness and trueness which the image of +imagination lacks. Therefore lack of certain associations, due to lack +of experience or knowledge, or presence of associations due to these +same causes and to the undue vividness of other connections, could +easily result in one of these states being mistaken for another. There +is no inherent difference between them. The first type of confusion, +between percept and image, has been recently made the subject of +investigation. Perky found that even with trained adults, if the +perceptual stimulus was slight, it was mistaken for an image. All +illusions would come under this head. Children's imaginary companions, +when really believed in, are explained by this confusion. However, the +confusion is much more general than these illustrations would seem to +imply. The fact that "Love is blind," that "We see what we look for" are +but statements of this same confusion, and these two facts enter into +multitudes of situations all through life. The need to "see life clearly +and see it whole" is an imperative one. + +The second type of confusion, between reproductive and productive +memory, is even more common. The "white lies" of children, the +embroidering of a story by the adult, the adding to and adding to the +original experience until all sense of what really happened is lost, are +but ordinary facts of everyday experiences. The unreliability of witness +and testimony is due, in part, to this confusion. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. How is the process of imagination like memory? + +2. What is the relation of imagination to thinking? + +3. What kind of images do you seek to have children use in their work in +the subjects which you teach? + +4. Can you classify the members of your class as visualizers, audiles, +and the like? + +5. If one learns most readily by reading rather than hearing, does it +follow that his images will be largely visual? Why? + +6. Give examples from your own experience of memory images; of creative +images. + +7. To what degree does creative imagination depend upon past +experiences? + +8. What type of imagery is most important for the work of the inventor? +The farmer? The social reformer? + +9. Of what significance in the life of an adult is fanciful imagery? + +10. What, if any, is the danger involved in reveling in idealistic +productive imagery? + +11. What advantages do verbal images possess as over against object +images? + +12. Why would you ask children to try to image in teaching literature, +geography, history, or any other subject for which you are responsible? + +13. How would you handle a boy who is hi the habit of confusing memory +images with images of imagination? + +14. In what sense is it true that all progress, is dependent upon +productive imagination? + + * * * * * + + + + +VII. HOW THINKING MAY BE STIMULATED + + +The term "thinking" has been used almost as loosely as the term +"imagination," and used to mean almost as many different things. Even +now there is no consensus of opinion as to just what thinking is. Dewey +says, "Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or +supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, +and the further conclusions to which it tends, constitutes reflective +thought."[5] Miller says, "Thinking is not so much a distinct conscious +process as it is an organisation of all the conscious processes which +are relevant in a problematic situation for the performance of the +function of consciously adjusting means to end."[6] Thinking always +presupposes some lack in adjustment, some doubt or uncertainty, some +hesitation in response. So long as the situation, because of its +simplicity or familiarity, receives immediately a response which +satisfies, there is no need for thinking. Only when the response is +inadequate or when no satisfactory response is forthcoming is thinking +aroused. By far the majority of the daily adjustments made by people, +both mental and physical, require no thinking because instinct, habit, +and memory suffice. It is only when these do not serve to produce a +satisfactory response that thinking is needed--only when there is +something problematic in the situation. Even in new situations thinking +is not always used to bring about a satisfactory adjustment. Following +an instinctive prompting when confronted by a new situation; blindly +following another's lead; using the trial and error method of response; +reacting to the situation as to the old situation most like it; or +response by analogy: all are methods of dealing with new situations +which often result in correct adjustments, and yet none of which need +involve thinking. This does not mean that these methods, save the first +mentioned, may not be accompanied by thinking; but that each of them may +be used without the conscious adjustment of means to end demanded by +thinking. That these methods, and not thinking, are the ones most often +used, even by adults, in dealing with problems, cannot be denied. They +offer an easy means of escape from the more troublesome method of +thinking. It is so much easier to accept what some one else says, so +much easier to agree with a book's answer to a question than to think it +out for oneself. Following the first suggestion offered, just going at +things in a hit-or-miss fashion, uncritical response by analogy, saves +much time and energy apparently, and therefore these methods are adopted +and followed by the majority of people in most of the circumstances of +life. It is human nature to think only when no other method of mental +activity brings the desired response. We think only when we must. + +Not only is it true that problems are often solved correctly by other +methods than that of thinking, but on the other hand much thinking may +take place and yet the result be an incorrect conclusion, or perhaps no +solution at all be reached. Think of the years of work men have devoted +to a single problem, and yet perhaps at the end of that time, because of +a wrong premise or some incorrect data, have arrived at a result that +later years have proved to have been utterly false. Think of the +investigations being carried on now in medicine, in science, in +invention, which because of the lack of knowledge are still incomplete, +and yet in each case thinking of the most technical and rigorous type +has been used. Thinking cannot be considered in terms of the result. +Correct results may be obtained, even in problematic situations, with no +thinking, and on the other hand much thinking may be done and yet the +results reached be entirely unsatisfactory. Thinking is a process +involving a certain definite procedure. It is the organisation of all +mental states toward a certain definite end, but is not any one mental +state. In certain types of situations this procedure is the one most +certain of reaching correct conclusions, in some situations it is the +only possible one, but the conclusion is not the thinking and its +correctness does not differentiate the process from others. + +From the foregoing discussions it must not be deduced that because of +the specific nature and the difficulty of thinking that the power is +given only to adults. On the contrary, the power is rooted in the +original equipment of the human race and develops gradually, just as all +other original capacities do. Children under three years of age manifest +it. True, the situations calling it out are very simple, and to the +adult seem often trivial, as they most often occur in connection with +the child's play, but they none the less call for the adjustment of +means to end, which is thinking. A lost toy, the absence of a playmate, +the breaking of a cup, a thunderstorm, these and hundreds of other +events of daily life are occasions which may arouse thinking on the part +of a little child. It is not the type of situation, nor its dignity, +that is the important thing in thinking, but the way in which it is +dealt with. The incorrectness of a child's data, their incompleteness +and lack of organization, often result in incorrect conclusions, and +still his thinking may be absolutely sound. The difference between the +child and the adult in this power is a difference in degree--both +possess the power. As Dewey says, "Only by making the most of the +thought-factor, already active in the experience of childhood, is there +any promise or warrant for the emergence of superior reflective power at +adolescence, or at any later period."[7] + +Thinking, then, is involved in any response which comes as a result of +the conscious adaptation of means to end in a problematic situation. +Many of the processes of mental activity which have been given other +names may involve this process. Habit formation--when the learner +analyzes his progress or failure, when he tries to find a short cut, or +when he seeks for an incentive to insure greater improvement--may serve +as a situation calling for thinking. The process of apperceiving or of +assimilation may involve it. Studying and trying to remember may involve +it. Constructive imagination often calls for it. Reasoning, always +requires it. In the older psychology reasoning and thinking were often +used as synonyms, but more recently it has been accepted by most +psychologists that reasoning is simply one type of thinking, the most +advanced type, and the most demanding type, but not the only one. +Thinking may go on (as in the other processes just mentioned) without +reasoning, but all reasoning must involve thinking. It is this lack of +differentiation between reasoning and thinking, the attempt to make of +all thinking, reasoning, that has limited teachers in their attempts to +develop thinking upon the part of their pupils. + +The essentials of the thinking process are three: (1) a state of doubt +or uncertainty, resulting in suspended judgment; (2) an organization and +control of mental states in view of an end to be attained; (3) a +critical attitude involving selection and rejection of suggestions +offered. The recognition of some lack of adjustment, the feeling of need +for something one hasn't, is the only stimulus toward thinking. This +problematic situation, resulting in suspended judgment, caused by the +inadequacy of present power or knowledge, may arise in connection with +any situation. It is unfortunate that the terms "problematic situation" +and "feeling of inadequacy" have been discussed almost entirely in +connection with situations when the result has some pragmatic value. +There is no question but what the situation arousing thinking must be a +live one and a real one, but it need not be one the answer to which will +be useful. It is true that with the majority of people, both children +and adults, a problem of this type will be more often effective in +arousing the thinking process than a problem of a more abstract nature, +but it is not always so, nor necessarily so. Most children sometimes, +and some children most of the time, enjoy thinking simply for the sake +of the activity. They do not need the concrete, pragmatic +situation--anything, no matter how abstract, that arouses their +curiosity or appeals to their love of mastery offers enough of a +problem. Sometimes children are vitally interested in working +geometrical problems, translating difficult passages in Latin, striving +to invent the perpetual motion machine, even though there is no evident +and useful result. It is not the particular type of situation that is +the thing to be considered, but the attitude that it arouses in the +individual concerned. Educators in discussion of the situations that +make for thinking must allow for individual differences and must plan +for the intellectually minded as well as for others. + +The thinker confronted by a situation for which his present knowledge is +not adequate, recognizes the difficulty and suspends judgment; in other +words, does not jump at a conclusion but undertakes to think it out. To +do this control is continually necessary. He must keep his problem +continually before him and work directly for its solution, avoiding +delays, avoiding being side-tracked. This means, of course, the critical +attitude towards all suggestions offered. Each one as it comes must be +inspected in the light of the end to be reached--if it does not seem to +help towards that goal, it must be rejected. Criticism, selection, and +rejection of suggestions offered must continue as long as the thinking +process goes on. "To maintain the state of doubt and to carry on +systematic and protracted inquiry--these are the essentials of +thinking." + +In order to maintain this critical attitude to select and reject +suggestions with reference to a goal, the suggestions as they come +cannot be accepted as units and followed. Such a procedure is possible +only when the mental process is not controlled by an end. Control by a +goal necessitates analysis of the suggestions and abstraction of what in +them is essential for the particular problem in hand. It is because no +complete association at hand offers a satisfactory response to the +situation that the need for thinking arises. Each association as it +comes must be broken up, certain parts or elements emerge, certain +relationships, implications, or functions are made conscious. Each of +these is examined in turn; as they seem to be valueless for the purpose +of the thinker, they are rejected. If one element or relationship seems +significant for the problem, it is seized upon, abstracted from its +fellows, and becomes the center of the next series of suggestions. A +part, element, quality, or what not, of the situation is accepted as +significant of it for the time being. The part stands for the +whole--this is characteristic of all thinking. As a very simple +illustration, consider the following one reported by Dewey: + +"Projecting nearly horizontally from the upper deck of the ferryboat on +which I daily cross the river, is a long white pole, bearing a gilded +ball at its tip. It suggested a flag pole when I first saw it; its +color, shape, and gilded ball agreed with this idea, and these reasons +seemed to justify me in this belief. But soon difficulties presented +themselves. The pole was nearly horizontal, an unusual position for a +flag pole; in the next place, there was no pulley, ring, or cord by +which to attach a flag; finally, there were elsewhere two vertical +staffs from which flags were occasionally flown. It seemed probable that +the pole was not there for flag-flying. + +"I then tried to imagine all possible purposes of such a pole, and to +consider for which of these it was best suited: (_a_) Possibly it was an +ornament. But as all the ferryboats and even the tugboats carried like +poles, this hypothesis was rejected. (_b_) Possibly it was the terminal +of a wireless telegraph. But the same considerations made this +improbable. Besides, the more natural place for such a terminal would be +the highest part of the boat, on top of the pilot house, (_c_) Its +purpose might be to point out the direction in which the boat is moving. + +"In support of this conclusion, I discovered that the pole was lower +than the pilot house, so that the steersman could easily see it. +Moreover, the tip was enough higher than the base, so that, from the +pilot's position, it must appear to project far out in front of the +boat. Moreover, the pilot being near the front of the boat, he would +need some such guide as to its direction. Tugboats would also need poles +for such a purpose. This hypothesis was so much more probable than the +others that I accepted it. I formed the conclusion that the pole was set +up for the purpose of showing the pilot the direction in which the boat +pointed, to enable him to steer correctly."[8] + +The problem was to find out the use of the flag pole. No adequate +explanation came as the problem presented itself; it therefore caused a +state of uncertainty, of suspended judgment, and a process of thinking +in order to get an answer. Each suggestion that came was analyzed, its +requirements and possibilities checked up by the actual facts and the +goal. The suggestions that the pole was simply to carry a flag, was an +ornament, was the terminal of a wireless telegraph, were examined and +rejected. The final one, that the pole was to point out the direction in +which the boat was moving, upon analysis seemed most probable and was +accepted. The one characteristic of the pole, that it points direction, +and its position, need to be accepted as the essential facts in the +situation, for the particular problem. Without control of the process, +without the two steps of analysis and abstraction, no conclusion could +have been reached. + +Analysis and abstraction may be facilitated in three ways. First, by +attentive piecemeal examination. The total situation is examined, +element by element, attentively, until the element needed is reached or +approximated. This method of procedure helps to emphasize minor bonds of +association which the element possesses in the learner's experience but +which he needs to have brought to his attention. It can only be used +when the element is known to some degree. It is the method to use when +elements are known in a hazy, incomplete, or indefinite way and need +clearing up. Second, by varying the concomitant. An element associated +with many situations, which vary in other respects, comes to be felt and +recognized as independent. This is the method to use when a new element +in a complex is to be taught. Third, by contrast. A new element is +brought into consciousness more quickly if it is set side by side with +its opposite. Of course, this is only true provided the opposite has +already been learned. To present opposites, both of which are new or +only partially learned, confuses the analysis instead of facilitating +it. + +Reasoning, as the highest type of thinking, includes all that thinking +in general does, and adds some particular requirement which +differentiates it from the simpler forms. Further discussion of it, +then, should make clearer the essential in thinking as a process, as +well as make clear its most difficult form. Reasoning is defined by +Miller as "controlled thinking,--thinking organized and systematized +according to laws and principles and carried on by use of superior +technique."[9] Reasoning, then, is the kind of thinking that deals +directly with laws and principles. Much thinking may be carried on +without any overt, definite use of laws and principles, as in +constructive imagination or in apperception, but, if this is so, it +seems better to call the thinking by one of the other names. Of course +this classification is somewhat arbitrary, but there can be no question +that types of thinking do differ. As has already been noted, some +psychologists have used the terms thinking and reasoning as synonyms, +but such usage has resulted in confusion and has not been of practical +value. It is only as the mental process desired becomes clearly +conceived of, its connotations and denotation clearly defined, that it +becomes a real goal towards Which a teacher or learner may strive. This, +then, is the primary criterion of reasoning--that the thinker be dealing +consciously with laws and principles. An acceptance of this first +essential makes clear that the particular process of reasoning cannot be +carried on in subjects which lack laws and principles. Spelling, +elementary reading, vocabulary study, most of the early work in music +and art, the acquisition of facts wherever found--these situations may +offer opportunity for thinking, but little if any for reasoning. Because +a teacher is using the development method does not mean necessarily that +her students are reasoning. The two terms are not in any way synonymous. + +The second essential in reasoning is the presence of a definite +technique. This technique consists of two factors: first, certain +definite mental states, and second, the use of the process of thinking +by either the inductive or the deductive method. + +First as to the mental states involved. The fact that the thinking deals +with laws and principles necessitates the presence, in the thinking +process, of constructive verbal or symbolic imagery, logical +relationships, logical concepts, and explicit judgments. This does not +at all exclude other types of these mental states and entirely different +mental states. The kind of analysis involved simply necessitates the +presence of these types, whatever others may be present. Constructive +symbolic imagery has already been discussed. Logical relationships are +those that are independent of accidental conditions, are not dependent +on mere contiguity in time and space, but are inherent in the +association involved. Such relationships are those of likeness and +difference, cause and effect, subject and object, equality, concession, +and the like. Logical concepts are those which are the result of +thinking, whose definite meaning has been brought clearly into +consciousness so that a definition could be framed. A child has some +notion of the meaning of tree, or man, or chemist, and therefore +possesses a concept of some kind, but the exact meaning, the particular +qualities necessary, are usually lacking, and so it could not be called +a logical concept. Explicit judgments are those which contain within +themselves the reasons for the inference. They, too, are the result of +thinking. One may say that "cheating is wrong," or that "water will not +rise above its source level," or that "cleanliness is necessary to +health," or that "this is a Rembrandt"--as a matter of experience, +habit, but without any reflection and with no reasons for such judgment. +If, on the other hand, the problems to which these judgments are answers +had been a matter of thinking, the reasons or the ground for such +judgment would have become conscious and the judgment then become +explicit. It must be evident that in any problems dealing with laws and +principles the mental states involved must be definite, clear cut, +logically sound, and their implications thoroughly appreciated and +understood. + +The second element in the technique necessary in reasoning is the use of +either the inductive or the deductive method in the process. Induction +requires--a problem, search for facts with which to solve it, comparison +and analysis of those facts, abstraction of the essential likenesses, +and conclusion. Deduction requires--a problem, the analysis of the +situation and abstraction of its essential elements, search for generals +under which to classify it, comparison of it with each general found, +and conclusion. It is unfortunate that in the discussions of induction +and deduction the differences have been so emphasized that they have +been regarded as different processes, whereas the likenesses far +outweigh the differences. An examination of the requirements of each as +stated above shows that the process in the two is the same. Not only do +both involve reasoning and therefore require the major steps of analysis +and abstraction present in all thinking, but both also involve search +and comparison. Both, of course, involve the same kind of mental states. +At times it is very difficult to distinguish between them. Although for +practical purposes it is necessary, sometimes, to stress the +differences, the inherent similarity should not be lost sight of. + +The differences between these two methods of reasoning are, first, in +the locus of the problem; second, in the order of the steps of the +process; third, in the relative proportion of particulars and generals +used; fourth, in the devices used, (1) In induction the problem is +concerned with a general. In some situation a concept, law, or principle +has proven inadequate as a response. The question is then raised as to +what is wrong with it and the inductive process is instigated. The +problem is solved when the principle or concept is perfected or +enlarged--in other words, is made adequate. In deduction the problem is +concerned with the individual situation. Some problem is raised by a +particular fact or experience and is answered when it is placed under +the law or concept to which it belongs. Deduction is, practically the +classification of particulars. (2) The order of steps is different. In +induction, because present knowledge falls short, the major step of +analysis necessary to abstraction of the essential is impossible, and +therefore the search for new facts must come first, whereas in +deduction, the analysis of the particular situation results in a search +for generals and a classification of the situation in question. (3) In +induction many particular facts may be necessary before one concept or +principle is made adequate, while in deduction many concepts or +principles may be examined before one particular is classified. (4) In +induction the hypothesis is used as a device to make clear the possible +goal; in deduction the syllogism is used as a device to make clear the +conclusion which has been reached, to throw into relief the +classification and the result coming from it. + +In this discussion, induction and deduction have been treated, for the +sake of clearness, as if they acted independently of each other, as if a +thinker might at one time use deduction and at another time induction. +They have been outlined in such a way that one might think that the +movement of the mind in one process was such that it precluded the +possibility of the other process. This is not so--the two are +inextricably mingled in the actual process of reasoning, and further, +induction as used in practical life always involves deduction at two +points, as an initial starting point and as an end point. The knowledge +that a certain principle is inadequate comes to consciousness through +the attempt to classify some particular experience under it. Failure +results and the inductive process may then be initiated, but this +initial attempt is deductive and if it had been successful there would +have been no need of induction. After the inductive process is complete +and the general principle has been classified or perfected, the final +step is testing it to see if it is adequate, first by applying it to the +particular problem which caused the whole process, and then to new +situations. If it tests, it is accepted,--if not, further induction is +necessary. This again is deduction. Not only is induction not complete +without deduction, but each deduction influences the principle which is +applied, making it more sure and more flexible. Even in the process of +induction, there are attempts to classify these facts which are being +gathered under suggested old principles, or half-formed new ones, before +the process is completed. This is a deductive movement, even though it +prove unsatisfactory or impossible. Dewey describes this interaction by +saying, "There is thus a double movement in all reflection: a movement +from the given partial and confused data to a suggested comprehension +(or inclusive) entire situation; and back from this suggested +whole--which as suggested is a meaning, an idea--to the particular +facts, so as to connect these with one another and with additional facts +to which the suggestion has directed attention."[10] However true this +intermingling of induction and deduction may be, the fact still remains +true that in any given case the major movement is in one direction or +the other, and that therefore in order to insure effective thinking +measures must be taken accordingly. As a child formulates his conception +of a verb, or words the characteristic essentials of the lily-family, or +frames the rule for addition of fractions or the action of a base on a +metal, he is concerned primarily with the form of the reasoning process +known as induction. When he classes a certain word as a conjunction, a +certain city as a trade center, a certain problem as one in percentage, +he is using deduction. Complexes and gradual shadings of one state into +another, not clearly defined and sharply differentiated processes and +states, are characteristic of all mental life. + +Another unfortunate statement with regard to induction and deduction is +that the former "proceeds from particulars to generals" and the latter +from "generals to particulars." Both of these statements omit the +starting point and leave the thinker with no ground for either the +particulars or the generals with which he works. The thinker is +supposed, let us say, to collect specimens of flowers in order to arrive +at a notion of the characteristics of a certain class--but why collect +these rather than any others? True, in the artificial situation of a +schoolroom or college, the learner often collects in a certain field +rather than another, simply because he is told to. But in daily life he +would not be told to---the incentive must come from some particular +situation which presents a problem and therefore limits the field of +search. The starting point must be a particular experience or situation. +The same thing is true in deduction, although the syllogistic form has +often been misleading. "Metals are hard; iron is a metal, therefore iron +is hard." But why talk about metals at all--and if so why hardness +rather than color or effect on bases or some other characteristic? Of +course, here again it is some particular problem that defines the search +for the general and directs attention to some class characteristics +rather than to others. Not only is the starting point of all reasoning +some definite situation for which there is no adequate response, but the +end point must naturally be the same. A particular problem demanding +solution is the cause for reasoning, and, of course, the end of the +process must be the solution of that problem. + +From the foregoing it must not be concluded that the processes of +induction and deduction are manifested only in connection with +reasoning. In fact, their use as a conscious tool of technique in +reasoning comes only after considerable experience of their use when +there was no conscious purpose and no control. A little child's notion +of dog, or tree, or city--in fact, all his psychological concepts +necessitate the inductive movement, but it has taken place in his +spontaneous thinking and the meanings have evolved after considerable +experience without any definite control on his part. So with deduction. +As he recognizes this as a chestnut tree, that as a rocking chair, as he +decides that this is wrong or that it is going to clear, he is +classifying things, or conduct, or conditions, and so is following the +deductive movement. But the judgments may come as a result of past +experience, may be spontaneous and involve no protracted controlled +activity which has been defined as thinking. Man's mind works +spontaneously both inductively and deductively, and hence the +possibility of control of these operations later. Thinking is an +outgrowth of spontaneous activity; reasoning is but an application of +the natural laws of mental activity to certain situations. + +The laws of readiness, exercise, and effect govern thinking just as they +do all other mental processes. Thinking is not independent of habit; it +is not a mysterious force other than association which deals with novel +data. Thinking is merely an exhibition of the laws of habit under +certain definite situations. At first sight this seems to be impossible, +because, as has been emphasized throughout this chapter, thinking takes +place when no satisfactory response is at hand and when nothing is +offered by past experience which is adequate. As a result of the +thinking, responses are reached which never before have occurred as a +result of that situation. Just the same they are reached only because of +the operation of the laws of habit. It must be borne in mind that the +laws of association do not work in such a way that only gross total +situations are bound to total responses. In man particularly, situations +are being continually broken up into elements, and those elements +connected with responses. Responses are being continually disintegrated, +and elements, instead of the whole response, being bound to situations. +Analysis is continually taking place merely as a result of the working +of these laws. If the nervous mechanism of man were not of this +hair-trigger variety, if elements did not emerge from a total complex as +a result of bonds formed, of readiness of certain tracts, no willing, no +attention on the part of the thinker, would ever bring about analysis. +This is made very vivid when one is met by a problem he cannot solve. If +the situation does not break up, if the right element does not emerge, +if the right cue is not given, he is helpless. All he can do is to hold +fast to his problem and wait. As the associations are offered, he can +select and reject, but that is all. The marvelous power of the genius, +the inventor, the reasoner in all fields, is merely an exhibition of the +laws of association working with extremely subtle elements. It seems to +transcend all experience because these elements and the bonds which +experience has formed cannot be observed. A child fails in his thinking +often because he uses his past experience and responds by analogy--we +note that fact and criticize him for it. But he succeeds for just the +same reason and by the use of just the same laws. James long ago showed +conclusively that association by similarity, which is one of the +prominent types used in reasoning, was only the law of habit working +with elements of novel data. + +The fact that thinking is determined by its aim rather than by its +antecedents has also been given a mysterious place as apart from +association. The thinker who chose the right associate, the one that led +him towards his goal rather than some other, was called sagacious. But, +after all, this being governed by an aim is nothing more than the +operation of the law of readiness among intellectual bonds. One +associate is chosen and another rejected because one is more satisfying +than another. Certain bonds are made more ready than others because of +the general set or attitude of the thinker, and therefore any associate +using those bonds brings satisfaction and is retained. "The power that +moves the man of science to solve problems correctly is the same that +moves him to eat, sleep, rest, and play. The efficient thinker is not +only more fertile in ideas and more often productive of the 'right' +ideas than the incompetent is; he is also more satisfied by them when he +gets them, and more rebellious against the futile and misleading ones. +We trust to the laws of cerebral nature to present us spontaneously with +the appropriate idea, and also _to prefer that idea to others."_[11] + +The reasons for failure of teachers and educators of all kinds to train +people to think are numerous. (1) Scarcity of brains which work +primarily in terms of connections between subtle elements, +relationships, etc. (2) Lack of knowledge or incorrect knowledge, due to +narrow experience or poor memory. (3) Lack of the necessary habits of +attention and criticism. (4) Lack of power of the more abstract and +intellectual operations to bring satisfaction, due partly to original +equipment and partly to training. (5) Lack of power to do independent +work, due to poor training. Schools cannot in any way make good the +deficiency which is due to a lack of mental capacity. They can, and +should, do something to provide knowledge which is well organized around +experiences which have proved vital to pupils. Something can undoubtedly +be done in the way of cultivating the habit of concentration of +attention, and of making more or less habitual the critical attitude. +Within the range of the ability which the individuals to be educated +possess, the school may do much to give training which will make +independent work or thinking more common in the experience of school +pupils, and therefore much more apt to be resorted to in the case of any +problematic situation. + +Possibly the greatest weakness in our schools, as they are at present +constituted, is in the dependence of both teachers and children upon +text-books, laboratory manuals, lectures, and the like. In almost every +field of knowledge which is presented in our elementary and high +schools, more opportunity should be given for contact with life +activities. Such contacts should, in so far as it is possible, involve +the organization of the observations which are made with relation to +problems and principles which the subject seeks to develop. In nature +study or in geography in the elementary school many of the principles +involved are never really mastered by children, by virtue of the fact +that they merely memorize the words which are involved, rather than +solve any of the problems which may occur, either by virtue of their +intellectual interests, or on account of their meaning in everyday life. +The following of the instructions given in the laboratory manual does +not necessarily result in developing the spirit of inquiry or +investigation, nor even acquaint pupils with the method of the science +which is supposed to be studied. + +Possibly the greatest contribution which a teacher can make to the +development of thinking upon the part of children is in discovering to +them problems which challenge their attention, the solution of which for +them is worth while. As has already been indicated, an essential element +in thinking is constantly to select from among the many associations +which may be available that one which will contribute to the particular +problem which we have in mind. The mere grouping of ideas round some +topic does not satisfy this requirement, for such a reciting of +paragraphs or chapters may amount simply to memorization and nothing +more. If a teacher can in geography or in history send children to their +books to find such facts as are available for the solution of a +particular problem, she is stimulating thought upon their part, and may +at the same time be giving them some command of the technique of inquiry +or of investigation. The class that starts to work, either in the +discussion during the recitation period, or when they work at their +seats, or at home, with a clear statement of the aim or problem may be +expected to do much more in the way of thinking than will occur in the +experience of those who are merely told to read certain parts of a book. +In a well-conducted recitation which involves thinking, the aim needs to +be restated a number of times in order that the selection of those +associations which are important, and the rejection of those which are +not pertinent, may continue over a considerable period. + +In so far as it is possible, children should be made to feel +responsibility for the progress which is made in the solution of their +problems. They should be critical of the contributions made by each +other. They should be sincere in their expression of doubt, and in +questioning whenever they do not understand. Above all, if they are +really thinking, they need to have an opportunity for free discussion. +In classrooms in which children are seated in rows looking at the backs +of each other's heads and reciting to the teacher, the tendency is +simply to satisfy what the pupils conceive to be the demands of the +teacher, rather than to think and to attempt to resolve one's doubts. In +classes in which teachers provide not only for a statement of the +problem which is to be solved during the study period, but also for a +variety in assignments, children may be expected to bring to class +differences in points of view and in the data which they have collected. +In such a situation discussion is a perfectly normal process, and +thinking is stimulated. + +As children pass through the several grades of the school system, they +ought to become increasingly conscious of the process of reasoning. They +should be asked to tell how they have arrived at their conclusions. They +should give the reason for their judgments. A great deal of loose +thinking would be avoided if we could in some measure establish the +habit upon the part of boys and girls of asking, "Will it work in all +cases?"; "What was assumed as a basis for arriving at the conclusion +which I have accepted?"; "Are the data which have been brought together +adequate?"; "To what degree have the fallacies which are more or less +common in reasoning entered into my thinking?" It is not that one would +hope to give a course in logic to elementary or to high school children, +but rather that they should learn, out of the situations which demand +thought, constantly to check up their conclusions and to verify them in +every possible way. We may not expect by this method to create any +unusual power of thought, but we may in some degree provide for the +development of a critical attitude which will enable these same boys and +girls, both now and as they grow older, to discriminate between those +who merely dogmatize, and those who present a sound basis for their +reasoning, either in terms of a principle which can be accepted, or in +terms of observations or experiments which establish the conclusions +which they are asked to accept. + +In all of the work which involves thinking, it is of the utmost +importance that we preserve upon the part of pupils, in so far as it is +possible, an open-minded attitude. It is well to have children in the +habit of saying with respect to their conclusions that in so far as they +have the evidence, this or that conclusion seems to be justified. It may +even be well to have them reach the conclusion in some parts of their +work that there are not sufficient data available upon which to base a +generalization, or that certain principles which are accepted as valid +by some thinkers are questioned by others, and that the conclusions +which are based upon principles which are not commonly accepted must +always be stated by saying: it follows, if you accept a particular +principle, that this particular conclusion will hold. + +We need more and more to encourage the habit of independent work. We +must hope as children pass through our school system that they will grow +more and more independent in their statement of conclusions and of +beliefs. We can never expect that boys and girls, or men and women, will +reach conclusions on all of the questions which are of importance to +them, but it ought to be possible, especially for those of more than +usual capacity, to distinguish between the conclusions of a scientific +investigation and the statements of a demagogue. The use of whatever +capacity for independent thought which children possess should result in +the development of a group of open-minded, inquiring, investigating boys +and girls, eager and willing in confronting their common community +problems to do their own thinking, or to be guided by those who present +conclusions which are recognized as valid. They should learn to act in +accordance with well-established conclusions, even though they may have +to break with the traditions or superstitions which have operated to +interfere with the development of the social welfare of the group with +which they are associated. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. How do children (and adults) most frequently solve their problems? + +2. Under what conditions do children think and yet reach wrong +conclusions? Give examples. + +3. Can first-grade children think? Give examples which prove your +contention. + +4. What are the important elements to be found in all thinking? + +5. Show how these elements may be involved in a first-grade lesson in +nature study. In an eighth-grade lesson in geography. In the teaching of +any high school subject. + +6. When may habit formation involve thinking? Memorization? + +7. Give five examples of problems which you believe will challenge the +brightest pupils in your class. Which would seem real and worth solving +to the duller members of the group? + +8. How may the analysis of such ideas as come to mind, and the +abstraction of the part which is valuable for the solution of a +particular problem, be facilitated? + +9. How do you distinguish between thinking and reasoning? + +10. What are the essential elements in reasoning? Give an example of +reasoning as carried on by one solving a problem in arithmetic or +geometry, in geography, physics, or chemistry. + +11. In what respects are the processes of induction and deduction alike? +In what do they differ? + +12. At what stage of the inductive process is deduction involved? + +13. Give examples of reasoning demanded in school work in which the +process is predominantly inductive. Deductive. + +14. Why are the statements "Induction proceeds from particulars to +generals" and "Deduction from generals to particulars" inadequate to +describe either process? + +15. In what sense is thinking dependent upon the operation of the laws +of habit? + +16. To what degree is it possible to teach your pupils to think? Under +what limitations do you work? + + * * * * * + + + + +VIII. APPRECIATION, AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN EDUCATION + + +Appreciation belongs to the general field of feeling rather than that of +knowing. The element which distinguishes appreciation from memory or +imagination or perception is an affective one. Any one of these mental +states may be present without the state being an appreciative one. But +appreciation does not occur by itself as an elementary state, it is +rather a complex--a feeling tone accompanying a mental state or process +and coloring it. In other words, appreciation involves the presence of +some intellectual states, but its addition makes the total complex of an +emotional rather than a cognitive nature. The difficulty found in +discussing emotions in general, that of defining or describing them in +language, which is a tool of the intellect, is felt here. The only way +to know what appreciation means is to appreciate. No phase of feeling +can be adequately described--its essence is then lost--it must be felt. +Nevertheless something may be done to differentiate this type of feeling +from others. + +Appreciation is an attitude of mind which is passive, contemplative. It +may grow out of an active attitude or emotion, or it may lead to one, +but in either case the state changes from one of appreciation to +something else. In appreciation the individual is quiescent. +Appreciation, therefore, has no end outside of itself. It is a +sufficient cause for being. The individual is satisfied with it. This +puts appreciation into the category of recreation. Appreciation then +always involves the pleasure tone, otherwise it could not be enjoyed. It +is always impersonal. It takes the individual outside and beyond his own +affairs; it is an other-regarding feeling. Possession, achievement, and +the like do not arouse appreciation, but rather an egoistical emotion. + +One of the salient characteristics of emotions is their unifying power. +It has aptly been said that in extreme emotional states one _is_ the +emotion. The individual and his emotional state become one--a very +different state of affairs from what is true in cognition. This element +of unification is present to some extent in appreciation, although, +because of its complex nature, to a lesser extent than in a simpler, +more primitive feeling state. Still, in true appreciation one does +become absorbed in the object of appreciation; he, for the time being, +to some extent becomes identified with what he is appreciating. In, +order to appreciate this submerging of one's self, this identification +is necessary. + +Appreciation is bound up with four different types of situations which +are of most importance to the teacher--(1) appreciation of the +beautiful, (2) appreciation of human nature, (3) appreciation of the +humorous, (4) appreciation of intellectual powers. The appreciation +found in these four types of situations must vary somewhat because of +the concomitants, but the characteristics which mark appreciation as +such seem to be present in all four. True, in certain of the situations +occurring under these types the emotional element may be stronger than +in others--in some the intellectual element may seem to almost outweigh +the affective, but still the predominant characteristics will be found +to be those of an attitude which has the earmarks of appreciation. + +Appreciation of beauty has usually been discussed under the head of +aesthetic emotions. As to what rightfully belongs under the head of +aesthetics is in dispute--writers on the subject varying tremendously in +their opinions. Most of the recent writers, however, agree that the +stimulus for aesthetic appreciation must be a sense percept or an image +of some sense object. Ideas, meanings, in and of themselves, are not +then objects of aesthetic enjoyment. The two senses which furnish the +stimuli for this sort of appreciation are the eye and the ear--the +former combining sensations under space form and the latter under time +form to produce aesthetic feelings. Our senses may cause feelings of +pleasure, but the enjoyment is sensuous rather than aesthetic. Nature, +in all its myriad forms, art, architecture, music, literature, and the +dance are the chief sources of aesthetic appreciation. That there is a +definite connection between physiological processes and the feeling of +appreciation is without doubt true, but just what physiological +conditions in connection with visual and auditory perception are +fulfilled when some experience gives rise to aesthetic appreciation, and +just what is violated when there is lack of such appreciation, is not +known. It is known that both harmony and rhythm must be considered in +music, and that the structure and muscular control of the eye plus the +ease of mental apprehension play important parts in rousing aesthetic +feelings in connection with vision, but further than that little is +known. + +The chief danger met in developing the aesthetic appreciation is the +tendency to overestimate its dependence on, in the first place, skill in +creative work and the active emotions involved in achievement, and in +the second place, the intellectual understanding of the situation. It +has been largely taken for granted that the constructive work in the +arts or in music increased one's power of appreciation. That, if a child +used color and painted a little picture, or composed a melody, or +modeled in clay, he would therefore be able to appreciate better in +these fields. And further that the very development of this power to do +necessarily developed the power to appreciate. These two beliefs are +true to some extent, but only to a limited extent, and not nearly so far +as practice has taken for granted. It is true that some power to do +increases power to appreciate, but they parallel each other only for a +short time and then diverge, and either may be developed at the expense +of the other. In most people the power to appreciate, the passive, +contemplative enjoyment, far surpasses the ability to create. On the +other hand, men of creative genius often lack power of aesthetic +appreciation. This result is natural if one thinks of the mental +processes involved in the two. Power to do is associated with muscular +skill, with technique, and with the personal emotions of active +achievement. Æsthetic appreciation, on the other hand, is associated +with neither, but with a mental attitude and feelings which are quite +different. Cultivating one set of processes will not develop the other +to any great extent and may, on the other hand, be antagonistic to their +development. If the aesthetic emotions, if appreciations of the +beautiful, are desired, they must be trained and developed directly. + +The second danger to be avoided in developing aesthetic appreciation is +that of magnifying its dependence on the intellectual factors. To +understand, to be able to analyze, to pick out the flaws in a musical +selection, or a painting, is not necessary to its appreciation. True, +some understanding is necessary, but, as in the case of skill, it is +much less than has been taken for granted. Appreciation can go far ahead +of understanding. The intellectual factor and the feeling response are +not absolutely interdependent in degree. Not only so, but the prominence +of the intellectual factor precludes that of the feeling. When one is +emphasized the other cannot be, as they are different sorts of mental +stuff. Continuous and emphatic development of the intellectual may +result in the atrophy of the power of appreciation in any given field +either temporarily or permanently. Many a boy's power to enjoy the +rhythm and melody of poetry has been destroyed by the overemphasis of +the critical facility during his high school course. The fact that a +person can analyze the painting, point out the plans in its composition, +and so on, does not at all mean that he can aesthetically appreciate. +Contemplative enjoyment may be impossible for him--it bores him. +Botanists are not noted for their power of aesthetic appreciation. It is +an acknowledged fact that some art and music critics have lost their +power of appreciation of the things they are continually criticizing. +This discussion is not intended to minimize the value of creative skill, +or of power of intellectual criticism. Both are talents that are well +worth while cultivating. But it is necessary for one to decide which of +the three, aesthetic appreciation, creative skill, or intellectual +criticism, in the fields of art, nature, and music, is most worth while +for the majority of people and then make plans accordingly. No one of +the three can be best developed and brought to its highest perfection by +emphasizing any one of the others. + +The second type of appreciation is appreciation of human nature: +appreciation of the value of human life, appreciation of its virtues and +trials, appreciation of great characters, and so on. Some writers would +probably class this type of appreciation under moral feelings--but moral +feelings usually are thought of as active, as accompaniments of conduct, +whereas these appreciations are feelings aroused in the onlooker--they +are passive and for the time being are an end in themselves. These +feelings are stimulated by such studies as literature and history +particularly. Geography and civics offer some opportunity for their +development, and, of course, contact with people is the greatest +stimulus. In this latter type of situation the feelings of appreciation +easily pass over into active emotions, but so long as one remains an +onlooker, they need not do so. This appreciation, sympathy with and +enjoyment and approval of human nature, finds its source in the social +instincts, but it needs development and training if it is to be +perfected. Very much of the time this appreciation is inhibited by the +emphasis put on understanding. The intellectual faculties of memory, +judgment, and criticism are the ones called into play in the study of +history and often of literature. These studies leave the learner cold. +He knows, but it does not make any difference to him. He can analyze the +period or the character, but he lacks any feeling response, any +appreciation of the qualities of endurance and loyalty portrayed, lacks +any _sympathetic_ understanding of the difficulties met and conquered. +As was true of the aesthetic appreciation, a certain amount of +understanding is necessary for true appreciation of any kind, but +overemphasis of the intellectual element destroys the feeling element. + +The third type of appreciation to be discussed is the appreciation of +humor. Perhaps this does not belong with the other type, but it +certainly has many of the same characteristics. Calkins defines a sense +of humor as "enjoyment of an unessential incongruity.... This +incongruity must be, as has been said, an unessential one, else the mood +of the observer changes from happiness to unhappiness, and the comic +becomes the pathetic. A fall on the ice which seemed to offer only a +ludicrous contrast between the dignity and grace of the man erect and +the ungainly attitude of the falling figure ceases utterly to be funny +when it is seen to entail some physical injury; and wit which burns and +sears is not amusing to its victim."[12] The ability to appreciate the +humorous in life is a great gift and should be cultivated to a much +greater extent than it is at present. + +A fourth type of appreciation has been called appreciation of +intellectual powers--a poor name perhaps, but the feeling is a real one. +Enjoyment of style, of logical sequence, of the harmony of the whole, of +the clear-cut, concise, telling sentences, are illustrations of what is +meant. Enjoyment of a piece of literature, of a debate, of an argument, +of a piece of scientific research, is not limited to the appreciation of +the meanings expressed--in fact, in many cases the only factor that can +arouse the feeling element, the appreciation, is this element of form. +One may _understand_ an argument or a debate as he hears it, but +appreciation, enjoyment of it, comes only as a result of the +consciousness of these elements of form. + +_That_ one possesses these feelings of appreciation, at least to some +degree, is a matter of human equipment, but _what_ one appreciates in +art, literature, human nature, etc., depends primarily on training. +There is almost no situation in life that with all people at all times +will arouse appreciative feelings. Although there are a few fundamental +conditions established by the physical make-up of the sense organs and +by the original capacities of the human race, still they are few, and at +present largely unknown, and experience does much to modify even these. +What is crude, vulgar, inharmonious, in art and music to some people, +arouses extreme aesthetic appreciation in others. Literature that causes +one person to throw the book down in disgust will give greatest +enjoyment to another. What is malice to one person is humorous to +another. What people enjoy and appreciate depends primarily on their +experience for the development of these feelings, depends upon the laws +of association, readiness, exercise, and effect. To raise power of +appreciation from low levels to high, from almost nothing to a +controlling force, needs but the application of these laws. But no one +of them can be neglected with impunity. It must be a gradual growth, +beginning with tracks that are ready, because of the presence of certain +instincts, and working on to others through the law of association. To +expect a child of seven to appreciate a steel engraving, or a piece of +classic music, or moral qualities in another person is to violate the +law of readiness. To expect any one in adult life to enjoy music, or +art, or nature, who has not had experience with each and enjoyed each +continually as a child, is to violate the laws of exercise and effect. + +Two or three suggestions as to aids in the application of these laws may +be in place. First, a wealth of images is an aid to appreciation. +Second, the absence for the time of the critical attitude. Third, an +encouragement of the passive contemplative attitude. Fourth, the example +of others. Suggestion and association with other people who do +appreciate and enjoy are among the best means of securing it. + +The value of feelings of appreciation are threefold: First, they serve +as recreation. It is in enjoyment of this kind that most of the leisure +of civilized races is spent. It serves on the mental level much the same +purpose that play does, in fact, much of it is mental play of a kind. +Second, they are impersonal. They are valuable in that they take us out +of ourselves, away from self-interests, and therefore make for mental +health and sanity as well as for a sympathetic character. They are also +a means of broadening one's experience. Third, they have a close +relationship with ideals and therefore have an active bearing on +conduct. It is not necessarily true that one will tend in himself or in +his surroundings to be like what he enjoys and appreciates, but the +tendency will be strongly in that direction. If an individual truly +appreciates, enjoys, beautiful pictures, good music and books, he will +be likely, so far as he can, to surround himself with them. If he +appreciates loyalty, openmindedness, tolerance, as he meets them in +literature and history, he may become more so himself. At least, the +developing of appreciations is the first step towards conduct in those +lines. In order to insure the conduct, other means must be taken, but +without the appreciation the conduct will be less sure. + +One who would count most in developing power of appreciation upon the +part of children may well inquire concerning his own power of +appreciation. There is not very much possibility of the development of +joy in poetry, in music, or any other artistic form of expression +through association with the teacher who finds little satisfaction in +these artistic forms, who has little power of aesthetic appreciation. It +is only as teachers themselves are sincere in their appreciation of the +nobility of character possessed by the men and women whose lives are +portrayed in history, in literature, or in contemporary social life that +one may expect that their influence will be important in developing such +appreciation upon the part of children. Those pupils are fortunate who +are taught by teachers who have a sense of humor, who are able to grow +enthusiastic over the intellectual achievement of the leaders in the +field of study or investigation in which the children are at work. +Children are, indeed, quick to discover sentimentalism or +pseudo-appreciation upon the part of teachers, but even though they may +not give any certain expression to their enjoyment, they are usually +largely influenced by the attitude and genuine power of appreciation +possessed by the teacher. + +In our attempt to have children grow in the field of appreciation we +have often made the mistake of attempting to impose upon them adult +standards. A great librarian in one of our eastern cities has said that +he would rather have children read dime novels than to have them read +nothing. From his point of view it was more important to have children +appreciating and enjoying something which they read than to have their +lives barren in this respect. In literature, in music, and in fine art +the development in power of appreciation is undoubtedly from the simple, +cruder forms to those which we as adults consider the higher or nobler +forms of expression. Mother Goose, the rhymes of Stevenson, of Field, or +of Riley, may be the beginning of the enjoyment of literature which +finds its final expression in the reading and in the possession of the +greatest literature of the English language. The simple rote songs which +the children learn in the first grade, or which they hear on the +phonograph, may lead through various stages of development to the +enjoyment of grand opera. Pictures in which bright color predominates +may be the beginning of power of appreciation which finds its fruition +in a home which is decorated with reproductions of the world's +masterpieces. + +It is not only in the artistic field that this growth in power of +appreciation from the simpler to the more complex is to be found. +Children instinctively admire the man who is brave rather than the man +who endures. Achievement is for most boys and girls of greater +significance than self-sacrifice. It is only as we adapt our material to +their present attainment, or to an attempt to have them reach the next +higher stage of development, that we may expect genuine growth. All too +often instead of growth we secure the development of a hypocritical +attitude, which accepts the judgment of others, and which never really +indicates genuine enjoyment. + +While it is best not to insist upon an analysis of the feelings that one +has in enjoying a picture or a poem or a great character, it is worth +while to encourage choice. Of many stories which have been told, +children may very properly choose one which they would like to tell to +others. Of many poems which have been read in class, a group of boys may +admire one and commit it to memory, while the girls may care for another +and be allowed to memorize it. Wherever such coöperation is possible, +the picture which you enjoy most is the one that will mean most in power +of appreciation if placed in your room at home. Spontaneous approval, +rather than an agreement with an adult teacher who is considered an +authority, is to be sought for. There is more in the spontaneous +laughter which results as children read together their "Alice in +Wonderland" than could possibly result from an analysis of the quality +of humor which is involved. + +We are coming to understand as a matter of education that we may hope to +develop relatively few men and women of great creative genius. The +producers of work of great artistic worth are, for the most part, to be +determined by native capacity rather than by school exercises. We must +think of the great majority of school children as possible consumers +rather than as producers. Schools which furnish a maximum of opportunity +to enjoy music and pictures may hope to develop in their community a +power of discrimination in these fields which will result in +satisfaction with nothing less than the best. The player-piano and the +phonograph may mean more in the development of musical taste in a +community than all of the lessons which are given in the reading of +music. The art gallery in the high school, the folk dances which have +been produced as a part of the school festivals, the reading of the best +stories, may prepare the way for the utilization of leisure time in the +pursuit of the nobler pleasures. The teacher with a saving sense of +humor, large in his power of appreciation of the great men and women of +his time, and all of the time keen in his own enjoyment and in his +ability to interpret for others those things which are most worth while +in literature and in art, may count more largely in the life of the +community than the one who is a master in some field of investigation. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. What are the characteristics of the mental states which are involved +in appreciation? + +2. Name the different types of situations in which appreciation may be +developed. Give examples. + +3. Does the power to criticize poetry or music necessarily involve +appreciation? + +4. To what degree may skill in creative work result in power of +appreciation? + +5. What are the elements involved in appreciating human nature? + +6. Give an example of appreciation of intellectual powers. + +7. What is the essential element in the appreciation of humor? + +8. Explain how the power of appreciation is dependent upon training. + +9. What values in the education of an individual are realized through +growth in power of appreciation? + +10. Why is it important for a teacher to seek to cultivate his own power +of appreciation? + +11. What poems, or pictures, or music would you expect first-grade +children to enjoy? Why? + +12. Would you expect fifth-grade children to grow in appreciation of +poetry by having them commit to memory selections from Milton's Paradise +Lost? Why? + +13. Why is it important to allow children to choose the poems that they +commit to memory, or the pictures which they hang on their walls? + +14. Why would you accept spontaneous expression of approval of the +characters in literature or in history, rather than seek to control the +judgments of children in this respect? + +15. How may teachers prove most effective in developing the power of +appreciation upon the part of children? + + * * * * * + + + + +IX. THE MEANING OF PLAY IN EDUCATION + + +All human activity might be classified under three heads,--play, work, +and drudgery,--but just what activities belong under each head and just +what each of the terms means are questions of dispute. That the +boundaries between the three are hazy and undefined, and that they shade +gradually into each other, are without doubt true, but after all play is +different from work, and work from drudgery. Much of the disagreement as +to the value of play is due to this lack of definition. Even to-day when +the worth of play is so universally recognized, we still hear the +criticism's of "soft pedagogy" and "sugar coating" used in connection +with the application of the principle of play in education. + +Although what we call play has its roots in original equipment, still +there is no such thing as the play instinct, in the sense that there is +a hunting instinct or a fighting instinct. Instead of being a definite +instinct, which means a definite response to a definite situation, it is +rather a tendency characteristic of all instincts and capacities. It is +an outgrowth of the general characteristic of all original nature +towards activity of some kind. This tendency is so broad and so complex, +the machinery governing it is so delicate, that it produces responses +that vary tremendously with subtle changes in the individual, and with +slight modifications of the situation. What we call play, then, is +nothing more than the manifestations of the various instincts and +capacities as they appear at times when they are not immediately useful. +The connections in the nervous system are ripe and all other factors +have operated to put them in a state of readiness: a situation occurs +which stimulates these connections and the child plays. These +connections called into activity may result in responses which are +primarily physical, intellectual, or emotional--all are manifestations +of this tendency towards activity. All habits of all kinds grow out of +this same activity: habits which we call work and those which we call +play. Man has not two original natures, one defined in terms of the play +instinct, and the other in terms of work. Most of the original +tendencies involved in play are not peculiar to it, but also are the +source of work. Manifestation results in making "mud pies and apple +pies"; physical activity results in the kicking, squirming, and +wriggling of the infant and the monotonous wielding of the hammer of the +road mender. The conditions under which an activity occurs, its +concomitants, and the attitude of the individual performing it determine +whether it is play or work--not its source or root. + +Much, then, of what we call play is simply the manifestation of +instincts and capacities not immediately useful to the child. If they +were immediately useful, they would probably be put under the head of +work, not play. Many of the activities which seem playful to us and not +of immediate service do so because of the conditions of civilized life. +Were the infants living under primitive conditions, "in such a community +as a human settlement seems likely to have been twenty-five thousand +years ago, their restless examination of small objects would perhaps +seem as utilitarian as their fathers' hunting."[13] Certainly the +tendency of little children to chase a small object going away from +them, and to run from a large object approaching slowly, their tendency +to collect and hoard, their tendency to outdo another engaged in any +instinctive pursuit, would under primitive conditions have a distinct +utilitarian value, and yet all such tendencies are ranked as play when +manifested by the civilized child. + +Other tendencies become playful rather than useful because of the +complexity of the environment and of the nervous system responding to +it. In actual life we don't find activity following a neatly arranged +situation--response system. On the contrary, a situation seldom +stimulates one response, and a response seldom occurs in the typical +form required by theory. It is this mingling of responses brought about +by varying elements in the situation that gives the playful effect. In a +less complex environment this complexity would be lessened. Also +experience, habit, tends to pin one type of response to a given +situation and the minor connections gradually become eliminated. For +example, if a boy of nine, alone in the woods, was approached by another +with threatening gestures and scowls, the fighting response would be +called out, and we would not call it play, because it served as +protection. If the same boy in his own garden, with a group of +companions, was approached by another with scowls, a perfectly +good-natured tussle might take place and we would call it play. The +difference between the two would be in minor elements of the situation. +Some of these differences are absence or presence of companions, the +strangeness or familiarity of the surroundings, the suddenness of the +appearance of the other boy, and so on. + +Most of the older theories of play did not take into account these three +facts, _i.e.,_ the identity in original nature of the roots of play and +work; the fact that man's original nature fits him for primitive not +civilized society; the complexity of the situation--response connection +and its necessary variation with minor elements in the external +situation and in the individual. Earlier writers, therefore, felt the +need of special theories of play. The best known of these theories are, +first, the Schiller-Spencer surplus energy theory; second, the Groos +preparation for life theory; third, the G. Stanley Hall atavistic +theory; fourth, the Appleton biological theory. Each of the theories has +some element of truth in it, for play is complex enough to include them +all, but each, save perhaps the last, falls short of an adequate +explanation. + +Two facts growing out of the theory of play accepted by the last few +paragraphs need further discussion. First, the order of development in +play. The play activities must follow along the line of the developing +instincts and capacities. As the nerve tracts governing certain +responses become ready to act, these responses become the controlling +ones in play. So it is that for a time play is controlled largely by the +instinct of manipulation, at another time physical activity combined +with competition is most prominent, at another period imagination +controls, still later the puzzle-solving tendency comes to the point +followed by all the games involving an intellectual factor. This being +true, it is not surprising to find certain types of play characterizing +certain ages and to find that though the particular games may vary, +there is a strong resemblance between plays of children of the same age +all over the world. It must not be forgotten, however, that the +readiness of nerve tracts to function, and therefore the play responses, +depends on other factors as well as maturity. The readiness of other +tracts to function; past experience and habits; the stimulus provided by +the present situation; absence of competing stimuli; sex, health, +fatigue, tradition--all these and many more factors modify the order of +development of the play tendencies. Still, having these facts in mind, +it is possible to indicate roughly the type of play most prominent at +different ages. + +Children from four to seven play primarily in terms of sensory +responses, imagination, imitation, and curiosity of the cruder sort. +Love of rhythm also is strong at this period. From seven to ten +individual competition or rivalry becomes very strong and influences +physical games, the collecting tendency, and manipulation, all of which +tendencies are prominent at this time. Ten to twelve or thirteen is +characterized by the "gang" spirit which shows itself in connection with +all outdoor games and adventures; memory is a large factor in some of +the plays of this period, and independent thinking in connection with +situations engendered by manipulation and the gang spirit becomes +stronger. At this period the differences between girls and boys become +more marked. The girls choose quieter indoor games, chumming becomes +prominent, and interest in books, especially of the semi-religious and +romantic type, comes to the front. In the early adolescent period the +emotional factor is strong and characterizes many of the playful +activities; the intellectual element takes precedence over the physical; +the group interest widens, although the interest in leadership and +independent action still remains strong; teasing and bullying are also +present. This summary is by no means complete, but it indicates in a +very general way the prominent tendencies at the periods indicated. + +The second fact needing further elaboration is that of the complexity of +the play activity. Take, for instance, a four-year-old playing with a +doll. She fondles, cuddles, trundles it, and takes it to bed with her. +It is jumped up and down and dragged about. It is put through many of +the experiences that the child is having, especially the unpleasant +ones. Its eyes and hair, its arms and legs, are examined. Questions are +asked such as, "Where did it come from?" "Who made it?" "Has it a +stomach?" "Will it die?" In many instances it is personified. The child +is often perfectly content to play with it alone, without the presence +of other children. This activity shows the presence of the nursing +instinct, the tendency towards manipulation, physical activity, +imitation and curiosity of the empirical type. The imagination is active +but still undifferentiated from perception. The contentment in playing +alone, or with an adult, shows the stage of development of the +gregarious instinct. A girl of nine no longer cuddles or handles her +doll just for the pleasure she gets out of that, nor is the doll put +through such violent physical exercises. The child has passed beyond the +aimless manipulation and physical activity that characterized the +younger child. Instead she makes things for it, clothes, furniture, or +jewelry, still manipulation, and still the nursing instincts, but +modified and directed towards more practical ends. Imitation now shows +itself in activities that are organized. The child plays Sunday, or +calling, or traveling, or market day, in which the doll takes her part +in a series of related activities. But in these activities constructive +imagination appears as an element. Situations are not absolutely +duplicated, occurrences are changed to suit the fancy of the player, as +demanded by the dramatic interest. A fairy prince, or a godmother, may +be participants, but at this age the constructive imagination is likely +to work along more practical lines. Curiosity is also present, but now +the questions asked are such as, "What makes her eyes work?" "Why can't +she stand up?" or they often pertain to the things that are being made +for the doll. They have to do with "How" or "Why" instead of the "What." +The doll may still be talked to and even be supposed to talk back, but +the child knows it is all play; it is no longer personified as in the +earlier period. For the child fully to enjoy her play, she must now have +companions of her own age, the older person no longer suffices. + +The outdoor games of boys show the same kind of complexity,--for +instance, take any of the running games. With little boys they are +unorganized manifestations of mere physical activity. The running is +more or less at random, arms and vocal organs are used as much as the +legs and trunk. Imitation comes in-what one does others are likely to +do. The mere "follow" instinct is strong, and they run after each other. +The beginnings of the fighting instinct appear in the more or less +friendly tussles they have. The stage of the gregarious instinct is +shown by the fact that they all play together. Later with boys of nine +or ten the play has become a game, with rules governing it. The general +physical activity has been replaced by a specialized form. Imitation is +less of a factor. The hunting instinct often appears unexpectedly, and +in the midst of the play the elements of the chase interfere with the +proper conduct of the game. The fighting instinct is strong, and is very +easily aroused. The boys now play in gangs or groups, and the tendency +towards leadership manifests itself within the group. The intellectual +element appears again and again, in planning the game, in judging of the +possibility of succeeding at different stages, or in settling disputes +that are sure to arise. So it is with all the plays of children: they +are complexes of the various tendencies present, and the controlling +elements change as the inner development continues. + +All activities when indulged in playfully have certain common +characteristics. First, the activity is enjoyed for its own sake. The +process is satisfying in itself. Results may come naturally, but they +are not separated from the process; the reason for the enjoyment is not +primarily the result, but rather the whole activity. Second, the +activity is indulged in by the player because it satisfies some inner +need, and only by indulging in it can the need be satisfied. It uses +neurone tracts that were "ready." Growing out of these two major +characteristics are several others. The attention is free and immediate; +much energy is used with comparatively little fatigue; self-activity and +initiative are freely displayed. + +At the other extreme of activity is drudgery. Its characteristics are +just the opposite of these. First, the activity is engaged in merely for +the result--the process counting for nothing and the result being the +only thing of value. Second, the process, instead of satisfying some +need, is rather felt to be in violation of the nature of the one +engaged. It uses neurone tracts that are not "ready" and at the same +time prevents the action of tracts that are "ready." It becomes a task. +The attention necessarily must be of the forced, derived type, in which +fatigue comes quickly as a result of divided attention, results are +poor, and there is no chance for initiative. + +Between these two extremes lies work. It differs from play in that the +results are usually of more value and in that the attention is therefore +often of the derived type. It differs from drudgery in that there is not +the sharp distinction between the process and the result and in that the +attention may often be of the free spontaneous type. It was emphasized +at the beginning of this chapter that the boundaries between the three +were hazy and ill defined. This is especially true of work; it may be +indistinguishable from play as it partakes of its characteristics, or it +may swing to the other extreme and be almost drudgery. The difference +between the three activities is a subjective matter--a difference +largely in mood, in attitude of the person concerned, due to the +readiness or unreadiness of the neurone tracts exercised. The same +activity may be play for one person, work for another, and drudgery for +still another. Further, for the same person the same activity may be +play, work, or drudgery, at different times, even within the same day. + +Which of the three is the most valuable for educational purposes? +Certainly not drudgery. It is deadening, uneducative, undevelopmental. +Any phase of education, though it may be a seemingly necessary one, that +has the characteristics of drudgery is valueless in itself. As a means +to an end it may serve--but with the antagonistic attitude, the +annoyance aroused by drudgery, it seems a very questionable means. +Education that can obtain the results required by a civilized community +and yet use the play spirit is the ideal. + +But to have children engaged in play, in the sense of free play, cannot +be the only measure. There must be supervision and direction. The spirit +that characterizes the activities which are not immediately useful must +be incorporated into those that are useful by means of the shifting of +association bonds. Nor can all parts of the process seem worth while to +the learner. Sometimes the process or parts of it must become a means to +an end, for the end is remote. But all this is true to some extent in +free play--digging the worms in order to go fishing, finding the +scissors and thread in order to make the doll's dress, making +arrangements with the other team to play ball, finding the right pieces +of wood for the hut, and so on, may not be satisfactory in and of +themselves, but may be almost drudgery. They are _not_ drudgery because +they become fused in the whole process, they take over and are lost in +the joy of the undertaking as a whole; they become a legitimate means to +an end, and in so far take over in derived form the interest that is +roused by the whole. It is this fusion of work and play that is +desirable in education. This is the great lesson of play--it shows the +value and encourages the logical combination of the two activities. +Children learn to work as they play. They learn the meaning and value of +work. Work becomes a means to an end, and that end not something remote +and disconnected from the activity itself, but as part and parcel of it. +Thus the activity as a whole imbued with the play spirit becomes +motivated. + +The play spirit is the spirit of art. No great result was achieved in +any line of human activity without much work, and yet no great result +was ever gained unless the play spirit controlled. It is to this +interaction of work and play that each owes much of its value. Work in +and of itself apart from play lacks educative power; it is only as it +leads to and increases the power of play that it is of greatest value. +Its logical place in education is as a means to an end, not as an end in +itself. Play, on the other hand, that does not necessitate some work, +that does not need work in order that it may function more fully, has +lost most of its educational value. To work in play and to play while +working is the ideal combination. Either by itself is dangerous. + +Two misconceptions should be mentioned. First, the play spirit advocated +as one of the greatest educational factors must not be limited to the +merely physical activities, nor should it be considered synonymous with +what is easy. This characterization of play as being the aimless trivial +physical activities of a little child is a misconception of the whole +play tendency. It has already been pointed out that any activity which +in itself satisfies, whether that be physical, emotional, or +intellectual, is play, and all these phases of human activity show +themselves in play first. Also the fact that play does not mean ease of +accomplishment has been noted. It is only in the play spirit that the +full resources of child or adult are tested. It is only when the +activity fully satisfies some need that the individual throws himself +whole-souled into it. It is only under the stimulus of the play spirit +that all one's energy is spent, and great results, clear, accurate, and +far reaching, are obtained. Ease of performance often results in +drudgery. To be play, the activity must be suited to the child's +capacity, but leave chance for initiative and change and development. + +The second misconception is that because present-day educators advocate +play in education, they believe that the child should do nothing that he +doesn't want to. This is wrong on two accounts. First, it is part of the +business of an environment to stimulate--readiness depends partly on +stimulation. The child may never play unless the stimulation is forcibly +and continually applied. Second, after all it is the result we are most +anxious for in education, and that result is an educated adult. By all +means let us obtain this result by the most economical and effective +method, and that is by use of the play spirit. But if the result cannot +be obtained by this means because of the character of civilized ideals, +or the difficulties of group education, or lack of capacity of the +individual--then surely other methods, even that of drudgery, must be +resorted to. The point is, with the goal in mind, adapt the material of +education to the needs of the individual child; in other words, use the +play spirit so far as is possible--after that gain the rest by any means +whatsoever. + +So far the discussion has been concerned with the characteristics of the +play spirit and its use in connection with the more formal materials of +education. However, the free plays of children are valuable in two +ways--first, as sources of information as to the particular tendencies +ready for exercise at different times, and second, as a means of +education in themselves. A knowledge of just which tendencies are most +prominent in the plays of a group of children, when they change from +"play" to "games," the increase in complexity and organization, the +predominance of the intellectual factors,--all this could be of direct +service to a teacher in the schoolroom. But it means, to some extent, +the observation by the teacher of his particular group of children. Such +observation is extremely fruitful. The more vigorously, the more +wholeheartedly, the more completely a child plays, other things being +equal, the better. A deprivation of opportunity to play, or a loss of +any particular type of play, means a loss of the development of certain +traits or characteristics. An all-round, well-developed adult can grow +only from a child developed in an all-round way because of many-sided +play. Hence the value of public playgrounds and of time to play. Hence +the danger of the isolated, lonely child, for many plays demand the +group. Hence the opportunities and the dangers of supervision of play. + +Supervision of play is valuable in so far as it furnishes opportunities +and suggestions which develop the elements most worth while in play and +which keep play at its highest level, and in so far as it concerns the +nature of the individual child, protecting, admonishing, or encouraging, +as the case may require. It is dangerous to the child's best good, in so +far as it results in domination; for domination will mean, usually, the +introduction of plays beyond the child's stage of development and the +destruction of the independence and initiative which are two of the most +valuable characteristics of free play. Valuable supervision of play is +art that must be acquired. To influence, while effacing oneself, to +guide, while being one of the players, to have an adult's understanding +of the needs of child nature and yet to be one with the children--these +are the essentials of the supervision of play. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. Distinguish between the fighting instinct and the instinctive basis +of play. + +2. Under what conditions may an activity which we classify as play for a +civilized child be called work for a child living under primitive +conditions? + +3. What kinds of plays are characteristic of different age periods in +the life of children? + +4. Trace the development of some game played by the older boys in your +school from its simpler beginnings in the play of little children to its +present complexity. + +5. Name the characteristics common to all playful activity. + +6. Distinguish between play and drudgery. + +7. What is the difference between work and play? + +8. To what degree may the activities of the school be made play? + +9. Explain why the same activity may be play for one individual, work +for another, and drudgery for a third. + +10. Why should we seek to make the play element prominent in school +activity? + +11. When is one most efficient in individual pursuits--when his activity +is play, when he works, or when he is a drudge? + +12. Under what conditions should we compel children to work, or even to +engage in an activity which may involve drudgery? + +13. Explain how play may involve the maximum of utilization of the +abilities possessed by the individual, rather than a type of activity +easy of accomplishment. + +14. In what does skill in the supervision of play consist? + + * * * * * + + + + +X. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FOR THE TEACHER + + +It has been indicated here and there throughout the previous chapters +that, despite the fact that there are certain laws governing the various +mental traits and processes, still there is variation in the working of +those laws. It was pointed out that people differ in kind of memory or +imagination in which they excel, in their ability to appreciate, in the +speed with which they form habits, and so on. In other words, that boys +and girls are not exact duplicates of each other, but that they always +differ from each other. Now a knowledge of these differences, their +amounts, interrelations, and causes are very necessary for the planning +of a school system or for the planning of the education of a particular +child. What we plan and how we plan educational undertakings must always +be influenced by our opinion as to inborn traits, sex differences, +specialization of mental traits, speed of development, the respective +power of nature and of nurture. The various plans of promotion and +grouping of children found in different cities are in operation because +of certain beliefs concerning differences in general mental ability. +Coeducation is urged or deplored largely on the ground of belief in the +differing abilities of the sexes. + +Exact knowledge of just what differences do exist between people and the +causes of these differences is important for two reasons. First, in +order that the most efficient measures may be taken for the education of +the individual, and second, in order that the race as a whole may be +made better. Education can only become efficient and economical when we +know which differences between people and which achievements of a given +person are due to training, and which are due more largely to original +equipment or maturity. It is a waste of time on the one hand for +education to concern itself with trying to make all children good +spellers--if spelling is a natural gift; and on the other hand, it is +lack of efficiency for schools to be largely neglecting the moral +development of the children, if morality is dependent primarily on +education. Exact knowledge, not opinions, along all these lines is +necessary if progress is to be made. + +The principal causes for individual differences are sex, remote +ancestry, near ancestry, maturity, and training. The question to be +answered in the discussion of each of these causes is how important a +factor is it in the production of differences and just what differences +is it responsible for. That men differ from women has always been an +accepted fact, but exact knowledge of how much and how they differ has, +until recent years, been lacking. Recently quantitative measurement has +been made by a number of investigators. In making these investigations +two serious difficulties have to be met. First, that the tests measure +only the differences brought about by differences in sex, and not by any +other cause, such as family or training. This difficulty has been met by +taking people of all ages, from all sorts of families, with all kinds of +training, the constant factor being the difference in sex. The second +difficulty is that of finding groups in which the selection agencies +have been the same and equally operative. It would be obviously unfair +to compare college men and women, and expect to get a fair result as to +sex differences, because college women are a more highly selected group +intellectually than the college men. It is the conventional and social +demands that are primarily responsible for sending boys to college, +while the intellectual impulse is responsible to a greater extent for +sending girls. Examination of children in the elementary schools, then, +gives a fairer result than of the older men and women. The general +results of all the studies made point to the fact that the differences +between the sexes are small. Sex is the cause of only a small fraction +of the differences between individuals. The total difference of men from +men and women from women is almost as great as the difference between +men and women, for the distribution curve of woman's ability in any +trait overlaps the men's curve to at least half its range. In detail the +exact measurements of intellectual abilities show a slight superiority +of the women in receptivity and memory, and a slight superiority of the +men in control of movement and in thought about concrete mechanical +situations. In interests which cannot be so definitely measured, women +seem to be more interested in people and men in things. In instinctive +equipment women excel in the nursing impulse and men in the fighting +impulse. In physical equipment men are stronger and bigger than women. +They excel in muscular tests in ability to "spurt," whereas women do +better in endurance tests. The male sex seems on the whole to be +slightly more variable than the female, i.e., its curve of distribution +is somewhat flatter and extends both lower and higher than does that of +the female; or, stated another way, men furnish more than their +proportion of idiots and of geniuses. + +Slight though these differences are, they are not to be disregarded, for +sometimes the resulting habits are important. For instance, girls should +be better spellers than boys. Boys should excel in physics and +chemistry. Women should have more tact than men, whereas men should be +more impartial in their judgments. With the same intellectual equipment +as women, men should be found more often in positions of prominence +because of the strength of the fighting instinct. The geniuses of the +world, the leaders in any field, as well as the idiots, should more +often be men than women. That these differences do exist, observation as +well as experiment prove, but that they are entirely due to essential +innate differences in sex is still open to question. Differences in +treatment of the sexes in ideals and in training for generation after +generation _may_ account for some of the differences noted. + +What these differences mean from the standpoint of practice is still +another question. Difference in equipment need not mean difference in +treatment, nor need identity of equipment necessarily mean identity of +training. The kind of education given will have to be determined not +only by the nature of the individual, but also by the ideals held for +and the efficiency demanded from each sex. + +Another cause of the differences existing between individuals is +difference in race inheritance. In causing differences in physical +traits this factor is prominent. The American Indians have physical +traits in common which differentiate them from other races; the same +thing is true of the Negroes and the Mongolians. It has always been +taken for granted that the same kind of difference between the races +existed in mental traits. To measure the mental differences caused by +race is an extremely difficult problem. Training, environment, +tradition, are such potent factors in confusing the issue. The +difficulty is to measure inborn traits, not achievement. Hence the +results from actual measurement are very few and are confined to the +sensory and sensorimotor traits. Woodworth, in summing up the results of +these tests, says, "On the whole, the keenness of the senses seems to be +about on a par in the various races of mankind.... If the results could +be taken at their face value, they would indicate differences in +intelligence between races, giving such groups as the Pygmy and Negrito +a low station as compared with most of mankind. The fairness of the test +is not, however, beyond question."[14] The generality of this conclusion +concerning the differences in intelligence reveals the lack of data. No +tests of the higher intellectual processes, such as the ability to +analyze, to associate in terms of elements, to formulate new principles, +and the like, have, been given. Some anthropologists are skeptical of +the existence of any great differences, while others believe that though +there is much overlapping, still differences of considerable magnitude +do exist. At present we do not know how much of the differences existing +between individuals is due to differences in remote ancestry. + +Maturity as a cause of differences between individuals gives quite as +unsatisfactory results as remote ancestry. Every thoughtful student of +children must realize that inner growth, apart from training, has +something to do with the changes which take place in a child; that he +differs from year to year because of a difference in maturity. This same +cause, then, must account to some extent for the differences between +individuals of different ages. But just how great a part it plays, what +per cent of the difference it accounts for, and what particular traits +it affects much or little, no one knows. We say in general that +nine-year-old children are more suggestible than six-year-old, and than +fourteen-year-old; that the point of view of the fifteen-year-old is +different from that of the eleven-year-old; that the power of sense +discrimination gradually increases up to about sixteen, and so on. That +these facts are true, no one can question, but how far they are due to +mere change in maturity and how far to training or to the increase in +power of some particular capacity, such as understanding directions, or +power of forced attention, is unknown. The studies which have been +undertaken along this line have failed in two particulars: first, to +distribute the actual changes found from year to year among the three +possible causes, maturity, general powers of comprehension and the like, +and training; second, to measure the same individuals from year to year. +This last error is very common in studies of human nature. It is taken +for granted that to examine ten year olds and then eleven year olds and +then twelve year olds will give what ten year olds will become in one +and two years' time respectively. To test a group of grammar grade +children and then a group of high school and then a group of college +students will not show the changes in maturity from grammar school to +college. The method is quite wrong, for it tests only the ten year olds +that stay in school long enough to become twelve year olds; it measures +only the very small per cent of the grammar school children who get to +college. In other words, it is measuring a more highly selected group +and accepting the result obtained from them as true of the entire group. +Because of these two serious errors in the investigations our knowledge +of the influence of maturity as a cause of individual differences is no +better than opinion. Two facts, however, such studies do make clear. +First, the supposition that "the increases in ability due to a given +amount of progress toward maturity are closely alike for all children +save the so-called 'abnormally-precocious' or 'retarded' is false. The +same fraction of the total inner development, from zero to adult +ability, will produce very unequal results in different children. Inner +growth acts differently according to the original nature that is +growing. The notion that maturity is the main factor in the differences +found amongst school children, so that grading and methods of teaching +should be fitted closely to 'stage of growth,' is also false. It is by +no means very hard to find seven year olds who can do intellectual work +in which one in twenty seventeen year olds would fail."[15] + +The question as to how far immediate heredity is a cause of differences +found between individuals, can only be answered by measuring how much +more alike members of the same family are in a given trait than people +picked at random, and then making allowance for similarity in their +training. The greater the likenesses between members of the same family, +and the greater the differences between members of different families, +despite similarities in training, the more can individual differences be +traced to differences in ancestry as a controlling cause. The answer to +this question has been obtained along four different lines: First, +likenesses in physical traits; second, likenesses in particular +abilities; third, likenesses in achievement along intellectual and moral +lines; fourth, greater likenesses between twins, than ordinary siblings. +In physical traits, such as eye color, hair color, cephalic index, +height, family resemblance is very strong (the coefficient of +correlation being about .5), and here training can certainly have had no +effect. In particular abilities, such as ability in spelling, the stage +reached by an individual is due primarily to his inheritance, the +ability being but little influenced by the differences in home or school +training that commonly exist. In general achievement, Galton's results +show that eminence runs in families, that one has more than three +hundred times the chance of being eminent if one has a brother, father, +or son eminent, than the individual picked at random. Wood's +investigation in royal families points to the same influence of ancestry +in determining achievement. The studies of the Edwards family on one +hand and the so-called Kallikak family on the other, point to the same +conclusion. Twins are found to be twice as much alike in the traits +tested as other brothers and sisters. Though the difficulty of +discounting the effect of training in all these studies has been great, +yet in every case the investigators have taken pains to do so. The fact +that the investigations along such different lines all bear out the same +conclusion, namely, that intellectual differences are largely due to +differences in family inheritance, weighs heavily in favor of its being +a correct one. + +The fifth factor that might account for individual differences is +environment. By environment we mean any influence brought to bear on the +individual. The same difficulty has been met in attempting to measure +the effect of environment that was met in trying to measure the effect +of inner nature--namely, that of testing one without interference from +the other. The attempts to measure accurately the effect of any one +element in the environment have not been successful. No adequate way of +avoiding the complications involved by different natures has been found. +One of the greatest errors in the method of working with this problem +has been found just here. It has been customary when the effect of a +certain element in the environment is to be ascertained to investigate +people who have been subject to that training or who are in the process +of training, thus ignoring the selective influence of the factor itself +in original nature. For instance, to study the value of high school +training we compare those in training with those who have never had any; +if the question is the value of manual training or Latin, again the +comparison is made between those who have had it and those who haven't. +To find out the influence of squalor and misery, people living in the +slums are compared with those from a better district. In each case the +fact is ignored that the original natures of the two groups examined are +different before the influence of the element in question was brought to +bear. Why do some children go to high school and others not? Why do some +choose classical courses and some manual training courses? Why are some +people found in the slums for generations? The answer in each case is +the same--the original natures are different. It isn't the slums make +the people nearly so often as it is the people make the slums. It isn't +training in Latin that makes the more capable man, but the more +intellectual students, because of tradition and possibly enjoyment of +language study, choose the Latin. It is unfair to measure a factor in +the environment and give it credit or discredit for results, when those +results are also due to original nature as well, which has not been +allowed for. It must be recognized by all those working in this field +that, after all, man to some extent selects his own environment. In the +second place, it must be remembered that the environment will influence +folks differently according as their natures are different. There can be +no doubt that environment is accountable for some individual +differences, but just which ones and to what extent are questions to +which at present the answers are unsatisfactory. + +The investigations which have been carried on agree that environment is +not so influential a cause for individual differences in intellect as is +near ancestry. One rather interesting line of evidence can be quoted as +an illustration. If individual differences in achievement are due +largely to lack of training or to poor training, then to give the same +amount and kind of training to all the individuals in a group should +reduce the differences. If such practice does not reduce the +differences, then it is not reasonable to suppose that the differences +were caused in the first place by differences in training. As a matter +of fact, equalizing training _increases_ the differences. The superior +man becomes more superior, the inferior is left further behind than +ever. A common occurrence in school administration bears out this +conclusion reached by experimental means. The child who skips a grade is +ready at the end of three years to skip again, and the child who fails a +grade is likely at the end of three years to fail again. Though +environment seems of little influence as compared with near ancestry in +determining intellectual ability _per se_, yet it has considerable +influence in determining the line along which this ability is to +manifest itself. The fact that between 1840-44, 9.4 per cent of the +college men went into teaching as a profession and 37.5 per cent into +the ministry, while between 1890-94, 25.4 per cent chose the former and +only 14 per cent the latter, can be accounted for only on the basis of +environmental influence of some kind.[16] + +Another fact concerning the influence of environment is that it is very +much more effective in influencing morality than intellect. Morality is +the outcome of the proper direction of capacities and tendencies +possessed by the individual, and therefore is extremely susceptible to +environmental influences. We are all familiar with the differences in +moral standards of different social groups. One boy may become a bully +and another considerate of the rights of others, one learns to steal and +another to be honest, one to lie and another to be truthful, because of +the influence of their environments rather than on account of +differences in their original natures. We are beginning to recognize the +importance of environment in moral training in the provisions made to +protect children from immoral influences, in the opportunities afforded +for the right sort of recreation, and even in the removal of children +from the custody of their parents when the environment is extremely +unfavorable. + +Though changes in method and ideals cannot reduce the differences +between individuals in the intellectual field to any marked extent, such +changes can raise the level of achievement of the whole group. For +instance, more emphasis on silent reading may make the reading ability +of a whole school 20 per cent better, while leaving the distance between +the best and worst reader in the school the same. Granting that +heredity, original nature, is the primary cause of individual +differences in intellect (aside from those sex differences mentioned) +there remains for environment, education in all its forms, the +tremendous task of: First, providing conditions favorable for nervous +health and growth; second, providing conditions which stimulate useful +capacities and inhibit futile or harmful capacities; third, providing +conditions which continually raise the absolute achievement of the group +and of the race; fourth, providing conditions that will meet the varying +original equipments; fifth, assuming primary responsibility for +development along moral and social lines. + +Concerning those individual differences of which heredity is the +controlling cause, two facts are worthy of note. First, that human +nature is very highly specialized and that inheritance may be in terms +of special abilities or capacities. For instance, artistic, musical, or +linguistic ability, statesmanship, power in the field of poetry, may be +handed down from one generation to the next. This also means that two +brothers may be extremely alike along some lines and extremely different +along others. Second, that there seems to be positive combinations +between certain mental traits, whereby the presence of one insures the +presence of the other to a greater degree than chance would explain. For +instance, the quick learner is slow in forgetting, imagery in one field +implies power to image in others, a high degree of concentration goes +with superior breadth, efficiency in artistic lines is more often +correlated with superiority in politics or generalship or science than +the reverse, ability to deal with abstract data implies unusual power to +deal with the concrete situation. In fact, as far as exact measures go, +negative correlations between capacities, powers, efficiencies, are +extremely rare, and, when they occur, can be traced to the influence of +some environmental factor. + +Individuals differ from each other to a much greater degree than has +been allowed for in our public education. The common school system is +constructed on the theory that children are closely similar in their +abilities, type of mental make-up, and capacities in any given line. +Experimentation shows each one of these presuppositions to be false. So +far as general ability goes, children vary from the genius to the +feeble-minded with all the grades between, even in the same school +class. This gradation is a continuous one--there are no breaks in the +human race. Children cannot be grouped into the very bright, bright, +mediocre, poor, very poor, failures--each group being distinct from any +other. The shading from one to the other of these classes is gradual, +there is no sharp break. Not only is this true, but a child may be +considered very bright along one line and mediocre along another. +Brilliancy or poverty in intellect does not act as a unit and apply to +all lives equally. The high specialization of mental powers makes +unevenness in achievement the common occurrence. Within any school grade +that has been tested, even when the gradings are as close as those +secured by term promotions, it has been found in any subject there are +children who do from two to five times as well as others, and from two +to five times as much as others. Of course this great variation means an +overlapping of grades on each side. In Dr. Bonser's test of 757 children +in reasoning he found that 90 per cent of the 6A pupils were below the +best pupils of 4A grade and that 4 per cent of 6A pupils were below the +mid-pupils of the 4A, and that the best of the 4A pupils made a score +three times as high as the worst pupils of 6A. Not only is this +tremendous difference in ability found among children of the same class, +but the same difference exists in rate of development. Some children can +cover the same ground in one half or one third the time as others and do +it better. Witness the children already quoted who, skipping a grade, +were ready at the end of three years to skip again. Variability, not +uniformity, is what characterizes the abilities and rate of intellectual +growth of children in the schools, and these differences, as has already +been pointed out, are caused primarily by a difference in original +nature. + +There is also great difference between the general mental make-up of +children--a difference in type. There is the child who excels in dealing +with abstract ideas. He usually has power also in dealing with the +concrete, but his chief interest is in the abstract. He is the one who +does splendid work in mathematics, formal grammar, the abstract phases +of the sciences. Then there is the child who is a thinker too, but his +best work is done when he is dealing with a concrete situation. Unusual +or involved applications of principles disturb him. So long as his work +is couched in terms of the concrete, he can succeed, but if that is +replaced by the _x, y, z_ elements, he is prone to fail. There is +another type of child--the one who has the executive ability, the child +of action. True, he thinks, too, but his forte is in control of people +and of things. He is the one who manages the athletic team, runs the +school paper, takes charge of the elections, and so on. For principles +to be grasped he must be able to put them into practice. The fourth type +is the feeling type, the child who excels in appreciative power. As has +been urged so many times before, these types have boundaries that are +hazy and ill defined; they overlap in many cases. Some children are of a +well-defined mixed type, and most children have something of each of the +four abilities characteristic of the types. Still it is true that in +looking over a class of children these types emerge, not pure, but +controlled by the dominant characteristics mentioned. + +The same variation is found among any group of children if they are +tested along one line, such as memory. Some have desultory, some rote, +some logical memories; some have immediate memories, others the +permanent type. In imagery, some have principally productive +imagination, others the matter-of-fact reproductive; some deal largely +with object images that are vivid and clear-cut, others fail almost +entirely with this type, but use word images with great facility. In +conduct, some are hesitating and uncertain, others just the reverse; +some very open to suggestions, others scarcely touched at all by it; +some can act in accordance with principle, others only in terms of +particular associations with a definite situation. So one might run the +whole gamut of human traits, and in each one any group of individuals +will vary: in attention, in thinking, in ideals, in habits, in +interests, in sense discrimination, in emotions, and so on. This is one +of the greatest contributions of experimental psychology of the past ten +years, the tremendous differences between people along all lines, +physical as well as mental. + +It is lack of recognition of such differences that makes possible such a +list of histories of misfits as Swift quotes in his chapter on Standards +of Human Power in "Mind in the Making." Individual differences exist, +education cannot eliminate them, they are innate, due to original +nature. Education that does not recognize them and plan for them is +wasteful and, what is worse, is criminal. + +The range of ability possessed by children of the same grade in the +subjects commonly taught seems not always to be clear in the minds of +teachers. It will be discussed at greater length in another chapter, but +it is important for the consideration of individual differences to +present some data at this time. If we rate the quality of work done in +English composition from 10 to 100 per cent, being careful to evaluate +as accurately as possible the merit of the composition written, we will +find for a seventh and an eighth grade a condition indicated by the +following table: + + + ========================================== + QUALITY OF COMPOSITION GRADES + 7 8 + ------------------------------------------ + _No. of Pupils_ + Rated at 10 2 1 + Rated at 20 6 6 + Rated at 30 8 8 + Rated at 40 7 8 + Rated at 50 2 4 + Rated at 60 1 1 + Rated at 70 1 1 + Rated at 80 1 1 + Rated at 90 1 1 + ========================================== + +The table reads as follows: two pupils in the seventh grade and one in +the eighth wrote compositions rated at 10; six seventh-grade and six +eighth-grade pupils wrote compositions rated at 20, and so on for the +whole table. + +A similar condition of affairs is indicated if we ask how many of a +given type of addition problems are solved correctly in eight minutes by +a fifth- and a sixth-grade class. + + ============================================= + NUMBER OF GRADES + PROBLEMS 5 6 + --------------------------------------------- + _No. of Pupils_ + 0 2 3 + 1 6 6 + 2 6 6 + 3 6 6 + 4 4 5 + 5 4 5 + 6 3 4 + 7 1 2 + 8 1 1 + 9 1 1 + ============================================= + +In like manner, if we measure the quality of work done in penmanship for +a fifth and sixth grade, with a system of scoring that ranks the +penmanship in equal steps from a quality which, is ranked four up to a +quality which is ranked eighteen, we find the following results: + + =============================================== + QUALITY OF PENMANSHIP GRADES + 5 6 + ----------------------------------------------- + _No. of Pupils_ + Rated at 4 5 6 + Rated at 5 1 1 + Rated at 6 0 0 + Rated at 7 2 4 + Rated at 8 10 4 + Rated at 9 12 1 + Rated at 10 3 6 + Rated at 11 3 8 + Rated at 12 3 3 + Rated at 13 1 2 + Rated at 14 1 1 + Rated at 15 0 1 + Rated at 16 1 1 + Rated at 17 0 0 + Rated at 18 0 0 + =============================================== + +Results similar to those recorded above will be found if any accurate +measurement is made of the knowledge possessed by children in history or +in geography, or of the ability to apply or derive principles in physics +or in chemistry, or of the knowledge of vocabulary in Latin or in +German, and the like. + +All such facts indicate clearly the necessity for differentiating our +work for the group of children who are classified as belonging to one +grade. Under the older and simpler form of school organization, the +one-room rural school, it was not uncommon for children to recite in one +class in arithmetic, in another in geography or history, and in possibly +still another in English. In our more highly organized school systems, +with the attempt to have children pass regularly from grade to grade at +each promotion period, we have in some measure provided for individual +differences through allowing children to skip a grade, or not +infrequently by having them repeat the work of a grade. In still other +cases an attempt has been made to adapt the work of the class to the +needs and capacities of the children by dividing any class group into +two or more groups, especially in those subjects in which children seem +to have greatest difficulty. Teachers who are alive to the problem +presented have striven to adjust their work to different members of the +class by varying the assignments, and in some cases by excusing from the +exercises in which they are already proficient the abler pupils. + +Whatever adjustment the school may be able to make in terms of providing +special classes for those who are mentally or physically deficient, or +for those who are especially capable, there will always be found in any +given group a wide variation in achievement and in capacity. Group +teaching and individual instruction will always be required of teachers +who would adapt their work to the varying capacities of children. A +period devoted to supervised study during which those children who are +less able may receive special help, and those who are of exceptional +ability be expected to make unusual preparation both in extent and in +quality of work done, may contribute much to the efficiency of the +school. As paradoxical as the statement may seem, it is true that the +most retarded children in our school systems are the brightest. +Expressed in another way, it can be proved that the more capable +children have already achieved in the subjects in which they are taught +more than those who are tow or three grades farther advanced. Possibly +the greatest contribution which teachers can make to the development of +efficiency upon the part of the children with whom they work is to be +found in special attention which is given to capable children with +respect to both the quantity and quality of work demanded of them, +together with provision for having them segregated in special classes or +passed through the school system with greater rapidity than is now +common. In an elementary school with which the writer is acquainted, and +in which there were four fifth grades, it was discovered during the past +year that in one of these fifth grades in which the brighter children +had been put they had achieved more in terms of ability to solve +problems in arithmetic, in their knowledge of history and geography, in +the quality of English composition they wrote, and the like, than did +the children in any one of the sixth grades. In this school this +particular fifth grade was promoted to the seventh grade for the +following year. Many such examples could be found in schools organized +with more than one grade at work on the same part of the school course, +if care were taken to segregate children in terms of their capacity. And +even where there is only one teacher per grade, or where one teacher +teaches two or three grades, it should be found possible constantly to +accelerate the progress of children of more than ordinary ability. + +The movement throughout the United States for the organization of junior +high schools (these schools commonly include the seventh, eighth, and +ninth school years) is to be looked upon primarily as an attempt to +adjust the work of our schools to the individual capacities of boys and +girls and to their varying vocational outlook. Such a school, if it is +to meet this demand for adjustment to individual differences, must offer +a variety of courses. Among the courses offered in a typical junior high +school is one which leads directly to the high school. In this course +provision is made for the beginning of a foreign language, of algebra, +and, in some cases, of some other high school subject during the seventh +and eighth years. In another course emphasis is placed upon work in +industrial or household arts in the expectation that work in these +fields may lead to a higher degree of efficiency in later vocational +training, and possibly to the retention of children during this period +who might otherwise see little or no meaning in the traditional school +course. The best junior high schools are offering in the industrial +course a variety of shop work. In some cases machine shop practice, +sheet metal working, woodworking, forging, printing, painting, +electrical wiring, and the like are offered for boys; and cooking, +sewing, including dressmaking and designing, millinery, drawing, with +emphasis upon design and interior decoration, music, machine operating, +pasting, and the like are provided for girls. Another type of course has +provided for training which looks toward commercial work, even though it +is recognized that the most adequate commercial training may require a +longer period of preparation. In some schools special work in +agriculture is offered. + +Our schools cannot be considered as satisfactorily organized until we +make provision for every boy or girl to work up to the maximum of his +capacity. The one thing that a teacher cannot do is to make all of his +pupils equal in achievement. Whatever adjustment may have been made in +terms of special classes or segregation in terms of ability, the teacher +must always face the problem of varying the assignment to meet the +capacities of individual children, and she ought, wherever it is +possible, especially to encourage the abler children to do work +commensurate with their ability, and to provide, as far as is possible, +for the rapid advancement of these children through the various stages +of the school system. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. What are the principal causes of differences in abilities or in +achievement among school children? + +2. What, if any, of the differences noticed among children may be +attributed to sex? + +3. Are any of the sex differences noticeable in the achievements of the +school children with whom you are acquainted? + +4. To what extent is maturity a cause of individual differences? + +5. What evidence is available to show the fallacy of the common idea +that children of the same age are equal in ability? + +6. How important is heredity in determining the achievement of men and +women? + +7. To what extent, if any, would you be interested in the immediate +heredity of the children in your class? Why? + +8. To what extent is the environment in which children live responsible +for their achievements in school studies? + +9. What may be expected in the way of achievement from two children of +widely different heredity but of equal training? + +10. For what factor in education is the environment most responsible? +Why? + +11. If you grant that original nature is the primary cause of individual +differences in intellectual achievements, how would you define the work +of the school? + +12. Why are you not justified in grouping children as bright, ordinary, +and stupid? + +13. Will a boy who has unusual ability in music certainly be superior in +all other subjects? + +14. Why are children who skip a grade apt to be able to skip again at +the end of two or three years? + +15. Are you able to distinguish differences in type of mind (or general +mental make-up) among the children in your classes? Give illustrations. + +16. What changes in school organization would you advocate for the sake +of adjusting the teaching done to the varying capacities of children? + +17. How should a teacher adjust his work to the individual differences +in capacity or in achievement represented by the usual class group? + + * * * * * + + + + +XI. THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL SOCIAL CONDUCT + + +Morality has been defined in many ways. It has been called "a regulation +and control of immediate promptings of impulses in conformity with some +prescribed conduct"; as "the organization of activity with reference to +a system of fundamental values." Dewey says, "Interest in community +welfare, an interest that is intellectual and practical, as well as +emotional--an interest, that is to say, in perceiving whatever makes for +social order and progress, and in carrying these principles into +execution--is the moral habit."[17] Palmer defines it as "the choice by +the individual of habits of conduct that are for the good of the race." +All these definitions point to control on the part of the individual as +one essential of morality. + +Morality is not, then, a matter primarily of mere conduct. It involves +conduct, but the essence of morality lies deeper than the act itself; +motive, choice, are involved as well. Mere law-abiding is not morality +in the strict sense of the word. One may keep the laws merely as a +matter of blind habit. A prisoner in jail keeps the laws. A baby of four +keeps the laws, but in neither case could such conduct be called moral. +In neither of these cases do we find "control" by the individual of +impulses, nor "conscious choice" of conduct. In the former compulsion +was the controlling force, and in the second blind habit based on +personal satisfaction. Conduct which outwardly conforms to social law +and social progress is unmoral rather than moral. A moment's +consideration will suffice to convince any one that the major part of +conduct is of this non-moral type. This is true of adults and +necessarily true of children. As Hall says, most of the supposedly moral +conduct of the majority of men is blind habit, not thoughtful choosing. +In so far as we are ruled by custom, by tradition, in so far as we do as +the books or the preacher says, or do as we see others do, without +principles to guide us, without thinking, to that extent the conduct is +likely to be non-moral. This is the characteristic reaction of the +majority of people. We believe as our fathers believed, we vote the same +ticket, hold in horror the same practices, look askance on the same +doctrines, cling to the same traditions. Morality, on the other hand, is +rationalized conduct. Now this non-moral conduct is valuable so far as +it goes. It is a conservative force, making for stability, but it has +its dangers. It is antagonistic to progress. So long as the conditions +surrounding the non-moral individual remain unchanged, he will be +successful in dealing with them, but if conditions change, if he is +confronted by a new situation, if strong temptation comes, he has +nothing with which to meet it, for his conduct was blind. It is the +person whose conduct is non-moral that suffers collapse on the one hand, +or becomes a bigot on the other, when criticism attacks what he held as +true or right. Morality requires that men have a reason for the faith +that is in them. + +In the second place, morality is conduct. Ideals, ideas, wishes, +desires, all may lead to morality, but in so far as they are not +expressed in conduct, to that extent they do not come under the head of +morality. One may express the sublimest idea, may claim the highest +ideals, and be immoral. Conduct is the only test of morality, just as it +is the ultimate test of character. Not only is morality judged in terms +of conduct, but it is judged according as the conduct is consistent. +"Habits of conduct" make for morality or immorality. It is not the +isolated act of heroism that makes a man moral, or the single unsocial +act that makes a man immoral. The particular act may be moral or +immoral, and the person be just the reverse. It is the organization of +activity, it is the habits a man has that places him in one category or +the other. + +In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility. +It is "choice by the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for +social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can +perceive for another. The burden of choosing for the good of the group +rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church, +or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as +he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into +execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular +act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and +non-moral for still another. + +In the third place, morality is a matter of individual responsibility. +It is "choice be the individual," the "perceiving whatever makes for +social order and progress." No one can choose for another, no one can +perceive for another. The burden of Choosing for the good of the group +rests on the individual, it cannot be shifted to society or the Church, +or any other institution. Each individual is moral or not according as +he lives up to the light that he has, according as he carries into +execution principles that are for the good of his race. A particular +act, then, may be moral for one individual and immoral for another, and +non-moral for still another. + +To go off into the forest to die if one is diseased may be a moral act +for a savage in central Africa; but for a civilized man to do so would +probably be immoral because of his greater knowledge. To give liquor to +babies to quiet them may be a non-moral act on the part of ignorant +immigrants from Russia; but for a trained physician to do so would be +immoral. Morality, then, is a personal matter, and the responsibility +for it rests on the individual. + +Of course this makes possible the setting up of individual opinion as to +what is for the good of the group in opposition to tradition and custom. +This is, of course, dangerous if it is mere opinion or if it is carried +to an extreme. Few men have the gift of seeing what makes for social +well-being beyond that of the society of thoughtful people of their +time. And yet if a man has the insight, if his investigations point to a +greater good for the group from doing something which is different from +the standards held by his peers, then morality requires that he do his +utmost to bring about such changes. If it is borne in mind that every +man is the product of his age and that it is evolution, not revolution, +that is constructive, this essential of true morality will not seem so +dangerous. All the reformers the world has ever seen, all the pioneers +in social service, have been men who, living up to their individual +responsibility, have acted as they believed for society's best good in +ways that were not in accord with the beliefs of the majority of their +time. Shirking responsibility, not living up to what one believes is +right, is immoral just as truly as stealing from one's neighbor. + +The fourth essential in moral conduct is that it be for the social good. +It is the governing of impulses, the inhibition of desires that violate +the good of the group, and the choice of conduct that forwards its +interests. This does not mean that the group and the individual are set +over against each other, and the individual must give way. It means, +rather, that certain impulses, tendencies, motives, of the individual +are chosen instead of others; it means that the individual only becomes +his fullest self as he becomes a social being; it means that what is for +the good of the group in the long run is for the good of the units that +make up that group. Morality, then, is a relative term. What is of +highest moral value in one age may be immoral in another because of +change in social conditions. As society progresses, as different +elements come to the front because of the march of civilization, so the +acts that are detrimental to the good of the whole must change. To-day +slander and stealing a man's good name are quite as immoral as stealing +his property. Acts that injure the mental and spiritual development of +the group are even more immoral than those which interfere with the +physical well-being. + +A strong will is not necessarily indicative of a good character. A +strong will may be directed towards getting what gives pleasure to +oneself, irrespective of the effect on other people. It is the goal, the +purpose with which it is exercised, that makes a man with a strong will +a moral man or an immoral man. Only when one's will is used to put into +execution those principles that will bring about social progress is it +productive of a good character. + +Thus it is seen that morality can be discussed only in connection with +group activity. It is the individual as a part of a group, acting in +connection with it, that makes the situation a moral one. Individual +morality is discussed by some authors, but common opinion limits the +term to the use that has been discussed in the preceding paragraphs. + +If social well-being is taken in its broadest sense, then all moral +behavior is social, and all social behavior comes under one of the three +types of morality. Training for citizenship, for social efficiency, for +earning a livelihood, all have a moral aspect. It is only as the +individual is trained to live a complete life as one of a group that he +can be trained to be fully moral, and training for complete social +living must include training in morality. Hence for the remainder of +this discussion the two terms will be considered as synonymous. We hear +it sometimes said, "training in morals and manners," as if the two were +distinct, and yet a full, realization of what is for social betterment +along emotional and intellectual lines must include a realization of the +need of manners. Of course there are degrees of morality or immorality +according as the act influences society much or little--all crimes are +not equally odious, nor all virtues equally commendable, but any act +that touches the well-being of the group must come under this category. + +From the foregoing paragraph, the logical conclusion would be that there +is no instinct or inborn tendency that is primarily and distinctly moral +as over against those that are social. That is the commonly accepted +belief to-day. There is no moral instinct. Morality finds its root in +the original nature of man, but not in a single moral instinct. It is, +on the other hand, the outgrowth of a number of instincts all of which +have been listed under the head of the social instinct. Man has in his +original equipment tendencies that will make him a moral individual _if_ +they are developed, but they are complex, not simple. Some of these +social tendencies which are at the root of moral conduct are +gregariousness, desire for approval, dislike of scorn, kindliness, +attention to human beings, imitation, and others. Now, although man +possesses these tendencies as a matter of original equipment, he also +possesses tendencies which are opposed to these, tendencies which lead +to the advancement of self, rather than the well-being of the group. +Some of these are fighting, mastery, rivalry, jealousy, ownership. Which +of these sets of tendencies is developed and controls the life of the +individual is a matter of training and environment. In the last chapter +it was pointed out that morality was much more susceptible to +environmental influences than intellectual achievement, because it was +much more a direction and guidance of capacities and tendencies +possessed by every one. One's character is largely a product of one's +environment. In proof of this, read the reports of reform schools, and +the like. Children of criminal parents, removed from the environment of +crime, grow up into moral persons. The pair of Jukes who left the Juke +clan lost their criminal habits and brought up a family of children who +were not immoral. Education cannot produce geniuses, but it can produce +men and women whose chief concern is the well-being of the group. + +From a psychological point of view the "choice by the individual of +habits of conduct that are for the good of the group" involves three +considerations: First, the elements implied in such conduct; second, the +stages of development; third, the laws governing this development. +First, moral conduct involves the use of habits, but these must be +rational habits, so it involves the power to think and judge in order to +choose. But thinking that shall result in the choice of habits that are +for the well-being of the group must use knowledge. The individual must +have facts and standards at his disposal by means of which he may +evaluate the possible lines of action presented. Further, an individual +may know intellectually what is right and moral and yet not care. The +interest, the emotional appeal, may be lacking, hence he must have +ideals to which he has given his allegiance, which will force him to put +into practice what his knowledge tells him is right. And then, having +decided what is for the social good and having the desire to carry it +out, the moral man must be able to put it into execution. He must have +the "will power." Morality, then, is an extremely complex matter, +involving all the powers of the human being, intellectual, emotional, +and volitional--involving the coöperation of heredity and environment. +It is evident that conduct that is at so high a level, involving +experience, powers of judgment, and control, cannot be characteristic of +the immature individual, but must come after years of growth, if at all. +Therefore we find stages of development towards moral conduct. + +The first stage of development, which lasts up into the pre-adolescent +years, is the non-moral stage. The time when a child may conform +outwardly to moral law, but only as a result of blind habit--not as a +result of rational choice. It is then that the little child conforms to +his environment, reflecting the characters of the people by whom he is +surrounded. Right to him means what those about him approve and what +brings him satisfaction. If stealing and lying meet with approval from +the people about him, they are right to him. To steal and be caught is +wrong to the average child of the streets, because that brings +punishment and annoyance. He has no standards of judging other than the +example of others and his own satisfaction and annoyance. The non-moral +period, then, is characterized by the formation of habits--which +outwardly conform to moral law, or are contrary to it, according as his +environment directs. + +The need to form habits that do conform, that are for the social good, +is evident. By having many habits of this kind formed in early +childhood, truthfulness, consideration for others, respect for poverty, +promptness, regularity, taking responsibility, and so on, the dice are +weighted in favor of the continuation of such conduct when reason +controls. The child has then only to enlarge his view, build up his +principles in accord with conduct already in operation--he needs only to +rationalize what he already possesses. On the other hand, if during +early years his conduct violates moral law, he is in the grip of habits +of great strength which will result in two dangers. He may be blind to +the other side, he may not realize how his conduct violates the laws of +social progress; or, knowing, he may not care enough to put forth the +tremendous effort necessary to break these habits and build up the +opposite. From the standpoint of conduct this non-moral period is the +most important one in the life of the child. In it the twig is bent. To +urge that a child cannot understand and therefore should be excused for +all sorts of conduct simply evades the issue. He is forming habits--that +cannot be prevented; the question is, Are those habits in line with the +demands of social efficiency or are they in violation of it? + +But character depends primarily on deliberate choice. We dare not rely +on blind habit alone to carry us through the crises of social and +spiritual adjustment. There will arise the insistent question as to +whether the habitual presupposition is right. Occasions will occur when +several possible lines of conduct suggest themselves; what kind of +success will one choose, what kind of pleasure? Choice, personal choice, +will be forced upon the individual. This problem does not usually grow +acute until early adolescence, although it may along some lines present +itself earlier. When it appears will depend to a large extent on the +environment. For some people in some directions it never comes. It +should come gradually and spontaneously. This period is the period of +transition, when old habits are being scrutinized, when standards are +being formulated and personal responsibility is being realized, when +ideals are made vital and controlling. It may be a period of storm and +stress when the youth is in emotional unrest; when conduct is erratic +and not to be depended on; when there is reaction against authority of +all kinds. These characteristics are unfortunate and are usually the +result of unwise treatment during the first period. If, on the other +hand, the period of transition is prepared for during the preadolescent +years by giving knowledge, opportunities for self-direction and choice, +the change should come normally and quietly. The transition period +should be characterized by emphasis upon personal responsibility for +conduct, by the development of social ideals, and by the cementing of +theory and practice. This period is an ever recurring one. + +The transition period is followed by the period of true morality during +which the conduct chosen becomes habit. The habits characteristic of +this final period are different from the habits of the non-moral period, +in that they have their source in reason, whereas those of the early +period grew out of instincts. This is the period of most value, the +period of steady living in accordance with standards and ideals which +have been tested by reason and found to be right. The transition period +is wasteful and uncertain. True morality is the opposite. But so long as +growth in moral matters goes on there is a continuous change from +transition period to truly moral conduct and back again to a fresh +transition period and again a change to morality of a still higher +order. Each rationalized habit but paves the way for one still higher. +Morality, then, should be a continual evolution from level to level. +Only so is progress in the individual life maintained. + +Morality, then, requires the inhibition of some instincts and the +perpetuation of others, the formation of habits and ideals, the +development of the power to think and judge, the power to react to +certain abstractions such as ought, right, duty, and so on, the power to +carry into execution values accepted. The general laws of instinct, of +habit, the response by piecemeal association, the laws of attention and +appreciation, are active in securing these responses that we call moral, +just as they are operative in securing other responses that do not come +under this category. It is only as these general psychological laws are +carried out sufficiently that stable moral conduct is secured. Any +violation of these laws invalidates the result in the moral field just +as it would in any other. There is not one set of principles governing +moral conduct and another set governing all other types of conduct. The +same general laws govern both. This being true, there is no need of +discussing in detail the operation of laws controlling moral +conduct--that has all been covered in the previous chapters. However, +there are some suggestions which should be borne in mind in the +application of these laws to this field. + +First, it is a general principle that habits, to be fixed and stable, +must be followed by satisfactory results and that working along the +opposite line, that of having annoyance follow a lapse in the conduct, +is uneconomical and unreliable. This principle applies particularly to +moral habits. Truth telling, bravery, obedience, generosity, thought for +others, church going, and so on must be followed by positive +satisfaction, if they are to be part of the warp and woof of life. +Punishing falsehood, selfishness, cowardice, and so on is not enough, +for freedom from supervision will usually mean rejection of such forced +habits. A child must find that it pays to be generous; that he is +happier when he coöperates with others than when he does not. Positive +satisfaction should follow moral conduct. Of course this satisfaction +must vary in type with the age and development of the child, from +physical pleasure occasioned by an apple as a reward for self-control at +table to the satisfaction which the consciousness of duty well done +brings to the adolescent. + +Second, the part played by suggestion in bringing about moral habits and +ideals must be recognized. The human personalities surrounding the child +are his most influential teachers in this line. This influence of +personalities begins when the child is yet a baby. Reflex imitation +first, and later conscious imitation plus the feeling of dependence +which a little child has for the adults in his environment, results in +the child reflecting to a large extent the characters of those about +him. Good temper, stability, care for others, self-control, and many +other habits; respect for truth, for the opinion of others, and many +other ideals, are unconsciously absorbed by the child in his early +years. Example not precept, actions not words, are the controlling +forces in moral education. Hence the great importance of the characters +of a child's companions, friends, and teachers, to say nothing of his +parents. Next to personalities, theaters, moving pictures, and books, +all have great suggestive power. + +Third, there is always a danger that theory become divorced from +practice, and this is particularly true here because morality is +conduct. Knowing what is right is one thing, doing it is another, and +knowing does not result in doing unless definite connections are made +between the two. Instruction in morals may have but little effect on +conduct. It is only as the knowledge of what is right and good comes in +connection with social situations when there is the call for action that +true morality can be gained. Mere classroom instruction cannot insure +conduct. It is only as the family and the school become more truly +social institutions, where group activity such as one finds in life is +the dominant note, that we can hope to have morality and not ethics, +ideals and not passive appreciation, as a result of our teaching. + +Fourth, it is without question true that in so far as the habits fixed +are "school habits" or "Sunday habits," or any other special type of +habits, formed only in connection with special situations, to that +extent we have no reason to expect moral conduct in the broader life +situations. The habits formed are those that will be put into practice, +and they are the only ones we are sure of. Because a child is truthful +in school, prompt in attendance, polite to his teacher, and so on is no +warrant that he will be the same on the playground or on the street. +Because a child can think out a problem in history or mathematics is no +warrant that he will therefore think out moral problems. The only sure +way is to see to it that he forms many useful habits out of school as +well as in, that he has opportunity to think out moral problems as well +as problems in school subjects.[18] + +Fifth, individual differences must not be forgotten in moral training. +Individual differences in suggestibility will influence the use of this +factor in habit formation. Individual differences in power of +appreciation will influence the formation of ideals. Differences in +interest in books will result in differing degrees of knowledge. +Differences in maturity will mean that certain children in a class are +ready for facts concerning sex, labor and capital, crime, and so on, +long before other children in the same class should have such knowledge. +Differences in thinking power will determine efficiency in moral +situations just as in others. + +The more carefully we consider the problem of moral social conduct, the +more apparent it becomes that the work of the school can be modified so +as to produce more significant results than are commonly now secured. +Indeed, it may be contended that in some respects the activities of the +school operate to develop an attitude which is largely individualistic, +competitive, and, if not anti-social, at least non-social. Although we +may not expect that the habits and attitudes which are developed in the +school will entirely determine the life led outside, yet one may not +forget that a large part of the life of children is spent under school +supervision. As children work in an atmosphere of coöperation, and as +they form habits of helpfulness and openmindedness, we may expect that +in some degree these types of activity will persist, especially in their +association with each other. In a school which is organized to bring +about the right sort of moral social conduct we ought to expect that +children would grow in their power to accept responsibility for each +other. The writer knows of a fourth grade in which during the past year +a boy was absent from the room after recess. The teacher, instead of +sending the janitor, or she herself going to find the boy, asked the +class what they were going to do about it, and suggested to them their +responsibility for maintaining the good name which they had always borne +as a group. Two of the more mature boys volunteered to go and find the +boy who was absent. When they brought him into the room a little while +later, they remarked to the teacher in a most matter-of-fact way, "We do +not think that he will stay out after recess again." In the corridor of +an elementary school the writer saw during the past year two boys +sitting on a table before school hours in the morning. The one was +teaching the multiplication tables to the other. They were both +sixth-grade pupils,--the one a boy who had for some reason or other +never quite thoroughly learned his tables. The teacher had suggested +that somebody might help him, and a boy had volunteered to come early to +school in order that he might teach the boy who was backward. A great +many teachers have discovered that the strongest motive which they can +find for good work in the field of English is to be found in providing +an audience, both for the reading or story-telling, and for the English +composition. The idea which prevails is that if one is to read, he ought +to read well enough to entertain others. If one has enjoyed a story, he +may, if he prepares himself sufficiently well, tell it to the class or +to some other group. + +Much more emphasis on the undertakings in the attempt to have children +accept responsibility, and to engage in a type of activity which has a +definite moral social value, is to be found in the schools in which +children are responsible for the morning exercises, or for publishing a +school paper, or for preparing a school festival. One of the most +notable achievements in this type of activity which the writer has ever +known occurred in a school in which a group of seventh-grade children +were thought to be particularly incompetent. The teachers had almost +despaired of having them show normal development, either intellectually +or socially. After a conference of all of the teachers who knew the +members of this group, it was decided to allow them to prepare a +patriot's day festival. The idea among those teachers who had failed +with this group was that if the children had a large responsibility, +they would show a correspondingly significant development. The children +responded to the motive which was provided, became earnest students of +history in order that they might find a dramatic situation, and worked +at their composition when they came to write their play, some of them +exercising a critical as well as a creative faculty which no one had +known that they possessed. But possibly the best thing about the whole +situation was that every member of the class found something to do in +their coöperative enterprise. Some members of the class were engaged in +building and in decorating the stage scenery; others were responsible +for costumes; those who were strong in music devoted themselves to this +field. The search for a proper dramatic situation in history and the +writing of the play have already been suggested. The staging of the play +and its presentation to a large group of parents and other interested +patrons of the school required still further specialization and ability. +Out of it all came a realization of the possibility of accomplishing +great things when all worked together for the success of a common +enterprise. When the festival day came, the most common statement heard +in the room on the part of the parents and others interested in the work +of the children was expressed by one who said: "This is the most +wonderful group of seventh-grade children that I have ever seen. They +are as capable as most high school boys and girls." It is to be recalled +that this was the group in whom the teachers originally had little +faith, and who had sometimes been called in their school a group of +misfits. + +Some schools have found, especially in the upper grades, an opportunity +for a type of social activity which is entirely comparable with the +demand made upon the older members of our communities. This work for +social improvement or betterment is carried on frequently in connection +with a course in civics. In some schools there is organized what is +known as the junior police. This organization has been in some cases +coordinated with the police department. The boys who belong pledge +themselves to maintain, in so far as they are able, proper conditions on +the streets with respect to play, to abstain from the illegal use of +tobacco or other narcotics, and to be responsible for the correct +handling of garbage, especially to see that paper, ashes, and other +refuse are placed in separate receptacles, and that these receptacles +are removed from the street promptly after they are emptied by the +department concerned. In one city with which the writer is acquainted, +the children in the upper grades, according to the common testimony of +the citizens of their community, have been responsible for the cleaning +up of the street cars. In other cities they have become interested, and +have interested their parents, in the question of milk and water supply. +In some cases they have studied many different departments of the city +government, and have, in so far as it was possible, lent their +coöperation. In one case a group of children became very much excited +concerning a dead horse that was allowed to remain on a street near the +school, and they learned before they were through just whose +responsibility it was, and how to secure the action that should have +been taken earlier. + +Still another type of activity which may have significance for the moral +social development of children is found in the study of the life +activities in the communities in which they live. There is no reason why +children, especially in the upper grades or in the high school, should +not think about working conditions, especially as they involve +sweat-shops or work under unsanitary conditions. They may very properly +become interested in the problems of relief, and of the measures taken +to eliminate crime. Indeed, from the standpoint of the development of +socially efficient children, it would seem to be more important that +some elementary treatment of industrial and social conditions might be +found to be more important in the upper grades and in the high school +than any single subject which we now teach. + +Another attempt to develop a reasonable attitude concerning moral +situations is found in the schools which have organized pupils for the +participation in school government. There is no particular value to be +attached to any such form of organization. It may be true that there is +considerable advantage in dramatizing the form of government in which +the children live, and for that purpose policemen, councilmen or +aldermen, mayors, and other officials, together with their election, may +help in the understanding of the social obligations which they will have +to meet later on. But the main thing is to have these children come to +accept responsibility for each other, and to seek to make the school a +place where each respects the rights of others and where every one is +working together for the common good. In this connection it is important +to suggest that schemes of self-government have succeeded only where +there has been a leader in the position of principal or other +supervisory officer concerned. Children's judgments are apt to be too +severe when they are allowed to discipline members of their group. There +will always be need, whatever attempt we may make to have them accept +responsibility, for the guidance and direction of the more mature mind. + +We seek in all of these activities, as has already been suggested, to +have children come to take, in so far as they are able, the rational +attitude toward the problems of conduct which they have to face. It is +important for teachers to realize the fallacy of making a set of rules +by which all children are to be controlled. It is only with respect to +those types of activity in which the response, in order to further the +good of the group, must be invariable that we should expect to have +pupils become automatic. It is important in the case of a fire drill, or +in the passing of materials, and the like, that the response, although +it does involve social obligation, should be reduced to the level of +mechanized routine. Most school situations involve, or may involve, +judgment, and it is only as pupils grow in power of self-control and in +their willingness to think through a situation before acting, that we +may expect significant moral development. In the case of offenses which +seem to demand punishment, that teacher is wise who is able to place +responsibility with the pupil who has offended. The question ought to be +common, "What can I do to help you?" The question which the teacher +should ask herself is not, "What can I do to punish the pupil?" but +rather, "How can I have him realize the significance of his action and +place upon him the responsibility of reinstating himself with the social +group?" The high school principal who solved the problem of a teacher +who said that she would not teach unless a particular pupil were removed +from her class, and of the pupil who said that she would not stay in +school if she had to go to that teacher, by telling them both to take +time to think it through and decide how they would reconcile their +differences, is a case in point. What we need is not the punishment +which follows rapidly upon our feeling of resentment, but rather the +wisdom of waiting and accepting the mistake or offense of the pupil as +an opportunity for careful consideration upon his part and as a possible +means of growth for him. + +There has been considerable discussion during recent years concerning +the obligation of the school to teach children concerning matters of +sex. Traditionally, our policy has been one of almost entire neglect. +The consequence has been, on the whole, the acquisition upon the part of +boys and girls of a large body of misinformation, which has for the most +part been vicious. It is not probable that we can ever expect most +teachers to have the training necessary to give adequate instruction in +this field. For children in the upper grades, during the preadolescent +period especially, some such instruction given by the men and women +trained in biology, or possibly by men and women doctors who have made a +specialty of this field, promises a large contribution to the +development of the right attitudes with respect to the sex life and the +elimination of much of the immorality which has been due to ignorance or +to the vicious misinformation which has commonly been spread among +children. The policy of secrecy and ignorance cannot well be maintained +if we accept the idea of responsibility and the exercise of judgment as +the basis of moral social activity. In no other field are the results of +a lack of training or a lack of morality more certain to be disastrous +both for the individual and for the social group. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. How satisfactory is the morality of the man who claims that he does +no wrong? + +2. How is it possible for a child to be unmoral and not immoral? + +3. Are children who observe school rules and regulations necessarily +growing in morality? + +4. Why is it important, from the standpoint of growth in morality, to +have children form socially desirable habits, even though we may not +speak of this kind of activity as moral conduct? + +5. What constitutes growth in morality for the adult? + +6. In what sense is it possible for the same act to be immoral, unmoral, +and moral for individuals living under differing circumstances and in +different social groups? Give an example. + +7. Why have moral reformers sometimes been considered immoral by their +associates? + +8. What is the moral significance of earning a living? Of being prompt? +Of being courteous? + +9. What are the instincts upon which we may hope to build in moral +training? What instinctive basis is there for immoral conduct? + +10. To what extent is intellectual activity involved in moral conduct? +What is the significance of one's emotional response? + +11. What stages of development are distinguishable in the moral +development of children? Is it possible to classify children as +belonging to one stage or the other by their ages? + +12. Why is it true that one's character depends upon the deliberate +choices which he makes among several possible modes or types of action? + +13. Why is it important to have positive satisfaction follow moral +conduct? + +14. How may the conduct of parents and teachers influence conduct of +children? + +15. What is the weakness of direct moral instruction, e.g. the telling +of stories of truthfulness, the teaching of moral precepts, and the +like? + +16. What opportunities can you provide in your class for moral social +conduct? + +17. Children will do what is right because of their desire to please, +their respect for authority, their fear of unpleasant consequences, +their careful, thoughtful analysis of the situation and choice of that +form of action which they consider right. Arrange these motives in order +of their desirability. Would you be satisfied to utilize the motive +which brings results most quickly and most surely? + +18. In what sense is it true that lapses from moral conduct are the +teacher's best opportunity for moral teaching? + +19. How may children contribute to the social welfare of the school +community? Of the larger social group outside of the school? + +20. How may pupil participation in school government be made significant +in the development of social moral conduct? + + * * * * * + + + + +XII. TRANSFER OF TRAINING + + +Formal discipline or transfer of training concerns itself with the +question as to how far training in one subject, along one line, +influences other lines. How far, for instance, training in reasoning in +mathematics helps a child to reason in history, in morals, in household +administration; how far memorizing gems of poetry or dates in history +aids memory when it is applied to learning stenography or botany; how +far giving attention to the gymnasium will insure attention to sermons +and one's social engagements. The question is, How far does the special +training one gets in home and school fit him to react to the environment +of life with its new and complex situations? Put in another way, the +question is what effect upon other bonds does forming this particular +situation response series of bonds have. The practical import of the +question and its answer is tremendous. Most of our present school +system, both in subject matter and method, is built upon the assumption +that one answer is correct--if it is false, much work remains to be done +by the present-day education. + +The point of view which was held until recent years is best made clear +by a series of quotations. + + "Since the mind is a unit and the faculties are simply phases + or manifestations of its activity, whatever strengthens one + faculty indirectly strengthens all the others. The _verbal_ + memory seems to be an exception to this statement, however, + for it may be abnormally cultivated without involving to any + profitable extent the other faculties. But only things that + are rightly perceived and rightly understood can be _rightly_ + remembered. Hence whatever develops the acquisitive and + assimilative powers will also strengthen memory; and, + conversely, rightly strengthening the memory necessitates the + developing and training of the other powers." (R.N. Roark, + Method in Education, p. 27.) + + "It is as a means of training the faculties of perception and + generalization that the study of such a language as Latin in + comparison with English is so valuable." (C.L. Morgan, + Psychology for Teachers, p. 186.) + + "Arithmetic, if judiciously taught, forms in the pupil habits + of mental attention, argumentative sequence, absolute + accuracy, and satisfaction in truth as a result, that do not + seem to spring equally from the study of any other subject + suitable to this elementary stage of instruction." (Joseph + Payne, Lectures on Education, Vol. I, p. 260.) + + "By means of experimental and observational work in science, + not only will his attention be excited, the power of + observation, previously awakened, much strengthened, and the + senses exercised and disciplined, but the very important habit + of doing homage to the authority of facts rather than to the + authority of men, be initiated." (_Ibid_., p. 261.) + +The view maintained by these writers is that the mind is made up of +certain elemental powers such as attention, reasoning, observation, +imagination, and the like, each of which acts as a unit. Training any +one of these powers means simply its exercise irrespective of the +material used. The facility gained through this exercise may then be +transferred to other subjects or situations, which are quite different. +The present point of view with regard to this question is very +different, as is shown by the following quotations: + + "We may conclude, then, that there is something which may be + called formal discipline, and that it may be more or less + general in character. It consists in the establishment of + habitual reactions that correspond to the form of situations. + These reactions foster adjustments, attitudes, and ideas that + favor the successful dealing with the emergencies that arouse + them. On the other hand, both the form that we can learn to + deal with more effectively, and the reactions that we + associate with it, are definite. There is no general training + of the powers or faculties, so far as we can determine." + (Henderson, 10, p. 307 f.) + + "One mental function or activity improves others in so far as + and because they are in part identical with it, because it + contains elements common to them. Addition improves + multiplication because multiplication is largely addition; + knowledge of Latin gives increased ability to learn French + because many of the facts learned in the one case are needed + in the other. The study of geometry may lead a pupil to be + more logical in all respects, for one element of being logical + in all respects is to realize that facts can be absolutely + proven and to admire and desire this certain and + unquestionable sort of demonstration...." (Thorndike, '06, pp. + 243-245, _passim_.) + + "Mental discipline is the most important thing in education, + but it is specific, not general. The ability developed by + means of one subject can be transferred to another subject + only in so far as the latter has elements in common with the + former. Abilities should be developed in school only by means + of those elements of subject-matter and of method that are + common to the most valuable phases of the outside environment. + In the high school there should also be an effort to work out + general concepts of method from the specific methods used." + (Heck, '09, Edition of '11, p. 198.) + + "... No study should have a place in the curriculum for which + this general disciplinary characteristic is the chief + recommendation. Such advantage can probably be gotten in some + degree from every study, and the intrinsic values of each + study afford at present a far safer criterion of educational + work than any which we can derive from the theory of formal + discipline." (Angell, '08, p. 14.) + +These writers also believe in transfer of training, but they believe the +transfer to be never complete, to be in general a very small percentage +of the special improvement gained and at times to be negative and to +interfere with responses in other fields instead of being a help. They +also emphasize the belief that when the transfer does occur, it is for +some perfectly valid reason and under certain very definite conditions. +They reject utterly the machine-like idea of the mind and its elemental +faculties held by the writers first quoted. They hold the view of mental +activity which has been emphasized in the discussion of original +tendencies and inheritance from near ancestry, _i.e._, that the physical +correlate of all types of mental activity is a definite forming of +connections between particular bonds-these connections, of course, +according to the laws of readiness exercise, and effect, would be +determined by the situation acting as a stimulus and would, therefore, +vary as the total situation varied. They believe in a highly specialized +human brain, which reacts in small groups of nerve tracts--not in gross +wholes. They would express each of the "elemental" powers in the plural +and not in the singular. + +The basis of this change of view within the last fifteen or twenty years +is to be found in experimental work. The question has definitely been +put to the test as to how far training in one line did influence others. +For a full description of the various types of experiments performed the +reader is referred to Thorndike's "Psychology of Learning," Chapter 12. +Only an indication of the type of work done and the general character of +the results can be given here. Experiments in the effect of cross +education, in memorizing, in observing and judging sensory and +perceptual data, and in forming sensori-motor association habits have +been conducted in considerable numbers. A few experiments in special +school functions have also been carried out. Investigations in the +correlation between various parts of the same subject and between +different subjects supposed to be closely allied also throw light upon +this subject. The results from these different lines of experiment, +although confusing and sometimes contradictory, seem to warrant the +belief stated above. They have made it very clear that the question of +transfer is not a simple one, but, on the contrary, that it is extremely +complex. They make plain that in some cases where large transfer was +confidently expected, that little resulted, while, on the other hand, in +some cases when little was expected, much more occurred. It is evident +that the old idea of a large transfer in some subtle and unexplained way +of special improvements to a general faculty is false. But, on the other +hand, it would be equally false to say that no transfer occurred. The +general principle seems to be that transfer occurs when the same bonds +are used in the second situation to the extent that the alteration in +these particular connections affects the second response. Both the +knowledge of what bonds are used in various responses and to what extent +alteration in them will affect different total responses is lacking. +Therefore, all that is at present possible is a statement of conditions +under which transfer is probable. + +In general, then, transfer of training will occur to the extent that the +two responses use the same bonds--to the extent, then, that there is +identity of some sort. This identity which makes transfer possible may +be of all degrees of generality and of several different types. First, +there may be identity of content. For instance, forming useful +connections with six, island, and, red, habit, Africa, square root, +triangle, gender, percentage, and so on, in this or that particular +context should be of use in other contexts and therefore allow of +transfer of training. The more common the particular responses are to +all sorts of life situations, the greater the possibility of transfer. +Second, the identity may be that of method or procedure. To be able to +add, to carry, to know the method of classifying an unknown flower, to +have a definite method of meeting a new situation in hand-work, to know +how to use source material in history, to have gained the technique of +laboratory skill in chemistry, to know how to study in geography, should +be useful in other departments where the same method would serve. Some +of these methods are, of course, of much more general service than +others. In establishing skill in the use of these various procedures, +two types of responses are needed. The learner must form connections of +a positive nature, such as analyzing, collecting material, criticizing +according to standard, picking out the essential and so on, and he must +also form connections of a negative character which will cause him to +neglect certain tendencies. He must learn not to accept the first idea +offered, to neglect suggestions, to hurry or to leave half finished, to +ignore interruptions, to prevent personal bias to influence criticism, +and so on. These connections which result in neglecting certain elements +are quite as important as the positive element, both in the production +of the particular procedure and in the transfer to other fields. Third, +the identity may be of still more general character and be in terms of +attitude or ideal. To learn to be thorough in connection with history, +accurate in handwork, open-minded in science, persistent in Latin, +critical in geometry, thorough in class and school activities; to form +habits of allegiance to ideals of truth, coöperation, fair play, +tolerance, courage, and so on, _may_ help the learner to exhibit these +same attitudes in other situations in life. Here again the connections +of neglect are important. To neglect selfish suggestions, to ignore the +escape from consequences that falsehood might make possible, to be dead +to fear, to ignore bodily aches and pains, are quite as necessary in +producing conduct that is generous, truthful, and courageous as are the +positive connections made in building up the ideal. + +In the discussion of transfer because of identity, it was emphasised +that the presence of identity of various types explained cases of +transfer that exist and made transfer possible. In no case must it be +understood, however, that the presence of these identical elements is a +warrant of transfer. Transfer _may_ take place under such conditions, +but it need not do so. Transfer is most sure to occur in cases of +identity of substance and least likely in cases of identity of attitude +or ideals. To have useful responses to six, above, city, quart, and so +on, in one situation will very likely mean responses of a useful nature +in almost all situations which have such elements present. It is very +different with the ideals. A child may be very accurate in handwork, and +yet almost nothing of it show elsewhere; he may be truthful to his +teacher and lie to his parents; he may be generous to his classmates and +the reverse to his brothers and sisters. Persistence in Latin may not +influence his work in the shop, and the critical attitude of geometry be +lacking in his science. Transfer in methods holds a middle ground. It +seems that the more complex and the more subtle the connections +involved, the less is the amount and the surety of the transfer. + +In order to increase the probability of transfer when connections of +method or attitudes are being formed, first, it should be made +conscious, and second, it should be put into practice in several types +of situations. There is grave danger that the method will not be +differentiated from the subject, the ideal from the context of the +situation. To many children learning how to study in connection with +history, or to be critical in geometry, or to be scientific in the +laboratory, has never been separated from the particular situation. The +method or the ideal and the situation in which they have been acquired +are one--one response. The general elements of method or attitude have +never been made conscious, they are submerged in the particular subject +or situation, and therefore the probability of transfer is lessened. If, +on the other hand, the question of method, as an idea by itself, apart +from any particular subject, is brought to the child's attention; if +truth as an ideal, independent of context, is made conscious, it is much +more likely to be reacted to in a different situation, for it has become +a free idea and therefore crystallized. Then having freed the general +somewhat from its particular setting, the learner should be given +opportunity to put it in practice in other settings. To simply form the +method connections or the attitude responses in Latin and then blindly +trust that they will be of general use is unsafe. It is the business of +the educator to make as sure as he can of the transfer, and that can +only be done by practicing in several fields. These two procedures which +make transfer more sure, i.e., making the element conscious and giving +practice in several fields, are not sharply divided, but interact. +Practice makes the idea clearer and freer, and this in turn makes fresh +practice profitable. It is simply the application of the law of analysis +by varying concomitants. + +In all this matter of transfer it must be borne in mind that a very +slight amount of transfer of some of these more general responses may be +of tremendous value educationally, provided it is over a very wide +field. If a boy's study of high school science made him at all more +scientific in his attitude towards such life situations as politics, +morals, city sanitation, and the like, it would be of much more value +than the particular habit formed. If a girl's work in home economics +resulted in but a slight transfer of vital interest to the actual +problems of home-making, it would mean much to the homes of America. If +a boy's training in connection with the athletics of his school fosters +in him an ideal of fair play which influences him at all in his dealings +with men in business, with his family, with himself, the training would +have been worth while. To discount training simply because the transfer +is slight is manifestly unfair. The kind of responses which transfer are +quite as important as the amount of the transfer. + +The idea that every subject will furnish the same amount of discipline +provided they are equally well taught is evidently false. Every school +subject must now be weighed from two points of view,--first, as to the +worth of the particular facts, responses, habits, which it forms, and +second, as to the opportunity it offers for the formation of connections +which are of general application. The training which educators are sure +of is the particular training offered by the subject; the general +training is more problematic. Hence no subject should be retained in our +present curriculum whose only value is a claim to disciplinary training. +Such general training as the subject affords could probably be gained +from some other subject whose content is also valuable. Just because a +subject is difficult, or is distasteful, is no sign that its pursuit +will result in disciplinary training. In fact, the psychology of play +and drudgery make it apparent that the presence of annoyance, of +distaste, will lessen the disciplinary value. Only those subjects and +activities which are characterized by the play spirit can offer true +educational development. The more the play spirit enters in, the greater +the possibility of securing not only special training, but general +discipline as well. Thorndike sums up the present attitude towards +special subjects by saying, "An impartial inventory of the facts in the +ordinary pupil of ten to eighteen would find the general training from +English composition greater than that from formal logic, the training +from physics and chemistry greater than that from geometry, and the +training from a year's study of the laws and institutions of the Romans +greater than that from equal study of their language. The grammatical +studies which have been considered the chief depositories of +disciplinary magic would be found in general inferior to scientific +treatments of human nature as a whole. The superiority for discipline of +pure overapplied science would be referred in large measure to the fact +that pure science could be so widely applied. The disciplinary value of +geometry would appear to be due, not to the simplicity of its +conditions, but to the rigor of its proofs; the greatest disciplinary +value of Latin would appear in the case, not of those who disliked it +and found it hard, but of those to whom it was a charming game." + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. It has been experimentally determined that the ease with which one +memorizes one set of facts may be very greatly improved without a +corresponding improvement in ability to memorize in some other field. +How would you use this fact to refute the argument that we possess a +general faculty of memory? + +2. How is it possible for a man to reason accurately in the field of +engineering and yet make very grave mistakes in his reasoning about +government or education? + +3. What assurance have we that skill or capacity for successful work +developed in one situation will be transferred to another situation +involving the same mental processes of habit formation, reasoning, +imagination, and the like? + +4. What are the different types of identity which make possible transfer +of training? + +5. How can we make the identity of methods of work most significant for +transfer of training and for the education of the individual? + +6. Why do ideals which seem to control in one situation fail to affect +other activities in which the same ideal is called for? + +7. Under what conditions may a very slight amount of transfer of +training become of the very greatest importance for education? + +8. Why may we not hope for the largest results in training by compelling +children to study that which is distasteful? Do children (or adults) +work hardest when they are forced to attend to that from which they +derive little or no satisfaction? + +9. Which student gets the most significant training from his algebra, +the boy who enjoys work in this field or the boy who worries through it +because algebra is required for graduation from the high school? + +10. Why may we hope to secure more significant training in junior high +schools which offer a great variety of courses than was accomplished by +the seventh and eighth grades in which all pupils were compelled to +study the same subjects? + +11. Why is Latin a good subject from the standpoint of training for one +student and a very poor subject with which to seek to educate another +student? + + * * * * * + + + + +XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES + + +The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly +involve a single type of mental activity. It is true, however, that +certain lessons tend to involve one type of activity predominantly. +There are lessons which seek primarily to fix habits, others in which +thinking of the inductive type is primarily involved, and still others +in which deductive thinking or appreciation are the ends sought. As has +already been indicated in the discussion of habit, thinking, and +appreciation in the previous chapters, these types of mental activity +are not to be thought of as separate and distinct. Habit formation may +involve thinking. In a lesson predominantly inductive or deductive, some +element of drill may enter, or appreciation may be sought with respect +to some particular part of the situation presented. These different +kinds of exercises, drills, thinking (inductive or deductive), and +appreciation are fairly distinct psychological types. + +In addition to the psychological types of exercises mentioned above, +exercises are conducted in the classroom which may be designated under +the following heads: lecturing, the recitation lesson, examination and +review lessons. In any one of these the mental process involved may be +any of those mentioned above as belonging to the purely psychological +types of lessons or a combination of any two or more of them. It has +seemed worth while to treat briefly of both sorts of lesson types, and +to discuss at some length, lecturing, about which there is considerable +disagreement, and the additional topic of questioning, which is the +means employed in all of these different types of classroom exercises. + +_The Inductive Lesson_. It has been common in the discussion of the +inductive development lesson to classify the stages through which one +passes from his recognition of a problem to his conclusion in five +steps. These divisions have commonly been spoken of as (1) preparation; +(2) presentation; (3)comparison and abstraction; (4) generalization; and +(5) application. It has even been suggested that all lessons should +conform to this order of procedure. From the discussions in the previous +chapters, the reader will understand that such a formal method of +procedure would not conform to what we know about mental activity and +its normal exercise and development. There is some advantage, however, +in thinking of the general order of procedure in the inductive lesson as +outlined by these steps. + +The step of preparation has to do with making clear to the pupil the aim +or purpose of the problem with which he is to deal. It is not always +possible in the classroom to have children at work upon just such +problems as may occur to them. The orderly development of a subject to +be taught requires that the teacher discover to children problems or +purposes which may result in thinking. The skill of the teacher depends +upon his knowledge of the previous experiences of the children in the +class and his skill in having them word the problem which remains +unsolved in their experience in such a way as to make it attractive to +them. Indeed, it may be said that children never have a worthy aim +unless it is one which is intellectually stimulating. A problem exists +only when we desire to find the answer. + +The term "presentation" suggests a method of procedure which we would +not want to follow too frequently; that is, we may hope not simply to +present facts for acceptance or rejection, but, rather, we want children +to search for the data which they may need in solving their problem. +From the very beginning of their school career children need, in the +light of a problem stated, to learn to utilize all of the possible +sources of information available. Their own experience, the questions +which they may put to other people, observations which they may +undertake with considerable care, books or other sources of information +which they may consult, all are to be thought of as tools to be used or +sources of information available for the solution of problems. It cannot +be too often reiterated that it is not simply getting facts, reading +books, performing experiments, which is significant, but, rather, which +of these operations is conducted in the light of a problem clearly +conceived by children. + +The step of presentation, as above described, is not one that may be +begun and completed before other parts of the inductive lesson are +carried on. As soon as any facts are available they are either accepted +or rejected, as they may help in the solution of the problem; +comparisons are instituted, the essential elements of likeness are +noticed, and even a partial solution of the problem may be suggested in +terms of a new generalization. The student may then begin to gather +further facts, to pass through further steps of comparison, and to make +still further modifications of his generalization as he proceeds in his +work. At any stage of the process the student may stop to apply or test +the validity of a generalization which has been formed. It is even true +that the statement of the problem with which one starts may be modified +in the light of new facts found, or new analyses instituted, or new +elements of likeness which have been discovered. + +In the conduct of an inductive lesson it is of primary importance that +the teacher discover to children problems, the solutions of which are +important for them, that he guide them in so far as it is possible for +them to find all of the facts necessary in their search for data, that +he encourage them to discuss with each other, even to the extent of +disagreeing, with respect to comparisons which are instituted or +generalizations which are premature, and above all, that he develop, in +so far as it is possible, the habit of verifying conclusions. + +_The Deductive Lesson._ The interdependence of induction and deduction +has been discussed in the chapter devoted to thinking. The procedure in +a deductive lesson is from a clear recognition of the problem involved, +through the analysis of the situation and abstraction of the essential +elements, to a search for the laws or principles in which to classify +the particular element or individual with which we are dealing, to a +careful comparison of this particular with the general that we have +found, to our conclusion, which is established by a process of +verification. Briefly stated, the normal order of procedure might be +indicated as follows: (1) finding the problem; (2) finding the +generalization or principles; (3) inference; (4) verification. It is +important in this type of exercise, as has been indicated in the +discussion of the inductive lesson, that the problem be made clear. So +long as children indulge in random guesses as to the process which is +involved in the solution of a problem in arithmetic, or the principle +which is to be invoked in science, or the rule which is to be called to +mind in explaining a grammatical construction, we may take it for +granted that they have no very clear conception of the process through +which they must pass, nor of the issues which are involved. In the +search for the generalization or principle which will explain the +problem, a process of acceptance and rejection is involved. It helps +children to state definitely, with respect to a problem in arithmetic, +that they know that this particular principle is not the one which they +need. It is often by a process of elimination that a child can best +explain a grammatical construction, either in English or in a foreign +language. Of course the elimination of the principle or law which is not +the right one means simply that we are reducing the number of chances of +making a mistake. If out of four possibilities we can immediately +eliminate two of them, there are only two left to be considered. After +children have discovered the generalization or principle involved, it is +well to have them state definitely the inference which they make. Just +as in the inductive process we pass almost immediately from the step of +comparison and abstraction to the statement of generalization, so in the +deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case under +consideration to the principle which explains it, we are ready to state +our inference. Verification involves the trying out of our inference to +see that it certainly will hold. This may be done by proposing some +other inference which we find to be invalid, or by seeking to find any +other law or principle which will explain our particular situation. Here +again, as in the inductive lesson, the skillful teacher makes his +greatest contribution by having children become increasingly careful in +this step of verification. Almost any one can pass through the several +stages involved in deductive thinking and arrive at a wrong conclusion. +That which distinguishes the careful thinker from the careless student +is the sincerity of the former in his unwillingness to accept his +conclusions until they are verified. + +_The Drill Lesson._ The drill lesson is so clearly a matter of fixing +habits that little needs to be added to the chapter dealing with this +subject. If one were to attempt to give in order the steps of the +process involved, they might be stated as follows: (1) establishing a +motive for forming the habit; (2) knowing exactly what we wish to do, or +the habit or skill to be acquired; (3) recognition of the importance of +the focusing of attention during the period devoted to repetitions; (4) +variation in practice in order to lessen fatigue and to help to fix +attention; (5) a recognition of the danger of making mistakes, with +consequent provision against lapses; (6) the principle of review, which +may be stated best by suggesting that the period between practice +exercises may only gradually be lengthened. + +Possibly the greatest deficiency in drill work, as commonly conducted, +is found in the tendency upon the part of some teachers to depend upon +repetition involving many mistakes. This is due quite frequently to the +assignment of too much to be accomplished. Twenty-five words in +spelling, a whole multiplication table, a complete conjugation in Latin, +all suggest the danger of mistakes which will be difficult to eliminate +later on. The wise teacher is the one who provides very carefully +against mistakes upon the part of pupils. He assigns a minimum number of +words, or a number of combinations, or a part of a conjugation, and +takes care to discover that children are sure of themselves before +indulging in that practice which is to fix the habit. + +In much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of +gaining in speed. In this field successful teachers have discovered that +much is gained by more or less artificial stimuli which seem to be +altogether outside of the work required to form a habit. In drill on +column addition successful work is done by placing the problem on the +board and following through the combinations by pointing the pointer and +making a tap on the board as one proceeds through the column. Concert +work of this sort seems to have the effect of speeding up those who +would ordinarily lag, even though they might get the right result. The +most skillful teachers of typewriting count or clap their hands or use +the phonograph for the sake of speeding up their students. They have +discovered that the same amount of time devoted to typewriting practice +will produce anywhere from twenty-five to one hundred per cent more +speed under such artificial stimulation as they were in the habit of +getting merely by asking the students to practice. These experiences, of +course, suggest that drill work will require an expenditure of energy +and an alertness upon the part of teachers, and not merely an assignment +of work to be done by pupils. + +_Appreciation Lesson._ The work which the teacher does in securing +appreciation has been suggested in a previous chapter. It will suffice +here briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure +in securing appreciation. It is not as easy in this case to state the +development in terms of particular steps or processes, since, as has +already been indicated in the chapter on appreciation, the student is +passive rather than active, is contemplating and enjoying, rather than +attacking and working to secure a particular result. The work of the +teacher may, however, be organized around the following heads: (1) it is +of primary importance that the teacher bring to the class an enthusiasm +and joy for the picture, music, poetry, person, or achievement which he +wishes to present; (2) children must not be forced to accept nor even +encouraged to repeat the evaluation determined by teachers; (3) +spontaneous and sincere response upon the part of children should be +accepted, even though it may not conform to the teacher's estimate; (4) +children should be encouraged to choose from among many of the forms or +situations presented for their approval those which they like best; (5) +the technique involved in the creation of the artistic form should be +subordinated to enjoyment in the field of the fine arts; (6) throughout, +the play spirit should be predominant, for if the element of drudgery +enters, appreciation disappears. + +Teachers who get good results in appreciation secure them mainly by +virtue of the fact that they have large capacity for enjoyment in the +fields which they present to children. A teacher who is enthusiastic, +and who really finds great joy in music, will awaken and develop power +of appreciation upon the part of his pupils. The teacher who can enter +into the spirit of the child poetry, or of the fairy tale, will get a +type of appreciation not enjoyed by the teacher who finds delight only +in adult literature. It is of the utmost importance to recognize the +fact that children only gradually grow from an appreciation or joy in +that which is crude to that which represents the highest type of +artistic production. It is important to have children try themselves out +in creative work; but the influence of a teacher may be far greater than +that of the attempts of the children to produce in these fields. + +_Lecturing_. Among the various types of methods used in teaching there +is probably no one which has received such severe criticism as the +so-called lecture method. The result of this criticism has been, +theoretically at least, to abolish lecturing from the elementary school +and to diminish the use of this method in the high school, although in +the colleges and universities it is still the most popular method. +Although it is true that the lecture method is not the best one for +continual use in elementary and high school, still its entire disuse is +unfortunate. So is its blind use by those who still adhere to the old +ways of doing things. + +The chief criticisms of the method are, first, that it makes of the +learner a mere recipient instead of a thinker; second, that the material +so gained does not become part of the mental life of the hearers and so +is not so well remembered nor so easily applied as material gained in +other ways; third, that the instructor has no means of determining +whether his class is getting the right ideas or wholly false ones; +fourth, the method lacks interest in the majority of cases. Despite the +truth of these criticisms, there are occasions when the lecture or +telling method is the best one--in fact the only one that can accomplish +the desired result. + +First, the lecture method may sometimes take the place of books. Often, +even in the elementary school, there is need for the children to get +facts,--information in history or geography or literature,--and the +getting of these facts from books would be too difficult or too +wasteful. In such a case telling the facts is certainly the best way to +give them. A teacher in half a period can give material that it might +take the children hours to find. By telling them the facts, he not only +saves waste of time, but also retains the interest. Very often +discouragement and even dislike results from a prolonged search for a +few facts. Of course in the higher schools, when the material to be +given is not in print, when the professor is the source of certain +theories, methods, and explanations, lecturing is the only way for +students to get the material. It must be borne in mind that human beings +are naturally a source of interest, particularly to children, and +therefore having the teacher tell, other things being equal, will make a +greater impression than reading it in a book. + +Second, the lecture method is valuable as a means of explanation. +Despite the fact that the material given may be adapted to the child's +level of development, still it often happens that it is not clear. Then, +instead of sending the child to the same material again, an explanation +by teacher or fellow pupil is much better. It may be just the inflection +used, or the choice of different words, that will clear up the +difficulty. + +Third, the telling method should be used for illustration. Very often +when illustration is necessary the lecture method is supplemented by +illustrative material of various types--objects, experiments, pictures, +models, diagrams, and so on. None of this material, however, is used to +its best advantage unless it is accompanied by the telling method. It is +through the telling that the essentials of the illustrative material +gain the proper perspective. Without such explanation some unimportant +detail may focus the attention and the value of the material be lost. It +has been customary to emphasize the need for and the value of this +concrete illustrative material. Teachers have felt that if it was +possible to have the actual object, it should be obtained; if that was +not possible, why then have pictures, but diagrams and words should only +be used as a last resort. There can be no doubt as to the value of the +concrete material, especially with little children--but its use has been +carried to an extreme because it has been used blindly. For instance, +sometimes the concrete material because of its general inherent +interest, or because of its special appeal to some instinct, attracts +the attention of the child in such a way that the point which was to be +illustrated is lost sight of. Witness work in nature study in the lower +grades, and in chemistry in the high school. The concrete material may +be so complex that again the essential point is lost in the +mass of detail. No perspective can be obtained because of the +complexity--witness work with principles of machines in physics and the +circulation of the blood in biology. Sometimes the diagram or word +explanation with nothing of the more concrete material is the best type +of illustration. A fresh application of the principle or lesson by the +teacher is another means of illustration and one of the best, for it not +only broadens the student's point of view and gives another cue to the +material, but it may also make direct connection with his own +experience. Illustrations in the book often fail to do this, but the +teacher knowing his particular class can make the application that will +mean most. Telling a story or incident is another way of illustration. +The personal element is nearly always present in this means, and is a +valuable spur to interest. + +Illustrations of all kinds, from the concrete to the story form, have +been grossly misused in teaching, so that to-day teachers are almost +afraid to use any. The difficulty has been that illustrations have been +used as a means of regaining wandering attention. It has been the +sugar-coating. The illustration, then, has become the important thing +and the material nonimportant. The class has watched the experiment or +listened to the story, but when that was over the attention was gone +again. Illustrations should not be the means of holding the attention; +that is the function of the material itself. If the lesson cannot hold +the interest, illustrations are worse than useless. Illustrations, then, +of all kinds must be subordinated to the material--they are only a means +to an end, and that end is a better understanding of the material. +Illustrations, further, should have a vital, necessary connection with +the point they are used to make clearer. Illustrations that are dragged +in, that are not vitally connected with the point, are entirely out of +place. If illustrations always truly illustrated, then children would +not remember the illustration and forget the point, for remembering the +illustration they would be led directly to the point because of the +closeness of the connection. + +Fourth, telling or lecturing is the best way to get appreciation. This +was discussed in the chapter on appreciation, so need only be mentioned +here. The interpretation by the teacher of the character, the picture, +the poem, the policy, or what not, not only increases the understanding +of the listener, but also calls up feeling responses. It is in this +telling that the personality of the teacher, his experiences, his +ideals, make themselves felt. One can often win appreciation of and +allegiance to the best in life by the use of the telling method in the +appropriate situations. + +Fifth, the lecture method should sometimes be used as a means of getting +the desired mental attitude. The general laws of learning emphasize the +importance of the mind's set as a condition to readiness of neurone +tracts. Five or ten minutes spent at the beginning of a subject, or a +new section of work, in introducing the class to it, may give the +keynote for the whole course. A whole period may be profitably be spent +this way. Not only will the telling method used on such occasions give +the right emotional attitude towards a subject, but also the right +intellectual set as well. + +It is evident then that the lecture or telling method has its place in +all parts of the educational system, but its place should be clearly and +definitely recognized. The danger is not in using it, but in using it at +the wrong time, and in overusing it. Bearing in mind the dangers that +adhere to its use, it is always well, whether the method is used in +grades or in college, to mix it with other methods or to follow it by +another method that will do the things that the lecture method may have +left undone. + +_The Recitation Lesson._ As has been suggested in the opening of this +chapter, the recitation lesson is not a type involving any particular +psychological process. It is, rather, a method of procedure which may +involve any of the other types of work already discussed. When the +recitation lesson means merely reciting paragraphs from the book with +little or no reference to problems to be solved or skill to be +developed, it has no place in a schoolroom. When, however, the teacher +uses the recitation lesson as an exercise in which he assures himself +that facts needed for further progress in thinking have been secured, or +that habits have been established, or verbatim memorization +accomplished, this type of exercise is justified. It is well to remember +that the thought process involved in the development of a subject, or +the solution even of a single problem, may extend over many class +periods. The recitation lesson may be important in organizing the +material which is to be used in the larger thought whole. Again, this +type of exercise may involve the presentation of material which is to be +used as a basis for appreciation in literature, in music, in art, in +history, and the like. The organization of experiences of children, +whether secured through observations, discussions, or from books, around +certain topics may furnish a most satisfactory basis for the development +of problems or of the gathering of the material essential for their +solution. A better understanding of the conditions which make for +success in habit formation, in thinking, and the development of +appreciation, will tend to eliminate from our schools that type of +exercise in which teachers ask merely that children recite to them what +they have been able to remember from the books which they have read or +the lectures which they have heard. + +_The Examination and Review Lessons._ In the establishment of habits, +the development of appreciation, or the growth in understanding which we +seek to secure through thinking, there will be many occasions for +checking up our work. Successful teaching requires that the habit that +we think we have established be called for and additional practice given +from time to time in order to be certain that it is fixed. In like +manner, the development of our thought in any field is not something +which is accomplished without respect to later neglect. We, rather, +build a system of thought with reference to a particular field or +subject as a result of thinking, and rethinking through the many +different situations which are involved. In like manner, in the field of +appreciation the very essence of our enjoyment is to be found in the +fact that that which we have enjoyed we recall, and strengthen our +appreciation through the revival of the experience. The review is, of +course, most successful when it is not simply going over the whole +material in exactly the same way. In habit formation it is often +advisable to arrange in a different order the stimuli which are to bring +the desired responses, for the very essence of habit formation is found +in the fact that the particular response can be secured regardless of +the order in which they are called for. In thinking, as a subject is +developed, our control is measured by the better perspective which we +secure. This means, of course, that in review we will not be concerned +with reviving all of the processes through which we have passed, but, +rather, in a reorganization quite different from that which was +originally provided. + +The examination lesson is classified here as of the same type as the +review because a good examination involves all that has been suggested +by review. The writer has no sympathy with those who argue against +examinations. The only proof that we can get of the success or failure +of our work is to be found in the achievement of pupils. It is not +desirable to set aside a particular period of a week devoted entirely to +examinations, because examinations in all subjects cannot to best +advantage be given during the same period. There are stages in the +development of our thinking, or in the acquiring of skill, or in our +understanding and appreciation which occur at irregular intervals and +which call for a summing up of what has gone before, in order that we +may be sure of success in the work which is to follow. It is, of course, +undesirable to devote a whole week to examinations on account of the +strain and excitement under which children labor. It is entirely +possible to know of the achievements of children through examinations +which have been given at irregular intervals throughout the term. It +would be best, probably, never to give more than one examination on any +one day, and, as a rule, to devote only the regular class period to such +work. In another chapter the discussion of more exact methods of +measuring the achievements of children will be discussed at some length. + +In all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important +means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the +question. It seems wise, therefore, to devote some paragraphs to a +consideration of questioning as determining skill in teaching. + +_Questioning_. The purpose of a question is to serve as a situation +which shall arouse to activity certain nerve connections and thus bring +a response. Questions, oral or written, are the chief tools used in +schools to gain responses. In some situations it is the only means a +teacher may have of arousing the response. Psychologically, then, the +value of the question must be judged by the response. + +Questions may be considered from the point of view of the kind of +response they call for. Probably the most common kind of question is the +one that calls for facts as answers. It involves memory--but memory of a +rote type. It does not require thinking. All drill questions are of this +type. The connections aroused are definitely final in a certain order, +and the question simply sets off the train of bonds that leads directly +to the answer. Another type of question involving the memory process is +the one which initiates recall, but here thought is active. The answer +cannot be gained in a mechanical way, but selection and rejection are +involved. The answer is to be found by examining past experience, but +only in a thoughtful way. Questions which call for comparison form +another type. These may vary from those which involve the comparison of +sense material to those which involve the comparison of policies +or epochs. Words, characters, plots, definitions, plans, +subjects--everything with which intellectual life deals is open to +comparison. Comparison is one of the steps in the process of reasoning, +and hence questions of this type are extremely important. Then there are +the questions which arouse the response of analysis. These questions +vary among themselves according to the type of analysis needed, whether +piecemeal attention or analysis due to varying concomitants. The former +drives the thinker through gradual recognition and elimination of the +known elements to a consciousness of the only partly known. The latter, +by attracting the attention to unvarying factors in the changing +situations, forces out the new and until then unknown element. Some +questions require judgment as a response. The judgment may be one +concerning relationships, or concerning worth or value, or be merely a +matter of definition--all questions calling for criticism are of this +type. In any case this type of question involves the thought element at +its best. The question requiring organization forms another type. There +is no sharp line of division between these types of questions. No one of +them should be used exclusively. Some of them imply operations of a +simple type as well as the particular response demanded by that form. +For instance, some of the questions involving analysis imply comparison +and recalling. A judgment question might call for all the simple +processes noted above and others as well. The responses then vary in +complexity and difficulty. The order of advance in both complexity and +difficulty of the response is from the mere drill question to the +judgment question. + +Another type of question is the one which desires appreciation as a +response. This question is one of the most difficult to frame, for it +must tend to inhibit the critical attitude and by means of the +associations it arouses or its own suggestive power get the appreciative +response. Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as +a means to the desired end. Some questions are directive in their +tendency. They require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They +set the child thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense +they are suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the +response. A final type of question is akin to the one just +discussed--the question whose response is further questions. Here again +the response desired is an attitude, but in this case it is more than an +attitude, it is also a definite response that shall come in the form of +questions. The questions of a good teacher should result in students +asking questions both of people and of books. These last three types of +questions are perhaps the most difficult of all. Because of their +complexity and subtlety they often miss fire and fail of their purpose. +Properly handled they are among the most powerful tools a teacher has. +The type of question used must vary, not only with the particular group +of children, and the type of lesson, but also with the subject. +Questions that would be the best type in mathematics might not be so +good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be adapted to +the particular situation. + +Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the +kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the +response. A question that is of such a character that the response is +hazy, stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut +response because the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor +question. This does not at all mean that the right response must always +come immediately. Some of the best questions are put with the intention +of forcing the child to realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't +know. If that type of response comes to that question, it is the best +possible answer. Nor need the whole answer come immediately. For +instance, in many of the judgment questions the thinking process aroused +may take some time before the judgment is reached, and meanwhile several +partial answers may be given. But if the question asked started the +process, without waste of time in trying to find out what it meant, the +question is good. With these explanations, then, the second +qualification of a good question is that it secures the appropriate +response readily. In order to do this, these factors must be considered: +First, the principle of apperception must be recognized. Every question +must deal with material that is on a level with the stage of development +of the one questioned. Not only so, but the question must connect +somewhere with the learner's experience. This means a recognition also +of individual differences. The question must also be couched in language +that can be understood easily by the one questioned. To have to try to +understand the language of the question as well as the question, results +in divided attention and delayed responses. Second, the question should +be clear and definite. A question that has these characteristics will +challenge the attention of the class. It is directed straight at the +point at issue, and no time will be lost in wondering what the question +means, or in trying two or three tentative answers. Third, the younger +the child, the simpler the question must be. With little children, to be +good a question may involve only one idea, or relationship. The amount +involved in the question, its scope and content, must be adapted to the +mental development of the learner. It is only a mature thinker who can +carry simultaneously two or three points of issue, or possibilities. +Fourth, the question to gain a ready response must be interesting. Not +only must the lesson as a whole be interesting, but the questions +themselves must have the same quality. Dull questions can kill an +otherwise good lesson. The form of the question is thus a big factor in +gaining a ready response. All the qualities which gain involuntary +attention can be used in framing an interesting question--novelty, +exaggeration, contrast, life, color, and so on. + +The third point to be considered in determining a good question is +whether or not it satisfies the demands of economy. This demand is a +fair one both from the standpoint of the best use of the time at the +disposal of the learner, and also from the standpoint of the best means +of gaining the greatest development on the part of the learner in a +given time. The number of questions asked thus enters in as a factor. +When a teacher asks four or five questions when one would serve the same +purpose, she is not only wasting time, but the child is not getting the +opportunity to do any thinking and therefore is not developing. Recent +studies on the actual number of questions asked in a recitation point to +the conclusion that economy both of time and in development is being +seriously overlooked. Economy in response may also be brightened by +preserving a logical sequence between questions. It is a matter of fact +in psychology that associations are systematized about central ideas; it +is also a fact that the set of the mind, in this direction rather than +that, is characteristic of all work. Logical sequence, then, makes use +of both these facts--both of the systematization of ideas and of the +mental attitude. + +The fourth test of good questioning is the universality of its appeal. +Some questions which are otherwise good appeal but to comparatively few +in the class. This, of course, means that responses are being gained but +from few. The best questioning stimulates most of the class; all members +of the class are working. In order to secure this result the questions +must be properly distributed over the class. The bright pupils must not +be allowed to do all the work; or, on the other hand, all the attention +of the teachers must not be given to the dull pupils. Not only should +the questions be well distributed, but they must vary according to the +individual ability of the particular child. This has already been +emphasized in dealing with readiness of response. Many a lesson has been +unsuccessful because the teacher gave too difficult a question to a dull +child, and while she was struggling with him, she lost the rest of the +class. The reverse is also true, to give a bright child a question that +requires almost no thinking means that a mechanical answer will be given +and no further activity stimulated. The extent to which all the class +are mentally active is one measure of a good question. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. Give an example of a lesson which you have taught which was +predominantly inductive. Show how you proceeded from the discovery of +the problem to your pupils to the solution attained. + +2. What is involved in the "step" of presentation? + +3. Why may we not consider the several "steps" of the inductive lesson +as occurring in a definite and mutually exclusive sequence? + +4. In what respect is the procedure in a deductive lesson like that +which you follow in an inductive lesson? + +5. Show how verification is an important element in both inductive and +deductive lessons. + +6. Give illustrations of successful drill lessons and make clear the +reason for the degree of success achieved. + +7. What measures have you found most advantageous in securing speed in +drill work? + +8. What are the elements which make for success in an appreciation +lesson? + +9. Upon what grounds and to what extent can lecturing be defended as a +method of instruction? + +10. What may be the relation between a good recitation lesson and the +solution of a problem? Growth in power of appreciation? + +11. For what purposes should examinations be given? When should +examinations be given? + +12. When are questions which call for facts justified? + +13. Why are questions which call for comparisons to be considered +important? + +14. Why is it important to phrase questions carefully? + +15. Why should a teacher ask some questions which cannot be answered +immediately? + +16. What criteria would you apply in testing the questions which you put +to your class? + +17. Write five questions which in your judgment will demand thinking +upon some topic which you plan to teach to your class. + + * * * * * + + + + +XIV. HOW TO STUDY + + +The term study has been used very loosely by both teachers and children. +As used by teachers it frequently meant something very different from +what children had in mind when they used it. Further, teachers +themselves have often used the term in connection with mental activities +which, technically speaking, could not possibly come under that head. +Much confusion and lack of efficient work has been the result. Recently +various attempts have been made to give the term study a more exact +meaning. McMurry defines it as "the work that is necessary in the +assimilation of ideas"--"the vigorous application of the mind to a +subject for the satisfaction of a felt need." In other words, study is +thinking. Psychologically, what makes for good thinking makes for good +study. Study is controlled mental activity working towards the +realization of a goal. It is the adaptation of means to end, in the +attempt to satisfy a felt need. It involves a definite purpose or goal, +which is problematic, the selection and rejection of suggestions, +tentative judgments, and conclusion. The mind of the one who studies is +active, vigorously active, not in an aimless fashion, but along sharply +defined lines. This is the essential characteristic of all study. + +There are, however, various types of study which differ materially from +each other according to the subject matter or to the type of response +required. Some study involves comparatively little thinking. The +directed activity must be present, but the choice, the judgment, may +need to be exercised only in the beginning when methods of procedure +need to be selected, and later on, perhaps, when successes or failures +need to be noted and changes made in the methods accordingly. Another +type of study needs continual thinking of the most active sort all the +way through the period. Just the proportion of the various factors +involved in thinking which is present at any given study period must be +determined by the response. A type of study which would be completely +satisfactory for one subject needing one response, would be entirely +inadequate for another subject needing another response. To illustrate, +in some cases the study must deal with habit formation. The need felt is +to learn a mechanical response of a very definite nature to this +situation; the problem is to get that response. The thinking would come +in in deciding upon the method, in watching for successes, in +criticizing progress, and in judging when the end was obtained. A large +part of the time spent in study would, however, need to be spent in +repetition, in drill. Of such character is study of spelling, of +vocabularies, of dates; study in order to gain skill in adding, or speed +in reading, or to improve in writing or sewing. Much of habit formation +goes on without study--in fact, to some it may seem to be ludicrous to +use the word "study" in connection with the formation of habits. It is +just because the study elements in connection with responses of this +type have been omitted that there has been such a tremendous waste of +time in teaching children to form right habits. This omission also +explains the poor results, for the process has been mechanical and blind +on the part of the student. At the other extreme in types of study is +that which can be used in science and mathematics, in geography and +history, when the major part of the time is given to selecting and +rejecting suggestions and seems required by the goal. In this type the +habituation, the fixing of the material, comes largely as a by-product +of the factors used in the thinking. + +Study may, then, be classified according as the response required is +physical habit, memory, appreciation, or judgment. These types overlap, +no one of them can exist absolutely alone, but it is possible to name +them according to the response. Study may also be classified into +supervised study, or unsupervised study, into individual or group study. +We might also classify study as it has to do with books, with people, or +with materials. The term has been rather arbitrarily applied to +activities that dealt with books, but surely much study is accomplished +when people are consulted instead of books, and also when the sources of +information or the standards are flowers, or rocks, or textiles. + +Study, then, is a big term, including many different varieties of +activities, of varying degrees of difficulty and responsibility. It +cannot possibly be taught all at once, according to one method, at one +spot in the school curriculum. Power to study is of very gradual growth. +It must proceed slowly, from simple to complex types. From easy to +difficult problems, from situations where there is close supervision and +direction to situations where the student assumes full responsibility. +Knowing how to study is not an inborn gift--it does not come as a matter +of intuition, nor does it come in some mysterious way when the child is +of high school age. It is governed by the laws of learning, or +readiness, exercise, and effect, just as truly as any other ability is. +If adults are to know how to study, if they are to use the technique of +the various kinds of study efficiently, children must be taught how. Nor +can we expect the upper grammar grade or the high school teachers to do +this. Habits of study must be formed just as soon as the responses to +which it leads are needed. Beginning down in the kindergarten with study +in connection with physical and mental habits, the child should be +taught how to study. The type must gradually become more complex; he +must pass from group to individual study, from supervised to +unsupervised, but it must all come logically, from step to step. True, +it is not easy to teach how to study. A careful analysis of the various +types with their peculiar elements should be a help. First, however, +there are some general principles that underlie all study which must be +discussed. + +Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual, +in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The +clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the +better the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be +taught to make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning +to study. It may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say +to themselves or to the class just what they are going to accomplish in +the study. Teach them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their +books just what the problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study +without definitely knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them +realize that the first thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking +some one else. Better no study at all than aimless or misdirected +activity, because of lack of purpose. + +No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The +child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of +interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he +does, the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in +which he has a vital interest with the results when the topic is +uninteresting. Of course, as will be pointed out later, much of the +gaining of interest lies in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if +the child realizes the need of it in efficient study, some +responsibility will rest on him to find an interest if it is not already +there. No matter how expert the teacher may be, because of individual +differences no problem will be equally interesting to all pupils in +itself, and no incentive will have an equal appeal to all children. +Therefore children should be taught to find interest for themselves. +Certain devices can be suggested, such as working with another child and +competing with him, "making believe" in study, and finding some +connection with something in which he is interested, working against his +own score, and the like. + +Not only do the demands of economy require that the topic of study +receive concentrated attention, but the results themselves are better +when such is the case. Half an hour of concentrated work gives much +better results than an hour of study with scattered attention. An hour +spent when half an hour would do is thus not only wasteful of time, but +is productive of poorer results and bad habits of study as well. +Children need to be taught this from the beginning. Much time is wasted +even by mature university students when they suppose themselves to be +studying. Children can be taught to ignore distractions--to train +themselves to keep their eyes on the book, despite the fact that the +door is opened, or a seat mate is looking for a book. They should be +encouraged to set themselves time limits in various subjects and adhere +to them. It is economical to follow a regular schedule in study--either +in the school or at home. Let each child make out his study schedule and +keep to it. Teach children that the best work is done when they are calm +and steady. That either excitement or worry is a hindrance. Therefore +they should avoid doing their studying under those conditions, and +should do all they can to remove such conditions. Training children to +do their best and then not to worry would not only improve the health of +many upper grammar grade and high school children, but would also +improve their work. + +Study requires a certain critical attitude, a checking up of results +against the problem set. In order to be efficient in study a child +should know when he has reached the solution, when the means have been +adapted to the end, when he has reached the goal. This checking up, of +course, means habits of self-criticism and standards. Sometimes all that +is necessary is for the child to be made conscious of this fact so that +he can test himself, for instance, in memory work, or in solving a +problem in mathematics. On the other hand, sometimes he will have to +compare his work with definite standards, such as the Thorndike +Handwriting Scale, or the Hillegas Composition Scale.[19] In other +instances, he will have to search for standards. He will need to know +what his classmates have accomplished, what other people think, what +other text-books say, and so on. Gradually he must be made conscious +that study is a controlled activity, and unless it reaches the goal, and +the correct one, it is useless. He must be made to feel that the +responsibility to see that such results are reached rests on him. + +These, then, are the general factors involved in all types of study, and +therefore are fundamental to good habits of study: a clear purpose; +vital interest of some kind; concentrated attention, and a critical +attitude. There are further additional suggestions which are peculiar to +the special type of study. + +In study which is directed to habit formation, the student should be +taught the danger of allowing exceptions. He should know the possibility +of undoing much good work through a little carelessness. Preaching won't +bring this home to him--it must come through having his attention +attracted to such an occurrence in his own work or in that of his mates. +After that knowledge of the actual experiences of others, athletes, +musicians, and others will help to intensify the impression. The value +of repetition as one of the chief factors in habit formation must be +emphasized. The child should be encouraged to make opportunities for +practice both in free minutes during the school program, and outside of +school. He must be taught in habit formation to practice the new habit +in the way it is to be used: practicing the sounds of letters in words, +the writing movements in writing words, swimming movements in the water, +and so on. Practicing the whole movements, not trying to gain perfection +in parts of it and then putting it together. It is important also that +the learner be taught to keep his attention on the result to be +obtained, instead of the movements. He should attend to the swing of the +club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw is making, the words he +is writing, instead of the muscle movements involved. In breaking up bad +habits it is sometimes necessary to concentrate on a part or a movement, +when that is the crux of the error, but in general it is a bad practice +when forming a new habit. The child must also learn to watch the habit +of skill he is forming for signs of improvement and then to try to find +out the reason for it. It has been proved experimentally that much of +the improvement in habits of skill comes unconsciously to the learner, +and necessarily so, but that in order for the improvement to continue +and be effective, it must become conscious. Of course, at the beginning +and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty to point out the +improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons for it, but +if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally come to +habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success or +failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to +study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual +process--and only very slowly does the child become conscious of the +technique. Which elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left +to himself, must depend on his maturity and previous training. In time, +however, he should be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will +he become capable of independent study. + +When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the +elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply, +for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors +which enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First, +the child should realize the need for understanding the material that is +to be learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught +to read the entire assignment through--look up difficult words and +references, master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the +learning is to be verbatim or not, before doing anything further. +Second, he will need to know the value of the modified whole method of +learning, as well as its difficulties. If in the supervised periods of +study and in class work, this method has been followed, it is very easy +to make him conscious of it and willing to adopt it when he comes to do +independent study. Third, he must be taught to distribute his time so +that he does not devote too long a stretch to one subject. The value of +going over work in the morning, after having studied the night or two +nights before, should be emphasized. Also the value of beginning on +assignments some time ahead, even if there is not time to finish them. +Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his work the minute he +can give it perfectly. The need for overlearning, for permanent +retention, must be made clear. How much overlearning is necessary, each +child should find out for himself. Fifth, the value of outlining +material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed. Sixth, the child +should be taught to search for associations, connections of all types, +in order to help himself remember facts. He might even be encouraged to +make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail. If +instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition +children had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the +other elements in a good memory, much time would be saved. But the +responsibility should rest finally on the child to make use of these +helps. The teacher must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their +value by experiment, and then teach him to use them himself. + +Much less can be done as a matter of conscious technique when the +occasion of study is to further appreciation. A few suggestions might be +offered. First, the child should be taught the value of associating with +those who do appreciate in the line in which he is striving for +improvement. He should be encouraged to consciously associate with them +when opportunities for appreciation come. Second, he should know the +need for coming in contact with the objects of appreciation if true +feeling is to be developed. It is only by mingling with people, reading +books, listening to music, that appreciation in those fields can be +developed. Third, the value of concrete imagery and of connections with +personal experience in arousing emotional tone should be emphasized. The +child might be encouraged to consciously call up images and make +connections with his own experience during study. + +Study, when the object is to arrive at responses of judgment, is the +type which has received most attention. This type of study includes +within itself several possibilities. Although judgment is the only +response that can solve the problem, still the problem may be one of +giving the best expression in art or music or drama. It may be the +analysis of a course of action or of a chemical compound. It may be the +comparison of various opinions. It may be the arriving at a new law or +principle. It is to one of these types of thinking that the term "study" +is usually applied. Important as it is, the other three types already +discussed cannot be neglected. If children are taught to study in +connection with the simpler situations provided by the first two types, +they will be the better prepared to deal with this complex type, for +this highest type of study involves habit formation often and memory +work always. + +In the type of study involving reasoning, because of its complexity, and +because the individual must work more independently, the child must +learn the danger of following the first suggestion which offers itself. +He must learn to weigh each suggestion offered with reference to the +goal aimed at. Each step in the process must be tested and weighed in +this manner. To go blindly ahead, following out a line of suggestions +until the end is reached, which is then found to be the wrong one, +wastes much time and is extremely discouraging. No suggestion of the way +to adapt means to end should be accepted without careful criticism. The +pupil should gradually be made conscious of the technique of reasoning, +analysis, comparison, and abstraction. He must know that the first thing +to do is to analyze the problem and see just what it requires. He must +know that the abstraction depends upon the goal. The learner should be +taught the sources of some of the commonest mistakes in judgment. For +instance, if he knows of the tendency to respond in terms of analogy, +and sees some of the errors to which accepting a minor likeness between +two situations as identity lead, he will be much more apt to avoid such +mistakes than would otherwise be true. If he knows how unsafe it is to +form a judgment on limited data,--if from his own and his classmates' +thinking first, and later from the history of science, illustrations are +drawn of the disastrous effect of such thinking, he will see the value +of seeking sources of information and several points of view before +forming his own judgment. In his study the child should be taught not to +be satisfied until he has tested the correctness of his judgment by +verifying the result. This is a very necessary part of studying. He +should check up his own thinking by finding out through appeal to facts +if it is so; by putting the judgment into execution; by consulting the +opinion of others, and so on. + +Study may be considered from the point of view of the type of material +which is used in the process. The student may be engaged on a problem +which involves the use of apparatus or specimens of various kinds, or he +may need to consult people, or he may have to use books. So far as the +first type is concerned, it is obviously unwise to have a student at +work on a problem which involves the use of material, unless the +technique of method of use is well known. Until he can handle the +material with some degree of facility it is waste of time for him to be +struggling with problems which necessitate such use. Such practice +results in divided attention, poor results from the study, and often bad +habits in technique as well. Gaining the technique must be in itself a +problem for separate study. + +Children should be taught to ask questions which bear directly on the +point they wish to know. If they in working out some problem are +dependent on getting some information from the janitor, or the postman, +or a mason, they must be able to ask questions which will bring them +what they want to know. Much practice in framing questions, having them +criticized, having them answered just as they are asked, is necessary. +Children should be aware of the question as a tool in their study and +therefore they must know how to handle it. In connection with this +second type of material, the problem of the best source of information +will arise. Children must then be made conscious of the relative values +of various persons as sources of a particular piece of information. +Training in choice of the source of information is very important both +when that source is people and also when it is books. + +Teaching children to use books in their study is one of the big tasks of +the teacher. They must learn that books are written in answer to +questions. In order to thoroughly understand a book, students must seek +to frame the questions which it answers. They must also know how to use +books to answer their own questions. This means they must know how to +turn from part to part, gleaning here or there what they need. It means +training in the ability to skim, omitting unessentials and picking out +essentials. It means the ability to recognize major points, minor +points, and illustrative material. Children must be taught to use the +table of contents, the index, and paragraph headings. They must, in +their search for fuller information or criticism, be able to interpret +different authors, use different language, and attack from different +angles, even when treating the same object. Children must in their +studying be taught to use books as a means to an end--not an infallible +means, but one which needs continual criticism, modification, and +amplification. + +Study may be supervised study, or unsupervised study. To some people the +requirements in learning to study may seem too difficult to be possible, +but it should be remembered that the process is gradual--that one by one +these elements in study are taught to the children in their supervised +study periods. These periods should begin in the primary grades, and +require from the teacher quite as much preparation as any other period. +Many teachers have taught subjects, but not how to study subjects. The +latter is the more important. The matter of distributed learning +periods, of search for motive, of asking questions, of criticizing +achievement, of use of books; each element is a topic for class +discussion before it is accepted as an element in study. Even after it +is accepted, it may be raised by some child as a source of particular +difficulty and fresh suggestions added. Very often with little children +it is necessary for the teacher to study the lesson with them. Teachers +need much more practice in doing this, for one of the best ways to teach +a child to study is to study with him. Not to tell him, and do the work +for him, but to really study with him. Later on the supervised study +period is one in which each child is silently engaged upon his own work +and the teacher passes from one to the other. In order to do this well, +the teacher needs to be able to do two things. First, to find out when +the child is in difficulty and to locate it, and second, to help him +over the trouble without giving too much assistance. Adequate +questioning is needed in both cases. It is probably true that +comparatively little new work should be given for unsupervised study. +There is too much danger of error as well as lack of interest unless a +start is given under supervision. + +Studying, especially unsupervised, may be done in groups or +individually. The former is a stepping-stone to the latter. There is a +greater chance for suggestions, for getting the problem worded, for +arousing interest and checking results, when a group of children are +working together than when a child is by himself. Two things must be +looked after. First, that the children in the group be taught not to +waste time, and second, that the personnel of the group be right. It is +not very helpful if one child does all the work, nor if one is so far +below the level of the group that he is always tagging along behind. +More opportunities for group study in the grammar grades would be +advantageous. + +When it comes to individual study, the student then assumes all +responsibility for his methods of study. He should be taught the +influence of physical conditions or mental reactions. He will therefore +be responsible for choosing in the home and in the school the best +possible conditions for his study. He will see to it that, in so far as +possible, the air and light are good, that there are no unnecessary +distractions, and that he is as comfortable bodily as can be. He must +think not only in terms of the goal to be reached, but also with respect +to the methods to be employed. He should be asked by the teacher to +report his methods of work as well as his results. + + +QUESTIONS + + +1. Are children always primarily engaged in thinking when they study? + +2. What type of study is involved in learning a multiplication table, a +list of words in spelling, a conjugation in French? + +3. How would you teach a pupil to study his spelling lesson? + +4. In what sense may one study in learning to write? In acquiring skill +in swimming? + +5. How would you teach your pupils to memorize? + +6. Show how ability to study may be developed over a period of years in +some subject with which you are familiar. Reading? Geography? History? +Latin translation? + +7. Is the boy who reads over and over again his lesson necessarily +studying? + +8. Can one study a subject even though he may dislike it? Can one study +without interest? + +9. How can you teach children what is meant by concentration of +attention? + +10. How have you found it possible to develop a critical attitude toward +their work upon the part of children? + +11. Of what factors in habit formation must children become conscious, +if they are to study to best advantage in this field? + +12. How may we hope to have children learn to study in the fields +requiring judgment? Why will not consciousness of the technique of study +make pupils equally able in studying? + +13. What exercises can you conduct which will help children to learn how +to use books? + +14. How can a teacher study with a pupil and yet help him to develop +independence in this field? + +15. How may small groups of children work together advantageously in +studying? + + * * * * * + + + + +XV. MEASURING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF CHILDREN + + +The success or failure of the teacher in applying the principles which +have been discussed in the preceding chapters is measured by the +achievements of the children. Of course, it is also possible that the +validity of the principle which we have sought to establish may be +called in question by the same sort of measurement. We cannot be sure +that our methods of work are sound, or that we are making the best use +of the time during which we work with children, except as we discover +the results of our instruction. Teaching is after all the adaptation of +our methods to the normal development of boys and girls, and their +education can be measured only in terms of the changes which we are able +to bring about in knowledge, skill, appreciation, reasoning, and the +like. + +Any attempt to measure the achievements of children should result in a +discovery of the progress which is being made from week to week, or +month to month, or year to year. It would often be found quite +advantageous to note the deficiencies as well as the achievements at one +period as compared with the work done two or three months later. It will +always be profitable to get as clearly in mind as is possible the +variation among members of the same class, and for those who are +interested in the supervision of schools, the variation from class to +class, from school to school, or from school system to school system. +For the teacher a study of the variability in achievement among the +members of his own class ought to result in special attention to those +who need special help, especially a kind of teaching which will remove +particular difficulties. There should also be offered unusual +opportunity and more than the ordinary demand be made of those who show +themselves to be more capable than the ordinary pupils. + +The type of measurement which we wish to discuss is something more than +the ordinary examination. The difficulties with examinations, as we have +commonly organized them, has* been their unreliability, either from the +standpoint of discovering to us the deficiencies of children, or their +achievements. Of ten problems in arithmetic or of twenty words in +spelling given in the ordinary examination, there are very great +differences in difficulty. We do not have an adequate measure of the +achievements of children when we assign to each of the problems or words +a value of ten or of five per cent and proceed to determine the mark to +be given on the examination paper. If we are wise in setting our +examinations, we usually give one problem or one word which we expect +practically everybody to be able to get right. On the other hand, if we +really measure the achievements of children, we must give some problems +or some words that are too hard for any one to get right. Otherwise, we +do not know the limit or extent of ability possessed by the abler +pupils. It is safe to say that in many examinations one question may +actually be four or five times as hard as some other to which an equal +value is assigned. + +Another difficulty that we have to meet in the ordinary examination is +the variability among teachers in marking papers. We do not commonly +assign the same values to the same result. Indeed, if a set of papers is +given to a group of capable teachers and marked as conscientiously as +may be by each of them, it is not uncommon to find a variation among the +marks assigned to the same paper which may be as great as twenty-five +per cent of the highest mark given. Even more interesting is the fact +that upon re-marking these same papers individual teachers will vary +from their own first mark by almost as great an amount. + +Still another difficulty with the ordinary examination is the tendency +among teachers to derive their standards of achievement from the group +itself, rather than from any objective standard by which all are +measured. It is possible, for example, for children in English +composition to write very poorly for their grade and still to find the +teacher giving relatively high marks to those who happen to belong to +the upper group in the class. As a result of the establishment of such a +standard, the teacher may not be conscious of the fact that children +should be spurred to greater effort, and that possibly he himself should +seek to improve his methods of work. + +Out of the situation described above, which includes on the one hand the +necessity for measurement as a means of testing the success of our +theories and of our practice, and on the other hand of having objective +standards, has grown the movement for measurement by means of standard +tests and scales. A standard test which has been given to some thousands +of children classified by grades or by ages, if given to another group +of children of the same grade or age group will enable the teacher to +compare the achievement of his children with that which is found +elsewhere. For example, the Courtis tests in arithmetic, which consist +of series of problems of equal difficulty in addition, subtraction, +multiplication, and division may be used to discover how far facility in +these fields has been accomplished by children of any particular group +as compared with the achievements of children in other school systems +throughout the country. In these tests each of the problems is of equal +difficulty. The measure is made by discovering how many of these +separate problems can be solved in a given number of minutes.[20] + +A scale for measuring the achievements of children in the fundamental +operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division has +been derived by Dr. Clifford Woody,[21] which differs from the Courtis +tests in that it affords opportunity to discover what children can +achieve from the simplest problem in each of these fields to a problem +which is in each case approximately twice as difficult as the problems +appearing on the Courtis tests. The great value of this type of test is +in discovering to teachers and to pupils, as well, their particular +difficulties. A pupil must be able to do fairly acceptable work in +addition before he can solve one problem on the Courtis tests. +Considerable facility can be measured on the Woody tests before an +ability sufficient to be registered on the Courtis tests has been +acquired. In his monograph on the derivation of these tests Mr. Woody +gives results which will enable the teacher to compare his class with +children already tested in other school systems. In the case of all of +these standard tests, school surveys and superintendents' reports are +available which will make it possible to institute comparisons among +different classes and different school systems. One form of the Woody +tests is as follows: + + * * * * * + + + + + SERIES A + ADDITION SCALE + BY CLIFFORD WOODY + + Name...................... + When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?..... + Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you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ft. 6in. 2yr. 5mo. 16 1/3 + 49.6097 .28 3ft. 5in. 3yr. 6mo. 12 1/8 + 19.9 .63 4ft. 9in. 4yr. 9mo. 21 1/2 + 9.87 .95 --------- 5yr. 2mo. 32 3/4 + .0086 1.69 6yr. 7mo. ------ + 18.253 .22 --------- + 6.04 .33 + -------- .36 (38) + 1.01 25.091+100.4+25+98.28+19.3614= + (32) .56 + 3/4+1/2+1/4= .88 + .75 + .56 + 1.10 + .18 + .56 + ---- + + * * * * * + + SERIES A + SUBTRACTION SCALE + BY CLIFFORD WOODY + + Name...................... + When is your next birthday?......How old will you be?..... + Are you a boy or girl?.......In what grade are you?....... + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) + 8 6 2 9 4 11 13 59 78 7-4= 76 + 5 0 1 3 4 7 8 12 37 60 + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + + (12) (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) + 27 16 50 21 270 393 1000 567482 2 3/4-1= + 3 9 25 9 190 178 537 106493 + -- -- -- -- --- --- ---- ------ + + (21) (22) (23) (24) (25) (26) + 10.00 3 1/2-1/2= 80836465 8 7/8 27 4yd. 1ft. 6in. + 3.49 49178036 5 3/4 12 5/8 2yd. 2ft. 3in. + ----- -------- ----- ------ -------------- + + (27) (28) (29) (30) + 5yd. 1ft. 4in. 10-6.25 75 3/4 9.8063-9.019= + 2yd. 2ft. 8in. 52 1/4 + -------------- ------ + + (31) (32) (33) (34) (35) + 7.3-3.00081= 1912 6mo. 8da. 5/12-2/10= 6 1/8 3 7/8-1 5/8= + 1910 7mo. 15da. 2 7/8 + --------------- ----- + + + * * * * * + + + SERIES A + DIVISION SCALE + BY CLIFFORD WOODY + + + Name............................... + When is your next birthday?....... How old will you be?...... + Are you a boy or girl?.......... In what grade are you?...... + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) + __ ___ ___ __ ___ ___ + 3)6 9)27 4)28 1)5 9)36 3)39 + + (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) + 4 ÷ 2 = __ __ 6 × __ = 30 ___ 2 ÷ 2 = + 9)0 1)1 2)13 + + (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) + ______________ _____ 1/4 of 128= _____ 50 ÷ 7 = + 4)24 lbs. 8 oz. 8)5856 68)2108 + + (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) + ______ 248 ÷ 7 = _____ _____ ______ + 13)65065 2.1)25.2 25)9750 2)13.50 + + (23) (24) (25) (26) + ____ ________ _______ _____ + 23)469 75)2250300 2400)504000 12)2.76 + + (27) (28) (29) (30) + 7/8 of 624 = ______ 3 1/2 ÷ 9 = 3/4 ÷ 5 = + .003).0936 + + (31) (32) (33) + 5/4 ÷ 3/5 = 9 5/8 ÷ 3 3/4 = _____ + 52)3756 + + (34) (35) (36) + 62.50 ÷ 1 1/4 = ______ ______________ + 531)37722 9)69 lbs. 9 oz. + + * * * * * + + SERIES A + MULTIPLICATION SCALE + BY CLIFFORD WOODY + + Name...................... + When is your next birthday?...... How old will you be?..... + Are you a boy or girl?....... In what grade are you?....... + + (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) + 3 × 7 = 5 × 1 = 2 × 3 = 4 × 8 = 23 310 7 × 9 = + 3 4 + -- --- + (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) + 50 254 623 1036 5096 8754 165 235 + 3 6 7 8 6 8 40 23 + -- --- --- ---- ---- ---- --- --- + + (16) (17) (18) (19) (20) (21) (22) + 7898 145 24 9.6 287 24 8 × 53/4 + 9 206 234 4 .05 21/2 + ---- --- --- --- --- -- + + (23) (24) (25) (26) (27) (28) (29) + 11/4 × 8 = 16 7/8 × 3/4 = 9742 6.25 .0123 1/8 × 2 = + 2 5/8 59 3.2 9.8 + ------ ---- ---- ----- + (30) (31) (32) (33) (34) + 2.49 12 15 6 dollars 49 cents 2-1/2 × 3-1/2 = 1/2 × 1/2 = + 36 -- × -- 8 + ---- 25 32 ------------------ + + (35) (36) (37) (38) (39) + 9873/4 3ft. 5in. 21/4 × 41/2 × 11/2 = .0963 1/8 8ft. 91/2in. + 25 5 .084 9 + ---- --------- --------- ---------- + + * * * * * + +A series of problems in reasoning in arithmetic which were given in +twenty-six school systems by Dr. C.W. Stone furnish a valuable test in +this field, as well as an opportunity for comparison with other schools +in which these problems have been used.[22] A list of problems follows. + + Solve as many of the following problems as you have time for; + work them in order as numbered: + + 1. If you buy 2 tablets at 7 cents each and a book for 65 + cents, how much change should you receive from a two-dollar + bill? + + 2. John sold 4 Saturday Evening Posts at 5 cents each. He kept + 1/2 the money and with the other 1/2 he bought Sunday papers + at 2 cents each. How many did he buy? + + 3. If James had 4 times as much money as George, he would have + $16. How much money has George? + + 4. How many pencils can you buy for 50 cents at the rate of 2 + for 5 cents? + + 5. The uniforms for a baseball nine cost $2.50 each. The shoes + cost $2 a pair. What was the total cost of uniforms and shoes + for the nine? + + 6. In the schools of a certain city there are 2200 pupils; 1/2 + are in the primary grades, 1/4 in the grammar grades, 1/8 in + the High School, and the rest in the night school. How many + pupils are there in the night school? + + 7. If 3-1/2 tons of coal cost $21, what will 5-1/2 tons cost? + + 8. A news dealer bought some magazines for $1. He sold them + for $1.20, gaining 5 cents on each magazine. How many + magazines were there? + + 9. A girl spent 1/8 of her money for car fare, and three times + as much for clothes. Half of what she had left was 80 cents. + How much money did she have at first? + + 10. Two girls receive $2.10 for making buttonholes. One makes + 42, the other 28. How shall they divide the money? + + 11. Mr. Brown paid one third of the cost of a building; Mr. + Johnson paid 1/2 the cost. Mr. Johnson received $500 more + annual rent than Mr. Brown. How much did each receive? + + 12. A freight train left Albany for New York at 6 o'clock. An + express left on the same track at 8 o'clock. It went at the + rate of 40 miles an hour. At what time of day will it overtake + the freight train if the freight train stops after it has gone + 56 miles? + +A different type of measurement is accomplished by using Thorndike's +scale for measuring the quality of handwriting.[23] A typical +distribution of the scores which children receive on the handwriting +scale reads as follows: For a fourth grade one child writes quality +four, two quality six, five quality seven, seven quality eight, eight +quality nine, three quality ten, two quality eleven, two quality twelve, +one quality thirteen, one quality fourteen. In a table the distributions +of scores in penmanship for a large number of papers selected at random +show the following results: + + ============================================================ + | GRADES + SCORES +------+------+------+------+------+------+----- + | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 + ------------+-------------+------+------+------+------+----- + 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- + 1 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- + 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- + 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- + 4 | 5 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- + 5 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 3 | -- | 1 | -- + 6 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 3 | 2 | -- | 1 + 7 | 29 | 44 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 3 + 8 | 28 | 86 | 42 | 56 | 20 | 15 | 7 + 9 | 42 | 41 | 55 | 61 | 25 | 29 | 11 + 10 | 7 | 8 | 20 | 16 | 9 | 11 | 1 + 11 | 29 | 13 | 21 | 17 | 32 | 25 | 23 + 12 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 15 | 44 | 12 | 21 + 13 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 19 | 9 + 14 | -- | -- | 3 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 9 + 15 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 9 | 6 | 15 + 16 | 1 | -- | -- | 1 | 10 | 12 | 17 + 17 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 6 | 2 | 3 + 18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 3 | 1 | -- + ------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+----- + Total papers| 196 | 221 | 202 | 194 | 188 | 152 | 124 + ============================================================ + + * * * * * + + +A SCALE FOR HANDWRITING OF CHILDREN IN GRADES 5-8 + +The Unit of the Scale Equals approximately One-Tenth of the Difference +between the Best and Worst of the Formal Writings of 1,000 Children in +Grades 5-8. The Differences 16-15, 15-14, 14-13, etc., represent Equal +Fractions of the Combined Mental Scale of Merit of from 23-55 Competent +Judges. + +Sample 140, representing zero merit in handwriting. Zero merit is +arbitrarily defined as that of a handwriting, recognizable as such, but +yet not legible at all and possessed of no beauty. + + +[Illustration: qual0.png: ] + +Quality 4. + +[Illustration: qual4.png: ] + +Quality 5. + +[Illustration: qual5.png: ] + +Quality 6. + +[Illustration: qual6.png: ] + +Quality 7. + +[Illustration: qual7.png: ] + +Quality 8. + +[Illustration: qual8a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual8b.png: ] + +Quality 9. + +[Illustration: qual9a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual9b.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual9c.png: ] + +Quality 10. + +[Illustration: qual10.png: ] + +Quality 11. + +[Illustration: qual11a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual11b.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual11c.png: ] + +Quality 12. + +[Illustration: qual12a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual12b.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual12c.png: ] + +Quality 13. + +[Illustration: qual13a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual13b.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual13c.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual13d.png: ] + +Quality 14. + +[Illustration: qual14a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual14b.png: ] + +Quality 15. + +[Illustration: qual15a.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual15b.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual15c.png: ] + + +[Illustration: qual15d.png: ] + +Quality 16. + +[Illustration: qual16a.png: ] + +Quality 17. + +[Illustration: qual17.png: ] + +Quality 18. + +[Illustration: qual18.png: ] + + * * * * * + +This table reads as follows: Quality four was written by five children +in the second grade and two in the third grade, quality five was written +by twenty-two children in the second grade, two children in the third +grade, three in the fourth grade, three in the fifth grade, none in the +sixth grade, one in the seventh grade, and none in the eighth grade, and +so on for the whole table.[24] + +A scale for measuring ability in spelling prepared by Dr. Leonard P. +Ayres arranges the thousand words most commonly used in the order of +their difficulty. From this sheet it is possible to discover words of +approximately the same difficulty for each grade. A test could therefore +be derived from this scale for each of the grades with the expectation +that they would all do about equally well. There would also be the +possibility of determining how well the spelling was done in the +particular school system in which these words were given as compared +with the ability of children as measured by an aggregate of more than a +million spellings by seventy thousand children in eighty-four cities +throughout the United States. Such a list could be taken from the scale +for the second grade, which includes words which have proved to be of a +difficulty represented by a seventy-three percent correct spelling for +the class. Such a list might be composed of the following words: north, +white, spent, block, river, winter, Sunday, letter, thank, and best. A +similar list could be taken from the scale for a third, fourth, fifth, +sixth, seventh, or eighth grade. For example, the words which have +approximately the same difficulty,--seventy-three percent to be spelled +correctly by the class for the sixth grade,--read as follows: often, +stopped, motion, theater, improvement, century, total, mansion, arrive, +supply. The great value of such a measuring scale, including as it does +the thousand words most commonly used, is to be found not only in the +opportunity for comparing the achievements of children in one class or +school with another, but also in the focusing of the attention of +teachers and pupils upon the words most commonly used.[25] + +One of the fields in which there is greatest need for measurement is +English composition. Teachers have too often thought of English +composition as consisting of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and +the like, and have ignored the quality of the composition itself in +their attention to these formal elements. A scale for measuring English +composition derived by Dr. M.B. Hillegas,[26] consisting of sample +compositions of values ranging from 0 to 9.37, will enable the teacher +to tell just how many pupils in the class are writing each different +quality of composition. The use of such a scale will tend to make both +teacher and pupil critical of the work which is being done not only with +respect to the formal elements, but also with respect to the style or +adequacy of the expression of the ideas which the writer seeks to +convey. Probably in no other field has the teacher been so apt to derive +his standard from the performance of the class as in work in +composition. Even though some teachers find it difficult to evaluate the +work of their pupils in terms of the sample compositions given on the +scale, much good must come, it seems to the writer, from the attempt to +grade compositions by such an objective scale. If such measurements are +made two or three times during the year, the performance of individual +pupils and of the class will be indicated much more certainly than is +the case when teachers feel that they are getting along well without any +definite assurance of the amount of their improvement. + +In one large school system in which the writer was permitted to have the +principals measure compositions collected from the sixth and the eighth +grades, it was discovered that almost no progress in the quality of +composition had been accomplished during these two years. This lack of +achievement upon the part of children was not, in the opinion of the +writer, due to any lack of conscientious work upon the part of teachers, +but, rather, developed out of a situation in which the whole of +composition was thought of in terms of the formal elements mentioned +above. The Hillegas scale, together with the values assigned to each of +the samples, is given below. + + A SCALE FOR THE MEASUREMENT OF THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH + COMPOSITION + + BY MILO B. HILLEGAS + + VALUE 0. Artificial sample + + _Letter_ + + Dear Sir: I write to say that it aint a square deal Schools is + I say they is I went to a school. red and gree green and brown + aint it hito bit I say he don't know his business not today + nor yeaterday and you know it and I want Jennie to get me out. + + VALUE 183. Artificial sample + + _My Favorite Book_ + + the book I refer to read is Ichabod Crane, it is an grate book + and I like to rede it. Ichabod Crame was a man and a man wrote + a book and it is called Ichabod Crane i like it because the + man called it ichabod crane when I read it for it is such a + great book. + + VALUE 260. Artificial sample + + _The Advantage of Tyranny_ + + Advantage evils are things of tyranny and there are many + advantage evils. One thing is that when they opress the people + they suffer awful I think it is a terrible thing when they say + that you can be hanged down or trodden down without mercy and + the tyranny does what they want there was tyrans in the + revolutionary war and so they throwed off the yok. + + VALUE 369. Written by a boy in the second year of the high + school, aged 14 years + + _Sulla as a Tyrant_ + + When Sulla came back from his conquest Marius had put himself + consul so sulla with the army he had with him in his conquest + siezed the government from Marius and put himself in consul + and had a list of his enemys printy and the men whoes names + were on this list we beheaded. + + + VALUE 474. Written by a girl in the third year of the high + school, aged 17 years + + _De Quincy_ + + First: De Quincys mother was a beautiful women and through her + De Quincy inhereted much of his genius. + + His running away from school enfluenced him much as he roamed + through the woods, valleys and his mind became very + meditative. + + The greatest enfluence of De Quincy's life was the opium + habit. If it was not for this habit it is doubtful whether we + would now be reading his writings. + + His companions during his college course and even before that + time were great enfluences. The surroundings of De Quincy were + enfluences. Not only De Quincy's habit of opium but other + habits which were peculiar to his life. + + His marriage to the woman which he did not especially care + for. + + The many well educated and noteworthy friends of De Quincy. + + + VALUE 585. Written by a boy in the fourth year of the high + school, aged 16 years + + _Fluellen_ + + The passages given show the following characteristic of + Fluellen: his inclination to brag, his professed knowledge of + History, his complaining character, his great patriotism, + pride of his leader, admired honesty, revengeful, love of fun + and punishment of those who deserve it. + + + VALUE 675. Written by a girl in the first year of the high + school, aged 18 years + + _Ichabod Crane_ + + Ichabod Crane was a schoolmaster in a place called Sleepy + Hollow. He was tall and slim with broad shoulders, long arms + that dangled far below his coat sleeves. His feet looked as if + they might easily have been used for shovels. His nose was + long and his entire frame was most loosely hung to-gether. + + + VALUE 772. Written by a boy in the third year of the high + school, aged 16 years + + _Going Down with Victory_ + + As we road down Lombard Street, we saw flags waving from + nearly every window. I surely felt proud that day to be the + driver of the gaily decorated coach. Again and again we were + cheered as we drove slowly to the postmasters, to await the + coming of his majestie's mail. There wasn't one of the gaily + bedecked coaches that could have compared with ours, in my + estimation. So with waving flags and fluttering hearts we + waited for the coming of the mail and the expected tidings of + victory. + + When at last it did arrive the postmaster began to quickly + sort the bundles, we waited anxiously. Immediately upon + receiving our bundles, I lashed the horses and they responded + with a jump. Out into the country we drove at reckless + speed--everywhere spreading like wildfire the news, "Victory!" + The exileration that we all felt was shared with the horses. + Up and down grade and over bridges, we drove at breakneck + speed and spreading the news at every hamlet with that one cry + "Victory!" When at last we were back home again, it was with + the hope that we should have another ride some day with + "Victory." + + + VALUE 838. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college + + _Venus of Melos_ + + In looking at this statue we think, not of wisdom, or power, + or force, but just of beauty. She stands resting the weight of + her body on one foot, and advancing the other (left) with knee + bent. The posture causes the figure to sway slightly to one + side, describing a fine curved line. The lower limbs are + draped but the upper part of the body is uncovered. (The + unfortunate loss of the statue's arms prevents a positive + knowledge of its original attitude.) The eyes are partly + closed, having something of a dreamy langour. The nose is + perfectly cut, the mouth and chin are moulded in adorable + curves. Yet to say that every feature is of faultless + perfection is but cold praise. No analysis can convey the + sense of her peerless beauty. + + + VALUE 937. Written by a boy in the Freshman class in college + + _A Foreigner's Tribute to Joan of Arc_ + + Joan of Arc, worn out by the suffering that was thrust upon + her, nevertheless appeared with a brave mien before the Bishop + of Beauvais. She knew, had always known that she must die when + her mission was fulfilled and death held no terrors for her. + To all the bishop's questions she answered firmly and without + hesitation. The bishop failed to confuse her and at last + condemned her to death for heresy, bidding her recant if she + would live. She refused and was lead to prison, from there to + death. + + While the flames were writhing around her she bade the old + bishop who stood by her to move away or he would be injured. + Her last thought was of others and De Quincy says, that recant + was no more in her mind than on her lips. She died as she + lived, with a prayer on her lips and listening to the voices + that had whispered to her so often. + + The heroism of Joan of Arc was wonderful. We do not know what + form her great patriotism took or how far it really led her. + She spoke of hearing voices and of seeing visions. We only + know that she resolved to save her country, knowing though she + did so, it would cost her her life. Yet she never hesitated. + She was uneducated save for the lessons taught her by nature. + Yet she led armies and crowned the dauphin, king of France. + She was only a girl, yet she could silence a great bishop by + words that came from her heart and from her faith. She was + only a woman, yet she could die as bravely as any martyr who + had gone before. + +The following compositions have been evaluated by Professor Thorndike, +and may be used to supplement the scale given above. + + VALUE 13 + + Last Monday the house on the corner of Jay street was burned + down to the ground and right down by Mrs. brons house there is + a little child all alone and there is a bad man sleeping in + the seller, but we have a wise old monkey in the coal ben so + the parents are thankful that they don't have to pay any + reward. + + + VALUE 20 + + Some of the house burned and the children were in bed and + there were four children and the lady next store broke the + door in and went up stars and woke the peple up and whent out + of the house when they moved and and the girl was skard to + look out of the window and all the time thouhth that she saw a + flame. + + And the wise monkey reward from going to the firehouse and + jumping all round and was thankful from his reward and was + thankful for what he got. $15. was his reward. + + VALUE 30 + + A long time ago, I do not know, how long but a man and a woman + and a little boy lived together also a monkey a pet for the + little boy it happened that the man and the woman were out, + and the monkey and little boy, and the house started to burn, + and the monkey took the little boys hand, and, went out. + + The father had come home and was glad that the monkey had + saved his little boy. + + And that, monkey got a reward. + + VALUE 40 + + Once upon a time a woman went into a dark room and lit a + match. She dropped it on the floor and it of course set the + house afire. + + She jumped out of the window and called her husband to come + out too. + + They both forgot all about the baby. All of a sudden he + appeared in the window calling his mother. + + His father had gone next door to tel afone to the fire house. + + They had a monkey in the house at the time and he heard the + child calling his mother. + + He had a plan to save the baby. + + He ran to the window where he was standing. He put his tail + about his waist and jumped off the window sill with the baby + in his tail. + + When the people were settled again they gave him a silver + collar as a reward. + + VALUE 50 + + A University out west, I cannot remember the name, is noted + for its hazing, and this is what the story is about. It is the + hazing of a freshman. There was a freshman there who had been + acting as if he didn't respect his upper class men so they + decided to teach him a lesson. The student brought before the + Black Avenger's which is a society in all college to keep the + freshman under there rules so they desided to take him to the + rail-rode track and tie him to the rails about two hours + before a train was suspected and leave him there for about an + hour, which was a hour before the 9.20 train was expected. The + date came that they planned this hazing for so the captured + the fellow blindfolded him and lead him to the rail rode + tracks, where they tied him. + + VALUE 60 + + I should like to see a picture, illustrating a part of + L'allegro. Where the godesses of Mirth and Liberty trip along + hand in hand. Two beautiful girls dressed in flowing garments, + dancing along a flower-strewn path, through a pretty garden. + Their hair flowing down in long curls. Their countenances + showing their perfect freedom and happiness. Their arms + extended gracefully smelling some sweet flower. In my mind + this would make a beautiful picture. + + VALUE 70 + + It was between the dark and the daylight when far away could + be seen the treacherous wolves skulking over the hills. We sat + beside our campfires and watched them for awhile. Sometimes a + few of them would howl as if they wanted to get in our camp. + Then, half discouraged, they would walk away and soon there + would be others doing the same thing. They were afraid to come + near because of the fires, which were burning brightly. I + noticed that they howled more between the dark and the + daylight than at any time of the night. + + VALUE 80 + + The sun was setting, giving a rosy glow to all the trees + standing tall black against the faintly tinted sky. Blue, + pink, green, yellow, like a conglomeration of paints dropped + carelessly onto a pale blue background. The trees were in such + great number that they looked like a mass of black crepe, each + with its individual, graceful form in view. The lake lay + smooth and unruffled, dimly reflecting the beautiful coloring + of the sky. The wind started madly up and blew over the lake's + glassy surface making mysterious murmurings blending in with + the chirping songs of the birds blew through the tree tops + setting the leaves rustling and whispering to one another. A + squirrel ran from his perch chattering, to the lofty + branches--a far and distant hoot echoed in the silence, and + soon night, over all came stealing, blotting out the scenery + and wrapping all in restful, mysterious darkness. + + VALUE 90 + + Oh that I had never heard of Niagara till I beheld it! Blessed + were the wanderers of old, who heard its deep roar, sounding + through the woods, as the summons to an unknown wonder, and + approached its awful brink, in all the freshness of native + feeling. Had its own mysterious voice been the first to warn + me of its existence, then, indeed, I might have knelt down and + worshipped. But I had come thither, haunted with a vision of + foam and fury, and dizzy cliffs, and an ocean tumbling down + out of the sky--a scene, in short, which nature had too much + good taste and calm simplicity to realize. My mind had + struggled to adapt these false conceptions to the reality, and + finding the effort vain, a wretched sense of disappointment + weighed me down. I climbed the precipice, and threw myself on + the earth feeling that I was unworthy to look at the Great + Falls, and careless about beholding them again. + +A scale for measuring English composition in the eighth grade, which +takes account of different types of composition, such as narration, +description, and the like, has been developed by Dr. Frank W. Ballou, of +Boston.[27] For those interested in the following up of the problem of +English composition this scale will prove interesting and valuable. + +Several scales have been developed for the measurement of the ability of +children in reading. Among them may be mentioned the scale derived by +Professor Thorndike for measuring the understanding of sentences.[28] +This scale calls attention to that element in reading which is possibly +the most important of them all, that is, the attempt to get meanings. We +are all of us, for the most part, concerned not primarily with giving +expression through oral reading, but, rather, in getting ideas from the +printed page. A sample of this scale is given on the following page. + + * * * * * + +SCALE ALPHA. FOR MEASURING THE UNDERSTANDING OF SENTENCES + + Write your name here............................... + Write your age.............years............months. + +SET _a_ + +Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need +to. + +John had two brothers who were both tall. Their names were Will and +Fred. John's sister, who was short, was named Mary. John liked Fred +better than either of the others. All of these children except Will had +red hair. He had brown hair. + + 1. Was John's sister tall or short?..................... + 2. How many brothers had John?.......................... + 3. What was his sister's name?.......................... + +SET _b_ + +Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need +to. + +Long after the sun had set, Tom was still waiting for Jim and Dick to +come. "If they do not come before nine o'clock," he said to himself, "I +will go on to Boston alone." At half past eight they came bringing two +other boys with them. Tom was very glad to see them and gave each of +them one of the apples he had kept. They ate these and he ate one too. +Then all went on down the road. + + 1. When did Jim and Dick come?................................... + 2. What did they do after eating the apples?..................... + 3. Who else came besides Jim and Dick?........................... + 4. How long did Tom say he would wait for them?.................. + 5. What happened after the boys ate the apples?.................. + + +SET _c_ + +Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need +to. + +It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school +ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes +other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's +or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn +money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let +her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the +baby. + + 1. What are some conditions that might make even the best boy leave + school work unfinished?............................................ + ................................................................... + 2. What might a boy do in the evenings to help his family?......... + 3. How could a girl be of use to her mother?....................... + 4. Look at these words: _idle, tribe, inch, it, ice, ivy, tide, true, + tip, top, tit, + tat, toe._ + +Cross out every one of them that has an _i_ and has not any _t_ (T) in +it. + +SET _d_ + +Read this and then write the answers. Read it again as often as you need +to. + +It may seem at first thought that every boy and girl who goes to school +ought to do all the work that the teacher wishes done. But sometimes +other duties prevent even the best boy or girl from doing so. If a boy's +or girl's father died and he had to work afternoons and evenings to earn +money to help his mother, such might be the case. A good girl might let +her lessons go undone in order to help her mother by taking care of the +baby. + + 1. What is it that might seem at first thought to be true, but really is + false? + ....................................................................... + + 2. What might be the effect of his father's death upon the way a boy + spent + his + time?................................................................. + 3. Who is mentioned in the paragraph as the person who desires to have + all lessons completely + done?.............................................. + ....................................................................... + + 4. In these two lines draw a line under every 5 that comes just after a + 2, + unless the 2 comes just after a 9. If that is the case, draw a line + under + the next figure after the 5: + + 5 3 6 2 5 4 1 7 4 2 5 7 6 5 4 9 2 5 3 8 6 1 2 5 4 7 3 5 2 3 9 2 5 8 4 7 + 9 2 5 6 + 1 2 5 7 4 8 5 6 + + * * * * * + +Many tests have been devised which have been thought to have more +general application than those which have been mentioned above for the +particular subjects. One of the most valuable of these tests, called +technically a completion test, is that derived by Dr. M.R. Trabue.[29] +In these tests the pupil is asked to supply words which are omitted from +the printed sentences. It is really a test of his ability to complete +the thought when only part of it is given. Dr. Trabue calls his scales +language scales. It has been found, however, that ability of this sort +is closely related to many of the traits which we consider desirable in +school children. It would therefore be valuable, provided always that +children have some ability in reading, to test them on the language +scale as one of the means of differentiating among those who have more +or less ability. The scores which may be expected from different grades +appear in Dr. Trabue's monograph. Three separate scales follow. + + * * * * * + + _Write only one word on each blank_ + _Time Limit: Seven minutes_ NAME .......................... + + TRABUE + LANGUAGE SCALE B + + 1. We like good boys................girls. + 6. The................is barking at the cat. + 8. The stars and the................will shine tonight. + 22. Time................often more valuable................money. + 23. The poor baby................as if it.....................sick. + 31. She................if she will. + 35. Brothers and sisters ................ always ................ to + help..............other and should................quarrel. + 38. ................ weather usually................ a good effect + ................ one's spirits. + 48. It is very annoying to................................tooth-ache, + ................often comes at the most................time + imaginable. + 54. To................friends is always................the........ + it takes. + + _Write only one word on each blank_ + _Time Limit: Seven minutes_ NAME.......................... + + TRABUE + LANGUAGE SCALE D + + 4. We are going................school. + 76. I................to school each day. + 11. The................plays................her dolls all day. + 21. The rude child does not................many friends. + 63. Hard................makes................tired. + 27. It is good to hear................voice....................... + ..........friend. + 71. The happiest and................contented man is the one........ + ........lives a busy and useful................. + 42. The best advice................usually................obtained + ................one's parents. + 51.................things are................ satisfying to an ordinary + ................than congenial friends. + 84.................a rule one................association.......... + friends. + + + _Write only one word on each blank_ + _Time Limit: Five minutes_ NAME ............................ + + TRABUE + LANGUAGE SCALE J + + 20. Boys and................soon become................and women. + 61. The................are often more contented.............. the + rich. + 64. The rose is a favorite................ because of................ + fragrance and................. + 41. It is very................ to become................acquainted + ................persons who................timid. + 93. Extremely old..................sometimes..................almost as + .................. care as ................... + 87. One's................in life................upon so............ + factors ................ it is not ................ to state any + single................for................ failure. + 89. The future................of the stars and the facts of............ + history are................now once for all,................I + like them................not. + + * * * * * + +Other standard tests and scales of measurement have been derived and are +being developed. The examples given above will, however, suffice to make +clear the distinction between the ordinary type of examination and the +more careful study of the achievements of children which may be +accomplished by using these measuring sticks. It is important for any +one who would attempt to apply these tests to know something of the +technique of recording results. + +In the first place, the measurement of a group is not expressed +satisfactorily by giving the average score or rate of achievement of the +class. It is true that this is one measure, but it is not one which +tells enough, and it is not the one which is most significant for the +teacher. It is important whenever we measure children to get as clear a +view as we can of the whole situation. For this purpose we want not +primarily to know what the average performance is, but, rather, how many +children there are at each level of achievement. In arithmetic, for +example, we want to know how many there are who can do none of the +Courtis problems in addition, or how many there are who can do the first +six on the Woody test, how many can do seven, eight, and so on. In +penmanship we want to know how many children there are who write quality +eight, or nine, or ten, or sixteen, or seventeen, as the case may be. +The work of the teacher can never be accomplished economically except as +he gives more attention to those who are less proficient, and provides +more and harder work for those who are capable, or else relieves the +able members of the class from further work in the field. It will be +well, therefore, to prepare, for the sake of comparing grades within the +same school or school system, or for the sake of preparing the work of a +class at two different times during the year, a table which shows just +how many children there are in the group who have reached each level of +achievement. Such tables for work in composition for a class at two +different times, six months apart, appear as follows: + + +DISTRIBUTION OF COMPOSITION SCORES FOR A SEVENTH GRADE + + ====================================== + | NUMBER OF CHILDREN + +----------------------- + | NOVEMBER | FEBRUARY + --------------+-----------+----------- + Rated at 0 | 0 | 0 + 1.83 | 1 | 1 + 2.60 | 6 | 4 + 3.69 | 12 | 6 + 4.74 | 8 | 11 + 5.85 | 3 | 4 + 6.75 | 1 | 3 + 7.72 | 1 | 2 + 8.38 | 0 | 1 + 9.37 | 0 | 0 + ====================================== + +A study of such a distribution would show not only that the average +performance of the class has been raised, but also that those in the +lower levels have, in considerable measure, been brought up; that is, +that the teacher has been working with those who showed less ability, +and not simply pushing ahead a few who had more than ordinary capacity. +It would be possible to increase the average performance by working +wholly with the upper half of the class while neglecting those who +showed less ability. From a complete distribution, as has been given +above, it has become evident that this has not been the method of the +teacher. He has sought apparently to do everything that he could to +improve the quality of work upon the part of all of the children in the +class. + +It is very interesting to note, when such complete distributions are +given, how the achievement of children in various classes overlaps. For +example, the distribution of the number of examples on the Courtis +tests, correctly finished in a given time by pupils in the seventh +grades, makes it clear that there are children in the fifth grade who do +better than many in the eighth. + + THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED + IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES + +=================================================================== + ADDITION | SUBTRACTION +No. OF |----------------------+ No. OF |------------------------ +EXAMPLES| GRADES | EXAMPLES | GRADES +FINISHED| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | FINISHED | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 +--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+------- +0 | 12 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | -- +1 | 26 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 +2 | 27 | 31 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 1 | -- +3 | 31 | 27 | 27 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 3 | 1 +4 | 25 | 28 | 19 | 16 | 4 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 2 +5 | 16 | 23 | 16 | 15 | 5 | 26 | 30 | 12 | 7 +6 | 15 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 17 | 27 | 15 | 9 +7 | 1 | 11 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 27 | 18 | 9 +8 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 20 | 12 | 12 +9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 12 +10 | -- | -- | -- | 6 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 11 +11 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 12 +12 | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 9 +13 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 13 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 +14 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 14 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 7 +15 | -- | -- | -- | 2 | 15 | -- | -- | 2 | 3 +16 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 16 | -- | -- | 1 | 2 +17 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 17 | -- | 1 | -- | 1 +18 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 18 | -- | -- | -- | 1 +19 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 19 | -- | -- | -- | 4 +20 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 20 | -- | -- | -- | 2 +21 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 21 | -- | -- | -- | 1 +22 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 22 | -- | -- | -- | -- +--------+----+-----+-----+-----+----------+----+-----+-----+------- +Total | | | | | | | | | +papers |157 | 86 | 119 | 111 | |155 | 185 | 119 | 111 +=================================================================== + + THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE NUMBER OF EXAMPLES CORRECTLY FINISHED + IN THE GIVEN TIME BY PUPILS IN THE SEVERAL GRADES + +======================================================================= + MULTIPLICATION | DIVISION +------------------------------------|---------------------------------- +No. of | GRADES |No. of | GRADES +Examples|---------------------------|Examples|------------------------- +Finished| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |Finished| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 +--------|------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+------ + 0 . . .| 10 | 4 | -- | -- | 0 . . .| 17 | 7 | 1 | -- + 1 . . .| 10 | 4 | 3 | -- | 1 . . .| 19 | 17 | 2 | 1 + 2 . . .| 19 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 2 . . .| 18 | 22 | 8 | 4 + 3 . . .| 21 | 17 | 11 | 5 | 3 . . .| 21 | 26 | 6 | 2 + 4 . . .| 28 | 31 | 16 | 3 | 4 . . .| 25 | 27 | 8 | 6 + 5 . . .| 26 | 34 | 12 | 13 | 5 . . .| 21 | 27 | 11 | 7 + 6 . . .| 24 | 27 | 13 | 13 | 6 . . .| 9 | 15 | 12 | 4 + 7 . . .| 9 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 7 . . .| 10 | 15 | 16 | 18 + 8 . . .| 5 | 14 | 21 | 19 | 8 . . .| 6 | 7 | 20 | 9 + 9 . . .| 3 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 9 . . .| 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 +10 . . .| -- | 4 | 6 | 10 |10 . . .| 4 | 9 | 7 | 13 +11 . . .| 1 | -- | 2 | 9 |11 . . .| 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 +12 . . .| -- | -- | 2 | 6 |12 . . .| -- | 2 | 10 | 10 +13 . . .| -- | -- | 1 | 3 |13 . . .| -- | 2 | -- | 10 +14 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 3 |14 . . .| 1 | -- | 1 | 4 +15 . . .| -- | -- | -- | -- |15 . . .| -- | 1 | 2 | 9 +16 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 1 |16 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 2 +17 . . .| -- | -- | -- | -- |17 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 4 +18 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 1 |18 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 2 +19 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 1 |19 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 1 +20 . . .| -- | -- | -- | -- |20 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 1 +21 . . .| -- | -- | -- | -- |21 . . .| -- | -- | -- | 1 +22 . . .| -- | -- | -- | -- |22 . . .| -- | -- | -- | -- +--------+------+-----+-----+--------|--------|------+-----+-----+------- +Total | | | | | | | | | +Papers | 156 | 184 | 119 | 111 | | 156 | 187 | 118 | 111 +======================================================================= + +If the tests had been given in the fourth or the third grade, it would +have been found that there were children, even as low as the third +grade, who could do as well or better than some of the children in the +eighth grade. Such comparisons of achievements among children in various +subjects ought to lead at times to reorganizations of classes, to the +grouping of children for special instruction, and to the rapid promotion +of the more capable pupils. + +In many of these measurements it will be found helpful to describe the +group by naming the point above and below which half of the cases fall. +This is called the median. Because of the very common use of this +measure in the current literature of education, it may be worth while to +discuss carefully the method of its derivation.[30] + +[31]The _median point_ of any distribution of measures is that point on +the scale which divides the distribution into two exactly equal parts, +one half of the measures being greater than this point on the scale, and +the other half being smaller. When the scales are very crude, or when +small numbers of measurements are being considered, it is not worth +while to locate this median point any more accurately than by indicating +on what step of the scale it falls. If the measuring instrument has been +carefully derived and accurately scaled, however, it is often desirable, +especially where the group being considered is reasonably large, to +locate the exact point within the step on which the median falls. If the +unit of the scale is some measure of the variability of a defined group, +as it is in the majority of our present educational scales, this median +point may well be calculated to the nearest tenth of a unit, or, if +there are two hundred or more individual measurements in the +distribution, it may be found interesting to calculate the median point +to the nearest hundredth of a scale unit. Very seldom will anything be +gained by carrying the calculation beyond the second decimal place. + +The best rule for locating the median point of a distribution is to +_take as the median that point on the scale which is reached by counting +out one half of the measures_, the measures being taken in the order of +their magnitude. If we let _n_ stand for the number of measures in the +distribution, we may express the rule as follows: Count into the +distribution, from either end of the scale, a distance covered by *_n/2_ +measures. For example, if the distribution contains 20 measures, the +median is that point on the scale which marks the end of the 10th and +the beginning of the 11th measure. If there are 39 measures in the +distribution, the median point is reached by counting out 19-1/2 of the +measures; in other words, the median of such a distribution is at the +mid-point of that fraction of the scale assigned to the 20th measure. + +The _median step_ of a distribution is the step which contains within it +the median point. Similarly, the _median measure_ in any distribution is +the measure which contains the median point. In a distribution +containing 25 measures, the 13th measure is the median measure, because +12 measures are greater and 12 are less than the 13th, while the 13th +measure is itself divided into halves by the median point. Where a +distribution contains an even number of measures, there is in reality no +median measure but only a median point between the two halves of the +distribution. Where a distribution contains an uneven number of +measures, the median measure is the (_n_+1)/2 measurement, at the +mid-point of which measure is the median point of the distribution. + +Much inaccurate calculation has resulted from misguided attempts to +secure a _median point_ with the formula just given, which is applicable +only to the location of the _median measure_. It will be found much more +advantageous in dealing with educational statistics to consider only the +median point, and to use only the _n_/2 formula given in a previous +paragraph, for practically all educational scales are or may be thought +of as continuous scales rather than scales composed of discrete steps. + +The greatest danger to be guarded against in considering all scales as +continuous rather than discrete, is that careless thinkers may refine +their calculations far beyond the accuracy which their original +measurements would warrant. One should be very careful not to make such +unjustifiable refinements in his statement of results as are often made +by young pupils when they multiply the diameter of a circle, which has +been measured only to the nearest inch, by 3.1416 in order to find the +circumference. Even in the ordinary calculation of the average point of +a series of measures of length, the amateur is sometimes tempted, when +the number of measures in the series is not contained an even number of +times in the sum of their values, to carry the quotient out to a larger +number of decimal places than the original measures would justify. Final +results should usually not be refined far beyond the accuracy of the +original measures. + +It is of utmost importance in calculating medians and other measures of +a distribution to keep constantly in mind the significance of each step +on the scale. If the scale consists of tasks to be done or problems to +be solved, then "doing 1 task correctly" means, when considered as part +of a continuous scale, anywhere from doing 1.0 up to doing 2.0 tasks. A +child receives credit for "2 problems correct" whether he has just +barely solved 2.0 problems or has just barely fallen short of solving +3.0 problems. If, however, the scale consists of a series of productions +graduated in quality from very poor to very good, with which series +other productions of the same sort are to be compared, then each sample +on the scale stands at the middle of its "step" rather than at the +beginning. + +The second kind of scale described in the foregoing paragraph may be +designated as "scales for the _quality_ of products," while the other +variety may be called "scales for _magnitude_ of achievement." In the +one case, the child makes the best production he can and measures its +quality by comparing it with similar products of known quality on the +scale. Composition, handwriting, and drawing scales are good examples of +scales for quality of products. In the other case, the scales are placed +in the hands of the child at the very beginning, and the magnitude of +his achievement is measured by the difficulty or number of tasks +accomplished successfully in a given time. Spelling, arithmetic, +reading, language, geography, and history tests are examples of scales +for quantity of achievement. + +Scores tend to be more accurate on the scales for magnitude of +achievement, because the judgment of the examiner is likely to be more +accurate in deciding whether a response is correct or incorrect than it +is in deciding how much quality a given product contains. This does not +furnish an excuse for failing to employ the quality-of-products scales, +however, for the qualities they measure are not measurable in terms of +the magnitude of tasks performed. The fact appears, however, that the +method of employing the quality-of-products scales is "by comparison" +(of child's production with samples reproduced on the scale), while the +method of employing the magnitude-of-achievement scales is "by +performance" (of child on tasks of known difficulty). + +In this connection it may be well to take one of the scales for quality +of products and outline the steps to be followed in assigning scores, +making tabulations, and finding the medians of distributions of scores. + +When the Hillegas scale is employed in measuring the quality of English +composition, it will be advisable to assign to each composition the +score of that sample on the scale to which it is nearest in merit or +quality. While some individuals may feel able to assign values +intermediate to those appearing on the Hillegas scale, the majority of +those persons who use this scale will not thereby obtain a more accurate +result, and the assignment of such intermediate values will make it +extremely difficult for any other person to make accurate use of the +results. To be exactly comparable, values should be assigned in exactly +the same manner. + +The best result will probably be obtained by having each composition +rated several times, and if possible, by a number of different judges, +the paper being given each time that value on the Hillegas scale to +which it seems nearest in quality. The final mark for the paper should +be the median score or step (not the median point or the average point) +of all the scores assigned. For example, if a paper is rated five times, +once as in step number five (5.85), twice as in step number six (6.75), +and twice as in step number seven (7.72), it should be given a final +mark indicating that it is a number six (6.75) paper. + +After each composition has been assigned a final mark indicating to what +sample on the Hillegas scale it is most nearly equal in quality, proceed +as follows: + +Make a distribution of the final marks given to the individual papers, +showing how many papers were assigned to the zero step on the scale, how +many to step number one, how many to step number two, and so on for each +step of the scale. We may take as an example the distribution of scores +made by the pupils of the eighth grade at Butte, Montana, in May, 1914. + + No. of papers 1 9 32 39 43 22 6 2 + Rated at 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + +All together there were 154 papers from the eighth grade, so that if +they were arranged in order according to their merit we might begin at +the poorest and count through 77 of them (n/2 = 154/2 = 77) to find the +median point, which would lie between the 77th and the 78th in quality. +If we begin with the 1 composition rated at 0 and count up through the 9 +rated at 1 and the 32 rated at 2 in the above distribution, we shall +have counted 42. In order to count out 77 cases, then, it will be +necessary to count out 35 of the 39 cases rated at 3. + +Now we know (if the instructions given above have been followed) that +the compositions rated at 3 were so rated by virtue of the fact that the +judges considered them nearer in quality to the sample valued at 3.69 +than to any other sample on the scale. We should expect, then, to find +that some of those rated at 3 were only slightly nearer to the sample +valued at 3.69 than they were to the sample valued at 2.60, while others +were only slightly nearer to 3.69 than they were to 4.74. Just how the +39 compositions rated on 3 were distributed between these two extremes +we do not know, but the best single assumption to make is that they are +distributed at equal intervals on step 3. Assuming, then, that the +papers rated at 3 are distributed evenly over that step, we shall have +covered .90 (35/39 = .897 = .90) of the entire step 3 by the time we +have counted out 35 of the 39 papers falling on this step. + +It now becomes necessary to examine more closely just what are the +limits of step 3. It is evident from what has been said above that 3.69 +is the middle step 3 and that step 3 extends downward from 3.69 halfway +to 2.60, and upward from 3.69 halfway to 4.74. The table given below +shows the range and the length of each step in the Hillegas Scale for +English Composition. + + THE HILLEGAS SCALE FOR ENGLISH COMPOSITION + + ====================================================== + STEP No.|VALUE or SAMPLE|RANGE OF STEP |LENGTH OF STEP + --------+---------------+--------------+-------------- + 0. . . .| 0 | 0- .91[32] | .91 + 1. . . .| 1.83 | .92-2.21 | 1.30 + 2. . . .| 2.60 |2.22-3.14 | .93 + 3. . . .| 3.69 |3.15-4.21 | 1.07 + 4. . . .| 4.74 |4.22-5.29 | 1.08 + 5. . . .| 5.85 |5.30-6.30 | 1.00 + 6. . . .| 6.75 |6.30-7.23 | .93 + 7. . . .| 7.72 |7.24-8.05 | .81 + 8. . . .| 8.38 |8.05-8.87 | .82 + 9. . . .| 9.37 |8.88- | + ====================================================== + +From the above table we find that step 3 has a length of 1.07 units. If +we count out 35 of the 39 papers, or, in other words, if we pass upward +into the step .90 of the total distance (1.07 units), we shall arrive at +a point .96 units (.90 × 1.07 = .96) above the lower limit of step 3, +which we find from the table is 3.15. Adding .96 to 3.15 gives 4.11 as +the median point of this eighth grade distribution. + +The median and the percentiles of any distribution of scores on the +Hillegas scale may be determined in a manner similar to that illustrated +above, if the scores are assigned to the individual papers according to +the directions outlined above. + +A similar method of calculation is employed in discovering the limits +within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. It often seems +fairer to ask, after the upper twenty-five per cent of the children who +would probably do successful work even without very adequate teaching +have been eliminated, and the lower twenty-five per cent who are +possibly so lacking in capacity that teaching may not be thought to +affect them very largely have been left out of consideration, what is +the achievement of the middle fifty per cent. To measure this +achievement it is necessary to have the whole distribution and to count +off twenty-five per cent, counting in from the upper end, and then +twenty-five per cent, counting in from the lower end of the +distribution. The points found can then be used in a statement in which +the limits within which the middle fifty per cent of the cases fall. +Using the same figures that are given above for scores in English +composition, the lower limit is 2.64 and the limit which marks the point +above which the upper twenty-five per cent of the cases are to be found +is 5.08. The limits, therefore, within which the middle fifty per cent +of the cases fall are from 2.64 to 5.08. + +It is desirable to measure the relationship existing between the +achievements (or other traits) of groups. In order to express such +relationship in a single figure the coefficient or correlation is used. +This measure appears frequently in the literature of education and will +be briefly explained. The formula for finding the coefficient of +correlation can be understood from examples of its application. + +Let us suppose a group of seven individuals whose scores in terms of +problems solved correctly and of words spelled correctly are as +follows:[33] + +====================================== +INDIVIDUALS|No. OF |No. OF WORDS +MEASURED |PROBLEMS|SPELLED CORRECTLY +CORRECTLY | | +-----------+--------+----------------- + A | 1 | 2 + B | 2 | 4 + C | 3 | 6 + D | 4 | 8 + E | 5 | 10 + F | 6 | 12 + G | 7 | 14 +====================================== + + +From such distributions it would appear that as individuals increase in +achievement in one field they increase correspondingly in the other. If +one is below or above the average in achievement in one field, he is +below or above and in the same degree in the other field. This sort of +positive relationship (going together) is expressed by a coefficient of ++1. The formula is expressed as follows: + + (Sum x · y) + r = ------------------------------ + (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2)) + +Here _r_ = coefficient of correlation. + +_x_ = deviations from average score in arithmetic (or difference between +score made and average score). + +_y_ = deviations from average score in spelling. + +Sum = is the sign commonly used to indicate the algebraic sum (_i.e._ +the difference between the sum of the minus quantities and the plus +quantities). + +_x · y _= products of deviation in one trait multiplied by deviation in +the other trait with appropriate sign. + + +Applying the formula we find: + =================================================================== + |ARITH-| | | SPEL- | | | | + |METIC | x | x^2 | LING | y | y^2 | x·y | + --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+ + A | 1|-3 | 9| 2|-6 | 36| +18| + B | 2|-2 | 4| 4|-4 | 16| +8| + C | 3|-1 | 1| 6|-2 | 4| +2| + D | 4| 0 | 0| 8| 0 | | | + E | 5|+1 | 1| 10|+2 | 4| +2| + F | 6|+2 | 4| 12|+4 | 16| +8| + G | 7|+3 | 9| 14|+6 | 36| +18| + | ___| | __| ___| | ___| __| + | 7 |28| |Sum x^2 = 28| 7 |56| |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x·y = +56| + |Av. =4| | |Av. =8 | | | | + =================================================================== + Sum x · y +56 +56 + r = ---------------------------- = --------------------- = ---- = +1 + (sqrt(Sum x^2)(sqrt(Sum y^2) (sqrt(28))(sqrt(112)) 56 + + +If instead of achievement in one field being positively related (going +together) in the highest possible degree, these individuals show the +opposite type of relationship, _i.e.,_ the maximum negative relationship +(this might be expressed as opposition--a place above the average in one +achievement going with a correspondingly great deviation below the +average in the other achievement), then our coefficient becomes -1. +Applying the formula: + + =================================================================== + |ARITH-| | | SPEL- | | | | + |METIC | x | x^2 | LING | y | y^2 | x*y | + --+------+---+------------+-------+---+-------------+-------------+ + A | 1|-3 | 9| 14|+6 | 36| -18| + B | 2|-2 | 4| 12|+4 | 16| -8| + C | 3|-1 | 2| 10|+2 | 4| -2| + D | 4| 0 | | 8| 0 | | | + E | 5|+1 | 2| 6|-2 | 4| -2| + F | 6|+2 | 4| 4|-4 | 16| -8| + G | 7|+3 | 9| 2|-6 | 36| -18| + | ___| | __| ___| | ___| __| + | 7 |28| |Sum x^2 = 28| 7 |56| |Sum y^2 = 112|Sum x·y = -56| + |Av. =4| | |Av. =8 | | | | + =================================================================== + +It will be observed that in this case each plus deviation in one +achievement is accompanied by a minus deviation for the other trait; +hence, all of the products of _x_ and _y_ are minus quantities. (A plus +quantity multiplied by a plus quantity or a minus quantity multiplied by +a minus quantity gives us a plus quantity as the product, while a plus +quantity multiplied by a minus quantity gives us a minus quantity as the +product.) + + (Sum x·y) -56 -56 + r = ------------------------------ = ------------------- = ---- = -1. + (sqrt(Sum x^2))(sqrt(Sum y^2)) (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) = 56 + +If there is no relationship indicated by the measures of achievements +which we have found, then the coefficient of correlation becomes 0. A +distribution of scores which suggests no relationship is as follows: + + ================================================================= + |ARITH- | | | | | | + |METIC | x | x^2 |Spelling | y | y^2 | x.y + --+-------+----+-----------+---------+----+-------------+-------- + | | | | | | | - + + A | 2 | -2 | 4 | 12 | +4 | 16 | -8 +6 + B | 1 | -3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | | 0 +4 + C | 4 | 0 | | 2 | -6 | 36 | 0 +4 + D | 5 | +1 | 1 | 14 | +6 | 36 | -6 + E | 3 | -1 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 16 | -14 +14 + F | 7 | +3 | 9 | 6 | -2 | 4 | + G | 6 | +2 | 4 | 10 | +2 | 4 | + | ____| | | ___ | | | + | |28 | |Sum x^2=28 | 7|56 | | Sum y^2=112 | x·y=0 + | AV.=4 | | | AV.=8 | | | + =================================================================== + + (Sum x·y) 0 + r = ---------------------------- = ------------------- = 0. + (sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2)) (sqrt(28)sqrt(112)) + +In a similar manner, when the relationship is largely positive as would +be indicated by a displacement of each score in the series by one step +from the arrangement which gives a +1 coefficient, the coefficient will +approach unity in value. + + + =============================================================== + ARITHMETIC| x | x^2 |SPELLING| y | y^2 | + ---+------+----+-----------+--------+----+------------+-------- + A |1 | -3 |9 |4 | -4 | 16 |+ 12 + B |2 | -2 |4 |2 | -6 | 36 |+ 12 + C |3 | -1 |1 |8 | 0 | |+ 4 + D |4 | 0 | |6 | -2 | 4 |+ 4 + E |5 | +1 |1 |12 | +4 | 16 |+ 18 + F |6 | +2 |4 |10 | +2 | 4 |Sx·y=50 + G |7 | +3 |9 |14 | +6 | 36 | + |Av. =4| |Sum x^2 =28|Av. = 8 | |Sum y^2= 112| + =============================================================== + + Sum x·y +50 + r= -------------------------- = ---- = +.89. + sqrt(Sum x^2)sqrt(Sum y^2) 56 + +Other illustrations might be given to show how the coefficient varies +from + 1, the measure of the highest positive relationship (going +together) through 0 to -1, the measure of the largest negative +relationship (opposition). A relationship between traits which we +measure as high as +.50 is to be thought of as quite significant. It is +seldom that we get a positive relationship as large as +.50 when we +correlate the achievements of children in school work. A relationship +measured by a coefficient of ±.15 may _not_ be considered to indicate +any considerable positive or negative relationship. The fact that +relationships among the achievements of children in school subjects vary +from +.20 to +.60 is a clear indication of the fact that abilities of +children are variable, or, in other words, achievement in one subject +does not carry with it an _exactly corresponding_ great or little +achievement in another subject. That there is some positive +relationship, _i.e.,_ that able pupils tend on the whole to show +all-round ability and the less able or weak in one subject _tend_ to +show similar lack of strength in other subjects, is also indicated by +these positive coefficients. + + +QUESTIONS + +1. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of +eighth-grade composition scores on the Hillegas scale. + + Quality 0 18 26 37 47 58 67 + Frequency 2 68 73 3 + +2. Calculate the median point in the following distribution of +third-grade scores on the Woody subtraction scale. + + No. problems 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 + Frequency 2 2 2 3 3 5 4 5 8 16 16 16 23 20 21 11 22 11 2 + + 22 23 24 + + 1 + +3. Compare statistically the achievements of the children in two +eighth-grade classes whose scores on the Courtis addition tests were as +follows: + + Class A--6, 5, 8, 9, 7, 10, 13, 4, 8, 7, 8, 7, 6, 8, 15, 6, 7, 0, 6, 9, + 5, 8, 7, 10, 8, 4, 7, 8, 6, 9, 5, 7, 2, 6, 8, 5, 7, 8, 7, 8, 5, 8, 10, + 6, 3, 6, 8, 17, 5, 7. + + Class B--10, 4, 8, 13, 11, 9, 8, 10, 7, 9, 11, 10, 18, 7, 12, 9, 10, 8, + 11, 10, 12, + 9, 2, 11, 8, 10, 9, 14, 11, 7, 10, 12, 10, 6, 11, 8, 10, 9, 10, 17, 8, + 11, + 9, 7, 9, 11, 8, 12, 9, 13. + +4. If the marks received in algebra and in geometry by a group of high +school pupils were as given below, what relationship is indicated by the +coefficient of correlation? + + |GEOMETRY |ALGEBRA + |MARKS |MARKS + 1. |80 |60 + 2. |68 |73 + 3. |65 |80 + 4. |96 |80 + 5. |59 |62 + 6. |75 |65 + 7. |90 |75 + 8. |86 |90 + 9. |52 |63 + 10. |70 |55 + 11. |63 |54 + 12. |85 |95 + 13. |93 |90 + 14. |87 |70 + 15. |82 |68 + 16. |79 |75 + 17. |78 |86 + 18. |79 |75 + 19. |82 |60 + 20. |70 |82 + 21. |52 |86 + 22. |94 |85 + 23. |72 |73 + 24. |53 |62 + 25. |94 |85 + +5. Compare the abilities of the 10-year-old pupils in the sixth grade +with the abilities of the 14-year-old pupils in the same grade, in so +far as these abilities are measured by the completion of incomplete +sentences. + +(Note: 5 = 5.0-5.999.) + + + ================================================== + NO. SENTENCES | | + COMPLETED | 10-YEAR-OLDS | 14-YEAR-OLDS + --------------+--------------+-------------------- + 24 |-- |-- + 23 |-- |-- + 22 |-- |-- + 21 |1 |-- + 20 |-- |-- + 19 |-- |-- + 18 |-- |-- + 17 |-- |1 + 16 |3 |-- + 15 |-- |2 + 14 |7 |4 + 13 |10 |3 + 12 |18 |7 + 11 |9 |10 + 10 |7 |9 + 9 |8 |10 + 8 |2 |10 + 7 |3 |10 + 6 |-- |2 + 5 |2 |3 + 4 |-- |2 + 3 |-- |-- + 2 |-- |1 + 1 |-- |-- + 0 |-- |-- + =========================================== + +6. From the scores given here, calculate the relationship between +ability to spell and ability to multiply. Use the average as the central +tendency. + + ============================== + PUPIL|SPELLING|MULTIPLICATION + -----+--------+--------------- + A |9 |22 + B |10 |16 + C |2 |19 + D |6 |14 + E |13 |24 + F |8 |22 + G |10 |17 + H |7 |20 + I |3 |21 + J |2 |21 + K |14 |20 + L |8 |18 + M |7 |23 + N |11 |25 + O |8 |25 + P |17 |24 + Q |10 |21 + R |4 |16 + S |9 |15 + T |6 |19 + U |12 |22 + V |14 |19 + W |8 |17 + X |3 |20 + Y |11 |18 + ============================== + + * * * * * + + + + +INDEX + + Achievements of children, measuring the, + and examinations, + in English composition, + in arithmetic, + arithmetic scale, + reasoning problems in arithmetic, + distribution of hand-writing scores, + handwriting scale, + spelling scale, + scale for English composition. + Æsthetic emotions, + appreciation and skill, + appreciation, intellectual factors in. + Aim of education, I + Analysis and abstraction, III. + Angell, J.R. + Appreciation, + types of, + passive attitude in, + development in, + value of, + lesson. + Associations, organization of, + number of. + Attention, + situations arousing response of, + and inhibition, + breadth of, + to more than one thing, + concentration of, + span of, + free, + forced, + immediate free, + immediate and derived, + derived, + forced, + and habit formation, + focalization of, + divided. + Ayres, L.P. + + Ballou, F.W. + Bread-and-butter aim. + + Classroom exercises, types of. + Coefficient of correlation, + calculation of, + values of. + Comparison and abstraction, step of. + Concentration, of attention. + habits of. + Conduct, moral social. + Consciousness, fringe of. + Correlation, coefficient of. + Courtis, S.A. + Culture as aim of education. + Curriculum, omissions from. + + Deduction lesson, the, + steps in. + Deduction, process of. + Dewey, John. + Differences, individual, + sex. + Disuse, method of. + Drill, + lesson, the, + work, deficiency in. + + Education, before school age. + Effect, law of. + Emotions, aesthetic. + Environment and individual differences. + Examinations, + limitations of. + Exceptions, danger of. + + Fatigue and habits. + Formal discipline. + + Gray, W.S. + + Habit formation, + and attention, + laws of, + and instinct, + complexity of, + and interest, + and mistakes. + Habits, of concentration, + modification of the nervous system involved, + and fatigue, + and will power, + and original work. + Harmonious development of aim. + Heck, W.H. + Henderson, E.N. + Heredity and individual differences. + Hillegas, M.B. + + Illustrations, use of. + Imagery, type of, + and learning, + productive, types of. + Images, + classified, + object and concrete. + Imagination. + Individual differences, + causes of, + and race inheritance, + and maturity, + and heredity, + and environment, + and organization of + public education + in composition + in arithmetic + in penmanship + Induction and deduction + differences in + relationship of + Induction, process of + Inductive lesson, the + Inquiry in school work + Instinctive tendencies + modifiability of + inhibition of + Instincts + transitoriness of + delayedness of + of physical activity + to enjoy mental activity + of manipulation + of collecting + of rivalry + of fighting + of imitation + of gregariousness + of motherliness + Interest + an end + + Judd, C.H. + Junior high school, the + + Kelly, F.J. + Knowledge aim + + Learning + incidental + and imagery + curves + Lecturing + and appreciation + Lesson + the inductive + + McMurry, F.M. + Maturity and individual differences + Measurement of group + comparison of seventh-grade scores in composition + comparison of scores in arithmetic + Measuring results in education + Median + calculation of + point + step + measure + Memorization + verbatim + whole-part method illustrated + Memory + factors in + and native retentiveness + and recall + part and whole methods + practice periods + immediate + desultory + rote + logical + and forgetting + permanence of + Miller, I.E. + Moral conduct + development of + Morality + defined + and conduct + and habit + and choice + and individual opinion + social nature of + and training for citizenship + and original nature + and environment + stages of development in + and habit formation + transition period in + direct teaching of + and classroom work + and service by pupils + and social responsibility + and school rules + Morgan, C.L. + + Openmindedness + Original nature + of children + and racial inheritance + and aim of education + utilization of + and morality + Original work and habits + + Payne, Joseph + Physical welfare of children + Play + theories of + types of + complexity of + characteristics of + and drudgery + and work + and ease of accomplishment + and social demands + supervision of + Preparation + steps of + Presentation + steps of + Problems as stimulus to thinking + Punishment + + Questioning + Questions + types of + responses to + number of + appeal of + + Reasoning and thinking + technique of + Recapitulation theory + Recitation + social purpose of + Recitation lesson, the + Repetition + Retention + power of + Review + Review lesson, the + Roark, R.N. + + Satisfaction + result of + Scales of measurement + School government + participation in + Sex differences + education + Social aim of education + and curriculum + and special types of schools + Stone, C.W. + Study + how to + types of + and habit formation + and memorization + and interest + necessity for aim in + and concentrated attention + involves critical attitude + general factors in + for appreciation + involving thinking + use of books in + supervised + Substitution + method of + + Thinking defined + Thinking + stimulation of + and problematic situations + by little children + and habit formation + essentials in process of + for its own sake + and critical attitude + laws governing + and association + failure in + and classroom exercises + Thorndike, E.L. + Thought + imageless + Trabue, M.R. + Training + transfer of + identity of response + probability of + amount of + Transfer of training + + Will power and habits + Woody, Clifford + Work, independent + Work and play + + + + + + + +Footnote 1: The nervous system is composed of units of structure called +neurones or nerve cells. "If we could see exactly the structure of the +brain itself, we should find it to consist of millions of similar +neurones each resembling a bit of string frayed out at both ends and +here and there along its course. So also the nerves going out to the +muscles are simply bundles of such neurones, each of which by itself is +a thread-like connection between the cells of the spinal cord or brain +and some muscle. The nervous system is simply the sum total of all these +neurones, which form an almost infinitely complex system of connections +between the sense organs and the muscles." + +The word synapses, meaning clasping together, is used as a descriptive +term for the connections that exist between neurone and neurone. + +Footnote 2: This is synonymous with James's Involuntary Attention, +Angell's Non-Voluntary Attention, and Titchener's Secondary-Passive +Attention. + +Footnote 3: Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, pp. 194-5. + +Footnote 4: Thorndike, Psychology of Learning, p. 194. + +Footnote 5: How We Think, p. 6. + +Footnote 6: The Psychology of Thinking, p. 98. + +Footnote 7: How We Think, p. 66. + +Footnote 8: How We Think, pp. 69-70. + +Footnote 9: Psychology of Thinking, p. 291. + +Footnote 10: How We Think, p. 79. + +Footnote 11: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 172. + +Footnote 12: Introduction to Psychology, p. 284. + +Footnote 13: Thorndike, Origin of Man, p. 146. + +Footnote 14: Racial Differences in Mental Traits, pp. 177 and 181. + +Footnote 15: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Briefer Course, p. 374. + +Footnote 16: Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Vol. III, p. 304. + +Footnote 17: Moral Principles in Education, p. 17. + +Footnote 18: For a fuller discussion of this topic see next chapter. + +Footnote 19: For a discussion of these scales see Chapter XV. + +Footnote 20: The Courtis Tests, Series B, for Measuring the Achievements +of Children in the Fundamentals of Arithmetic, can be secured from Mr. +S.A. Curtis, 82 Eliot Street, Detroit, Mich. + +Footnote 21: Measurements of Some Achievements in Arithmetic, by +Clifford Woody, published by the Teachers College Bureau of +Publications, Columbia University, 1916. + +Footnote 22: Reasoning Test in Arithmetic, by C.W. Stone, published by +the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1916. + +Footnote 23: A Scale for Handwriting of Children, by E.L. Thorndike, +published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia +University. + +Footnote 24: A scale derived by Dr. Leonard P. Ayres of the Russell Sage +Foundation is also valuable for measuring penmanship, and can be +purchased from the Russell Sage Foundation. + +Footnote 25: Copies of the Spelling Scale can be secured from the +Russell Sage Foundation, New York, for five cents a copy. + +Footnote 26: A Scale for the Measurement of Quality in English +Composition, by Milo B. Hillegas, published by the Bureau of +Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University. + +Footnote 27: The Harvard-Newton Scale for the Measurement of English +Composition, published by the Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. + +Footnote 28: Scale Alpha. For Measuring the Understanding of Sentences, +by E.L. Thorndike, published by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers +College, Columbia University. + +Scales for measuring the rate of silent reading and oral reading have +been derived by Dr. W.S. Gray, of the University of Chicago, and by Dr. +F.J. Kelly, of the University of Kansas. Reference to the use of Dr. +Gray's scale will be found in Judd's Measuring Work of the Schools, one +of the volumes of the Cleveland survey, published by the Russell Sage +Foundation. Dr. Kelly's test, called The Kansas Silent Reading Test, can +be had from the Emporia, Kansas, State Normal School. + +Footnote 29: Completion Test Language Scales, by M.R. Trabue, published +by the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University. + +Footnote 30: The student who is not interested in the statistical +methods involved in measuring with precision the achievements of pupils +may omit the remainder of this chapter. + +Footnote 31: This explanation of the method of finding the median was +prepared for one of the classes in Teachers College by Dr. M.R. Trabue. + +Footnote 32: The third decimal place is omitted in this table. + +Footnote 33: In order to discover the relationship which exists between +two traits which we have measured we would use many more than seven +cases. The illustrations given are made short in order to make it easy +to follow through the application of the formula. + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of How to Teach +by George Drayton Strayer and Naomi Norsworthy + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12769 *** |