Chapter II: Preface

This book is the direct outcome of experience in trying to help teachers grow in skill in the art of teaching and in power to appreciate the work in which they are engaged. In the following pages have been treated as concretely as possible the problems which the teacher faces day after day in the classroom. Theories of education have not been discussed at any great length, but rather those processes through which these fundamental principles find their expression in actual teaching.

Terminology which it is difficult for teachers to understand has been avoided. Although the results of studies in educational psychology and in experimental pedagogy have been included in the interpretation of the problems discussed, it has not been thought advantageous to discuss at any length any one of these investigations.

Many of the books which have been written for teachers have discussed theories of teaching method without indicating clearly the application of these principles in typical classroom exercises. In other volumes a single type of teaching has been emphasized to the exclusion of other equally valid methods of instruction. In this book each of the several typical methods of instruction has been treated, and the validity of the particular practice indicated in terms of the end to be accomplished, as well as the technique to be used. Since the technique of teaching method is not the only element in determining the efficiency of the teacher, there is included in this book a discussion of those other aspects of the teacher’s work which determine the contribution which she makes to the education of the children with whom she works.

In the chapter on lesson plans are given a number of illustrations which conform to the types of exercises discussed earlier in the book. One of the greatest needs in working with teachers is met by this very definite provision for demonstrating the validity of the types of teaching discussed. The exercises given at the end of each chapter are intended to supplement the discussions of the book by calling for an interpretation of the thought there presented in terms of situations with which teachers are commonly familiar.

To Professors F. M. McMurry, Naomi Norsworthy, and L. D. Coffman, each of whom has read the manuscript, I am indebted for many valuable suggestions. To Miss Kirchwey of the Horace Mann School, Miss Steele and Miss Wright of the Speyer School, to Miss Tall, Supervisor of Grammar Grades in Baltimore County, Maryland, and to Dr. Lida B. Earhart of the New York City Schools, I am indebted for lesson plans. The outlines for the study of English, arithmetic, geography, and history which are given in the appendix are published with the permission of the authors and of the Teachers College Bureau of Publications.

GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.

TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY,
August 10, 1911.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

THE AIM OF EDUCATION
PAGES
Education measured by differences brought about in individuals—
Various statements of the aim—The individualistic point of view
has been emphasized—The social aim of education—Aim realized
in various types of education—Various teaching processes
contribute to the realization of the aim—Test of the teacher’s
work the _present_ realization of the aim 1-11

CHAPTER II

THE FACTORS CONDITIONING THE TEACHING PROCESS

Success in realizing the aim of education depends upon a clear
realization of the conditioning factors—The increased
responsibility of the school—The necessity for knowledge of the
home life of children—The instinctive equipment of children—
Play—Constructiveness—Imitation—Emulation—Pugnacity—Curiosity—
Ownership—The social instinct—Wonder—The importance of interest
in instruction—The danger of divided interest—Interest as means
and as end—Heredity—Individual differences 12-31

CHAPTER III

THE TEACHING PROCESS

Teaching a process of controlling adjustments—Types of
adjustment—The common element in these situations,
satisfaction—Types of attention corresponding to types of
adjustment—Passive, active, and secondary passive attention—
Illustrations of the types of attention—The problem of
securing continued attention—The importance of the problem
in teaching 32-40

CHAPTER IV

THE DRILL LESSON

The necessity for drill—The question of motive—Clear ideas of
the habit to be formed essential—Repetition with attention
essential in drill work—Attention held by initial motive, by
varying the procedure, by placing time limits, and by appealing
to emulation—Necessity for accuracy in practice—The periods
elapsing between repetitions or series of repetitions should
be gradually lengthened—Danger of the cramming method—In a
series of responses to be made automatic each member of the
series must be included—Drill especially on work that presents
peculiar difficulty 41-50

CHAPTER V

THE INDUCTIVE LESSON

The importance of thinking—Preparation should end with statement
of the problem by children—The gathering of data the work of
pupils in so far as is possible—Suggestions for conducting
excursions—The hypothesis in relation to comparison and
abstraction—Not everything can be developed—Respect for the
expert to be developed—Danger of helping children too much—The
steps of the process cannot be sharply differentiated—Teaching
by types 51-69

CHAPTER VI

THE DEDUCTIVE LESSON

The complete process of thought involves both induction and
deduction—The frequency of deductive thinking—The teacher in
relation to the thinking of children—Reflection—The problem
as essential in deductive as in inductive thinking—The search
for the principle or law which explains—The meaning of
inference—The importance of verification 70-77

CHAPTER VII

THE LESSON FOR APPRECIATION

Education should enable one to enjoy life—Power of appreciation
should be developed in our schools—Necessity for power of
appreciation on the part of the teacher—The relation of command
of technique involved in creation to power of appreciation—The
necessity for a right emotional attitude on part of children
at the beginning of such an exercise—Expression of feeling
should not be forced—The teacher as interpreter—Creative work
by children—Appreciation in fields other than those involving
the æsthetic emotions 78-85

CHAPTER VIII

THE STUDY LESSON

The importance of independent work—Children must become conscious
of the methods which can be most efficiently employed—Statement
of problem essential for study—Assignments—Children must be
taught how to collect data—Taking notes—Critical attitude
developed—Reflection—The importance of the habit of verification—
Teaching children to memorize by wholes—Importance of thought
in memory work—Children can be taught how to form habits 86-100

CHAPTER IX

REVIEW OR EXAMINATION LESSON

An examination involves a review—A review a summary and a new
view—Value of reviews—An abstract or topical outline a good
review—A review by application—The only real test of the
teacher’s work found in children’s everyday action—Examinations
as a test of the success of teaching—The needs for scales of
measurement 101-106

CHAPTER X

THE RECITATION LESSON

The weakness of this type of exercise as commonly conducted—The
topical recitation—The value of outlines prepared by pupils—Pupils
should learn how to use books—The danger of being satisfied
with words—Provision for supplementing the text—Danger of
accepting vague or incoherent answers—The danger in developing
an ultra-individualistic attitude—The recitation lesson
not comparable in importance to other types of exercises
discussed 107-113

CHAPTER XI

QUESTIONING

The importance of good questions—Types of questions—A lack of
scope a common fault in questions—Careful planning necessary—The
novelty of the form in which the question is put important—The
method of shock—The technique of questioning—The mistake of
asking questions in a definite order, of repeating questions,
of repeating answers—Questioning by pupils—Importance
of writing pivotal questions to be used in the recitation 114-128

CHAPTER XII

SOCIAL PHASES OF THE RECITATION

Social aim of education realized in the classroom—Motives commonly
operating in schools—Children naturally work together—Changes
in school work demanded by the aim of education—Illustrations
of coöperation in schools—Opportunity in manual work for group
work—Plan for individual contribution in all subjects—All kinds
of school exercises may lend themselves to the development of
the social spirit—Need for more purposeful work for children—
The social motive important in stimulating intellectual
activity 129-138

CHAPTER XIII

THE PHYSICAL WELFARE OF CHILDREN

The importance of physical efficiency—The teacher should know
something of the standards of lighting, heating, and
ventilating—Right habits of posture under the control of
teachers—The schoolroom and infectious diseases—The teacher’s
responsibility for discovering defects of sight, hearing, and
the like—The teacher and the movement for better health
conditions in the community—The teacher’s right to health 139-144

CHAPTER XIV

MORAL TRAINING

Intellectual and moral training cannot be separated—School
conditions offer advantages for moral training—Increased
responsibility of schools for moral training—Individual
differences, due to heredity, environment, and age important
in moral training—Physical condition and morality—Direct and
indirect method of moral instruction—Morality and taste—
Importance of calling for an exercise of the moral judgment—
The reform of the wrong doer—The influence of the teacher 145-156

CHAPTER XV

CLASS MANAGEMENT

Class management as a means and as an end—Conditions under
which management should result in habit—Situations which
demand self-control—Pupil participation in school government—The
daily program—Group instruction—Children should be
individualized—Individual instruction will not make children
equal in ability nor in accomplishment—Management in relation
to teaching 157-166

CHAPTER XVI

LESSON PLANS

Necessity for planning work—Teacher’s lack of interest in work
often repeated—Change in subject matter—Preparation, not
inspiration, counts in teaching—Importance of good questions,
illustrations and illustrative material, reference material,
plans for constructive work—The elements in a good plan—
Organization—Pivotal questions—Provision for summaries—
Assignment 167-223

CHAPTER XVII

THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO SUPERVISION

The purpose of supervision—Criticism, its various types—When
to discuss work with supervisors—School exhibits—Visiting
within and outside of the system in which one works—Examinations
and supervision—The function of teachers’ meetings—Institutes,
the better type—Supervision and growth 224-231

CHAPTER XVIII

THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO THE COURSE OF STUDY

The course of study as a taskmaster—The real purpose of the
course of study—Provisions for minimum, alternative, and optional
work—How the course of study may help the teacher—The
teacher’s contribution to the making of the course of
study—The interpretation of the course of study to children—The
doctrine of formal discipline—The vitalization of the
curriculum 232-246

CHAPTER XIX

MEASURING RESULTS IN EDUCATION

Efficiency demands that we evaluate our results—Progress by the
method of trial and success—Reasons why scientific work in
education has progressed slowly—Results already achieved in
measuring the results of our practice—Education means change,
and these changes are measurable—Lack of adequate units of
measurement not an argument against measurement—The steps in
scientific investigation—The teacher in relation to scientific
work in education—The school a laboratory 247-265

A BRIEF COURSE IN THE

TEACHING PROCESS