XIII. TYPES OF CLASSROOM EXERCISES

The exercises which teachers conduct in their classrooms do not commonly

involve a single type of mental activity. t 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

a ready 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. n 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.



n 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. n 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. t 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 nductive Lesson_. t 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. t 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. t 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. ndeed, 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. t 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. t 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.



n 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. t 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. n the

search for the generalization or principle which will explain the

problem, a process of acceptance and rejection is involved. t 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. t 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. f 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. erification 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. f 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.



n much of the drill work there is, of course, the desirability of

gaining in speed. n 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. n 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. t will suffice

here briefly to state what may be thought of as the order of procedure

in securing appreciation. t 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. t 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. t 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. n 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. ery 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. t 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. t 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. ery 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. t 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. t

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. llustrations 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.



llustrations 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. t 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. llustrations should not be the means of holding the attention;

that is the function of the material itself. f the lesson cannot hold

the interest, illustrations are worse than useless. llustrations, 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.

llustrations, further, should have a vital, necessary connection with

the point they are used to make clearer. llustrations that are dragged

in, that are not vitally connected with the point, are entirely out of

place. f 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. t 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.



t 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. t 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. t 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._ n 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. n 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. n 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. n 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. n 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. t 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. t is, of course,

undesirable to devote a whole week to examinations on account of the

strain and excitement under which children labor. t is entirely

possible to know of the achievements of children through examinations

which have been given at irregular intervals throughout the term. t

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. n another chapter the discussion of more exact methods of

measuring the achievements of children will be discussed at some length.



n all of the lesson types mentioned above, one of the most important

means employed by teachers for the stimulation of pupils is the

question. t 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. n 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. t involves memory--but memory of a

rote type. t 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. n 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. n 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. f 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. n 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. t 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. t 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. t 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. n 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.





QUESTONS





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. n 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.



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