Principles of Teaching Part 23

1. Why is it essential that teachers study methods of the recitation?

2. What method do you regularly follow? Why?

3. To what extent is it that a born teacher teaches without method?

4. What is pedagogy?

5. Discuss the relative value of each of the five methods listed in this chapter.

6. Discuss the statement, "The best method is a variety of methods."

HELPFUL REFERENCES

Betts, _How to Teach Religion_; Betts, _The Recitation_; Earhart, _Types of Teaching_; Bagley, _Cla.s.sroom Management_; Strayer and Norsworthy, _How to Teach_.

CHAPTER XX

REVIEW AND PREVIEW

OUTLINE--CHAPTER XX

The need of review in our Church teaching.--Review a real help to learning in that it makes for: repet.i.tion, proper connection, proper evaluation of truth.

An intelligent review is the result only of thorough preparation on the part of the teacher.--a.s.signment and preparation.--Ability to make a.s.signments a test of good teaching.

Characteristics of a good a.s.signment: It is definite.--It raises a problem.--It connects with the experience of pupils.--It stimulates to action.

General and specific a.s.signments.--When to make a.s.signments.

Each organization within the Church follows regularly its own course of study. At the beginning of the year it sets out upon a prescribed subject subdivided according to the number of meetings scheduled for the year's work. As a result, no one lesson stands out independent of all others, but rather fits in naturally in a sequence of chapters each of which develops some aspects of one big subject. Because of such a plan the matters of review and preview take on vital significance. Each lesson should be made to link up naturally with what has already been presented and should point out by way of antic.i.p.ation what is to follow.

Many educators maintain that the ability to conduct a good review and to make an effective a.s.signment are two of the surest tests of a good teacher.

The problem of review is really one of the most fundamental processes in education. It is the great key to learning. Anyone who has enjoyed the fun of teaching young children how to read has been impressed with the fact that the child has to be led to see and repeat the simplest words over and over again before they are really mastered. It is really astonis.h.i.+ng how many times as simple a word as "ran" has to be repeated before the beginner in reading gets it fully into his consciousness.

This very difficulty of teaching mere words or letters has led to the abandonment of the old "A-B-C" drill as the first step in reading, and the subst.i.tution for it of an indirect method wherein, through the laws of a.s.sociation, groups of words and sentences are mastered as the symbols which express concrete and objectified ideas. But by way of experiment, one of the most impressive experiences open to teachers is to take a child of four or five that has not been taught to read and attempt to drill into its consciousness a group of half a dozen words as simple as these: cat, fan, hat, get, man, jam. To the teacher who has attempted such an experiment no argument is necessary to prove the significance of review and repet.i.tion.

Review, then, first of all, is vitally essential because it makes possible impression through repet.i.tion which insures the fixing of ideas. Literally, review means to view again. Psychologically it is to repeat the processes of mind which were called into operation the first time the stimulus in question started a mental reaction. The nervous system of man is so const.i.tuted that in the acquirement of knowledge, each time the nerve centers react to the same stimulus, the tendency so to react becomes stronger, under the mere presence of the stimulus, starts up an automatic sort of reaction, and we say that the child knows the meaning of the object const.i.tuting the stimulus.

Not only is review thus essential in the beginning of the learning process with children, but it remains a vital factor as long as men and women undertake to learn. Review guarantees recall, and recall re-establishes "nerve connections" to the permanent fixing of impressions. Very little of our knowledge remains ours to a purpose unless it is gone over and over until it is thoroughly established. A truth that is taught in a Mutual lesson on a particular Tuesday night, but which is never referred to again, and therefore never recalled, very likely will soon be gone out of consciousness and usefulness. Those truths and facts which are of greatest functioning value to us are those which we continue to run over in our minds and ponder. The reinforcement of review is what establishes our permanent working stock of truth.

Not only is review valuable as a matter of recall, but it makes for an enrichment of mental content which is altogether desirable. The real art of review lies in calling up an old truth in a new setting. Upon second perusal it is seen in skilful review from a slightly different angle so that each recall adds a reinforcement that makes for a clinching of thought which makes it permanent. It very often happens that the first time an idea is called to our attention it means but little, because our mental reaction is limited in the particular field of the presentation; the same idea in a new setting more in keeping with our experience may take on an entirely different significance. That teaching is best, therefore, which presents truth from the greatest number of angles possible, thereby guaranteeing the richest kind of a.s.sociations in the minds of pupils.

Another value that attaches to the review lies in the fact that it makes possible proper connection between new material and old. It is axiomatic in teaching that pupils learn new truths and take on new experiences, in terms of the old. Teaching that unfolds--that develops new ideas that are built upon those already understood--is the kind of teaching attended by best results. In our organizations, meeting as we do only once a week, we must appreciate the fact that in the intervening time, between meetings, hundreds of ideas have crowded into the mind and have displaced those that may have been there as a result of our teaching. By calling to mind those ideas of a week ago, we not only reinforce them, but we start a chain of thought to which it will be very much easier to add the link of today's work than to proceed as if forging an entirely new chain.

No farmer goes out and plants grain on the unplowed field. He plows and harrows that the soil may be prepared not only to receive the seed, but to make generation possible.

A review simply turns over the stubble field of the preceding week's work, making ready for the planting of new seeds that they may generate and develop.

Still a further value in the matter of review lies in the fact that the review makes more easily possible the proper evaluation of the facts taught. In every lesson there are major facts and truths presented and also those minor or subordinate ones that serve to amplify and ill.u.s.trate. All too frequently a cla.s.s becomes so involved in the minor details that it may fail to grasp fully the big, underlying truth. By careful review, the teacher can make the essentials stand out in relief.

These are the things that need to be pondered. If they are properly grasped, thanks to the laws of a.s.sociation, most of the minor facts will naturally attach themselves, so that truths can be retained in all of their richness of detail.

It is surprising to find how frequently pupils who have spent a year on the Book of Mormon have very little notion of the big, outstanding features of the book. They apparently have run over each week's lesson as so many independent facts, never coming back to single out the essential things in that early American civilization. Surely no cla.s.s ought to complete the course without clearly comprehending such major items as:

The contribution each of the three colonies made to Book of Mormon civilization.

The general geographical location of each colony.

The outstanding characters in the book.

The coming forth of the book.

Why it is essential.

How our faith depends largely upon it.

The ministry of the Savior on this continent.

Gospel teachings of the Book of Mormon.

What is true of the study of the Book of Mormon is equally true of all other subjects. It is so easy to get lost in a maze of facts, in a course in the principles of the Gospel, and yet if a teacher will hold to such basic considerations as the articles of faith, coming back to them regularly and linking facts presented under the appropriate article, it is equally easy to complete the course with a clearly defined, skeletonized basis for all future study. Two conclusions seem obvious: as teachers we ought to conduct reviews regularly and frequently; we ought to prepare for them as one of the most vital factors in teaching.

Important as is the review, the preview or a.s.signment is equally vital.

To quote from Colgrove's _The Teacher and the School_:

"_Importance and Value of Good Lesson a.s.signment._ From the foregoing consideration it is clear that no other part of the teacher's work exceeds in value and importance the proper planning and a.s.signment of the daily lessons. It is supplying the cla.s.s and the school with a definite plan of work. It is preparing the mind of each individual pupil for the reception of new truths and whetting his intellectual appet.i.te for a feast of good things. It inspires confidence by pointing out to the pupil just how he can use his past lessons and acquisitions to make new conquests. It prevents pupils from misunderstanding the lesson or approaching it with indifference or positive aversion. It enables the pupil to approach the new lesson in a perceiving mood, and helps pupils to form the habit of being successful in their work and of making a daily application of their old knowledge. It prevents the teacher from degenerating into a mere talker, and, where textbooks are used, should be the most vital part of the recitation."

The a.s.signment is the great guarantee of a good recitation. It sets up objectives--it points the way--it starts the thought process that is to produce a discussion worth while at the subsequent meeting of the cla.s.s.

Much has been said recently against the practice on the part of the teacher of saying, "Take chapter three for next time." There are superintendents of schools who refuse to keep such teachers in their service. To make such an a.s.signment, particularly in cla.s.ses that meet only once a week, and especially if the a.s.signment is made, as is too usually the case, after the signal for cla.s.s dismissal has been given, is to promise the pupils a week in advance that their next lesson will be very much of a failure.

A good a.s.signment is characterized by several very definite features. In the first place it is perfectly clear. Given at a time when pupils are following it, it gives specific direction as to the work to be done ahead in preparation. It indicates the direction of intellectual travel, points out sources of material, and indicates what is to be looked for.

Reference or textbooks are so pointedly referred to that pupils not only remember their names, they want to turn to them to enjoy their contributions.

In the second place, a good a.s.signment raises a problem which is a challenge to the mental powers of pupils. It should carry a force of antic.i.p.ation that capitalizes on that great mover to action--curiosity.

For instance, if the lesson to be a.s.signed is one on baptism, instead of simply naming certain pages in a text to be read, the skilful teacher may well challenge his cla.s.s by bringing in a clipping from a periodical or from some other source attempting to prove that sprinkling is the correct method of baptism, or that baptism is not essential to a man's obtaining salvation? How can members of the cla.s.s meet such an argument?

One of their first thoughts will likely be a query as to where available material may be turned to. How easy, then, to give references, etc. Some such problem can be raised relative to every lesson taught, and it is a wonderful force as an intellectual appetizer. It should both prompt to action and point to the path to be followed.

The question is often raised as to whether the a.s.signment should be general or specific. Perhaps the best answer involves both kinds. There ought ordinarily to be a general a.s.signment that affects all of the members of a cla.s.s. The cla.s.s is made up of all the individuals in the group--its discussing ought therefore to be so made up. But in addition to this general a.s.signment, specific topics given to particular members add an enrichment to the recitation of very great value. The services of the specialist are always of inestimable value. That cla.s.s is best wherein each member in turn becomes a specialist in looking up and bringing in vital observations on life.

As to the best time for making a.s.signments, it is rather hard to give a ruling that best fits all cases. Preferably the a.s.signment should grow out of the discussion of the lesson in hand, and therefore logically comes at the end of the recitation rather than at the beginning. There are teachers, however, who, fearing interruption at the end of the hour, map out their work so carefully that they can make the a.s.signment at the outset, merely calling attention to it at the close of the hour. All other things being equal, if the teacher will make himself hold sacred the time necessary at the end of the hour for this all important matter of a.s.signment, it is likely that best results will follow having the a.s.signment of the next lesson grow naturally out of the work of today.

The important thing, however, is that at some point in the recitation, the teacher shall take plenty of time to make a carefully planned and challenging announcement of the work ahead.