particular thing he wants to do with reservations. Free activity with planned direction behind it is the plan which Miss Anderton is using. A doll's house, furnished completely even to the required amount of bedding and inhabited by a family of dolls with complete wardrobe, is part of the equipment. This provides training in the elementary parts of homework which most of the children will need when they leave the hospital. When the children are "playing dolls" they are getting training for future tasks. While the Nursery school looks very much like a play room and it would seem that the teacher is merely a play instructor, behind it all is a definite educational purpose. Kindergarten and primary teachers who receive "graduates" of the school will be in a position to check its value. The art of questioning is being developed in the third grade at Union School where Mrs. Malzarine Reynolds is teacher. In a recent demonstration lesson held for third grade teachers in the southwest district a class was given the story of "Little Scar-Face" to read. This was new material to the children and the ability to answer the questions which later were given to them tested their reading ability and, at the same time, brought out their knowledge of the story. No word was spoken by the teacher during the entire lesson. Every question and comment made by the teacher was written on the board. As a result of this plan splendid concentration on the part of the pupils was made possible. After the pupils had read the story Mrs. Reynolds wrote a question on the board which involved facts in the story. When this had been satisfactorily answered she wrote another question. All of the questions were of the thought variety and required answers other than "yes" or "no." Occasionally an answer to a question would cause lively discussion among the children, and in the discussion as in the lesson proper the teacher's voice was not heard. If she had a comment she wrote it on the board. Examples of questions given follow: "Tell about White Maiden, Big Moose and their home." "What did White Maiden do, that she could see Big Moose?" "Why could not the other Indians see him?" "Tell about ScarFace." "How did each sister try to win Big Moose?"-School Topics. The Kaingsu Provincial Government, China, has undertaken the reorganization of its educational system, modelled to a certain extent after schools in the United States. Mr. S. C. Tai, graduate student in Chicago University, has been appointed special research scholar of foreign education, and is assisting his government in the collection of a library of American educational books and pamphlets. Bulletins, courses of study, etc., sent to Mr. Tai for the use of his home government will be greatly appreciated. One of the most complete courses of study in reading which has come to our attention is that prepared by Miss Ruth E. Hilpert for Grades I to VI of the St. Cloud (Minnesota) public schools. The volume shows intimate acquaintance with the research work that has been done in the field in recent years. It contains an unusually large amount of specific directions to teachers concerning what to teach, how to teach, and where to find supplementary aids. The appendix contains as much material as the body of the volume and includes five different series of unstandardized silent reading tests which have been devised for use in the local schools. PERIODICALS "Unified Kindergarten and First-Grade Teaching." S. C. Parker and Alice Temple. Elementary School Journal, September, 1923 to March, 1924, inclusive. The authors have been doing an interesting classroom experiment in kindergarten and first grade work. This article is the result of a great deal of experimental work and is not based upon subjective evidence alone. Miss Temple deals with the actual classroom procedure while Mr. Parker helps furnish the guiding principles that one can see at a distance much better than at close range. The result of the experiment is well told in a series of seven articles published in the journal mentioned above. Summary of the series: “As indicated in the opening article, our consideration of the unification of the kindergarten and first grade teachers was planned to give teachers, supervisors, and superintendents a general understanding of the broad features of this unification movement. To accomplish this purpose, we have discussed the history of the movement, its social and psychological objectives, the selection and psychological organization of the unified curriculum, the provisions for suitable physical conditions and equipment, class organization and daily programs, and the general spirit which should prevail in the classroom." "General and Specific Effects of Training in Reading with Observation on the Experimental Technique." Arthur I. Gates and Dorothy Van Alstyne. Teachers College Record, March, 1924. "Reading is not a single unitary power but merely a name for a large number of abilities, more or less specifically acquired." Reading may be for several purposes. (1) `We may read primarily to grasp the thought-to comprehend the bare facts. (2) Re-reading affords opportunity for many skills-speed in skimming, flexibility in changing pace, skipping from place to place. (3) Reading may be conducted to secure data bearing on some particular issue, to answer some definite question or assuage some doubt. (4) We may read mainly to recollect, to supplement the passage, as when we allow our mind to drift while reading a passage, to scenes, persons, conversation, activities, which are merely suggested. (5) One may read with reaction more emotional than intellectual, although both are usually combined. Types of training. Two types of training were tried with a group of children, the Paragraph - Question Method and Rapid Reading with Oral Recitations. Many different kinds of test were used to test the two methods. The conclusions from the whole experiment are as follows: "It is apparent that instruction and practice in reading in a general way-mere reading-does not guarantee the development of all the important types of reading ability. . . . It is apparent that a most economical and interesting way to develop reading abilities consists in utilizing the principle of 'practice experiments' in forms similar to but superior to those used here." "Why Study Chemistry?" Charles E. Monroe. School Science and Mathematics, February, 1924. Science has had a hard time getting into the school system because many people can not see the part it is to play in the education of the child. Also there are many people who have a peculiar inhibition toward anything that tends to do away with ancient superstition. science courses that tended to mention the theory of evolution were immediately put on the retired list. The author has collected a very interesting list of reasons. why children should study chemistry. The 1. For its economic value; that is, as furnishing a means of livelihood. Industry uses a great number of chemists in their laboratories all the time. They are there to test certain standard formulae and to make new formulae. Both have much influence on society. The nation that does not have its army of chemists will soon find itself trailing far behind the up-todate nations. America found a real economic difficulty at the outbreak of the world war. 2. The study of chemistry enlarges one's vocabulary. 3. The study of chemistry is of value, too, as a means of culture, for it greatly widens our mental horizon and makes the invisible apparent to our senses. 4. The study of chemistry is worth pursuing since it supplies one with the means for improving the conditions of mankind by ameliorating his conditions of living. 5. Chemistry must concern all, not only because we are completely subject to its laws and our lives depend for every moment of existence upon the orderly progress of the many chemical reactions going on within and throughout our bodies, but also because every commercial transaction in which we take part is based upon a chemical analysis. 6. We should study it from a patriotic motive both in peace and war. "Determining a Language Program." J. W. Searson. English Journal, Febru ary, 1924. English is a tool subject but it must be taught by every teacher in the school or the work of the English department will be broken down as fast as it is built up. This calls for some sort of co-operation between the departments of the school. This co-operation must get at the bottom of the situation and get units of work constructed so that language and literature are taught as separate units and by different methods. Literature is to be taught by the appreciation type of teach ing while language is taught by the science method. The National Council reports the following summary on their work: 1. Language and literature, although they have high increments of culture, exist primarily because of their larger values. 2. Competent teachers with fine appreciation and rare skill, and with time enough to do the work well, are imperatively demanded as agents to carry out a nation-wide teaching program. 3. The lowest objectives the Council can consistently recognize are the speaking skills, the writing skills, the reading skills necessary to ordinary success. These primary objectives must be supplemented by higher objectives which develop public demands to the plane of highest cultural and social needs. a 4. To accomplish these ends, the National Council may well announce program of harmony with its own expressed desires and those of many other leaders. Such a program should be well grounded on common convictions and should point directly toward the accomplishments most desired and most needed. "Supervised Study in English." Ernest Haynes. School Review, May, 1924. Three types of study activity are distinguished in the study of English in the high school: 1. Acquisition, through understanding, application, and practice, of those principles of usage and composition, both oral and written, which are generally recognized among cultivated people as correct, graceful and effective. 2. General reading for exploration, that is, for the accretion of contacts, for appreciation, which includes the idea of relating literature to life and enriching the reader's experience, and for pure recreative enjoyment. 3. Reading with a definite purpose in mind, such as the preparation of a report, the organization of the material collected, and its composition for presentation by the student in oral or written form. The writer proceeds to describe the procedure of supervised study as applied to each of these activities in the University High School, University of Chicago. In language study (acquisition) the instruction is highly individualized. In the beginning, each pupil is tested in order to determine his present knowledge and power, and auxiliary evidence of current practice is gathered from the papers which he writes for subjects other than English. In this way the individual need of each pupil is determined and re corded. Such errors as are fairly common to the class as a whole are discussed by the teacher with the class in general or with the groups needing the instruction. The students are then put to work on practice material and the study of grammatical principles under the supervision of the teacher. The latter moves quietly about the room while the pupils are studying or practicing their exercises. She gives supplementary explanations, repeats information already given, checks the correctness of the exercises completed, administers tests to the pupils who are ready for them and in short, offers the stimulation or guidance that each pupil requires. În the classes in literature (general reading) the reading content is divided into units of instruction for convenience and direction. These units may be based on literary types, such as drama, epic, essay, etc., or on subject-matter such as nature, patriotism, animal life, etc. A large amount of the time given to the course is devoted to silent reading in the classroom. Books relating to the current unit of study are placed upon tables in the classroom. The classroom assumes the atmosphere of a home library. The teacher is on hand to answer questions, to discuss problems which arise, and to suggest enjoyable readings. study is employed is in the preparation of oral or written reports on the content in literature or community life. The instructor first presents a variety of suitable topics in order to properly introduce the unit of instruction. During the silent reading periods which follow, the pupils choose their subjects for study in personal conferences with the instructor. During the actual preparation of the reports, the instructor moves about the room, giving such aid as is needed, either in explaining obscure passages, or in suggesting improvements in organization, or in supplying necessary restimulation or supplementary sources of information. The writer discusses also the problem of discipline, the objective results secured with supervised study, and the place of the teacher in the program. "Written Examinations Versus Standardized Tests." Walter S. Monroe. School Review, April, 1924. Monroe cites briefly the history of achievement testing in America. He refers to the obvious inaccuracies of the ordinary essay examination but he also admits that recent critical studies of standardized tests have proved that these new measuring instruments are far from perfect. The information at hand indicates clearly that neither type of measure may be considered highly accurate. How they actually do compare in accuracy for the purpose of rating students is yet to be conclusively determined. In point of reliability there is much evidence which indicates that the difference in the magnitude of the variable errors of measurement for the two types of examination is not so great as is commonly believed. That is to say that the two types of tests when repeated on the same groups of children are about equally proficient in ranking the pupils within the group. In the matter of constant errors-that is errors which result in all ratings being too low or too high (e. g., certain teachers The third activity in which supervised are said to grade too high, etc.,) it appears that the constant errors are likely to be considerably larger for examination grades than for standardized test scores. In case of the constant errors found in the use of standardized tests, Monroe is of the opinion that they are usually due to departures from the standardized directions in the use of the tests. The reader who enjoys statistical subject-matter will be interested in the data presented and in its interpretation. "The Reliability of Non-Standardized Point Tests." L. Ó. McAfee. Elementary School Journal, April, 1924. Can teachers get reliable results from tests that call for short definite answers when these tests have not been standardized? Obviously if this question can be answered in the positive it will result in the substitution of the brief one-or-twoword type of examination for the long laborious discussion or essay form of examination. Especially would this form of short definite answers be of value when the examination involves fact material very largely. The literature on the pedagogy of tests and examinations has usually emphasized the need of giving questions that demand thought and organization on the part of the pupil. Standard tests, on the other hand, have almost uniformly adopted the point question because of the ease and accuracy of scoring. Insofar as these elements of objectivity and ease of scoring are concerned the question is whether or no the teacher can secure the advantage of the standard test movement when she uses her own home-made tests. The writer sought experimental evidence on this question in the field of history teaching. Three types of tests, covering the whole range of American history were given to fifty-seven seventh graders. One type of test called for but one simple response to each question. E. g., "Which of the colonies was the home of the Pilgrims?" The second test consisted of yes-no questions. E. g., "Did George Washington ever ride on a rail road train?" The third test consisted of ordinary discussion questions, such as, "Give a full account of the cause, chief events, and results of America's participation in the World War." They differed from the questions of the first two tests in that they demanded an organized series of responses. As in the first two tests, it was not possible to distinguish between the use of simple memory and the use of thinking in writing the answers. The common belief that discussions bring out more thinking than point answers has as yet been established by experimental evidence. The writer has analyzed his experimental results fairly. He concludes that of the two types of tests-point tests and discussion tests-the point tests are more reliable as a measure of the students' knowledge-when neither type of test has been standardized. There is practically no difference in the efficiency of the two types of point tests (the simple response and yes-no examinations) when they are used in the rating of pupils. Experiments of this kind can well be duplicated by the average teacher. The statistics involved are of an elementary nature. |