Method as a Subject of Scientific Tests
Class exercises are thus seen to differ in form and in results. When the student of standards begins to make his tests and measurements, he finds an inviting field for study in the different effects which follow the various types of exercises enumerated above.
EXERCISES AND READINGS
Methods can be discussed from various points of view. Let the student consider methods in relation to the different subjects of instruction. How will the method of teaching manual training compare with the method of teaching Latin or arithmetic or music? Again, let the relation of method to the maturity of pupils be discussed. What can be done in a high-school class in English that is not possible with an elementary class? In this connection what are the methods of teaching adults? Does a preacher exhibit method in his preaching? What is the method of a writer in a newspaper as distinguished from the method of a writer of novels? Methods can be considered from the point of view of the teacher’s personality and equipment. Are there any natural differences between the methods of men and women in teaching? Classify teachers with respect to the aggressiveness of their methods of attack. Some are very quiet and require the pupils to do most of the talking; others are not.
In the Appendix will be found a list of questions designed to aid in the observation of classroom methods.
Charters, W. W. Methods of Teaching. Row, Peterson & Company, Chicago.
Earhart, L. B. Types of Teaching. Houghton Mifflin Company.
McMurry, C. A. The Elements of General Method. Public School Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois.
Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools. Ginn and Company.
Strayer, G. D. A Brief Course in the Teaching Process. The Macmillan Company.
Strayer, G. D., and Norsworthy, N. How to Teach. The Macmillan Company.