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.