Up to this point in the book our discussion has been concerned with three large issues: first, the purposes of classroom activity, namely, health, information, habits, ideals, and interests as related to the development of efficiency, good will, and noble enjoyment; second, economy in classroom management; third, the selection and arrangement of subject matter. These are fundamental preliminary issues that should determine the point of view of every teacher and that are of practical importance in connection with every subject.

The next problem to be attacked is how students learn most economically in the various subjects of instruction; for example, how do they acquire most economically motor skill, the vocabulary of a foreign language, skill in reflective thinking, habits of enjoyment, and skill in expression. Several chapters will be devoted to these problems of economy in learning.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Adapting subject matter to social needs. - I. BROWN, H. A. The Readjustment of a Rural High School to the Needs of the Community. Bulletin No. 20, United States Bureau of Education, 1912. Concrete description of reconstruction of Colebrook (N.H.) Academy.

2. DEWEY, JOHN. The School and Society. (The University of Chicago Press, 1899.) The most influential modern statement of the social point of view in the selection of subject matter.

3. SMITH, D. E. The Teaching of Geometry. (Ginn and Company, 1911.) Quoted incidentally in the chapter.

4. SNEDDEN, DAVID. The Opportunity of the Small High School. School Review, February, 1912, Vol. XX, pp. 98–110, Emphasizes serving local community needs.

5. SPENCER, HERBERT. Education (1859). Chap. i. Famous indictment of English classical secondary curriculum as failing to meet contemporary social needs.

Relative values. — 6. MICHELSON, A. A. The Purpose and Organization of Physics Teaching. School Science and Mathematics, January, 1909, Vol. IX, pp. 3-4. Quoted incidentally in the chapter.

7. SPENCER, HERBERT. Education (1859). Chap. i, entitled What Knowledge is Most Worth. Most influential argument in favor of considering relative values.

Intensive treatment of fewer topics. 8. HERBERTSON, A. J. The Major Natural Regions. Geographical Journal, March, 1905, Vol. XXV, pp. 301-312. A description of the plan for teaching regional geography. 9. HERBERTSON, A. J. The Senior Geography. (The Clarendon Press, 1907.) An English regional geography.

10. LLOYD, F. E., and BIGELOW, M. A. The Teaching of Biology. (Longmans, Green & Co., 1904.) Pp. 106–115, 357. A discussion of the type method.

II. MCMURRY, F. and C. The Method of the Recitation. (The Macmillan Company, 1903.) Chap. x. Discussion and examples of type studies.

12. RITTER, KARL. Comparative Geography. (American Book Company, 1865.) P. xxiv. Strong criticism of encyclopedic method in geography.

13. ROBINSON, J. H. History of Western Europe. (Ginn and Company, 1903.) Preface. Criticism of encyclopedic method in history. Adapting organization of subject matter to students.

- 14. CALDWELL, O. W., and EIKENBERRY, W. L. Elements of General Science. (Ginn and Company, 1914.) A sample textbook.

15. CLARK, BERTHA M. General Science. (American Book Company, 1912.) A sample textbook.

16. DEWEY, JOHN. How We Think. (D. C. Heath & Co., 1900.) Chap. v, entitled The Psychological and Logical Method.

17. HERBART, F. Outlines of Educational Doctrine. (The Macmillan Company, originally published in 1841.) Pp. 93–94.

18. JUDD, C. H. Meaning of Science in Secondary Schools. School Science and Mathematics, 1912, Vol. XII, pp. 87-98.

19. MORRISON, H. C. Reconstructed Mathematics in High Schools. In The Thirteenth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. (The University of Chicago Press, 1914.) Pp. 9–31. Best discussion of possibilities of organizing new courses in mathematics adapted to needs of high-school students.

20. ROUSSEAU, J. J. Émile. (D. Appleton and Company, originally published in 1762.) P. 45.

21. Schultze, A. Teaching of Secondary Mathematics. (The Macmillan Company, 1912.) A valuable manual of improved methods.

22. SMITH, D. E. The Teaching of Mathematics in the Secondary Schools of the United States. School Science and Mathematics, 1909, Vol. IX, p. 210. Quoted incidentally in the chapter.

23. YOUNG, J. W. A. The Teaching of Mathematics. (Longmans, Green & Co., 1906.) Chap. vi, entitled The Perry Movement: the Laboratory Method.

CHAPTER V

TYPES OF LEARNING INVOLVED IN

HIGH-SCHOOL SUBJECTS

Main points of the chapter. 1. In order to choose the best methods of teaching various high-school subjects it is necessary to know the most economical and effective methods of carrying on the various types of learning involved.

2. For practical purposes the following types of learning may be distinguished :

a. Acquiring motor skill.

b. Associating symbols and meanings.

c. Acquiring skill in reflective thinking. d. Acquiring habits of enjoyment.

e. Acquiring skill in expression.

Special methods in high-school subjects based on processes of learning. In order to determine the correct methods of instruction to be followed in the various high-school subjects it is necessary to determine the most economical methods of learning which are involved in each subject. To do this will require taking up a consideration of several types of learning, since the processes of learning vary so much with the character of the subjects that are being studied. Up to this point in our discussion we have been concerned with certain general principles of method which are applicable in the teaching of nearly all subjects. These principles have been related to the purposes of high-school instruction, economy in classroom management, and the selection and arrangement of subject matter, and should concern all high-school teachers. Each of the next six chapters, on the other hand, will deal with

certain special types or aspects of learning, and the teacher of only one subject, such as manual training or mathematics or composition, may be interested in only one or two of these chapters. This chapter is intended to serve as an introduction to these somewhat specialized discussions.

Five types, or aspects, of learning outlined. For purposes of this discussion we may distinguish roughly five types of learning which are prominent in high school, as follows:

1. Acquiring motor skill. This form of learning is obviously involved in gymnastics, dancing, manual training, and laboratory manipulation. It is less obvious, although really just as important, in learning the pronunciation of a foreign language and in learning to sing, since these involve acquiring motor skill in the use of the vocal organs.

2. Associating symbols and meanings.-This type of learning is most prominent in high-school in mastering the vocabulary of a foreign language. Since this constitutes such a large part of high-school work, the discussion of the most economical methods of building up associations is very important. The process of association is also prominent in such subjects as history, in which the learning of a series of facts forms a large part of the pupil's work.

3. Reflective thinking.-Mathematics, natural science, and the grammatical work in the study of a language involve a large amount of reflective thinking, reasoning, or problemsolving. Other subjects, however, may also provide for more or less of this type of mental activity. This is especially true of the social sciences, notably economics, civics, and sociology. Another phase of reflective thinking is the acquiring of abstract and general meanings, especially in the sciences and in mathematics and grammar.

4. Acquiring habits of enjoyment.- Music, literature, and other arts, as well as sports and games, furnish the best examples of this type of learning. In our discussion of the purposes of instruction (on page 17) we noticed that training for

harmless enjoyment constituted one of the ultimate aims of education. The special technique involved in instruction that is organized to attain this end will be discussed in Chapter X.

5. Training in expression. This aspect, or type, of learning presents the central issue in oral and written composition, dramatization, drawing, painting, modeling, etc. It will be discussed in Chapter XI, with special emphasis upon training in composition.

By keeping in mind these five types of learning, and the importance of each in high-school instruction, the student will gain a general standpoint for studying the chapters that immediately follow. The first of these will be devoted to the first of the types of learning enumerated above, namely, acquiring motor skill.