METHODS OF THE RECITATION
OUTLINE--CHAPTER XIX
The question of method raised.--Danger of an entire disregard of
method.--The case of the "born" teacher.--Sound pedagogy largely a
matter of common sense.--Danger of being committed to a single
method.--The five possible methods: The Story Method; Reading
'Round; The Special Topic; The Lecture; The Discussion.
Two of the most practical questions that a teacher ever has to solve
are:
How shall I go about to prepare a lesson?
Having prepared a lesson, how shall I set about to teach it to my class?
The first of these questions has already been discussed in preceding
chapters; the second now calls for our consideration.
Is there a _one best method_? If so, what is it? What steps does it
involve? Instead of answering these questions directly, perhaps it will
be better to point out the various methods of the recitation, set down
their characteristics and relative values, and then formulate a
conclusion.
At the outset it may be advisable to sound two notes of warning. One is
against an entire disregard of methods. There are those persons who
believe that teachers are born, not made, and that therefore a
discussion of methods is useless. The born teacher, say these persons,
just teaches naturally according to his own personality. To change his
method would be to destroy his effectiveness. If he isn't a teacher then
the study of methods will not make him one. In either case work done on
methods is lost.
Of course, experience refutes both contentions. It is admittedly true
that great teachers are born to their work--that some individuals just
naturally impress others and stimulate them to high ideals. And yet
there is no one so gifted that he cannot improve through a study of the
game he is to play. Most great athletes are by nature athletic. And yet
every one of them trains to perfect himself. The best athletes America
sent to the Olympic games were wonderfully capable men, but they were
wonderfully trained men, as well. They had studied the _methods_ of
their particular sports. Great singers are born with great vocal
potentialities, but the greatest singers become so as the result of
thorough training. _Methods_ elevate them to fame. What is true of the
other arts ought also to be true of teaching.
As to the class of teachers not born to the calling, it seems perfectly
clear that here is the great opportunity for a study of the fundamentals
underlying good teaching. Sound pedagogy is just a matter of good,
common sense. Any normal person by studying how to do anything ought in
the end to come to do that thing better than if he ignored it. I may not
know how to operate an automobile. But if I study how to operate one, if
I observe those who do know how, and if I practice operating one--surely
I shall come to be more efficient as a chauffeur.
But while many will admit that this law of development applies in the
mechanical world, they hold that there is something mystic about
teaching for which only a pedagogical birthright is a solution. The
fallacy of such a contention seems too evident to call for argument. At
least the only sensibly hopeful view to take in such a Church as ours,
in which so many members must perforce be called to be teachers, is that
power in teaching can be developed as it can in any other field of
endeavor.
The other bit of warning applies to the kind of teacher who is
unalterably committed to a single method, not only as the best method,
but the only one worth following. Method depends so essentially on the
personality of the teacher, on the nature of the pupils taught, and on
the subject matter to be presented, that it is a very dangerous thing to
say that, in spite of circumstances, one method is invariably the best
method.
Let us, then, turn to the different methods and consider their relative
values. Five possibilities immediately suggest themselves:
1. The story method.
2. The "reading 'round" method.
3. The special topic method.
4. The lecture method.
5. The discussion method, built up through questions and answers.
1. _The Story Method._ The story is the method for childhood. "All the
world loves a story." Children certainly are a part of that world. How
they thrill in response to the appeal of a good story. Their little
souls fairly seem to open to receive it. What an opportunity--what a
sacred trust--is the teacher's as he undertakes to satisfy that soul
hunger! The subject, the story, has been so fully gone into by Brother
Driggs in his book, _The Art of Teaching_, that we need not attempt to
discuss it fully here. Then, too, so many other excellent books have
been written on the art of the story that the teacher need only be
referred to them. Suffice it here to make two observations in passing.
The best stories for purposes of religious instruction should possess
four essential characteristics:
Point--Brevity--Message--Adaptation to the experience of pupils.
And, of course, this message should be a truth appropriate to the
occasion--a message heightened by the spirit of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
The second observation has to do with the telling of the story.
Naturally it should be well told. But the story hour should not be one
of mere telling. The child, in addition to listening to the story,
should be given opportunity to express its reaction to the story
told--should be directed in discovering the avenue through which it will
carry into action the emotion aroused by the story.
2. _The "Reading 'Round" Method._ The old idea of a class coming
together and sitting through a process of reading in turn from the one
book in the class as it was passed about is largely a thing of the past.
Let us hope that the day when neither teacher nor pupil prepared his
lesson is gone forever. Surely "reading 'round" is a poor substitute for
preparation. And it clearly is a dull, routine method of procedure. But
there was one merit attached to it that is worthy our consideration. It
did bring the scriptures into the hands of our pupils. Whatever method
we may follow, this contact with the actual word of the Lord is a
valuable asset. We cannot advocate resorting to the old notion of
"reading 'round" as an apology for a recitation, but we can well point
out the merit of seeing to it that pupils see and read the scriptures.
If the lesson can be so conducted that reading is indulged in as a
supplementary laboratory exercise--a turning through of gems that entice
the reader to make further study of the book--then reading can be made a
very valuable factor in the teaching process. Then, too, it is
educational just to have members of a class turn through the scriptures
to know what they are--what books are involved and where they may be
found. Ignorance with respect to the scriptures is alarmingly prevalent.
The following report taken from the _New York Tribune_ relative to a
simple test in Bible literature, given by an Eastern university to 139
students, is significant:
"Out of 139 only 12 reached 75%; 90 received less than 50%; 10 could not
name a single book of the Old Testament. Some who did spelled them
Salms, Joob, etc. Some named Paul, Babylonians, and Gentiles as Old
Testament books."
Surely much might be said in favor of the use of books in our classes.
3. _The Special Topic Method._ Much can be said both for and against the
topic method. At least three objections to its use can be raised:
A. It makes for piece-meal preparation. The lesson is partitioned off
into segments, one of which may be prepared by a particular pupil who
does not concern himself at all with the rest of the lesson. This
method, therefore, encourages fragmentary and incomplete preparation.
B. It makes for a disconnected presentation which makes it quite
impossible for pupils to get a unified conception of the whole lesson.
This is doubly bad, because of the fact that frequently those who are
assigned parts absent themselves from class.
C. It often results in dull, commonplace recitations. All too
frequently, especially if topic assignments are the usual method of
procedure, those pupils given the various topics to work up content
themselves with very meagre preparation. They come to class, therefore,
and merely run over so many facts wholly without inspiration and often
by constant reference to notes or the text.
Of course, these difficulties can be overcome largely by the judicious
use of the topic method. It ought not generally to be followed as the
regular order of business, but rather as a supplementary means of
enriching the lesson. It ought not to be used so as to excuse all class
members from regular preparation of the lesson as a whole. If the
teacher will assign the lesson proper to all of the class and then
select certain aspects--certain suggested problems--for more intensive
research, the reports on special topics can be made to contribute
wonderfully to the richness of the class hour. The topic method, then,
is primarily a supplemental method, and if wisely used has these
advantages:
A. It makes for an enriched lesson. It makes possible expert opinion,
and the results of special, careful investigation which the class as a
whole would be unable to make.
B. It lends variety to class procedure and guarantees that the teacher
will not do all the talking.
C. It fosters individual expression. It trains pupils to formulate an
attack, to organize findings, and to stand and deliver a connected and
well thought out message.
D. It promotes a habit of investigation--it leads pupils to work out for
themselves the problems of the Gospel which they encounter.
4. _The Lecture Method._ The comment of a student of the Brigham Young
University on the lecture method was unique: "The lecture method
wouldn't be so bad if a teacher really lectured--he usually just talks.
And talking a lot when you haven't much to say is pretty discouraging to
a class."
Aimless talking which indulges in the main in vague generalities can
never be justified. _Preaching_ presumes a pulpit and has little place
in classwork. The teacher who persists in talking most of the time
overvalues his own thoughts and minimizes the ideas of others. Much
talking stifles initiative and independent thinking. Then, too, it gives
no opportunity for developing pupils' power of self-expression and
provides no means for the teacher to check the reaction going on in the
pupils' minds--assuming that one goes on! It is astonishing what
erroneous notions members of a class can get from merely hearing a
lesson presented. Given a chance to express their conclusions, they will
themselves correct many of their false impressions.
There are occasions, however, when a lecture is extremely valuable.
Frequently after several weeks of discussion a class is hungry to hear
"the truth about the matter." There is then afforded a splendid
opportunity for the teacher to drive home a real message. Then, too,
specialists, because of their advanced study on a particular subject,
can often present in an hour the results of years of investigation.
Furthermore, in a lecture, the teacher can make an emotional appeal
which is practically out of the question in other methods. His
enthusiasm and conviction can be made to "carry" his pupils to the
contemplation of new truths. Used with discretion, the _real lecture_ is
a valuable asset in teaching; indulged in regularly as _mere talking_ or
_preaching_, the method ought certainly to be discouraged.
5. _The Discussion Method._ This method, built upon questions and their
answers, is commendable for its democracy and because of the fact that
it stimulates both thought and discussion on the part of most if not all
of the pupils. Questions are so vital to good teaching that Chapter XXI
will be devoted to their consideration. Suffice it to say here that for
all practical purposes it is the basis of the best teaching. Discussions
make it possible to reach pupils "Where they are"--make it possible for
everyone to contribute of his experience to everyone else.
The one outstanding difficulty with the discussion method lies in the
fact that it calls for such skilful direction. It so easily runs off on
tangents that the teacher is kept on his mettle holding to the subject
in hand.
After all, each method has its advantages and its disadvantages. There
are times when any one of them can be profitably used; it is clear that
any one of them can be abused--can be made more or less monotonous.
Perhaps we can wisely conclude that, "_The best method is a variety of
methods._"
* * * * *
QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS--CHAPTER XIX
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, _Classroom Management_; Strayer and Norsworthy,
_How to Teach_.