REVIEW OR EXAMINATION LESSON
The review or the examination, in so far as methods of teaching are
concerned, present the same problem. We seek by means of exercises of
this type to bring about a better organization of knowledge, to test
the efficiency of our work by finding out whether or not pupils can,
when put to the test, utilize the knowledge or habits which we have
labored to make available for them, whether they are actuated by the
ideals and purposes which we have sought to inculcate, whether they
do actually employ the most economical methods of work when they meet
a situation which challenges their strength. It will be recognized
at once that work of this sort is a part of every recitation. But
for our own satisfaction, and, possibly, in order to meet the
requirements which may be imposed by those higher in authority, we
may at times feel the need for a stated exercise of this sort.
A review should mean a new view, a placing of facts in their true
relationship. It should mean a clearer view of the topic or the
subject which the children have been studying. It avails little
to go over the ground that has already been covered more rapidly.
The purpose to be accomplished is not to fix in mind a series of
unrelated facts. In our discussion of memory we had occasion to call
attention to the fact that recall of past experiences was conditioned
by the number and the quality of the associations which had been
established. And it is not simply a matter of recall. The use that we
can make of a fact depends upon our ability to relate it logically
to other facts. It is quite possible that a man of great native
retentiveness might be able to recall thousands of facts, and yet
be stupid, utterly unable to do the thinking required for effective
action. To bring about such an organization of ideas demands that
from day to day the new facts or principles that are learned be
consciously related to the old. It will not be economical to put off
all reviewing until the end of the month, or quarter, or term. The
step taken in advance to-day can be properly appreciated only when it
is seen in relation to that which has gone before; and the work of
the past week or month will, in turn, by this additional effort be
seen in truer perspective.
There are, however, convenient units into which subjects naturally
divide themselves; and when one of these units has been completed,
it may be well to take a period or two for the express purpose of
review. We may then clear up any misconceptions, give a chance for
additional verification and application of the knowledge thus far
gained. It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the review which
really counts is one in which the teacher works with the children,
guides them and instructs them, rather than sits in judgment over
them. There is nothing more disastrous to the best type of work
than the idea on the part of children that the review lesson is the
teacher’s opportunity to ask catch questions, or to overemphasize
unimportant details. Children respond very quickly in such a
situation by their endeavor to cram, with little or no effort at
organization, all of the facts that they have been taught.
A convenient stimulus to the proper sort of review is found in the
requirement that pupils prepare an abstract or topical outline of the
ground which has been covered, and submit it, preferably from memory,
for class criticism and discussion. If the teacher asks questions,
she should be very careful to see that they are questions of large
scope which demand organization, or still better the application of
organized knowledge. This brings us to the problem of testing.
The only adequate test of school education, as of all other
education, is action. The nearer we can in our tests reproduce the
conditions which will confront the child in actual life, the better.
Not that we can always have him actually present in the situation;
but when that is impossible, we can present for his consideration
ideal situations which correspond to those which he will later find.
The possibilities of presenting precisely the test which he will
meet and is meeting in life are, I believe, much greater than most
examiners suspect. We have discovered after many years that the best
test of a child’s ability to spell in the only situation in which he
will ever need to spell is to test him in that situation; _i.e._ by
judging his ability in writing words in connected discourse. The way
to discover whether one can speak or write grammatically is to listen
to him speaking or reading what he has written, and not to ask him to
recite rules of grammar. The only real test of a child’s ability to
give adequate oral expression to the story or poem is to see whether
or not he can make clear the thought and furnish enjoyment to others,
preferably to those who have not before heard the selection which
he reads. We can assure ourselves that we have awakened an interest
in literature and history, when we know that children read good
books other than those which we compel them to read. The success of
manual work, the time spent in art or music, ought certainly to be
measured by ability to make and to decorate, the singing of songs,
and the desire to hear music, or to see pictures. The more occasions
that can be found for the application of the arithmetic we teach in
actual measurements and computations which have real significance to
children, the better will children understand their work, and the
more certain we can be of their future efficiency.[13] It is coming
to be a recognized principle of nature study that the common things,
the animals and plants which are significant for our living, are the
ones which should engage our attention; and we expect that children
will, on account of the teaching, enjoy more, take better care of,
and utilize to better advantage the plant and animal life with which
they come in contact. Even in such subjects as history and geography,
one can hope to find just such applications while the child is
studying as are apt to occur in his later life. The presentation
of the results of the study of a country to a school assembly with
the aid of pictures and a lantern, or the interpretation of current
events in the light of their geographic setting will afford no
mean test of the children’s knowledge of geography. The comparison
of to-day’s happenings in the light of the events of a decade or
a century ago; the explanation of the historical reference in the
period devoted to literature; the writing and presentation of a
historical drama, will afford as great application of one’s knowledge
as most of us ever make.
Work of the sort indicated above will not only serve to test the
value of the work that children have done, but will also add greatly
to the interest and enthusiasm with which children do their work.
We can scarcely hope that all examinations will satisfy this ideal;
but of this we can be sure, the more work of this kind we do with
our pupils, the firmer will be their grasp upon their work and the
greater is apt to be their power to satisfy even less adequate tests.
Examinations have another function which we as teachers should
not overlook. Any adequate test of children’s abilities is also a
test of our teaching. It will probably not be best for us to try
to defend ourselves by pleading the inadequacy of the test, nor
the backwardness of the pupils when they come to us, nor their
parentage, nor any other less common reason. If children do not
write as well as they should, if they misspell words they commonly
use in their written work, if they cannot tell the story, recite the
poem, solve the problem, describe the geographical area, or relate
the events of the historic period, we had better inquire whether we
have helped them to work to best advantage, whether we have clearly
differentiated the several aspects of our work and have then applied
the methods suitable to accomplish the desired result. There may be
mistakes made, but, all things else being equal, the teacher who gets
results is the best teacher.
We shall do better work, children, teachers, and supervisors, when we
have provided for our use more definite standards or scales by which
to measure our results. There is no reason why we should not have a
scale which would enable us to tell with a fair degree of accuracy
just what the standing of this group of children is in writing, in
ability to perform the fundamental operations in arithmetic, in
spelling, in writing compositions, in discussing the geography of
North America, in decorating a cover for a notebook, or in any other
subject or aspect of their school work. Beginnings have been made in
this direction, and we may hope for more as time passes.[14] As these
units of measure are perfected and applied in examining the results
of school work, we will, of course, hear the cry of those who will
tell us that the best things that a teacher does cannot be measured.
The obvious reply will be that efficiency in accomplishing results
which can be measured need not in any way prevent a teacher from
exercising that influence or doing that sort of work which is not
recorded on examination sheets. Rather it will be found, I venture,
that the efficient teachers, as measured by the results which we can
test, are, on the whole, the teachers that are doing the noblest
work. Strength of personality, appreciation of child nature, a life
which by its example makes for truth and beauty in other lives, are
qualities not uncommon in the teacher who is glad to be judged by the
results which pupils can demonstrate.
FOR COLLATERAL READING
W. C. Bagley, _The Educative Process_, Chapter XXII.
W. W. Charters, _Methods of Teaching_, Chapter XI.
_Exercises._
1. What is the purpose of an examination?
2. Would you be willing, in a review of a large topic in history,
to demand fewer details than in the original study of the topic?
3. What is the value of an outline prepared by pupils as a part of
their review work?
4. Which is the better test of a boy’s ability in English, a high
mark in an examination in grammar, or a well written story of a
fishing trip written for a school paper?
5. Prepare a series of questions which you think might be used to
advantage in the examination of a class that has been studying the
geography of Europe.
6. Give as many illustrations as you can of the application of the
knowledge gained in school to situations in which the pupils use
their information or skill to satisfy needs comparable to those
which one meets in everyday life.
7. What is meant by saying that a review should mean a new view?
8. Do children commonly fail in examinations when they have been
well taught?
9. Should children be promoted solely upon the marks made in
examinations?
10. A boy’s average in an examination was 67 per cent. An
examination of the marks he received showed the following results:
geography 80 per cent, history 100 per cent, composition 80 per
cent, spelling 70 per cent, arithmetic 40 per cent, grammar 40 per
cent, and drawing 60 per cent. The passing mark was 70 per cent;
would you have promoted the boy?
11. How often should reviews be conducted?
12. Should children be notified in advance that examinations will
be held on certain days or weeks of the term?