246 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



carefully directed class-room study, less so-called recitation and less 

 home work might not yield better results. 



Experiments in mathematics have been carried on by Mr. Ernest 

 E. Breslich, of the University High School (Chicago), Department of 

 Mathematics. At the outset Mr. Breslich found that some pupils who 

 did poorly on their assigned work did not understand the suggestions 

 that had been given regarding good ways for undertaking the home 

 work. Parents insisted that the assignments made were impossible, 

 whereas for one reason or another the pupils had failed to get essen- 

 tial suggestions regarding the assignment. Even with assignments 

 clearly understood certain habits of home study which did not exist 

 had been assumed. A series of visits to other classes showed similar 

 conditions. Pupils reported poor results from their home study, various 

 excuses or no excuses being offered. The teacher explained away the 

 pupil's difficulties and, in most cases, the pretense of having the work 

 done at home was continued. 



To ascertain the ways in which the members of one class attack 

 their work, Mr. Breslich assigned a lesson, taking unusual care to make 

 clear all phases of the assignment. The class was then told that the 

 next fifteen minutes would be given to studying the lesson assigned. 

 All pupils were slow in beginning the work and some occupied all of the 

 fifteen minutes in getting ready to go to work. Some who ordinarily 

 came to class with well-prepared lessons looked about to see how others 

 were undertaking the work, and followed them. Few really accom- 

 plished anything in the fifteen minutes. 



To investigate more carefully these individual habits of study, Mr. 

 Breslich told his classes that at a certain hour each day the class room 

 would be open to students who had difficulty with assignments or 

 wished to make up back work, and good use was made of this oppor- 

 tunity. The teacher passed about among the pupils as they worked, 

 making suggestions, but rarely answering questions directly. 



It was then decided to make more prolonged trial of this supervised 

 study with all members of one class. In one section of the class no 

 home work was assigned and in the other section home work was as- 

 signed and in the usual way. The two sections had the same work. 

 Both spent fourteen lessons on simultaneous linear equations, at the 

 end of which the same test was given to both sections. The relative 

 standings in grades which these two sections received upon the same 

 examination, at the close of the preceding semester in mathematics, 

 that is prior to beginning these experiments, are: Section A, average 

 81.4; Section B, average 79.4, B being slightly weaker than A. In 

 Section B 5.9 of the class had failed in the preceding semester and 

 none in Section A. 



Section A was given home work with no class room supervised 



