February, '11] BRUNER: TEACHING METHODS 79 



to satisfy, to some extent at least, two or more of his instructors with 

 the same expenditure of time and Avaste of gray matter. 



Reference has been made to the Seminar work in connection with 

 the local entomological club. It might be well to state that all efforts 

 ]:)ut forth by the student in preparing papers for, and in taking part in, 

 the discussions of this club are recognized by the department of entomo- 

 logy to the extent that regular college credit is given for these efforts. 

 The head of the department, however, reserves the right to criticize 

 and correct the papers tlfas offered to the same extent that he would 

 papers prepared exclusively for the department. 



In teaching the systematic side of entomology our method has always 

 been to start the student out by having him learn to recognize at a 

 glance the orders to which various insects belong. After he has suc- 

 ceeded in doing this fairly well so far as the larger and more easily 

 recognized orders are concerned, he is then required to pick out repre- 

 sentatives of some of the principal families of each of them, and later 

 sections of families or genera, and finally species. 



In our instructional activities in Nebraska we have attempted 

 to include as much field work as possible. We accordingly have our 

 second, third, and fourth year, as well as graduate students accompany 

 the professor on field trips whenever practicable. This plan, by the 

 way, was the usual custom in earlier years at Nebraska and some of the 

 first students who were trained obtained a very large percentage of their 

 entomological training in this manner. During later years, however, 

 this scheme has been less convenient on account of the lack of facilities 

 for getting out into the state and afield. During the earlier j^ears our 

 railroads were permitted to issue complimentary transportation and 

 the professor of entomology was not averse to accepting as much of 

 this kind as it was possible to persuade the companies to issue. Accord- 

 ingly many of the field trips in past years lasted for periods varjdng 

 from a day or two to two or three months in extent and most of the 

 accessible portions of the state were thus reached and more or less 

 carefully studied. This plan of having the student accompany the 

 professor into the field was not entirely a one-sided proposition either; 

 since by the combined energies of many special students, during the 

 numerous field expeditions, there has been an accumulation of a 

 much greater number of facts concerning our insect fauna than could 

 otherwise have been accomplished. 



While referring to lectures as a means of instruction it might be of 

 interest to state that we have found considerable value in the use of 

 "startling statements." By "startling statements" is meant refer- 

 ences to peculiar structural features as found in certain insects, odd 

 life habits, rapidity of multiplication, location of some of the sense: 



