3^« 



NATURE 



[May 4, 191 1 



tion may be unnuitublc in a particular mHooI fithtr bciau 

 the Nvllabus Sm yo rf<itrii:ti-d that the hikt vcar'k work tt-rvl 

 to b(> a mere repnition (ttomctiin'!. with a minimum u( 

 prartlcnl work) of what ha* {{on*- bcfort-, or bccauste tht- 

 syllabus in a particular subjrct -t Ixniixtry, for example — 

 covi-rsi M> wide a field that the i.iu h<rs in the limiteil lime 

 available practically confin*- themvlves to this iiubject 

 alone, and in dealinfj willi it are forced back on mere 

 boukwork and informational teaching 



Krlalion <>/ Throrflical to I'rttitical Teaching. 



Attention has been frequently dire<ted in the reports of 

 inspectors to the necessity of establishing a right relation 

 between the theoretical and practical teaching of science. 

 By this is meant, not only that thf two modes of treat- 

 ment should b«' closely asstuiated with one another, but 

 that they should be plac«-d in their right order. Jn this 

 ini|K>rtimt matter there has been a notable improvement 

 in the methods of teaching followed in the schools, and 

 criticism in this region is likely in the future to be more 

 concerned with details than with matters of principle. 

 Though opinions differ as to the precise mdhotls by which 

 the desired results are to be secured, it is now very widely 

 recognised that the teaching of a class should, so far as 

 possible, be based on the practical work done by the 

 members of the class. .As a fact, lectures have largely 

 given place in elementary teaching to class discussions on 

 the practical work assisted by CKcasional demonstrations, 

 and the change has been beneficial to the work of the 

 lower and middle forms. In some cases, however (as will 

 be pointed out later on), the practical work has not been 

 supplemented by any adequate discussion of its results. 

 In other cases, the reaction against formal lectures has 

 gone so far as to lead teachers to rely exclusively on the 

 experiments carried out by the class. There is reason to 

 think that when this is done the teaching loses in effective- 

 ness. 



Praciii.il Wink in the lowi r Ami middle forms ordinarily 

 follows on .1 brief discussion of iht matter to be investi- 

 gated, and a written account of the experiment to be 

 carried out is regularly re(.|iiii. d. Siuh written accounts 

 should, of course, be the outcome of the pupil's own 

 efforts, and not be, to all intents and purposes, dictated 

 by the teacher or copied from a book. So far as these 

 records are concerned, there has been of late considerable 

 improvement. The mechanical entering up of results in 

 spaces set apart for the purpose, or the filling up of 

 columns under the headings "experiment," "observa- 

 tion," "inference," has nearly disappeared; but more re- 

 mains to be done in regard both to the form and sub- 

 stance of the record. The idea that there are two 

 standards of composition, one which is appropriate for the 

 Knglish lesson, and another which is good enough for the 

 science laboratory, has not yet been eradicated. But. 

 apart from this, the notebooks often include accounts 

 which are satisfactory in so far as they are purelv de- 

 scriptive, but which fail to show how the " conclusion " 

 follows from the observations recorded or to state what 

 assuinptions have been made in the argument. It is not, 

 indeed, uncommon to find conclusions recorded which the 

 pupil's own work quite fails to justify. The " doing " 

 is. in f;ut. iinaicompanied by any honest thinking about 

 what has been done. There is, oif course, nothing in this 

 to cause surprise. To expect exactness of thought and 

 accuracy of expression from younger pupils is to expect 

 thf ripe fruits of scientific education from those who have 

 but lately begun to enjoy its benefits. If these lexical 

 errors never occurred, there would be no need to spend 

 time over teaching "scientific method." It is preciselv 

 by seizing the opportunities which such mistakes and 

 omissions afford that the teacher can convev to the pupil 

 valuable lessons in the logic of science. 



So far as the actual experimental work is concerned, its 

 value depends in different schools on the extent to which 

 the pupil is encouraged to use his own eves, to applv his 

 powers of reasoning to the problem under consideration, 

 and to criticise his own procedure. The work should, in 

 fact, serve not only to develop the powers of observation 

 and reasoning, but to inculcate " an increasing respect for 

 precision of statement and for that form of veracitv which 

 consists in the acknowledgment of dif^uiiltiev." Iti« quite 

 NO. 2166, VOL. 86] 



le for pupil* to work througn a Mrt o( diixo:. -.■(] { 

 iiiienti and to g'-t little out of it beyond a •'t;.i:n 

 tatility in ea»y manipulation. Work of iht« kind may i- 

 a-, mechanical and us far rcmwed from fving r«-ally pra< - 

 ticul as anything that is done in a < ' 

 I'ttfH of the sch(K)l tini' -table often 

 broken up into the |xrform;i!" ■ • . ■• - >., 



••xperiments, one for each le«>- J here ; 



fore, the more reason why ! lould be > 



guard against the serious danger of making the BingSc 

 • xperiment the unit of teaching. The excluftion of ••xperi- 

 ments which are trivial, or of which the re»ult» . 

 evident, and the occasional adoption of the plan • 

 ing different groups in a class to work at differen 

 allied exjxrinjents, the results obtained by eat 

 being available for the whole class and used in ; 

 sequent discussion, would do much to widen the pupiU' 

 experience and give the work a seriousness and import- 

 ance which it sometimes lacks. 



The remarks in the two preceding paragraph<< 

 tended to apply more particularly to the treatment oi in> 

 practical work in all science subjects in the lower and 

 middle forms. The methods appropriate to the teaching 

 of the higher forms are, in general, much better under- 

 stood, and need not now be dealt with. But the teaching 

 of botany requires special notice, especially in view of the 

 important position it occupies in the science work of girls' 

 schools. 



Teaching of Botany. 



Considerable changes have been effected in recent years 

 in the method and scope of botanical teaching. The time 

 given to the purely descriptive work connected with the 

 classification of plants in their natural orders has been 

 greatly curtailed, and it is now common to find included 

 in the course an experimental treatment of plant physiology 

 and some consideration of the question of habitat. 

 There is, too, an increasing tendency to recc^nise that no 

 adequate study of botany is possible without sonv '■"•>" 

 ledge of the elementary facts and principles of « 

 and physics. The brd^der treatment which thi 

 now receives, and the substitution of a partially experi- 

 mental for a purely descriptive method, have led to a 

 healthier development of science teaching in many girls' 

 schools. But the new methods have brought with them 

 their own special difficulties, which, in most cases, still 

 await solution. It is rare, for example, to find the experi- 

 mental work on plant physiology really well done, and the 

 possibilities of the school garden as an adjunct to the 

 laboratory are insufficiently realised by teachers of botany. 



Though in connection with this subject it is possible to 

 record a general tendency in the right direction, and in 

 a fair number of instances a real advance, it is still the 

 case that in too many schools botany is regarded some- 

 what in the light of an accomplishment, making no very 

 serious demands on the pupils' intelligence and requiring 

 little more by way of equipment than a classroom and a " 

 bunch of flowers. 



In conclusion, it may be stated that if attention has 

 been deliberately directed in some of the foregoing para- 

 graphs to certain existing defects in the teaching of 

 science, this is due to no failure to recognise the excel- 

 lence of the work which in many secondary schools is 

 being done under the guidance of skilled and experienced 

 teachers. 



THE 



SCIENCE MUSEUM AM) 

 GEOLOGICAL Ml'SEVM.' 



HIE 



TTHH report of the Departmental Committee on the 

 Science Museum and the Geolc^ical Museum was 

 published a few days ago. The committee was appointed 

 in March, iqio, and its terms of reference were : — " To 

 consider and report ufX)n various questions in regard to 

 the present condition and the future development of the 

 valuable collections comprised in the Board's Science 



^ Report of the Departmental CommWtre on the Science Moseiim and 

 the Geological Museum. Cd. s^a. ((.ondon : Wyman it Sons. Ltd 

 Price %/i. 



