ULLRICH] COURSE IN NATURE-STUDY 



415 



grades will he be able to use effectively a course that is different in 

 organization? There will be little difficulty if, in the training work, 

 a number of courses are considered, emphasizing particularly the 

 principles that underlie their organization. It is to be regretted there 

 are so many courses in Nature-Study in the elementary schools 

 that lack coherence, plan, and system, but that conditions are 

 improving has been clearly shown by the excellently organized 

 courses that have appeared in the Nature-Study Review within 

 the last year. 



The prospective teacher may have a knowledge of nature mater- 

 ials, appreciate the aims and purposes of Nature-Study, under- 

 stand the organization of the course of study, and yet may fail if 

 he does not have at his command the proper methods of instruction. 

 In this consideration the point of view shifts almost entirely from 

 the subject matter to the child to be taught. Teachers are not 

 likely to succeed unless by intuition or from careful study they 

 have learned to appreciate the psychological laws of child develop- 

 ment. What are the differences in the mental characteristics of 

 children in the primary, intermediate, and grammar grades? In 

 what sort of materials (biological or physical) are they most 

 interested in each of these divisions of the elementary school ? If 

 most interested in biological materials in the primary grades, in a 

 more intensive study of biological and physical materials in the 

 intermediate, and the practical aspects of both of these in the 

 grammar grades, what are the psychological bases of these inter- 

 ests? What is the true basis of interest ? Is it primarily instincts 

 and capacities, needs, or environment, or a combination of all of 

 these? A course in Nature-Study with prospective teachers nuist 

 direct them to these problems. They must have as a part of their 

 working equipment the knowledge of recent studies in answer to 

 these questions. They must know that these questions have not 

 been fully answered and thus be on the lookout for fortlicoming 

 answers, and better still resolve to aid in the solution of these 

 problems through observation or special tests while teaching 

 Nature-Study. Teachers who are not conscious of these problems 

 that underlie successful method are destined to be in a chaotic 

 frame of mind, lacking poise, ease, and grace, essential attributes 

 of good teachers. 



One of the fundamental elements of method that can not be 

 overemphasized in training these ])ros])ective teachers is the use of 



