downing] PROBLEMS OF TEACHING NATURE-STUDY 75 



attacked and solved by the accumulation of facts to serve as a 

 basis for the correct conclusions. 



It is time for the teacher of nature-study and elemental-}- science 

 to be up and doing along similar lines. In fact it is surprising that 

 the teacher of science, saturated, supposedly with the scientific 

 method, should not have been a pioneer with this method, in the 

 attack on the problems of the organization and proper presentation 

 of elementary school subjects, nature-study in particular. But as 

 yet little has been done. There have been some studies of child- 

 dren's interests in nature materials 1 , studies of children's percep- 

 tions, 2 and of reasoning ability when dealing with science data, 3 

 some investigations of the relative value of different types of 

 presentation 4 but only enough has been accomplished to show how 

 great a territory there is to explore, how fertile a field of research 

 lies at our very doors. 



Let me illustrate my meaning in the concrete. Insect study 

 forms a large part of the usual course of study prescribed for nature 

 work (25%, on an average, of the animal work in nine courses of 

 study analyzed is devoted to the insects). What do grade children 

 need to know regarding insects, using the term need in no narrow 

 sense? Can we settle this question on a fact basis? Broach the 

 problem in a group of nature-study teachers and you will elicit a 

 variety of personal opinions but few facts that will serve as a basis 

 of settlement. The average teacher, even the one who is laboring 

 with the problem of organizing a course of study, is quite surprised 

 that anything besides personal opinion is expected; it requires 

 some time to convince her that such a problem must be settled 

 scientifically on a basis of fact if we are ever going to reach sure 

 foundations in our nature-study instruction. 



Again, suppose it is agreed that it is desirable to teach children 

 how plants manufacture their foods or that heat expands most 

 substances. In which grade are the pupils capable of grasping 

 these ideas and comprehending the experiments needed for demon- 



■Xatlre-Study Review, Vol. 8, No. 8, p. 289; Vol. 8, Xo. 9, p. 334; 

 Vol. 9, Xo. 6, p. 150. 



"The General Value of Visual Sense Training in Children, Chang Ping]Wang, 

 Warwick ft York; Children's Perceptions, W. H. Winch, Warwick & York. 



3 Xotes on Child Study, E. L. Thorndyke, The Macmillan Co. 



^Teaching Elementary Science in Elementary Schools, J. E. Mayman, 

 Publication Xo. 1 \, D.^pt. of Education, Division of Reference and Research, 

 The City of Xew York. 



