ON THE CUKKICULA OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 527 



inquiry may be taken to mean schools other tlian public elementary or 

 technical institutions) recognise that the actual order in which science 

 subjects are taught depends upon a variety of circumstances. Such 

 are tlie type of school, local conditions, the future career of pupils, 

 externa] examinations, and the personal preferences and qualifications of 

 teachers. 



' But we suspect that there is a natural order of treatment which is 

 indicatsd by the mutual interdependence of the subjects, and to an even 

 more important degree by the brain-development of the pupil. We 

 anticipate that from the replies of experienced teachers, inspectors, and 

 examiners we shall obtain trustworthy information on this question. 



' It seems of importance to specify the average age of the class in which 

 the work has been done ; to describe the method of teaching, giving an 

 indication of the relative importance («) of lectures, tutorial work, labo- 

 ratory work, and (i) of text-books used by the boys, dictated notes, notes 

 composed by the boys. For convenience we adopt the terms " subject- 

 method" and " problem -method" as defined in question 6.' 



Questions relating to the Sequence of Studies in the Science Section of 

 the Curriculum of Boys' Schools. 



1. (a) Name and address. 

 (6) School. 



(c) Type of school and approximate leaving age. 



2. Give a list of science subjects studied at your school in the order 

 in which they are taken, bracketing those begun simultaneously, with the 

 approximate average ages of the classes. 



3. Indicate the range of the above work, and add remarks on method. 

 It may be useful to give the names of text-books used (if any) and the 

 extent of the books covered. The terms 2)i'oblem-method, tutorial or 

 lecture and laboratory, will help to indicate the style of teaching. Refer 

 also to local conditions and personal preference of teacher where these 

 have determined the choice of subjects. 



i. At what stage or age can text-books proper — as distinguished from 

 laboratory guides — be introduced with success, and be used jointly with 

 lectures or instead of them ? 



5. If free to teach any science subjects in any" order (within limits of 

 not less than two or more than six hours per week) what order would 

 you select ? Please insert in brackets after each subject the range of age. 

 It may be useful to draw arrows to indicate cases in which one subject 

 leads to another. 



6. («) Please state your experience of teaching classes of from twenty 

 to thirty boys by methods other than the usual ' subject-method,' which 

 treats mechanics, heat, chemistry, botany, Ac, as different subjects. Give 

 the extent of your experience and estimate the results obtained. 



(6) From your general experience of science-teaching, would you 

 prefer, in classes of from twenty to thirty boys, to use the 'subject- 

 method' or the 'problem-method' ? By the latter is understood the treat- 

 ment of particular problems by utilising the methods of mathematics, 

 chemistry, geology, or other 'subjects' at will. 



7. Add further remarks based on experience. 



