ON SCIENCE IN SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS. 485 



III. Scheme of Science Work for an Urban Secondary 

 School for Boys. 



By T. Peecy Nttnn.' 



[Professor of Education in the University of London ; formerly Chief Science 



and Mathematics Master in the William Ellis School.] 



The following scheme is drawn up for a four years' course (ages twelve to 

 sixteen) in an urban Secondary School for boys. The work of each year is 

 divided into two sections — 'biological ' and ' physical.' The proportion of time 

 assigned to biology decreases from more than a half in the first year to a 

 fifth or less in the last year, with a corresponding increase in the relative 

 importance of the physical section. It is assumed that about five hours a week 

 are assigned to science teaching in each year, and the great bulk of the matter 

 here set down is to be dealt with in this time. It may, however, be taken for 

 granted that ia a well-organised school there will be close co-ordination between 

 the teaching of science and the teaching of mathematics and geography. It 

 has seemed advisable, therefore, to include in the science syllabus the cor- 

 responding programme of work in mechanics and geology, though much of the 

 former, and possibly the whole of the latter, may and should be taught in 

 lessons assigned to the teachers of mathematics and geography as integral parts 

 of their work. 



In a condensed outline it is not possible to give a full programme of the 

 practical work to be done by the boys, or to distinguish those topics that are 

 more suitable for demonstration. It is to be understood that the course is 

 intended to throw into clear relief the fundamental ideas and results of science, 

 and to give the pupil a real, if rudimentary, acquaintance with the true 

 character of scientific inquiry. To attain these ends the work will often be 

 'heuristic' in character and as often take the form of lecture-discussions 

 between teacher and class, preceded, accompanied, and followed by experimental 

 work. Occasional practical exercises of the ' drill ' type will be necessary to 

 give the pupil a sound grasp of a principle or a method, but one of the pre- 

 suppositions underlying the scheme is that technical exercises of this kind 

 divorced from the development of a definite scientific argument have compara- 

 tively little value and have received too much emphasis in the past. 



First Year. 



[In Section I. the work is arranged in accordance with the seasonal sequence. 

 In Section II. the work in astronomy should also run throughout the year side 

 by side with the other subjects] 



I. Biological Section. 

 A. Autumn Term. 



1. Life-history and habits of wasp and humble-bee. 



2. Study of a few typical flowers ; plan of a flower. 



3. Change of flower to fruit. Collection and examination of fruits; classi- 

 fication ; methods of seed dispersal. 



4. Winter sleep of seeds and other plant forms. The planting of sleeping 

 bulbs. Winter sleep of animals. 



B. Spring Term. 



1. Trees in winter: recognition by (i) branching; (ii) bark, (iii) buds. 

 Examination of bud.s. 



2. Seed-sowing. The forms of familiar seeds. How the farmer and the 

 gardener sow. 



3. Seeds grown for study in lamp chimneys, gas jars or test tubes ; 

 diagrams of growth. Discovery (i) that water is needed for germination, 

 (ii) that light is needed for healthy growth, and (iii) that seedlings grown 

 apart from soil die when the cotyledons are exhausted. 



' With the assistance (for the Biological Sections) of Miss C. von Wyss. 



