The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-22

of the student the essential features of that lesson.
 Frequent reviews are necessary for a re- tention of knowledge and for complete mastery of subject matter The sys- tematic use of acquired Knowledge is the means by which the student attains to a comprehension of the previously unknown, aLc th1s is true whether the student be novice or one well advanced in learning.
 CD Presentation.-The second essential step in the recitation is presentation of new matter, and this may be done in seV- eral ways: by question and answer, by ex- plaining the different points, by discussion upon the part of the students with sug- gestions by the teacher, or by featuring. Whatever may be the means employed 1t is certain that all of the talking should not be done by the teacher. The students should also take part in the discussion, for in this way Is mental activity excited, self-possession cultivated, and the power of expression promoted.
 (c) Association.-Without an association of ideas there can be no perfect recita ticn, whatever may be the method of pre- sentation. The new material must be brought into relation with tho old-must be assimilated. Disconnected or unr- lated facts are difficult to comprehend and retain. It Is only by close and con- stant association that the process of ap- perception can be made complete, and the phrenologists tell us that without apper- ception there can be no real requirement of knowledge.
 The new and the old must be welded to- gether-must be so interwoven as to be- come inseparable. There can be no sub stantial advance in knowledge except by the assistance Of accumulated facts. With out foundation there can be no super structures without base, no apex.
 (dD ecapitulation.-No lesson has been thoroughly mastered until it can be re- produced by the student, and without this power he has not been adequately in structed. When he can reproduce or out line the lesson he may be said to possess a working knowledge of the subject mat ter
 Recapitulation is essential and cannot be omitted without weakening the effect iveness of the teaching exercise.
 (e) Applicatlon-If the steps mentioned have been taken in the proper manner; If there has been adequate preparation, presentation, association, and recapitula- ton. the next and last step, application, should be easy And without the power of applying what has been learned, the work of instruction is incomplete and practically useless.
 There should be frequent application of the princinples established. Knowledge
 
 rather than helpful-a handicap rather than a power This final step in the in- struction process cannot be overlooked without serious injury to the student.
 "The use of our acquired stock of ideas" says McMurray in his Elements of General Method Involves a constant working over of old ideas, and this work ing over process not only reviews and strengthens past knowledge, keeping 1t Af,.1r hut throws light upon 1t and exposes 1t to 2 many sided criticism. Familiar ideas should not be allowed to rest in the mind unused Like tools for service they must be kept bright and sharp. One reason why so many of the valuable ideas we have ae- cuired have generally disappeared from the mind Is because they remained so long unused"
 This contention fol. the application of ecuuired knowledge is in accord with the psychological principle that there can be impression of ideas without correspond ing expression.
 if each of the steps mentioned be care fully taken, there should be complete mastery. Of course, all these processes cannot be performed with each student in each recitation period. It may require days. even weeks in some instances, but this seems to be the logical order, and as far as possible should be pursued.
 The Lecture Method.
 It is apaprent that the foregoing order cannot be observed if the teacher relies altogether upon the unmodifled lecture method Only the second step, prepara- tion, and 1t not in fullest measure, is pos sibe under that method. Hence arises the question. At what stage of advancement has self-activity been sufficiently devel- oped to enable students of their own Yol1- tion to supply the other processes?
 It is generally conceded that the recita- ton is essential for students in elemen- tary and high schools. Is il essential In universities maintaining graduate depaftments, or will the lecture produce as good or better results in such institu- tions? That is the question.
 In German Universities.
 The lecture method obtains in the uni versailles of Germany, and for that reason it is sometimes called the German method. It's use there presupposes that students gre of mature age Qrom two to three years in advance of that of American university students), that they have un- dergone the discipline of the gymnasium (which advances them to stage core spending with the completion of the sophomore or junior year In the average American university, that they have de- termined upon a profession, and that they are so grounded in the power and habit of study as to be able to proceed without individual assistance. These things may be true of students in German universi- ties. but are they true of undergraduates in the institutions of this country? In- deed, are they true of all graduate stu dents?
 Who that has had to do with the aver age freshman and sophomore will affirm that he is so mature, so disciplined men tally, so bent upon future career so fixed in the habit of application, so pos sessed of mental breadth and power, as to require no individual instruction, as to need no guidance other than that which