The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1921-12-17

boards, for instance, can put their
lessons across in pictures as they
can in no other way. We have one
picture called unlocking the HOOK
worm which is unknown to the thea
tre-going public, but is in great de-
mand by the International health
board for use in all the southern
States.
"A motion picture has been made
of every major operation. We have
films showing microscopic organisms
and demonstrating physiological pro-
cesses, as, for example, the circula-
ton of the blood. Then. of course,
they have 1t all over textbooks in
teaching chemistry, biology and other
scientific subjects in the schools"
The producers handed us his auth
ority for this hast statement-an article
by H. G. Wells. in which he says:
II ask for half a dozen projectors
or so in every school and for a well
stocked storehouse of films. The pos
sibilities of certain branches Of teach
ing have been altogether revolution
ICED by the cinematograph. In near
ly every school nowadays you will
find a lot of more OF less worn or
damaged scientific apparatus which is
supposed to be used for demonstra-
ting the elementary facts of chemis-
try, physics and the like.
Now that is the sort of thing
which still goes on. But it ought to
be entirely out Of date. All that
scientific b~ric-a-brac in the cupboard
had far better be thrown away. All
the demonstration experiments that
| science teachers will require in the
future can be performed once for all
before a cinematograph. They can
be done finally; they need be
done again. You al get the best and
most dexterous teacher in the world
he can do what has been done with
the best apparatus in the best light;
anything that is very minute or subtle
you can magnify or repeat from an
othed point of view; anything that is
intricate you can record with extreme
slowness; you can show the facts a
mile off or six inches off and all
that your actual class teacher need to
do now is to spend five minutes in
reading over the corresponding lee
ture notes, and then he can run the
film, give the lesson, question his
class upon it, note what they miss and
how they take 1t. run the film again
for a second scrutiny, and get out for
the subsequent study of the class the
ample supply of diagrams and pic
lures needed to fix the lesson. Can
there be any comparison between the
educational efficiency of the two
methodist"
Mr.. Wells seems to doubt it. New
ertheless, such a comparison was re-
Gently made in a Detroit school un-
der the direction of ]. H. Wilson,
supervisor of visual education, with
gratifying results. The subject chos-
en- for the experiment was an educa-
tional film explaining "How We
Hear" The children were separated
into two groups, one of which was to
see the film, and the other of which
vas to receive an oral lesson In the
same facts.
The film was shown twice to the
visual class in the astonishingly short
space of thirteen minutes. The oral
lesson required ffty-flve minutes, the
teacher taking great pains to impress
upon her pupils the same information
contained in the film. At the close OF
the lesson the two separate classes
were given a written examination or
the subject. Then the papers were
collected and marked without respect
10 the type OF lesson Dy n same
teacher. The average grade attained
by the visual group In the first test
was 64.76 per cent as compared with
61.5 per cent made by the oral grouI
that is to say, the visual gain wal
1925 per cent.
A month later a second or memoir,
test was given on the same subject
and this time the visual group aver
aged 63.s per cent-a gain of Al pei
cent over the 59.5 per cent averag,
made by the oral pupils.
While the percentage Of gain II
this experiment might have been evel
greater II the subject chosen had beer
How We See" instead of How w,
Hear" 1t is large enough to be wei
worth while. especially when the saw
ing of time Is considered.