Business screen magazine (1942)

In 1,000 vocational schools in the 48 stales. Hawaii and Puerto Rico, in 10,000 school shops, and in 155 colleges and universities, worker training is now on a 24 hour daily schedule. Teaching Fundamentals in Victory Training BY C. F. Klinefelter, Assistant to the U. S. Commissioner oi Education FOLLOWING the decision by U. S. Commissioner of Education John W. Studebaker to inaugurate a program of producing motion pictures designed expressly as teaching aids for the defense training program, an Office of Education committee was established, composed, with the exception of two representatives of the Engineering Defense Training Program, of a number of persons who were or had formerly been employed in the Trade and Industrial Education Service of the Vocational Division. Having decided that the first motion pictures should be made for use in the most critical bottleneck of all defense production activities — machine shop work — a comprehensive analysis of basic operations and machine tools was laid out by the committee. This trade analysis was then subdivided by the committee into approximately 150 units or teaching lessons, which could be treated adequately in units of 400 foot 16mra. film. With the exception of certain units designed to explain items of basic technical knowledge and fundamental procedures common to a number of operations, the units were laid out in terms of work jobs, such as mechanics and operators are actually assigned from day to day in the shop. Further, the units were arranged in terms of learning difficulties rather than of production difficulties. Step-by-Step Analysis Having developed the trade analysis to this point, with the assistance of the committee, the technical consultant on machine shop practice next developed an individual synopsis of the subject matter to be incorporated in each teaching unit. The director of visual aids then took the synopsis and added suggestions as to methods of treating the subject matter so as to utilize the most effective devices to clearly portray the material. Richards Traiiiin? Formula In constructing each synopsis, consideration was given to Richards' Training Formula, in which Efficiency of training varies as: the degree of Manipulative skill required; the Technical knowledge one must have to do the job at all; auxiliary /nformation in excess of that required for a particular job; trade /udgment and: MOrale. This was because of the designed use of the films as teaching aids not only in connection with the giving of initial training in preemployment courses, but in supplemental courses for employed workers as well. The deUberate aim is to assist in developing intelligent workers at each and every stage. As detailed shooting scripts were developed from the synopses, each one was checked to see that it was constructed in conformity with the standard steps of teaching, in which the learner's mind is first of all Prepared for what he is to be taught, followed by the job he is to do being Presented or shown to the learner by the teacher, after which the learner is placed at the job and the teacher stands by until the learner has Applied what he has just been taught while the teacher is available to patch up or straighten out anything the learner has not fully understood. The final step in teaching manipulative work only II UiisinesH Svrfen