The Educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 230 The Educational Screen work all-important. In the future, I shall try to avoid allowing any child to be too much in the limelight. The other four all selected Greece as the part of history that appealed to them. An interesting reason given by George, I. Q. 87 — Score 26, is similar to that of Betty, I. Q. 135— Score 25— they liked the way the lesson was developed. George, a failure in much of his school work, liked it because it was a success. Both girls mentioned the fact that each pupil had a hand in the project. That did not mean so much to the boys who were engrossed in their own particular work. "Group projects provide an opportunity for cultivating various habits such as cooperating, leading or following, dividing up labor according to fitness, deciding disputes by appeal to authority or practical test, etc., which are essential to any cooperative enterprise." — Thorndike and Gates. The children did learn to work together, and to respect one another. I did not have to select leaders for they grew out of every situation. There was work suitable for each type of child and there was a chance for him to adapt himself according to his ability. They learned to make good use of reference books which we borrowed from the library and from various rooms in the building. The question of the trees of Greece, the story of Theseus, an argument in regard to the proper placing of the caryatid porch on the Erechtheum, the question as to whether or not the Discus Thrower belonged on the Acropolis; all of these questions and many others had to be settled by means of slides or reference books. The Discus Thrower was placed at the foot of the Acropolis in a still picture to please the boy who carved it but we took it away for the moving picture as we knew it did not belong there. The recall test, given after about two years, was an objective one and consisted of 33 units. Twelve units were directly associated with the study of the Acropolis and the building of the miniature ; the remaining twenty one units pertained to the period of Greek History centering about the Acropolis. Space forbids presentation of full scores and tables, but results may be summarized as follows: The project used with this group of pupils helped the girls decidedly, but did not help the boys as a group, judging by their retention of historic facts after a two-year period. Former investigations have indicated that boys rank higher than girls in history. The whole group, having the project, rated 2.9 percent above the group without the pro ject. The study may indicate some interesting lines for further investigation. Time is to be considered in any undertaking. Our study of Greece with the project lasted about six weeks. We finished those chapters in our text book much sooner, and we did not work on the project every day. Perhaps only one report would be given a day, either at the beginning or at the end of the period. I taught my own art and was given permission to use two art periods on the history project. The last twenty minutes of the day was a make-up 'period for children who had missed problems in Arithmetic or words in spelling and was a library period for children who had completed their work. Reference work was often done at this time. Most of the soap carving was done at home but some of it needed finishing touches when it was brought to school. In order to keep the minds of the children on their regular work and to keep the room tidy, all movable objects that weren't completed were put away between work periods. Projects take thought, time, work, and plenty of enthusiasm on the part of the teacher. The expectant attitude of the children is her inspiration and the interest created is her reward. In thii particular case, I believe I could say that the in> terest has been sustained, but since the other pro ject groups have not been tested, I can not mak^ the statement any broader than that. A real teachei wants to be human, and project work gives ample opportunity for personal contact that means much to both teacher and child. More Steps Ahead Mr. R. W. Arnold, a shop teacher in a San Antonio, Texas, Junior High School, is making a study of the effectiveness of motion pictures in teaching Industrial Art subjects. ^ Mr. Ronald F. Holt, another Industrial Art Instructor, in the High School at Brocton, Massachusetts, is preparing to use visual aids in his classes and is scheduling films weekly on industrial subjects. ♦ An interesting announcement comes from the Flandreau Indian School, South Dakota. They are organizing a department of visual education and, as a first step, have installed a new talking motion picture machine. ^ The St. Francis Hospital, LaCrosse, Wisconsin, report their recent purchase of complete 35mm sound equipment.