Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

dertaken by representatives of the school systems in consultation with personnel of the Philadelphia Bul- letin's television station \VCAU-T\'. which agreed to enter the project as a public service to the community. Miss .Martha A. Gable, of the Phila- delphia pulilic schools, and Miss Margaret Kearney, of the I'hihulcl- phia diocesan schools, working to- jrether with Mrs. Ruth Weir Miller, educational director of Station WCAU, devised a series of four weekly telecasts desijrned to reach all jrrade levels from primary to senior high. As a result, early last March, "Operation Classroom" (as the experimental project was called i went into action. Four Proj^ram^ Telecast H't't-t/i The four weekly school projrranis were broadcast on the followiuK schedule: Mondays at 3:00 P.M. for primary grades 1 to 3, Wednesdays at the same hour for intermediate elementary grades 4 to 6, Thursdays for junior and senior high schools (1:00 to 1:30 P.M. i, Fridays at 1:00 P.M. for junior high school students. The Thursday program was the televised version of a voca- tional guidance series known as "Career Forum" that had long proved successful on radio. Programs for primary grades included such topics as "Music Through Rhythm", "We Learn to Read". "Your Books Come to Life" (dramatization of favorite chil- dren's books), and "A Visit to Story land" ( China >. Youngsters in grades four to six witnessed pro- grams dealing with social studies ("We Visit Italy"), art ("Costumes 'Round the World"), music ("Let's Make Musical Instruments"), and science ( "\\'hat Makes Weather" i. Designed for junior high school stu- dents were telecasts on such sub- jects as city planning, transporta- tion, art and architecture, and social studies. Teachers, pupils, and out- standing leaders in various fields took i)art in the programs. Detailed evaluation sheets and questionnaires were sent to all schools participating in the project, to be tilled in by the teachers who actually used the programs. Of those who replied, ninety-eight per- cent agreed that telexision was an effective and valuable teaching aid. In some schools, the pupils were also invited to write down their comments. This typical comment came from a fourth grade young- ster: "I think the telecasts were fine. I liked them because they taught me things I wanted to know". Yes, television not only teaches children the things they want to know, but also teaches them in a way that holds their interest and that causes the knowledge to remain in their minds. In the words of Rnth Weir Miller. "If the objective of teaching is the acquisition of concepts, then television is the most dynamic tool the teacher has ever had at her command." Of course, television cannot take the place of the teacher: its full effectiveness will always depend on how effec- tively the teacher uses it. Local TV Stations Cooperate On April 22nd, Station WFIL- TV, the Philadelphia hiquirer's television outlet, began two series of school telecasts, scheduled in suc- cessive periods on Friday after- noons. One of these was a series on civics, titled "Government in STLDE.VTS BECOME ACTORS IN .\ TELEVISION DRAMA DEPICTING THE rfSTOMS OF A F-OREIG.N COUNTRY, ONE OF THE EPfCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN •'OPERATION CLASSROM-i ■ Action", designed for junior high school students and dealing chiefly with municipal administration. The other series, directed to elementary schools, dealt with health and fit- ness and was called "Fit as a Fiddle". The third television station in Philadelphia, Station WPTZ, also made a notable contribution to in- school television with a special series of three weekly programs, beginning in March, designed for viewing by high school students in public, parochial and private schools. Thanks to the public- spirited activity of the local sta- tions, as many as nine telecasts were made available in one week to schools in Philadelphia and its suburljs. This undoubtedly consti- tutes some kind of a record. Many institutions, agencies, and industries contributed to the suc- cess of the programs by making available specialized personnel for interviews and demonstrations and by lending equijimeut and materials to be placed before the television camera. Among such agencies and institutions were The Franklin In- stitute, the City Planning Commis- sion, the Philadelphia City Council, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Philadelphia Zoo, the Police De- partment, the Department of Sani- tation, etc. Once again, this stresses the all-important factor of coopera- tion, and emphasizes television's ability to bring the outside world into the classroom. Adults Enjoy Classroom TV i Telecasts designed for in-school reception are not necessarily limited in their appeal to pupils and teach- ers. As a little girl in the fourth grade of the Edmunds School wrote, "My Grandmother also looked at 'Operation Classroom'. She liked it too." RCA \'ictor dealers and distrib- utors in many television centers throughout the country have shown a keen interest in "Operation Class- room", and undoubtedly will help to stimulate similar activity in other cities. In this area it is planned to expand the project for the next school year, with the cooperation of local RCA ^■ictor dealers and of the Raymond Rosen Company. RCA \'ictor distributfir in Philadelphia. [RADIO AGE 15]