HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Signal, 1881-10-28, Page 7i
TUE HURON SIGNAL, FRIDAY, OCT. 28, 181.
TEACHERS' CONVENTION.
•sere.s I.eilvered •r w. I. soler, ow
sae. 1011daa sad Aaswerlad.
The fulluwing address war delveredat
the reoeut West Huron Teachers' Cele
vention by Mr. W. It Miller, Principal
of
Goderich Central School: -
Mt PaseIDENr, Unfits AND GSRUA-
nsx,-In dealing with the subject of
Questioning and Answering I propose to
briefly discuss, 1st. The importance of •
proper system of questiouin , and how
proficiency way be attained. 2nd. To
offer route general observations on what
1 consider to be proper and what to be
improper styles of qucstiouine and
answering. 1 hook upuu q•'estiouing as
the moat important part of the teacher's
work since to this all other parts con-
verge, ur from it diverge and failure
here necessarily, very materially affects
his success as a teacher.
To rightly estimate the importance of
the art of questioning It is only necessary
to consider the different purposes which
it serves. What is commonly' called
Tentative or Preliminary quertiuuing has
for its object* lst. To discover the ex•
tent of the knowledge possessed by the
pupil in reference to the subject about to
be taught, so that the teacher may adapt
his instruction to the child's wants and
avoid sweating time by attempting to
teach what the pupils already know.
2nd. That the teacher may utilize the
information already acquired as a
foundation on which to build additional
knowledge.
By • brief aeries of searching questions
the teacher is able to tis the limit be-
tween the know, and unknown, and to
put the class in a condition to receive
and master the knowledge he has in
store for them.
The most important objects of ques-
tioning are the development and culti-
vation of the intellectual faculties.
These objects are attained principally by
what t. called Socratic or instructive ques-
tioning which leads the pupil to diacover
truth for himself. This system carries
the pupil along a suooession of steps by
which he is brought to see the facts we
wiah'him to learn. Toe principle on
which tt.e system is lased is that it is
what the child dies for himself, nut
what is done fur him, that really educates
him, and therefore the teacher should
not tell a pupil what he can guide him to
discover for himself.: An important ad-
vantage of this system is that knowledge
iso gained is much more likely to be re-
tained than that acquired in any other
way.
The object of examination questioning
is to test acquired knowledge. By it
the teacher ascertains how much the
pupil retains of information previously
given and whether assigned lessons have
heen property prepared. Such question-
ing should be searching, si, that a super-
ficial may not pass for a thorough pre-
paration, for which purpose stress should
be laid on the more important points in
the lesson rather thau on those that are
most obvious.
Fair, honest and searching questioning
will influence to a very great extent the
preparation of assigned lessons. Whenthe
pupils know that they will he thorough-
Iytested and will receive credit for their
diligence they will have a strong motive
for exertion; but if the teat be imperfect
or unsteady it holds out a chance of es-
cape, and thus virtually encourages a low
standard of preparation.
Such are the principal forms of ques-
tioning and their uses. The teacher has
constant occasion, in almost every reci-
tation, tb use the three kinds in close con-
junction with each other. Examination
and instructive questioning particularly
should be intimately connected. Thus
when a pupil fails to answer a question,
or does not answer it correctly, the ques-
tion should not be passed to another
member of the class as is so frequently
done, but in the first case, the teacher
should go back a step or two and by
judicions questioning lead the pupil to
see the fact for himself ,and in the second
case the pupil should first be brought to
see his mistake and then questioned so
se to enable him to arrive at a correct
is unnecessary -the exereses ceases to ie
interesting, and cuw.quently the papule
become careless, while quest'oa libel
are a•, difficult that pupils a tame i.Y
reasonably expected to answer them laid
either to guessing -a mutI,ou unjuoiow
habit -or to the discourage tt of the
class, which should always caret illy
avoided.
With regard to the third re.qui.it.1,
vis: Expenenoe, 1 will merely rewash
that questioning Is au art, and in this, as
iu all other arts, proficiency can be .it -
tains(' only by long-,ontiuu.d sill cere-
ful practice. The teacher should stu-
diously avoid any astern which has hien
found defective, or is uot ealculajed to
act advantageously in the education
the pupil, and constantly aim et bm.iiu„
out and using that system which will
best promote the educational Inter, tt
of the class.
I shall uuw offer 501118 general obser-
vations on what I consider iiefeotive
and what proper forms of question-
ing and answering. Questions should
be clear, concise, definite and adapted
to the capacity of the chess. They should
ice uttered distinctly so as to be hears
by every member of the class, and in or-
der to necessitate close attention should
not be repeated by the teacher. They
should be correct in form, so that uu
change of phraseology will be necessary,
as such change causes loss of time and
tends to confuse the pupil. They should
be in plain, simple language, intelligible
to the comprehension of the most defi-
cient in the class, and should at .nee
direct the attention of the pupils to the
specific point of which they are to speak.
Indefinite or general questions, such as,
"Tell what you know about the Pudic
Railway," or "sketch the reign of
John," may do for written examinations,
where the pupil is expected to say all he
can on a given subject, but in oral ex-
aminations it saves time and prevents
the introduction of much irrelevant .nat-
ter to confine the pupil to definite an-
swers by definite questions.
As a series questions should be logi-
cal -should omit nothing -should de-
velop every point in its proper place, and
constantlylead to the ultimate fact to
be brougt out in the lesson.
Ambiguous questions, or those that
allow of a choice of answers, should not
eltpiaedema of pr ws w th :r•tefetlpllla-
Nay, if these raper • ea ellIP-
sue
RRNal.t.e•boute)tMa. as fedi in a
Waerawwivon4.Il. iia&elatliiinto i:e
Ir; no' born dew has, o•a l i hat there in
e enetti suit due hiss that his not been
paid. Whet' a poll Less. pail to do
well be feels hiou.e,7 yarl for ry ry en-
deavor by praise, aid tint .u. at pain'
knows a the;' ,,;sine is justly
dna"
The 1 is 'Jetties I tem 1 propose
&skein [ 1 ..1,/ ens oat process
which awaicti u Outing wh tt the lawyers
sail fe . Kay gsset:ma
Kis rt wolf dsssnu,d by Page, nu his
?Leary awl Ptaetite "1 teiehing, that I
eyelet refute hit Ytvoel his words.
!r a ltbm e i; G Lis t a►1 ed up and
the i .11 ,will • ,1 a%', ue takes place.
Wher., do yon Elio 1 sail the teacher,
Likll'a the hoek.
Pu u1, -On the g):h rage, 3rd ques-
tior.
Teacher - Ileal it, Cherlts.
c..arles-"A m vi beiuz asked how
many sheep he had, ilii ttrt he had
them in two pastures; in ono pasture he
had ei,t'st; th tt throe f ,oaths of these
were jest one-third 07 wits! he had
in the ether. How many were there in
the other 1
Teacher --Well Cherie., V...1 roust first
get one-fourth of eight, must y ou not 1
Charles -Yes air.
'reacher -Well, one foot t'- if eight is
two, isn't it t
Charles --Yes sir, one fon CI of eight
is two.
Teacher --Well then, three-fourths
will be three times two, won't it 1
Charles -Yes sir.
Teacher Well, three time two are
six, eh 1
Charles -Yes sir.
Teacher -Very well. Now the book
says that this six is just one-third of
what
he had ii, the .other p:,stere, don't
it
Charles -Yes sir.
Teacher -Then if six is one third,
three -thirds will be -three times six
won't it 1
Charles -Yes sir.
Teacher -Then he hot eighteen sheep
in the other pasture had he 1
Charles- lee sir
Teacher -Next, take the next one.
be used, as they encourage the habit of At this point I interpneed, and asked
guessing. They should not suggest the the teacher if he wou.d r rine't Charles
answer either by the form of the ques- to go, through it alone. ' Oh yes" said
tion, tone of the voice, inflection, em-
phasis, or, as is sometimes done, by con-
trast, as. "Is the elephant a very small
animal 7" As a rule, questions should
not admit of being answered by a simple
"yes" or "no," but should generally re-
quire an answer yrs the form of a (sine
plete sentence. Mere assent or di. -
sent does not require much intellectual
effort; and questions that admit of such around with an air which seemed to ay,
answers do not thoroughly test a pupil's "Now I suppose you are satisfied."
knowledge, as be may know enough Shall I ask Charles to do it again 1 said L
about the subject to enable him to an- The teacher assented. Charles again
seer correctly in this way, and still have
very vague ideas regarding it. Another
weighty objection to such answers is
that they are useless as a means of cul-
tivating language while the complete
sentence fore' accustoms the pupil to
correct and fluent expression and
thoughtfulness -shows more clearly the
amount of his knowledge, and thus
leads to more pointed and suitable in
struction-and if, as should always be
the case, the teacher requires answers to
be grammatically correct -forms one of
the very best exercises in composition
and grammar, for I firmly maintain that
grammar an be far more practically and
usefully taught by requiring pupils to
speak correctly in the ordinary conver-
sation of the school room and play
ground, than by a slavish adherence to
text books, and the memorizing of an in-
definite number of definitions and rules.
Cnleea in the case of definitions, an-
swers should not be required in the
words of the book, as by such a method
the pupil may easily substitute memory
for understanding in preparing and re-
hearsing his lessons.
Elliptical questioning mxy be used in
the case of young pupils whose vocabu-
lary is limited, but should not be used
any longer than is necesaty on that ac-
count.
conclusion.Simultaneous answering stay be used
The greatest pains should be taken in I to encourage the .weak and tumid- to
dealing with incorrect answers, as they give animation to a class when the ieter-
show the pupils' deficiencies in, and mis- est begins to flag or in a hurried reapit-
conceptions of the subject, or, in other
words, they indicate clearly where he is
weak, and should lead the teacher to
snake a proper diagnosis of the case. and
apply the proper remedy.
How may the teacher attain profici-
ency in questioning 1 The most essenti-
al requisites are, I think 1st. Adequate
knowledge of the subject under oonsid.
eration, which knowledge should em-
brace not only what the text book con-
tains on the subject, but such collateral
matter as can be introduced for illustra-
tion and explanation. 2nd. A just ap-
preciation of the capacity of the pupils.
And 3rd. Experience as the result of
pract ice.
I need 'scarcely say that not only ex-
tensive general scholarship, hut also
careful and thorough preparation of each
day's work, is indiapen,ably necessary
to efficiency in conducting recitations.
the teacher, "Charles y ,u may do it
again." Charles read it twain and -
looked up. "Well," .aid the teacher,
"you must first get owe fourth of eight
mustn't you 1 "Yes s;r " And one
fourth of eight is two.• isn't it 7' "Yes
sir." And so the preass went on as
before till the final eighteen sheep were
drawn out as before. The teacher looked
Neither aptitude, experience in teach-
ing, nor knowledge of system an com-
pensate for lack of preparation. The
teacher should know the subject so as to
be able to entirely dispense with the
use of the text hook during recitation.
such being the case he will •be able to
give his attention entirely to the class,
and consequently conduct the exercise
with mach more vigor and animation;
ulation, at the close, of the different
points taught in the lesson, bet other-
wise it should not be used, as it is apt to
destroy independence in the pupil by
taking his
deo
offers a very strong temptation to�indo-
lence u the deficiencies of a pupil can-
not by snch answering be made apparent
to his teacher and claadmates.
1 need hardly say that questions
should not be given to the members of
the clave in regular rotation, or to in-
dividual members et the close. Each
question should be given to the whole
clave so that every individual will re-
quire to make the intellectual effort
necessary to the preparation of the
answer, and, after a slight pause, some
member of the class should Le called
upon to answer without any previous in-
timation am to who such pertn will be.
Questions should be properly dis-
tributed so that no member may feel
slighted or neglected, and the atten-
tion of careless pupilamay be attained by
frequently calling upon them to answer.
Answers should indicate thoughtful-
neae,and be given in such a manner as to
admit of their being distinctly heard by
every member of the class, if not so
given, the sneerer should he repeated by
the pupil -not by the teacher. The
and, what s also o'l much importance, 'manner of dealing with incorrect an -
he will impress the pupils with that ewers, as already indicated, refers only to
sense of his cnmpetence and ability instructive questioning. In reviews, of
which is necessary to ensure their cnfi-
dence and respect.
Resides benefitting the pupil. such a
system will improve the teacher's own
mind, and he will toe• encouraged, as
from time to time he teaches the same
sehlect, at finding that he is able to do
it tetter than ever before, and that in-
stead of being wearied with repetition,
he becomes mere and moire *nth initiate
on the subject
The capacity of the class should be
considered. en that the nee of questions
that are either too sexy or ton difficult
may be avoided The great design of
proper questioning is to lead pupils to
think clearly, therefore each gqneation
shonld require s distinct intellectnal
effort and each answer should he the
thoughtful result of snch effort. if the
ovations are too easy the mental effort
read the question and agaiu-looked up.
I waited and he waited: -bot the teacher
could not wait. "Why Charles' said he
impatiently "yon want one fourth of
eight, don't you 1" "Yes sir." said
Charles promptly,'and I thought best
not to insist farter at this time upon a
repetition of yes sir, and the class were
allowed to proofed in their awn way."
Comment is unnecessary. .01 Bourse
no teacher in West Huron adopts such a
method but I fear something similar may
still be heard in other districts.
■eteerelogical Report.
Report of the weather for the week
ending October 18th, 1881.
Oct. 12th -Wind at 10 p. in. South,
light, cloudy. Number of 'lies wind
travelled in 24 hours 594.
13th -Wind et 10. p. m. North, mode-
rate gale, partly cloudy. Number of
miles wind travelled in 24 hours 685.
One cubic inch of rain fell dining the
day.
14th -Wind at 10 p. m. East, fresh,
raining, began to rain at 3p. m. Num-
ber of miles wind travelled in 24 hours
254.
15th -Wind at 10 p. m. North-west,
partly clear, moderate rale. Number
of miles wind travelled in 24 hours 726.
Ceased raining at 7:30 a m. , amount of
rainfall 8 cubic inches. _
18th -Wind at 10 p. m. :North -est,
light, cloudy, Nuniber of miles wind
travelled in 24. hours 290. Amount of
rainfall 0.l cubic inches.
17th -Wind at 10 p. m. North-west,
light air, cloudy. Numberi•f miles wind
travelled in 24 hours 266. Heavy squall
M 3:20 p. ni. until 4:30 it ni., wind
travelled frotn 30 to 35 miles per hour.
Amount of rainfall 5 cubic inches.
Thunder and lightning.
18th -Wind at 10 p. m. North-west,
fresh, cloudy, been showery allday.
Number of miles wind travelled � in 24
hours 535.
G. N. MACDONALD, Observer.
Goderich, Oct. 19t.h. 188L
oouree, the pupil should receive credit
for correct answers only, but the mis-
takes should he noted and corrected at
the close of the review.
in conducting a recitation, the teach-
er's manner should be lively, animated
and encouraging. No pupil should be
ridiculed on account of deficiencies, and
jadieioae praise should he given when
wed i am afraid that we, as teach-
er, are apt to use unsure ton lavishly
and praise too sparingly.
"Timothy Titonwb," in his Lessons in
Life, very aptly errs. The desire for ap-
probation is as legitimate as the desire
Mr fond. i do not suppose it shmild be
welt viol es a motive fres action, per-
haps it should never he, but when s per-
son, frown a good motive, does a [rood
action, he deserves the approval of the
beams that love him and he waves their
S 1,111i. B i ►t 1h1)01,
�FO.SgEP�ARD
SPEC2AL
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I keep on hand a full assortment of those
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As far u possible, I obtain the opin-
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