JULY, 1948
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AUSTIN JOYNER American Cyanamid Co., Pearl River, New York A METHOD of using visual aid in the teaching of elementary scientific subjects has elicited interest. No claim i4 made that there is anvthine actuallv new in the method demonstrated. However, i t i s feG that this method and the manner in which it is used represent a distinct advance in the difficult task of visualization of scientific subjects. The materialls consist of a hoard approximately the size of an average blackboard which is constructed in sections so that they can be disconnected and made portable. The face of the board is covered with a soft, black, woolen cloth which has been tightly stretched and is attached a t the edees of the board. The svm-
sig-zagged strips of sandpaper pasted on its surface. The board is used very much in the same manner that an or1
Reprinted by permission from the Tmnsadiow of the New
York Amdemy of Sciences.
dinary blackboard would he used in-a class demonstration or lecture.. Symbols or pictures illustrating each point in the talk are placed on the hoard by pressing the sandpaper surface onto the cloth surface of the board with a slight downward motion. This allows the picture to remain in position as the sandpaper catches onto the 010th surface. The use of the hoard can be illustrated by using symbols and pictures which are designed to present such subjects as Immunology, Nitrogen Balance, Nutritional Aspects of Folio Acid, and Atopic Allergy. Naturally, this kind of board can be used in a fully lighted room, so that the full personality of the speaker still remains in play. Also, simplicity of desip, the advantages of color, and the shape of the symbols add to the possibility of retention by the audience. The board was originated by Mr. J. Hile and Mr. William Damroth, who have also interested themselves in the commercial production of numerous lecture illustrations. This method has been extremely successful in presenting complicated scientific subjects in a simplified form to large numbers of adults who have had little scientific training.
