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Chemical Digest
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COLLEGE TEACHING We have become familiar with the ay of the college student against the teaching and standards they have met with in college. We have been among the criers ourselves. And now comes Mr. Laski' striking a danger note in the tendency of our industrial civilization in respect to higher education. After showing how universally it has been believed in the past that the "academic minds are too remote from reality to be helpful when the need comes for decisive acts" he says that: They (the professors) saw that they were poor; they felt that they had no part in the making of supreme decisions. Though they were professors, they were human and they determined t o he practical men. The passionate intensity of their determination has exhibited itself in innumerable ways.
The examples he offers us are interesting and rather frightening. But perhaps even more disastrous than the molding of the academic mind to practical uses is the filtration of the practical business mind into places of high authority in university life. It would not, perhaps, be going beyond the mark t o define the average academic mind of today as that of a practical man who has, a t least in the major universities, exchanged wealth and power for dignity and security. Once practical men begin to meddle with universities mediocrity within is given its opportunity.
One main reason for this is that:
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power searches always for routine, and when the academic politidan becomes a university president there is nothing he so subconsciously fears as the genuinely inventive mind.
On the other hand:
. . . . . the university that is free builds an atmosphere of creativeness for the great thinker who finds dace there, and the generations that are to come move in response to the measure of his thought. If the colleges are really in the danger that Mr. Laski declares them to be, we look to the faculty and executives to see what they are doing to save it. In connection with this, we turn to a study which Dr. K e l l ~ , ~ Harold J. Laski, "The Academic Mind," Harfier's, 1929, 593401 (Apr.). L. Kelly, "Great Teachers and Methods of Developing Them," Assoc. "obert Am. Coll. Bull., 15,4947 (Mar., 1929). 1
Executive Secretary of The Association of American Colleges, camed on by means of questionnaires in this country. Only denominational colleges participated. The first phase had t o do with those individuals referred t o an any colleee campus as "great teachers." . The second phase was concerned with themethods usedby the college officers in the building of their faculties. . . . . A total of 187 colleges participated in the investigation of t h e great teachers, and a total of 162 in the study of the methods of building college faculties. Probably 200 colleges were concerned in both studies.
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362 "great teachers" were named. 142 of these had the degrees of Ph.D., Sc.D., Pd.D., M.D., etc. 11 of these degrees were received a t the University of Chicago, 10 a t Columbia, 8 each a t Cornell, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins. The qualities stressed most often were interest in students, scholarship, personality, and character. The subjects taught by the majority of these teachers were, in order, English, mathematics, philosophy, Greek, Latin, and history. Some important conclusions have resulted from this report, which, though admittedly unscientific, is according to Dr. Kelly the best that could be done a t the initiation of such a study. The decade in which the largest number of great teachers was listed was the decade ending in 1920. It appears that a considerable majority of these teachers have not heen trained in education, but along with this finding must be considered the fact that a good majority of the college officials are now giving preferential treatment t o those who have had training in education. These college executives do not believe that teachers have been listed as great because of their diffused interest in the problems of life in general. . . The overwhelming majority of them, while showing broad sympathies with life and with the institutions of life, have nevertheless held closely to the teaching of their subjects. The consensus of opinion is very conclusive that these teachers stimulated their students to further study in the graduate schools and elsewhere. In the matter of building faculties i t appears that nearly all of these colleges profess t o have some sort of technic. Mare of them rely upon the graduate school than upon any other agency of employment. There is a growing disposition t o recognize that teaching counts and to promote teachers on the basis of good teaching as the major consideration.
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Rees Edgar T u l l ~ s s the , ~ president of Wittenberg College, treats the problem as an executive sees it. He says: "In the last analysis, the quality of the teaching in our colleges depends upon the attitude of the administration," and then discusses the question from five viewpoints. 1. Desiring Good Teachers. The development of a dominating desire for better teaching is the first important step toward securing it.
'"The Improvement of College Teaching as an Administrational Problem," Assoc. Am. COIL Bull., 15, 73-89 (Mar., 1929).
2. Delectine- Good Teachers. Certainly we should not make the mistake in thinkiug that the i n s t ~ e t i o n a methods l required in college must he the same as those found It is quite possible that "what useful in the elementary or secondary schools. may Ix needed is a complete hreaking away from tradition, and the d e r i s i n ~of instructional methods suited to the demands of modcrn higher education." I11.1:. Haggerty, Assoc. Am. Call. B d . , 14, 391 (Nov., 1928.)]
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Dr. Tulloss considers the problem of research here, and its effect, good and bad, upon the college professor. He concludes that there are few who can handle both research and teaching and do both well. 3. Deuelofi'ng Good Teachers. Our administrative help is sorely needed in developing a friendlier attitude toward the technical study of educational methods and in bringing about a willingness t o believe that the department of education can really offer helpful maperation.
He gives several important suggestions as means of developing teachers as teachers, and then says: A danger in this whole procedure must not he overlooked-the danger that hv emphasizing teaching technic, wc rnmurage still furthcr the pure utilitarian tendency of modern education, so that the ideal of "imparting knowledge rather than promoting human welfare" becomes still more general
In connection with the Laski article in Harper's, we find some comfort here that the college authorities are awake to the invasion of the practical mind. 4 . Demanding Good Teachers. (He discusses the problem of the degree of Ph.D.) If the Ph.D. degree is t o he granted only in accord with the dictum of the American Assadation of University Professors there can he no question as t o the need for a new degree. "The doctor's deg-ree should be conferred only upou persons of unusual intellectual endowment, with unequivocal capacities for research." Why not a degree t o be conferred upou persons of unusual intellectual endowment, possessing thorough acquaintance with a particular field and with unquestionable capacity for eflective and inspiring teaching? If i t is true (he remarks further on) that a t least 75 per cent of those persons who receive the Ph.D. become teachers,. and if i t is true, on the other hand, that not a single school in America (he excepts the Graduate Schaal of Duke University) requires of those intending to teach, a course in the technic of college instruction as a prerequisite to the Ph.D.; and if it is true that 8 5 per cent of all the courses in t h a t field are to be found within six of our universities-so anomalous a situation a l e s aloud for a changed procedure. 5 . Rewarding Good Teachers. W h y not reward what ought t o be rewardedskill in the doing of the real work of the teacher? "Equal degrees, plus equal teaching experience, plus equal ranking, must mean equal salaries." How fallaciousa theory. . . . There is no sound reason why we should he hampered, within the limits of a flexible salary scale, in bestowing the reward of increased salary.
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The regional accrediting associations must shoulder a large part of responsibility of the standards and ideals of the colleges and universities.
Floyd W. reeve^,^ Director of Bureau of School Service, College of Education, University of Kentucky, has an interesting article concerning these associations. He summarizes his argument against their present position: Most of the standards of such associations are arbitrary in their nature: they measure the mechanics of education when there isno need for measurement of the product. During recent years much opposition has arisen t o the methods of measurement employed. The regional standardizing associations are awake t o the criticisms which are being made and are endeavoring t o devise less mechanical methods for the selection of member institutions. As a means of developing more satisfactory standards the associations are encouraging experimentation and conducting studies t o determine the validity of the present standards and the possibility of developing more satisfactory measures of the eiliciency of educational institutions.
It is interesting to note that a committee of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools:
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. . . . recommended that the Association join the movement t o encourage graduate schools t o give mare training in the methods and technic of college instruction to those students who expect t o go into the field of college teaching. We have noted the agitation concerning this matter in Dr. Tulloss' article, reviewed above. After all i t is a great question whether or not training in technic is necessary for the really great teachers. We turn to President Guy E. Snavely's article, "Who Is a Great Teacher?'= The most important thing here is the report of the Committee on Teaching Qualities, which committee was composed of members of Dr. Snavely's faculty, Birmingham-Southern College. ~ A c l O n SIN
TEACHING
1. The individuul factor (a) Integrity of character (b) Culture 2. The subject factor (a) Thorough knowledge of special subject and related subjects (b) Knowledge of methods of teaching his subject, grading, outside reading, exams, lectures, etc. (c) Enthusiasm 3. The student fackw (a) Sympathy in classmom (b) Sympathy outside of classroom
Along with Dr. Snavely's definition of a great teacher-"The great teacher must have character, scholarship, and personality"-we should like to quote the definitions of great teachers given in the above-mentioned articles under this heading. 4
"College Teaching-Uses
and Abuses of Standardization," Asroc. Am. Coll.
mi.. 15, 230-41 (May, 1929). Assoc. Am. CoU. Bull., 15, 68-72 (Mar., 1929):
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CHEMICAL DIGEST
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Harold I.Laski: The great teacher will teach greatly; and do what we will, the consequence of great teaching is the sense in those taught that the actual social institutions are not coincident with the inevitable foundations of society. Robert L. Kelly: The personal qualities or traits of the great teachers are, in order-interest in the students, knowledge or mastery of the subject, sympathy. helpfulness, character, and personality. The best teacher is one who does not teach, if the concept is t o he carried aver from the lower schools, hut the one who kindles the inner fires.
Dr. Tulloss finds himself inclined to agree with Oscat. Wilde, who states in his book. "The Critic as Artist:" Technic is really personality; that is why the artist cannot teach it, why t h e pupil cannot learn it, why the aesthetic critic cannot understand it.
He also quotes the rating for teachers given by the Oberlin scale: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
7. 8 9. 10.
Breadth and richness of his courses in respect t o content Organization of his courses Clearness in explanation and in illustration Getting the student's point of view Skill in eliciting and directing discussion Care in assignment of papers or other collateral work! and adequacy of consideration of the same Accessibility for consultation Tntrmst in students a- individuals Stimulating the student tu his highest level or achievement General influence on student morale
Let us see what the professors have to say on the subject. Aretas W. N ~ l a n ,Associate ~ Professor of Agricultural Education, University of Illinois, has concerned himself with a study of the technic used by college teachers. The group of Thirteen 1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.
7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
purpose of this circular is t o describe a study of technic and comments of a college instructors on certain problems of method in classroom instruction. major problems were considered. Learning t o know students Apportioning time to subject matter to be taught - Making daily preparation Handling classroom discussion Stimulating students t o think Securing interest Testing and marking Securing consistent work Making the assignment Stimulating students t o use material learned Memorization
6 "Technics Used in Dealing with Certain Problems of College Teaching,'' University qf Illinois Bull., June 4. 1929.
12. Inspiring students t o desire knowledge and power in the subject matter rather than mere credit and high marks 13. Training students in personal and social effectiveness
Eighty college instructors were presented with questionnaires on these problems. To illustrate how the work was carried on, we shall quote the third problem. The numbers in parentheses indicate the frequencies of the checkings or of suggestions on the technics, and the frequencies of the comments on the problems submitted.
Technics 1. Go over the material in all texts, outlines, and notes on the subject matter unit t o he presented, and organize it for the special class involved. (70) n in mind in order t o be as free from texts or nates as oassible. 2. Get lesson ~ l a well (32) 3. Think through the paints to be used in the class period, without reference t o outlines or books. (16) 4. Plan the method of presentation as carefully as the organization of subject matter. (10) 5. Use outlines of previous years, adding new material t o bring it up t o date. (6)
Comments 1. Best sumess in teaching comes from spending a t least an hour each day in preparation for the class period. (14) 2. The class peridd is the testing time of the teacher's skill in his profession. (12) 3. Where there is no learning there is no teaching. (4)
Some important general conclusions from this study were: The tendency of faculty members is t o stress the importanm of research over teaching. A few of the instructors believe that if one knows his subject he does not need t o he concerned with the problem 6f method in teaching. Increased interest in this problem (i. e., improving the quality of college teaching) is evident throughout the country. Some colleges require previous teaching experience as a condition of employment; others require a certain number of hours of professional education; and still others provide college courses, lectures, or forums in professional education for instructors in service. Progress is being made in the study of methods in college teaching, but there is need for much improvement. This study of technic of methods used and the comments as given by-faculty members on the thirteen problems listed should be of some value t o college instructors, and should suggest an approach to further work along similar lines.
At the end of our reading, we find ourselves not much farther along the road than we were a t the beginning. But a few things are apparent: either through outside criticism or through their own failure to achieve their goals, college authorities are beginning to demand good teaching
powers as an essential of the professor. On the other hand, while they are gradually recognizing values in educational technic, they do not believe that the accepted methods in elementary or secondary schools are basic for teaching in colleges. If we are depressed by Mr. Laski's article, let us turn for encouragement to this new movement. We have reason to believe that once the colleges are awake to their peril, they will send the practical mind scurrying back to its filing papers. M. w. G.
