A PSYCHOLOGICAL BASIS FOR OBJECTIVES* MAX
D. ENGELHART, GEORGIA SCHOOL O P TBCHNOLOGY, ATLANTA, GA.
There have appeared in THISJOURNAL several excellent discussions of the objectives of high-school chemistry. The writer feels that he may add to the merit of these formulations of objectives by submitting a basis for their classification which is founded on educational psychology. "It should be obvious that it is the teacher's immediate purpose to engender in his students certain abilities. However, such a designation of objectives would be of doubtful value without a clear understanding of the term 'ability.' Psychologically 'ability' refers to the bonds connecting situations and responses, and the acquiring of abilities is the forming of bonds between situations and responses, so that whenever a given situation functions as a stimulus a certain response will tend to follow."' In that the response may be considered as behavior or conduct, it will be seen that ability, in as much as it modifies response, may be thought of as a control of conduct. It may also be shown that ability, or control of conduct, has certain characteristics which are determined by the nature of the situation. When the situation has been encountered often enough that the ability acquired is of the nature of a specific habit, we may designate that ability as a "fixed control of conduct." When the situation contains certain new elements and demands a response which has never been made by the individual, and will require reflective thinking, we may designate this type of ability as an "adaptive control of conduct." These adaptive controls may be thought of as knowledge with the ability to use it. There are ways in which an individual responds to many types of situations which are determined by a.type of ability known as a general pattern of conduct. If one has the ability to feel satisfied when work is done neatly, or annoyed when it is not, then one has acquired such a generalized control. This pattern of conduct, in other words, is the "ideal" of neatness. Such patterns of conduct may accompany the other controls mentioned previously and modify the response to any given situation.% The definition of the immediate objectives of high-school chemistry as abilities, and their interpretation as controls of conduct, offers a most satisfactory basis for the study of objectives: It would perhaps be well to give a t this point an outline of the classification of objectives to be used in this article.
* Part of thesis for degree of Master of Science in Education, University of Illinois, June, 1926. Walter S. Monroe, "Teacher's Objectives," a paper read at Superintendents' Conference, University of Illinois, November 19, 19'25. E. L. Thorndike, "Educational Psychology," Teachers' Cdlege, Colurnhia University, New York, 1921, Val. 2, p. 25.
Vos. 4, No. 3
A P~YCROLOOICAL BASISaon OBJBCTIVBS
36.5
I. Fixed controls of conduct (a) Motor skills (b) Fixed associations 11. Knowledge or adaptive controls of conduct (a) Content of knowledge 1. Concrete ideas 2. Abstract and general meanings 3. Theories, principles, and hypotheses (b) Use of knowledge I. Reflective thinking ( a ) Chemical phenomena (b) Problem solving 111. Patterns of conduct, or generalized controls
( a ) Ideals (b) Attitudes (c) Interests The immediate objectives of high-school chemistry, designated as "fixed controls of conduct," are divided into motor skills and fixed associations. Motor skills and fixed associations are alike in that they demand an unvarying response to a given stimulus and, as such, are specific habits. The differentiation is made necessary because of the dissimilarity of the manner in which these abilities are performed. For our purposes, a motor skill implies a type of ability which demands the use of certain parts of the body, notably the hands, in close coordination with the brain. The engendering of motor skills may be one of the functions of the laboratory work. The nature of the abilities designated as fixed associations is shown by the manner in which a student responds to such a question as, "What is the formula of water?" The student bases his response on memory or, more precisely, his previous experience with the same situation. The response should be immediate and unvarying. The writer wishes to submit below a few examples of motor skills and of fixed associations which might be classed among the immediate objectives of high-school chemistry. No attempt will be made here to give a complete formulation of objectives, it being the purpose of this article to merely suggest a classification which might be used.
Motor Skills 1. The ability to cut and break glass tubing into lengths desired. 2. The ability to fire polish glass tubing. 3. The ability to insert glass tubing into the holes in cork and rubber
stoppers.
4.
The ability to bore holes in cork and rubber stoppers. 5. The ability to adjust the Bunsen flame.
F i e d Associations 1. The abilities necessary to give the symbols of the common elements. 2. The abilities necessary to give the names of the common elements when presented with their symbols. 3. The abilities necessary to give the formulas of common compounds. 4. The abilities necessary to give the valence of the more important elements. 5 . The abilities necessary to state certain important laws, theories, and hypotheses.
In considering the second rubric of the immediate objectives of highschool chemistry, adaptive controls of conduct, it is necessary to specify the materials which make such controls possible. Such materials may be designated as knowledge and arbitrarily divided into the following classes:
(a) Concrete ideas-or
perceptual meanings. Abstract and general meanings--or concepts. (b) ( 6 ) Theories, principles, and hypotheses. The first of these classes may be illustrated by examples from the laboratory work. The student's ideas of boiling, precipitation, colors and odors of substances, and the like are the result of perception. The formation of such ideas results in many cases in fixed associations. The second of these classes, abstract and general meanings, may be the result of the integration of the concrete ideas, and the result of the scientific use of the imagination. For example, the general meaning given to the word "sulfur" will be the result of the sum total of many associations related to that element, and certain ideas of things unseen which are the result of imagination. Such a general meaning, or concept, might be made up of the following ideas: The symbol for sulfur is "S." The atomic weight of sulfur is 32. I t is a constituent of such acids as H 8 , HSOa, and H~SOI. Sulfur is found free in nature. 5 . The allotropic forms of sulfur are due to the different numbers of atoms in the sulfur molecule. 6. The valence of sulfur is due to the number of electrons in the outer shell of the sulfur atom. It will be seen that the ideas as to the atomic structure of sulfur may not
1. 2. 3. 4.
VOL.4, No. 3
A PSYCHOLOGICAL BASISFOR OBJECTIV&S
367
be presented to the student as perceptual experiences. His ideas of such structure are due to the use of his imagination. The third class, theories, principles, and hypotheses, is the result of inductive reasoning as applied to concrete ideas and abstract and general meanings. This may be illustrated by the method in which a student acquires his knowledge of the principle, or law of mass action. (Note: this is not merely the ability to state the principle from memory.) The NaCl -+ NaN03, student learns that the reaction, AgN03 goes to completion because silver chloride is precipitated. He learns that 2AgN03 NazSOl -+AgzS04 2NaNOz, does not go to completion because no insoluble precipitate is formed. Other reactions of a similar character are observed. Then the student learns that the reaction NaCl HzS04-+ NaHS04 HCl , also goes to completion. By the process of inductive reasoning the student comes to the conclusion that when a product is removed from the solution either as an insoluble precipitate, or as a gas, such a reaction will tend to go to completion. By deduction, the student should be able to apply this principle to reactions which are new to him. His knowledge of this principle will be much more complete as a result of the above process than if be had merely memorized a statement of the principle. The above discussion indicates to some extent what is meant by the content of knowledge which might constitute some of the immediate objectives of high-school chemistry. A source of what shall make up this content of knowledge is to be found in the "Standard Minimum Course" of the Division of Chemical Education. The next topic of our classification of immediate objectives, as given in the outline, is the use of knowledge in reflective thinking. One of the claims most frequently made for chemistry instruction is that it engenders in the student the ability to do reflective thinking. Without question the attainment of such an ability is desirable, and should constitute a worthy objective. There is, however, a certain danger stated by Deweya which should be avoided. "In the case of the so-called disciplinq or preeminently logical studies, there is danger of the isolation of the intellectual activity from the ordinary affairs of life. The danger in those studies where the main emphasis is upon the acquisition of s k i is just the reverse. The tendency is to take the shortest cuts possible to gain the required end. This makes the subject mechanical and thus restrictive of intellectual power." High-school chemistry may be taught in such a way that the intellectual activity is isolated from the ordinary affairs of life. It may also be taught so that the acquisition of skillpredominates. In other words, a course in which the motor skills and fixed associations are over-emphasized. It is the viewpoint of the writer that these dangers
+
+
+
+
+
T
+
"ohn Dewey, "How We Think." Heath and Company. New York, 1910, p. 51.
are to be avoided by utilizing the fixed controls in engendering the adaptive controls, and by introducing topics after having created the proper mental set by referring to past experiences of the student's every-day life, and further, to develop topics in such a way that useful applications are given. In discussing the application of knowledge in reflective thinking as utilized in meeting new and perplexing situations presented by chemical phenomena, it is helpful to divide the process into five more or less distinct steps. Cameron's statement of these steps is given below:4 1. A perplexing situation which causes a feeling of difficulty. 2. Noting clearly the source and nature of the difficulty. 3. Farming various ideas which may possibly solve the difficulty. 4. Considering what the results would be if these various ideas were accepted. 5 . Further observation and (sometimes) experiment leading to acceptance of one of the ideas with the rejection of others.
An example might be given to show how a student in the course of his proper performance of a laboratory experiment, undergoes such a process of thinking in arriving a t his results. However, to be successful in the inculcation of knowledge such a process should be largely "internal." It could also be shown how the above process may be carried over into the crass-room, where the particular phenomena observed in the laboratory could be used to illustrate a general principle and to show certain useful applications. The above five steps are also useful in describing the correct manner of solving chemical problems. The third and last rubric of our classification of immediate objectives is that of patterns of conduct, or generalized controls. The nature of such controls has already been discussed. Such a generalized control is most easily understood in terms of the satisfaction or dissatisfaction felt by an individual in responding to any given situation. In other words, the emotional side must be taken into account. In the case of the motor skills, the individual may perform a specific activity neatly, with little conscious realization that neatness in itself is desirable. On the other hand, if the individual has the ability to feel annoyed if the activity is not performed neatly, and satisfied if i t is, he has acquired the general pattern of conduct of neatness. This individual is more likely to appreciate the value of neatness in other activities. If the training received in one course of study is to carry over into others the value of forming such patterns of conduct is apparent. Many objectives given by several writers in this field, may be classed as general patterns of conduct. For example, such statements as "moral attitudes," "intellectual honesty," "truth," "the value of self-elimination," "interests in science," and "the appreqE. H. Cameron. "Psychology and the School." 1922, p. 143.
The Century Co., New Yark,
ciation of the significance of science" may be classed as general patterns of conduct when listing them as objectives of high-school chemistry. In closing i t might be said that such a classification of objectives will be found most useful in determining not only the justification of our setting such objectives, but in determining what methods are most sound, according to educational psychology, for the purpose of engendering such objectives.
