2. FREEMAN, F. N. How Children Learn. (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917.) Pp. 56–111, on instincts of play and imitation and social attitudes in children.

3. JAMES, WILLIAM. Talks to Teachers. (Henry Holt and Company, 1899.) Chaps. vi and vii, on instincts; chaps. x and xi, on interest and attention. Simple, interesting, important chapters by America's greatest psychologist.

4. KIRKPATRICK, E. A. Fundamentals of Child Study. (The Macmillan Company, 1903.) Many valuable chapters on instincts. See especially chaps. iv, viii, ix, x, xii, xiii. Read rapidly to pick up suggestions.

5. THORNDIKE, E. L. Notes on Child Study. (The Macmillan Company, 1903.) Pp. 40-45, on instincts; pp. 154–162, on instincts of children of kindergarten age.

6. THORNDIKE, E. L. Principles of Teaching. (A. G. Seiler, 1906.) Pp. 21-29, 34-38, 51-67, 105-109. The most valuable and suggestive chapters written on the utilization of children's instinctive interests. Many useful exercises for class discussion. The source of many suggestions found in the present chapter.

For advanced students. -7. JAMES, WILLIAM. Principles of Psychology. (Henry Holt and Company, 1890.) Vol. II, pp. 383-441. Most influential chapter written on human instincts. Interesting examples and attractive style.

8. THORNDIKE, E. L. (a) Educational Psychology. Vol. I, The Original Nature of Man. (Teachers College, 1913.) The most thorough and critical treatment of human instincts. See chap. xvii, entitled The Values and Use of Original Tendencies. (b) See also Briefer Course edition of the above work, pp. 27-68.

CHAPTER X

DRILL AND PRACTICE

MAKING RESPONSES AUTOMATIC BY REPETITION

Main points of the chapter. I. Examples of drills with vocabulary cards, fraction cards, and printed problem sheets illustrate modern drill methods. With such examples the following rules are developed :

2. Only correct practice makes perfect; therefore,

a. Delay drill until a correct start is assured.

b. Always subordinate speed to accuracy.

3. Avoid wasting time on nonessential and accessory processes. 4. Secure zeal, interest, and concentration of attention with short snappy drills.

5. Use ready-made scientifically organized drill systems.

6. Continue drill until precise standard scores are maintained. 7. Give additional practice in using abstract forms and processes in concrete situations.

Five aspects of learning: self-activity, apperception, preparation, interest, drill. Up to this point in our story of how children learn most effectively and economically we have noted the following points: A pupil learns through his own response and activities; consequently the teacher must be skilled in inferring what the mental response of each pupil is at any moment and in understanding the conditions which determine his responses. Among these conditions we noted the pupil's past experiences, upon which the teacher must build, and his present frame of mind, which the teacher must modify or prepare in order to secure favorable mental backgrounds or attitudes in the pupils. As most important

among these attitudes we discussed interests, which we described as strivings, cravings, or active mental tendencies in the pupil which should be utilized by the teacher. These discussions of learning thus gave us four principles of teaching; namely, those of self-activity, apperception, preparation, interest. In this chapter we shall take up a fifth aspect of learning; namely, how to make permanent and automatic such particular responses as are involved in correct spelling of common words, legible and rapid handwriting, correct and rapid adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing, and rapid recognition of words and meanings in reading.

Examples of greatly improved technique in drill lessons. - In view of the many recent improvements in the conduct of drill lessons in the above subjects and the definiteness of the skilled teacher's technique, we shall describe sample drill lessons in reading and arithmetic as an introduction to the principles to be observed in lessons involving drill or practice. The first of these lessons illustrates the use of drill cards in teaching reading.

Six tricks in first-grade drills with vocabulary cards. — A first-grade teacher, in about the seventh week of school, had taught the children to read a chart containing such sentences as the following:

We have two pets.

They are white mice, etc.

These sentences had been used by the children in telling about their two mice. At the present time we are interested in part of the drill which followed the reading of the chart as a whole.

At the beginning of the reading lesson the next day the teacher had arranged on the blackboard ledge eight stiff cards, on each of which was printed one of the words learned recently; namely, "mice," "white," "have," etc. The pupils were seated in little chairs at the front of the room. The lesson proceeded as follows:

1. The teacher gathered the cards and, holding them so that the class could see, said, "Here we have some of our old words. Let's see if we can name them." She then displayed one card after the other. The class, whispering, named the words in concert.

2. The class then stood up. The teacher handed a child a card. If he named the word successfully, he sat down, keeping the card and holding it so that the word could be seen from the front of the room.

3. After all the cards were given out, each of the children that still remained standing was permitted to pick, from those sitting, a card containing a word which he could name correctly and then to be seated. Finally all were seated.

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4. The teacher then said, "I want the card which says ' mice.' The child having it ran quickly and gave it to the teacher. This was repeated until she had all the cards.

5. The cards were then redistributed among the children. by the teacher and called for again as in paragraph 4. As attention was beginning to flag slightly, the teacher said, “I think some of the children are sleepy"; whereupon these children sat up and paid attention.

6. The teacher then placed the cards in a row on the blackboard ledge, the children reading them quietly in concert as each was placed.

7. The drill was then concluded with the following game: A chosen child ran into the cloak room. Another child ran quickly and pointed at a word, for example, "mice," then returned to his seat. The child in the cloak room returned. He pointed at a word, for example, "have," and said, “Is it 'have'?" The children replied in concert, "No." He continued to point at and name words until he said, "Is it 'mice'?" Whereupon all the children clapped their hands, and he returned to his seat. The game was then repeated once.

Eight words, six tricks, six minutes, ten repetitions at intervals and with attention, application. — After the class

was seated and ready for the above drill, the total amount of time consumed by it was about six minutes. In this brief time six different tricks, stunts, or devices were used. The necessity for this variety is shown by the fact that the attention of the little six-year-olds began to flag after the fifth step in the drill. The teacher, consequently, proceeded quickly to the seventh step, which involved more physical activity for some and more interesting activity for all; namely, watching to see if the child guessed the right word and clapping their hands when he did. By these devices, each word was attentively observed by most of the children at least ten times. The observations of each word were not consecutive however, the attention having been drawn to other words in the intervals which elapsed between the observations of any given word. After the drill had concluded with the game which provided for physical activity, the reading lesson was continued by reading on the chart the story of their pets, in which the words of the drill occurred in sentences.

Eleven points of technique in fifth-grade drill with fraction cards. Another example of modern drill methods which illustrates the fine technique that a teacher has to develop in using drill cards is found in the game with fraction cards described on page 208. The fifth-grade teacher referred to had a pack of cards containing fractions such as

these, each of the following numbered points represents a distinct item in her technique.

i 1. She stood before the class in such a position that the light fell on the cards so all the pupils could see well and none face a window.

2. She appointed one boy to time the game.

3. She wrote the multiplier, for example, 1⁄2, on the blackboard behind her.