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Principles of Teaching
Principles of Teaching
Superintendent of Church Schools Designed for Quorum Instructors and Auxiliary Class Teachers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Published by The General Boards of the Auxiliary Organizations of the Church 1921 1952 Reprint of the original FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN TEACHING RELIGION Copyright, 1921 By Adam S. Bennion For the General Boards of the Auxiliary Organizations of the Church...
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PREFACE to the 1952 Edition
PREFACE to the 1952 Edition
Two texts have been written for the teacher training program of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since Dr. Adam S. Bennion's Book Principles of Teaching was published, yet in spite of the fact that this book has been out of print several years so many requests for it have poured in that the General Superintendency has decided to satisfy the demand with this new edition. This book with its classic qualities in many ways fits Shakespeare's description of a beautiful woman when he sa
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Preface
Preface
That ever-old question, "How to Teach," becomes ever new when made to read, "How to Teach Better." This volume aims to raise those problems which every teacher sooner or later faces, and it attempts to suggest an approach by way of solution which will insure at least some degree of growth towards efficiency. These chapters originally were prepared for the course offered to teacher-trainers in the Summer School of the Brigham Young University, in 1920. The teachers in that course were an inspirat
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PURPOSES BEHIND TEACHING
PURPOSES BEHIND TEACHING
Outline—Chapter I The worth of souls.—The Father's joy in the soul that is saved.—The teacher's responsibility.—Teaching, a sacred calling.—Our Church a teaching Church. Our three-fold purpose in Teaching: "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God; "For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him. "And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men unto him, on
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WHAT IS TEACHING?
WHAT IS TEACHING?
Outline—Chapter II Teaching a complex art.—What teaching is not.—What teaching is.—What it involves.—Presentation of facts.—Organization and evaluation of knowledge.—Interpretation and elaboration of truth.—Inspiration to high ideals.—Encouragement and direction given to expression.—Discovery of pupils' better selves.—Inspiration of example as well as precept.—Application of truths taught in lives of pupils. The query, "What constitutes teaching?" cannot be answered off-hand. It is so complex an
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THE JOYS OF TEACHING
THE JOYS OF TEACHING
Outline—Chapter III The Joys that attend Teaching: Enrichment of the spirit.—Guarantee of the teacher's own growth and development.—Restraining and uplifting influence on the moral character of the teacher.—Satisfaction that attends seeing pupils develop.—Inspirational companionship.—Contentment that attaches to duty done.—Outpouring of the blessings of the Lord. Chapters one and two emphasized the thought that the purposes behind teaching impose a sacred obligation on the part of those who aspi
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PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY
Outline—Chapter IV The worth of a great teacher.—Good teachers not necessarily born.—Some boys' observations on teachers.—A high school survey.—Clapp's Essential Characteristics .—Betts' Three Classes of Teachers .—His list of qualities. "A great teacher is worth more to a state, though he teach by the roadside, than a faculty of mediocrities housed in Gothic piles."— Chicago Tribune , September, 1919. We may stress the sacred obligation of the teacher; we may discuss in detail mechanical proces
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PERSONALITY
PERSONALITY
Outline—Chapter V The six major qualities:—a. Sympathy.—b. Sincerity.—c. Optimism.—d. Scholarly attitude.—e. Vitality.—f. Spirituality. To set about to cultivate separate qualities would be rather a discouraging undertaking. As a matter of fact, many of the characteristics named really overlap, while others are secondary in importance. For practical purposes let us enlarge upon five or six qualities which everyone will agree are fundamental to teaching success. The class in Teacher Training, at
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ATTAINMENT
ATTAINMENT
Outline—Chapter VI The possibility of growth in teaching.—How to develop spirituality: a. By cultivating the spirit of prayer; b. By leading a clean life; c. By obeying the principles of the Gospel; d. By performing one's duty in the Church; e. By reading and pondering the word of the Lord.—How to develop other qualities: a. By taking a personal inventory; b. By coming in contact with the best in life through reading and companionship; c. By forming the habit of systematic study; d. By assuming
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NATIVE TENDENCIES
NATIVE TENDENCIES
Outline—Chapter VII We have now discussed the significance and meaning of teaching, together with the consideration of the characteristics that constitute the personal equation of the teacher. It is now pertinent that we give some attention to the nature of the child to be taught, that we may the more intelligently discuss methods of teaching, or how teacher and pupil get together in an exchange of knowledge. Teaching is a unique process. It is both social and individual. The teacher meets a cla
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"WHAT TO DO WITH NATIVE TENDENCIES"
"WHAT TO DO WITH NATIVE TENDENCIES"
Outline—Chapter VIII Characteristics Unique in the Adolescent Period Having listed these tendencies we still face the question, "What shall we do with them? What is their significance in teaching?" "Some instincts are to be cherished almost as they are; some rooted out by withholding stimuli, or by making their exercise result in pain or discomfort, or by substituting desirable habits in their place; most of the instincts should be modified and redirected."—( Thorndike. ) Our concern as teachers
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INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Outline—Chapter IX Fundamental significance of individual differences.—Typical illustration.—The truth illustrated physically; in range of voice, in speed, in mental capabilities.—The same truth applied spiritually.—Some cases in point. Everybody is like everybody else in this—that everybody is different from everybody else. Having discussed how all men enjoy a common heritage by way of native endowments, let us now turn to a consideration of how men differ. Two of the terms most frequently met
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INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND TEACHING
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AND TEACHING
Outline—Chapter X The causes of individual differences.—Norsworthy and Whitley on the significance of parentage.—The teacher's obligation to know parents.—The influence of sex.—Environment as a factor.—Thorndike quoted.—B.H. Jacobsen on individual differences. So far we simply have made the point that individuals differ. We are concerned in this chapter in knowing how these differences affect the teaching process. Fully to appreciate their significance we must know not only that they exist, and
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ATTENTION
ATTENTION
Outline—Chapter XI Attention the mother of learning.—Gregory quoted.—The fact of attention in the Army.—What attention is.—Illustrations.—Attention and interest.—The three types of attention: Involuntary, nonvoluntary, voluntary.—How to secure attention.—Interest the great key to attention. In that stimulating little book, The Seven Laws of Teaching , by Gregory, et al , the second law is stated in these words: "A learner is one who attends with interest to the lesson." Expressed as a rule of te
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WHAT MAKES FOR INTEREST
WHAT MAKES FOR INTEREST
Outline—Chapter XII Individual differences and interest.—What makes for interest.—Interest begets interest.—Preparation is a great guarantee.—Knowledge of the lives of boys and girls a great help.—The factors of interestingness: The Vital, The Unusual, The Uncertain, The Concrete, The Similar, The Antagonistic, The Animate. After discussing the relation of interest to attention we still face the question: What is it that makes an interesting object, or an idea interesting? Why do we find some th
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A LABORATORY LESSON IN INTEREST
A LABORATORY LESSON IN INTEREST
Outline—Chapter XIII Interest should be inherent in the lesson taught.—An illustration of "dragged in" interest.—Interest and the "easy" idea.—A proper interpretation of interest.—How to make the subject of Fasting interesting.—The various possibilities.—How to secure interest in the Atonement.—How to secure interest in the Resurrection.—How to secure interest in the story of Jonah. "Oh, that's all right," says one. "It is easy enough to talk about interest, and it's easy to be interesting if yo
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THE MORE IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS IN TEACHING
THE MORE IMMEDIATE PROBLEMS IN TEACHING
Outline—Chapter XIV The steps involved in the preparation of a lesson: The aim; organization; illustration; application; questions.—Problems involved in the presentation of a lesson: The point of contact; illustration; the lesson statement.—Various possibilities.—The review: questioning; application.—The matter summarized. So many textbooks have been written about teaching—so many points of view have been advanced—such a variety of terminology has been employed, even in the expression of a singl
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ORGANIZING A LESSON
ORGANIZING A LESSON
Outline—Chapter XV A review of the steps in lesson preparation.—The values of outlining.—Objections answered.—Outlining a means, not an end.—The essentials in outlining.—An illustrative outline on prayer. Preparing a lesson is no easy matter, particularly for those teachers who are new to the calling. There are those, of course, for whom reading an assigned chapter through constitutes a preparation, but to the successful teacher this preliminary reading is only the initial step in the process. A
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ILLUSTRATING AND SUPPLEMENTING A LESSON
ILLUSTRATING AND SUPPLEMENTING A LESSON
Outline—Chapter XVI The force of illustrations.—Three kinds of illustration material: 1. maps; 2. pictures; 3. incidents.—The force of maps and map drawing.—The appeal of good pictures. Illustrations Illustrative material for a lesson on prayer. Having discussed the organization of a lesson together with the formulation of the aim, let us now turn to the problem of illustrating and supplementing a lesson. In organizing a subject for teaching we drive the nails of major thoughts—through illustrat
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THE AIM
THE AIM
Outline—Chapter XVII Two illustrations of the value of an aim.—Significance of the aim in religious training.—Inadequacy of eleventh-hour preparation.—The teacher's obligation to see through facts to truths that lie beyond. What an aim is.—Illustration.—How to determine the aim.—How to express it. The late Jacob Riis, noted author and lecturer, used to tell a very inspirational story on the force of having something to focus attention upon. According to his story, certain men who lived just outs
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APPLICATION
APPLICATION
Outline—Chapter XVIII The question of application.—The matter a complex one.—Various conceptions of the term as it affects the intellect, the emotions, or the will.—Application may be immediate or delayed.—How to make the application.—Illustrations.—Making the application and moralizing.—Utah moral codes as objectives behind our teaching. Application is one of the most important subjects in the whole range of religious education. It is also one concerning which there are greater varieties of opi
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METHODS OF THE RECITATION
METHODS OF THE RECITATION
Outline—Chapter XIX The question of method raised.—Danger of an entire disregard of method.—The case of the "born" teacher.—Sound pedagogy largely a matter of common sense.—Danger of being committed to a single method.—The five possible methods: The Story Method; Reading 'Round; The Special Topic; The Lecture; The Discussion. Two of the most practical questions that a teacher ever has to solve are: How shall I go about to prepare a lesson? Having prepared a lesson, how shall I set about to teach
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REVIEW AND PREVIEW
REVIEW AND PREVIEW
Outline—Chapter XX The need of review in our Church teaching.—Review a real help to learning in that it makes for: repetition, proper connection, proper evaluation of truth. An intelligent review is the result only of thorough preparation on the part of the teacher.—Assignment and preparation.—Ability to make assignments a test of good teaching. Characteristics of a good assignment: It is definite.—It raises a problem.—It connects with the experience of pupils.—It stimulates to action. General a
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THE QUESTION AS A FACTOR IN EDUCATION
THE QUESTION AS A FACTOR IN EDUCATION
Outline—Chapter XXI How many questions do you ask regularly during a recitation? What proportion of those questions are answered in full and complete statements? How many of the answers to your questions are a matter merely of memory? How many reveal original, creative thinking? Such questions as these not only impress us with the force of the question as a means of teaching, but they lead us to examine into our own method of asking them. The whole teaching process so easily and unconsciously de
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THE PROBLEM OF DISCIPLINE
THE PROBLEM OF DISCIPLINE
Outline—Chapter XXII A popular misconception of discipline.—Discipline inherent in teaching.—Importance of discipline in our religious teaching.—Changed attitude within the past three centuries toward discipline.—What discipline is. Methods of securing discipline: The method of rewards; The method of "pleasing the teacher"; The method of punishment; The method of social appeal; The method of interest. The importance of a proper attitude on the part of one who disciplines.—What constitutes such a
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CREATING CLASS SPIRIT
CREATING CLASS SPIRIT
Outline—Chapter XXIII The "pull" of a good class.—The appeal of an attractive classroom.—Making it "our room."—The teacher and class spirit.—Capitalizing on the leadership of the class.—Stimulating free participation.—Out of class activities.—Some possibilities. There is a "pull" to certain classes—a pull that has all the force of a magnet. Pupils not only go to such a class willingly, but anticipate with pleasure the approach of the recitation hour. When duty is coupled with pleasure, there is
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CONVERSION—THE REAL TEST OF TEACHING
CONVERSION—THE REAL TEST OF TEACHING
Outline—Chapter XXIV Character, a great power in conversion.—Our concern the converted teacher and also the converted pupil.—The converted teacher believes what he teaches.—The converted teacher practices what he teaches.—The force of "Come, follow me."—What makes for conversion.—The teacher's obligation to kindle the spiritual fire.—His obligation to feature testimony-bearing.—His obligation to take his pupils where they will feel the spirit of testimony. A number of years ago a young graduate
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