referred to the ear specialist for further examination and, if found necessary, for treatment.

At first thought the examination of auditory acuity appears easy, but practically it is replete with difficulties, greater in many respects than those which confront us in the determination of visual defects. We may use speech or instrumental tests which may be administered according to three different methods. (1) The intensity of the test sound (speech, ticking of the watch, vibration of the tuning fork, etc.) may be constant throughout the examination, but the distance of the source of the sound from the ear may be varied. (2) The distance of the source of the sound from the ear may be constant and the intensity of the test sound may be varied. (3) The distance of the source of the sound from the ear may be constant and the intensity of the sound such that one with normal acuity can hear only a percentage of the sounds.

When the distance of the source of the sound from the ear is varied, numerous difficulties arise. Standards for judging auditory acuity cannot be of universal value unless the tests are administered in all cases under the exact same conditions which were followed when the standards were obtained. But these conditions in the case of auditory tests cannot even be approximated. Examiners use rooms possessing different acoustic qualities. Even when examiners use the same room they must exercise care to keep the conditions of testing standard. For example, the windows should always be in the same position, the Subject should always occupy the same position (preferably away from the walls so that the test sound will not be unduly reflected), the Examiner should approach the ear always along the same line of direction, the furniture should be kept in the same place, etc. From what has just been stated the difficulty of establishing universal auditory acuity standards, such as those established for visual acuity, ought to be evident. Therefore, it becomes necessary for each examiner to establish his own tentative standards.

Numerous instrument tests have been devised so that the source of sound might be at the ear itself, thus eliminating the difficulties arising from the varying acoustic properties of different rooms and different parts of the same room. Some instruments of this sort are known as audiometers and usually permit the testing at the ear by the means of phone receivers. The audiometer permits the varying of the intensity of the sound.

18. Apperception: Teaching Suggestions

[COLVIN, S. S., The Learning Process, pp. 92-96. Copyright, 1911, by the Macmillan Co.] (Adapted.)

The following practical suggestions have been derived from studies made of perception and apperception:

1. All learning is reacting. It follows, therefore, that teachers must stimulate pupils to self-expression and participation in activities. The method employed must call forth some activity on the part of the learner. Pupils must be required to react in definite and varied ways to situations that arise in connection with all school subjects, and problem-projects in and out of school.

2. Pupils must have more than sensory experiences. They must be taught to organize the facts so as to interpret them in relation to other facts and in relation to the subject as a whole. 3. Sensory defects interfere seriously with learning since sensory experience is the basis of all learning.

4. Not all situations in school or life are of a concrete sort. It is necessary that the learner be taught in such a manner that he will be better able to make adjustments on higher levels. In the thought processes, learning takes place on the level of ideas. The teacher must not dwell too long on concrete material, for the pupil must learn to substitute symbol for object. Abstract thinking is the highest and most efficient type of acquired behavior.

5. Inventories of children's minds upon entering school will be of considerable assistance to the teacher. The results will enable her to adapt her instruction to the needs of the pupils.

19. The Principle of Apperception Applied to Numbers [THORNDIKE, E. L., The New Methods in Arithmetic, pp. 106, 107, 227. Chicago, Rand, McNally & Co., 1921.]

Any word or figure acquires meaning by being connected with some real thing, event, quality, or relation. Six is mere nonsense except as it has gone with six real boys, beans, toothpicks, inches, feet, or the like. The connection may be direct, as when we show a line 45 inches long, or have a child lift 45 pounds, or count the children in a room as 45. It may be indirect, as when children who have had 40 and 5 each connected with reality learn 45 as "40 and 5 more. ""

A number has not one meaning, but several. Thus eight means a certain point or place in the number series, 1,2,3,4,5, 6,7,8,9, etc., which is 1 beyond 7 and 1 before 9. This we call the series meaning. Eight also means the number of single things in a collection of 8 boys, or 8 hats, or 8 beans, or 8 pencils. This we may call the collecton-size meaning. Eight also means 8 times a certain unit, say a pint, whether isolated as 8 separate pints or combined together in a gallon can. This we may call the quantity-size or ratio meaning..

A definition in words cannot replace real experience. Definitions are to coöperate with the pupil's experiences. They may occasionally precede the experience in question, serving as a stimulus or preparation or guide. Even then the definition should usually rest on some previous experience that gives it at least partial meaning. Usually it comes along with or after the real experience as a convenient summing up or shorthand representation thereof. Thus the definition of quotient is given after the fundamental division facts are learned and the process of division of two- and three- place numbers has been taught in its first steps. Thus the definitions of numerator and denominator are taught after pupils have used fractions somewhat in addition and subtraction. Thus the definition of to raise to higher terms is given as a summary of the experience of multiplying both numerator and denominator by the same number.

QUESTIONS AND PROBLEMS

1. Write out a statement of the educational application of the principle of apperception. How would you arrange materials in arithmetic, history, and civics to enable the children to comprehend their meaning? How assign a lesson in order to secure satisfactory outcomes? How conduct reviews that will be worth while?

2. How does the process of apperception, the assimilation of new experiences really go on? What are the essential factors in it?

3. What is meant by a sensory experience? Name some sensory experiences that you have in studying a lesson; in eating a meal; in playing a game.

4. What part does perception play in reading?

5. Are teachers to assume that children upon entering school have a rich background of experience? What experimental evidence have we that substantiates your answer?

6. How do children differ from adults in perception?

7. What pedagogical applications can we make of the facts of perception?

8. Compare the testimony of children with that of adults. How would you account for the differences in their testimony?

9. What are illusions?

10. What are some of the ways of enriching the child's experience?

11. How should reviews be conducted in order to lead to a wider comprehension of the subject on the part of the pupils?

12. How should the teacher assign a lesson in order to give the pupils a good understanding of the lesson contents?

13. From the point of view of apperception why would it be undesirable to have substitute teachers very frequently?

14. From the viewpoint of apperception why is it important to state the aim of a lesson?

15. What previous experience would you attempt to recall if you were to teach (a) finding the interest on a note; (b) teaching the poem "Sir Galahad."

16. Give several instances from your experience as a teacher illustrating errors due to the lack of proper experience for the task in hand.

17. A teacher in New York City took a class to Riverside Park (situated along the Hudson River) showed them the river, called attention to its size and then said, "Now tell us the name of this great river." "The Amazon," was the prompt reply. What would you suggest as a possible explanation? What precautions would it be wise for that teacher to take on another similar excursion?

18. Read to your pupils, without comment, selection A below. To make sure that the children have the thought read the story twice. Then let them draw pictures to tell the story. How do the drawings illustrate the Law of Apperception? Treat selection B or some other story of your own choice in the same manner. If possible, compare your results with those of a teacher friend obtained with the same stories. (Heckert)

A. One day a fox came out of the woods near our house, and tried to catch a hen in the barn. But the hens saw him and made a great noise. Hero was in the yard, and he ran into the barn and drove the fox off. Hero did not catch him, but he barked so loud that the fox ran for his life back to the woods. He did not get one of our hens for his dinner that day. Is not Hero a good dog?

B. Carl was a little lame boy. He lived in an attic with his mother. He used to look out of the window and watch the boys at play. He could see the men and the women and the horses and wagons in the street. One day there was a little baby playing in the street when the trolley car came around the corner. She was on the track right in front of it. Carl

over.

gave a scream, for he was afraid that the baby would be run But just then a big dog ran into the street, took hold of the baby's dress with his teeth and carried her back to the sidewalk to her big sister.

19. How does the principle of apperception apply to the spelling of compound words?

20. What previous experience would you attempt to recall if you were to teach (a) the division of one common fraction by another; (b) finding the rate when the base and percentage are given; (c) finding the interest on a note.

21. Of what value are reviews from the point of view of apperception?

22. Would you begin the study of geography with home geography? If so, why? If not, why?

23. Considering a review lesson from the point of view of apperception alone, which facts should be reviewed?

REFERENCES

ANGELL, J. R., Introduction to Psychology (New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1918), Chaps. vi, vii.

Psychology (New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1908), Chaps. vi, vii.

COLVIN, S. S., The Learning Process (New York, Macmillan Co., 1921), Chaps. v, vi.

FREEMAN, F. N., How Children Learn (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1917), Chap. ix.

GATES, A. I., Psychology for Students of Education (New York, Macmillan Co., 1924), Chap. xiii.

HALL, G. S., Aspects of Child Life and Education (New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1921).

JAMES, William, Psychology-Briefer Course (New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1892), Chaps. xx, xxi.

JUDD, C. H., Psychology (New York, Ginn and Co., 1917), Chap. viii.

PILLSBURY, W. B., "A Study of Apperception," American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 8 (1896), pp. 356ff.

Essentials of Psychology (New York, Macmillan Co., 1920), Chap. vii.

RUSK, R. R., Introduction to Experimental Education (New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1919), Chaps, v, vi.

SANDIFORD, Peter, Mental and Physical Life of School Children (New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1913), Chap. xiv. STARCH, Daniel, Educational Psychology (New York, Macmillan Co., 1919), Chaps. ix, x.

THORNDIKE, E. L., Elements of Psychology (New York, A. G. Seiler, 1907), pp. 35-42.