College Teaching Part 54

The chief aim of the engineering college should be to develop the intellectual power that will enable the student not only to acquire quickly the details of practice, but will also enable him ultimately to establish precedents and determine the practice of his times.

Incidentally the engineering college should seek to expand the horizon and widen the sympathy of its students. In college cla.s.ses there will be those who are either unable or unwilling to attain the highest educational ideals, and who will become only the hewers of wood and drawers of water of the engineering profession; but a setting before them of the highest ideals and even an ineffective training in methods of work will prepare them the better to fill mediocre positions.

The nearly universal engineering college course requires four years.

The field properly belonging to even a specialized curriculum is so wide and the importance of a proper preparation of the engineers of the future is so great as appropriately to require more than four years of time; but the consensus of opinion is that for various reasons only four years are available for undergraduate work--the only kind here under consideration. Hence it is of vital importance that the highest ideals shall be set before the engineering students and that the methods of instruction employed shall be the best attainable.

IV. METHODS OF TEACHING

Instruction in technical engineering subjects is given by lectures, recitations from textbooks, a.s.signed reading, laboratory work, surveying, field-practice, problems in design, memoirs, and examinations. Each of these will be briefly considered.

=Lecture system=

The term "lecture system" will be used to designate that method of instruction in which knowledge is presented by the instructor without immediate questioning of, or discussion by, the student. In the early history of engineering education, when instruction in technical engineering subjects was beginning to be differentiated from other branches of education, the lecture was the only means of acquainting the student with either the principles or details of engineering practice, since textbooks were then few and unsatisfactory. But at present, when there are so many fields of technical knowledge in which there are excellent books, the lecture system is indefensible as a means either of communicating knowledge or of developing intellectual strength.

It is a waste of the student's time to present orally that which can be found in print. At best the lecturer can present only about one third as much as a student could read in the same time; and, besides, the student can understand what he reads better than what he hears, since he can go more slowly over that which he does not understand.

The lecturer moves along approximately uniformly, while some students fail to understand one part, and others would like to pause over some other portion. A poor textbook is usually better than a good lecturer.

It is a fundamental principle of pedagogy that there can be no development without the activity of the learner's mind; and hence with the lecture system it is customary to require the student to take notes, and subsequently submit himself to a quiz or present his lecture notes carefully written up. If the student is required to take notes, either for future study or to be submitted, his whole time and attention are engrossed in writing; and at the close of the lecture, if it has covered any considerable ground, the student has only a vague idea of what has been said. Further, the notes are probably so incomplete as to afford inadequate material for future study.

If the subject matter is really new and not found in print, the lecture should be reproduced for the student's use. It is more economical and more effective for the student to pay his share of the cost of printing, than to spend his time in making imperfect notes and perhaps ultimately writing them out more fully.

The lecture system is less suitable for giving instruction in engineering subjects than in general subjects, such for example as history, sociology, and economics, since technical engineering subjects usually include principles and more or less numerical data that must be stated briefly and clearly.

If a student has had an opportunity to study a subject from either a textbook or a printed copy of the lecture notes, then comments by the teacher explaining some difficult point, or describing some later development, or showing some other application or consequence of the principle, may be both instructive and inspiring; but the main work of teaching engineering subjects should be from carefully prepared textbooks. However, an occasional formal lecture by an instructor or a practicing engineer upon some subject already studied from a textbook can be a means of valuable instruction and real inspiration, provided the lecture is well prepared and properly presented.

In the preceding discussion the term "lecture" has been employed as meaning a formal presentation of information; but there is another form of lecture, a demonstration lecture, which consists of an explanation and discussion by the instructor of an experiment conducted before the cla.s.s. The prime purpose of the experiment and the demonstration lecture is to explain and fix in mind general principles. This form of lecture is an excellent method of giving information; and if the student is questioned as to the facts disclosed and is required to discuss the principles established, it is an effective means of training the student to observe, to a.n.a.lyze, and to describe.

=Recitation system=

This system of instruction consists in a.s.signing a lesson upon which the student subsequently recites. In subjects involving mathematical work, the recitation may consist of the presentation of the solution of examples or problems; but in engineering subjects the recitation usually consists either of answers to questions or of the discussion of a topic.

The question may be either a "fact" question or a "thought" question.

If the main purpose is to give information, the "fact" question is used, the object being to determine whether the student has acquired a particular item of information. Not infrequently, even in college teaching, the question can be answered by a single word or a short sentence; and usually such a question, even if it does not itself suggest the answer, requires a minimum of mental effort on the part of the student. This method determines only whether the student has acquired a number of unrelated facts, and does not insure that he has any knowledge of their relation to each other or to other facts he may know, nor does it test his ability to use these facts in deducing conclusions or establis.h.i.+ng principles. Apparently this method of conducting a recitation, or quiz as it is often called, is far too common in teaching engineering subjects. It is the result chiefly of the mistaken belief that the purpose of technical teaching is to give information.

The "thought" question is one which requires the student to reflect upon the facts stated in the book and to draw his own conclusions.

This method is intermediate between the "fact" question and the topical discussion; it is not so suitable to college students as to younger ones, and is not so easily applied in engineering subjects as in more general subjects such as history, economics, or social science. It will not be considered further.

The topical recitation consists in calling upon the student to state what he knows upon a given topic. This method not only tests the student's knowledge of facts, but also trains him in arranging his facts in logical order and in presenting them in clear, correct, and forceful language. (1) One advantage of this method of conducting the recitation is that it stimulates the student to acquire a proper method of attacking the a.s.signed lesson. Many college students know little or nothing concerning the art of studying. Apparently, they simply read the lesson over without attempting to weigh the relative importance of the several statements and without attempting to skeletonize or summarize the text. The ability to acquire quickly and easily the essential statements of a printed page is an accomplishment which will be valuable in any walk of life. In other words, this method of conducting a recitation forces the student to adopt the better method of study. (2) A second advantage of the topical recitation is that it trains the student in expressing his ideas. It is generally conceded that the engineering-college graduate is deficient in his ability to use good English, which is evidence that either the topical recitation is not usually employed, or good English is not insisted upon, or perhaps both. (3) A third advantage of the topical recitation is that it trains the student in judgment and discrimination--two elements essential in the practical work of all engineers.

Apparently many college teachers think it more creditable to deliver lectures than to conduct recitations. The formal lecture is an inefficient means of either conveying information or developing intellectual power, and hence no one should take pride in it. The textbook and quiz method of conducting a recitation is more effective than the lecture system, but is by no means an ideal method of either imparting information or giving intellectual training. Neither of these methods is worthy of a conscientious teacher. The textbook and topical recitation affords an excellent opportunity to teach the student to a.n.a.lyze, to observe, to discriminate, to train him in the use of clear and correct language, and in the presentation of his thoughts in logical order--an object worthy of any teacher and an opportunity to employ the highest ability of any person. In the conduct of such a recitation in engineering subjects, there is abundant opportunity to supplement the textbook by calling attention to new discoveries and other applications, and to introduce interesting historic references. It is often instructive to discuss differences in construction which depend upon differences in physical conditions or in preferences of the constructor, and such discussions afford excellent opportunities to train the student in discovering the causes of the differences and in weighing evidence, all of which helps to develop his powers of observation and a.n.a.lysis and above all to cultivate his judgment. If a teacher is truly interested in his work, such a recitation gives opportunity for an interchange of thoughts between the student and teacher that may be made of great value to the former and of real interest to the latter. The conduct of such a recitation should be much more inspiring to the teacher than the repet.i.tion of a formal lecture which at best can have only little instructional value.

=Suggestions for increasing effectiveness of the recitation=

The recitation is such an important method of instruction that it is believed a few suggestions as to its conduct may be permissible, although a discussion of methods of teaching does not properly belong in this chapter. (1) The students should not be called upon in any regular order. (2) If at all possible, each student should be called upon during each recitation. (3) The question or topic should be stated, and then after a brief pause a particular student should be called upon to recite. (4) The question or topic should not be repeated. (5) The student should not be helped. (6) The question should be so definite as to admit of only one answer. (7) "Fact"

questions and topical discussions should be interspersed. (8) Irrelevant discussion should be eliminated. (9) The thoughtful attention of the entire cla.s.s and an opportunity for all to partic.i.p.ate may be secured by interrupting a topical discussion and asking another to continue it. (10) Clear, correct and concise answers should be insisted upon. (11) In topical discussions the facts should be stated in a logical order. (12) Commend any exceptionally good answer.

=a.s.signed reading=

A student is sometimes required to read an a.s.signed chapter in a book or some particular article in a technical journal as a supplement to a lecture or a textbook. Sometimes the whole cla.s.s has the same a.s.signment, and sometimes different students have different a.s.signments. Each student should be quizzed on his reading, or should be required to give a summary of it. The method of instruction by a.s.signed reading is most appropriate when the lecture presentation or textbook is comparatively brief. This method is only sparingly permissible with an adequate textbook.

=Laboratory work=

The chief purpose of laboratory work is to ill.u.s.trate the principles of the textbook and thereby fix them in the student's mind. The manipulation of the apparatus and the making of the observations is valuable training for the hand and the eye, and the computation of the results familiarizes the student with the limitations of mathematical processes. The interpretation of the meaning of the results cultivates the student's judgment and power of discrimination, and the writing up of the report should give valuable experience in orderly and concise statement. Sometimes the student is not required to interpret the meaning or to discuss the accuracy of his results, and sometimes he is provided with a tabular form in which he inserts his observed data without consideration of any other reason for securing the particular information. He should not be provided with a sample report nor with a tabular form, but should be required to plan his own method of presentation, determine for himself what matter shall be in tabular form and what in narrative form, and plan his own ill.u.s.trations. Of course, he should be required to keep neat, accurate, and reasonably full notes of the laboratory work, and should be held to a high standard of clearness, conciseness, and correctness in his final report. Providing the student with tabular forms and sample reports may lessen the teacher's labors and improve the appearance of the report, but such practice greatly decreases the educational value to the student.

=Surveying field-practice.=

In its aims surveying field-practice is substantially the same as engineering laboratory work, and all the preceding remarks concerning laboratory work apply equally well also to surveying practice.

Ordinarily the latter has a higher educational value than the former in that the method of attack, at least in minor details, is left to the student's initiative, and also in that the difficulties or obstacles encountered require the student to exercise his own resourcefulness. The cultivation of initiative and self-reliance is of the highest engineering as well as educational value. Further, in the better inst.i.tutions the instructor in surveying usually knows the result the student should obtain, and consequently the latter has a greater stimulus to secure accuracy than occurs in most laboratory work. Finally, the students, at least the civil engineering ones, always feel that surveying is highly practical, and hence are unusually enthusiastic in their work.

=Design.=

When properly taught an exercise in design has the highest educational value; and, besides, the student is usually easily interested, since he is likely to regard such work as highly practical and therefore to give it his best efforts. Instruction in design should accomplish two purposes; viz., (1) familiarize the student with the application of principles, and (2) train him in initiative. Different subjects necessarily have these elements in different degrees, and any particular subject may be so taught as specially to emphasize one or the other of these objects.

Sometimes a problem in design is little more than the following of an outline or example in the textbook and subst.i.tuting values in formulas. The design of an ordinary short-span steel truss bridge, as ordinarily taught, is an example of this method of instruction.

Another example is the design of a residence for which no predetermined limiting conditions are laid down and which does not differ materially from those found in the surrounding community or ill.u.s.trated in the textbook or the architectural magazine. Such work ill.u.s.trates and enforces theory, gives the student some knowledge of the materials and processes of construction, and also trains him in drafting; but it does not give him much intellectual exercise nor develop his mental fiber, although it may prepare him to take a place as a routine worker in his profession. Such instruction emphasizes utilitarian training but neglects intellectual development, mental vigor, and breadth of view.

The exercise in design which has the highest educational value is one in which the student must discover for himself the conditions to be fulfilled, the method of treatment to be employed, the materials to be used, and the details to be adopted. An example of this form of problem is the design of a bridge for a particular river crossing, without any limitations as to materials of construction, type of structure, time of construction, etc., except such as are inherent in the problem and which the student must determine for himself. A better example is the architectural design of a building to be erected in a given locality to serve some particular purpose, with no limitations except perhaps cost or architectural style.

Experience of several teachers with a considerable number of students during each of several years conclusively shows that students who have had only comparatively little of the design work mentioned in the preceding paragraph greatly exceed other students having the same preparation except this form of design work, in mental vigor, breadth of view, intellectual power, and initiative. This difference in capacity is certainly observable in subsequent college work, and is apparently quite effective after graduation.

=Examinations=

The term "examination" will be used as including the comparatively brief and informal quizzes held at intervals during the progress of the work and also the longer and more formal examinations held at the end of the work. Usually the examination is regarded as a test to determine the accuracy and extent of the student's information, which form may be called a question-and-answer examination or quiz. A more desirable form of examination is one which requires the student to survey his information on a particular topic, and to summarize the same or to state his own conclusions concerning either the relative importance of the different items or his interpretation of the meaning or application of the facts. Such an examination could be called a "topical examination." The remarks in the earlier part of this chapter concerning the relative merits of the question-and-answer and the topical recitation apply also with equal force to these two forms of examinations. However, the topical examination can be made of greater educational value than the topical recitation, since the student is likely to be required to survey a wider field and organize a larger ma.s.s of information, and also since the examination is usually written and hence affords a better opportunity to secure accuracy and finish.

It is much easier for the instructor to prepare and grade the papers for the question-and-answer examination than for the topical examination, and perhaps this is one reason why the former is nearly universally employed. Of course, the topical examination should not be used except in connection with the topical recitation. Some executives of public school systems require that at least a third, and others at least a half, of all formal examinations shall be topical; and as the examination papers and the grades thereon are subject to the inspection of the executive, this requirement indirectly insures that the teacher shall not neglect the topical recitation. Apparently a somewhat similar requirement would be beneficial in college work.

=Memoir=

The term "memoir" is here employed to designate either a comparatively brief report upon some topic a.s.signed in connection with the daily recitation or the graduating thesis.

The former is substantially a form of laboratory work in which the library is the workroom and books the apparatus. This method of instruction has several merits. It makes the student familiar with books and periodicals and with the method of extracting information from them. It stimulates his interest in a wider knowledge than that obtained only from the textbook or the instructor's lectures. It is valuable as an exercise in English composition, particularly if the student is held to an orderly form of presentation and to good English, and is not permitted simply to make extracts. The value to be obtained from such literary report depends, of course, upon the time devoted to it, and also upon whether the instructor tells the student of the articles to be read or requires him to find the sources of information for himself.

=Thesis=

The thesis may be a description of some original design, or a critical review of some engineering construction, or an account of an experimental investigation. The thesis differs from other subjects in the college curriculum in that in the latter the student is expected simply to follow the directions of the instructor, to study specified lessons and recite thereon, to solve the problems a.s.signed, and to read the articles recommended; while the preparation of the thesis is intended to develop the student's ability to do independent work.

There is comparatively little in the ordinary college curriculum to stimulate the student's power of initiative, but in his thesis work he is required to take the lead in devising ways and means. The power of self-direction, the ability to invent methods of attack, the capacity to foresee the probable results of experiments, and the ability to interpret correctly the results of experiments is of vital importance in the future of any engineering student. Within certain limits the thesis is a test of the present attainments of the student and also a prophecy of his future success. Therefore, the preparation of a thesis is of the very highest educational possibility. Unfortunately many students are too poorly prepared, or too lacking in ambition, or too deficient in self-reliance and initiative to make it feasible for them to undertake the independent work required in a thesis. Such students should take instead work under direction. Further, it is unfortunate that, for administrative reasons, the requirement of a thesis for graduation is made less frequently now than formerly. The increase in number of students has made it practically impossible to require a thesis of all graduates, because of the difficulty of providing adequate facilities and of supervising the work. Again, it is difficult to administer a requirement that only part of the seniors shall prepare a thesis. Consequently the result is that at present only a very few undergraduate engineering students prepare theses.

=Graduate work=

All of the preceding discussion applies only to undergraduate work.

Only comparatively few engineering students take graduate work. A few inst.i.tutions have enough such students to justify, for administrative reasons, the organization of cla.s.ses in graduate work, but usually such cla.s.ses are conducted upon principles quite different from those employed for undergraduates. No textbooks in the ordinary sense are used. Often the student is a.s.signed an experimental or other investigation, and is expected to work almost independently of the teacher, the chief function of the latter being to criticize the methods proposed and to review the results obtained. Such work under the guidance of a competent teacher is a most valuable means for mental development, training, and inspiration.

IRA O. BAKER _University of Illinois_

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Below is a list of the princ.i.p.al articles relating to engineering education, arranged approximately in chronological order.