g Among the Children." By Arthur owndes Rich. Chapel Hill, The Unirsity of North Carolina Press, 1946. 24 p. $3.

Describes the work of Lowell Mason, who ganized the first children's singing school in >ston, and traces his influence on the delopment of music teaching in the public hools of the United States. Includes a bliography of Lowell Mason's writings and other related sources.

Reading Conference Claremont College Reading Conferce, Eleventh Yearbook 1946. Sponred by Claremont College and Alpha ta Chapter of Pi Lambda Theta. laremont, Calif., Claremont College ibrary, 1946. 200 p. $2.50.

Gives the papers presented at the conferce on the theme, "Types of Reading Implied · a Broad Concept of the Reading Process." opics discussed include aural reading, visual ading, tactile or touch reading, social readg, physiological factors affecting the readg process, and curricular problems in ading.

Intergroup Relations

Improving Intergroup Relations in chool and Community Life. A Study onducted and Reported by the Subommittee on In-Service Education of eachers, Paul W. Harnly, chairman. he North Central Association of Secdary Schools and Colleges, 1946. p. 25 cents, single copy. (Address: he Secretary, George W. Rosenlof, ncoln, Neb.)

The study aims to analyze the origin of ergroup problems, to establish their relanships to the total school and community ogram, and to suggest ways and means of ng something about them. It outlines the plications for in-service education and emasizes the development of in-service technics ich have transfer values to other situations.

World Goodwill

Learning World Goodwill in the Eleentary School. Department of Eleentary School Principals, National lucation Association of the United ates, Washington, D. C., 1946. 366 p. us. (The National Elementary Prin

the elementary school in the process; presents first-hand reports on school activities, and suggests the scope of the service still to be rendered in building a better future in human relationships. Lists books, pamphlets, films, and recordings useful to the classroom teacher.

United Nations

Aids to Teaching About the United Nations. Office of Press and Radio Relations, National Education Association, Washington, D. C., 1946. 23 p. processed. 10 cents.

Presents a guide to the material on the United Nations. Aids are grouped under the three principal sources: (1) United Nations Secretariat; (2) U. S. Department of State; and (3) American Association for the United Nations. Lists more than 50 pamphlets, study guides, posters, and charts, available free of charge to teachers from these agencies; additional material from other sources is also listed.

One World in the Making, the United Nations. By William G. Carr. Boston, Ginn & Co., 1946. 100 p. illus. $1.

Gives an explanation of the United Nations, its reasons for being, its charter, objectives, and machinery. Includes photographs, maps, charts, and a list of important references for further reading.

How to Do It Series

How to Make a Bulletin Board Effective. By Edwin M. Barton and George B. Robinson. National Council for the Social Studies, 1201 16th St., NW, Washington, D. C., 1945: 6 p. (How to Do It Series, No. 4) 10 cents, single copy.

Shows how a social studies bulletin board can become an important teaching aid with the expanding function of displaying all types of material to supplement class work. Other titles in the series are: How to Use a Motion Picture, How to Use Local History, and How to Use a Textbook. Intended for social studies teachers, elementary and secondary.

Wartime Schools

6,000 Kids From 46 States. Published by the Vanport City Schools, Portland 17, Ore., 1946. 100 p. illus. $1.25.

Describes an adventure in public education at Vanport, Ore., where, within a year, 700 acres of swamp land became the living space

for 40,000 people who came to build ships for war. Reports how a new school system was set up and new schools built for the "6,000 kids from 46 States."

Recent Theses

These theses are on file in the Library of the U. S. Office of Education, where they are available for interlibrary loan.

Audio-Visual Aids

The Audio-Visual Program in the Newton Public Schools, by Norman H. Payne. Master's, 1946. Boston University. 125 p. ms.

Traces briefly the history of audio-visual aids in the Newton (Mass.) Public Schools. Outlines plans for the future growth and use of these aids, and shows the need for teacher training in this field.

The Development and Use of AudioVisual Aids in the Training Program of the United States Armed Forces With Some Implications for Post-War Education, by Francis R. Millard. Master's, 1946. George Washington University. 74 p. ms.

Studies the use of models, objects, sand tables, training films, film strips, lantern slides, sound equipment, photographs, maps, charts, posters, cartoons, troop demonstrations, and illustrated material used in training men for the Army and Navy. Indicates ways in which the audio-visual aids can be used to advantage in postwar education.

Development of an Educational Radio Series Using Original Verse of Pupils, by Mildred B. Rees. Master's, 1944. University of Cincinnati. 195

p. ms.

Describes scripts which were broadcast by several radio stations and which originated in the high schools of Cincinnati, Ohio; a private school in Youngstown, Ohio; and another in Rockford, Ill.

The Economy of Time in Industrial Training; An Experimental Study of the Use of Sound Films in the Training of Engine Lathe Operators, by Abram W. Vander Meer. Doctor's, 1945. University of Chicago. Journal of Educational Psychology, 36: 65-90, February 1945. (Reprinted.)

Develops a technique for using sound films ing the training of engine lathe operators, and attemtps to determine whether such a technique would result in a saving of time in the teaching of 12 lathe skills. Indicates that it would be possible to shorten the training period by including motion pictures in the training of operators in the manner described in the experiment.

(Turn to page 18)

First phonograph.

Picture taken in 1905.

Recent Theses

(From page 15)

An Evaluation of the Effect of Illustrations on Comprehension in the Fifth and Sixth Grades, by Claire E. Richards. Master's, 1945. Boston University. 98 p. ms.

Describes an experiment in which four stories in the social studies field were issued in booklet form; in one set the first and third stories were illustrated and the second and fourth were not illustrated; and, in the second set, the second and fourth stories were illustrated and the others were not. Concludes that illustrations had little effect on the comprehension scores of pupils in the fifth and sixth grades.

The Problems Involved in the Administration of an Audio-Visual Program, by Joseph B. Johnson. Doctor's, 1946. George Washington University. 205

p. ms.

Outlines problems involved in finance, budget, organizations, acquisitions, operation of equipment, distribution, adaptation of classrooms, storage and maintenance, teacher training, correlation, selection, new areas of instruction, and public relations in the administration of the audio-visual program. Indicates that few programs meet all of the administrative problems adequately, but that many of them solve one or more of the problems considered.

Projected Visual Aids in Business Education, by Clifford D. Ettinger. Doctor's, 1945. New York University. 363 p. ms.

Attempts to determine the visual aids used in teaching business education; their value in teaching the subject; the present status of classroom use of visual aids in business education in the public high schools of New York City; and the organization and distribution of these aids. Concludes that projected visual aids have instructional value in the teaching of business subjects.

Courses of Study

These courses of study were recently received in the Office of Education Library. They are not available for loan or distribution by this Library.

Amarillo, Tex. Public Schools. Fine Arts: A Tentative Course of Study in Art Appreciation for Junior and Senior High Schools. 1946. 150 p. processed. (Curriculum Bulletin Supplement, No. 255).

Denver, Colo. Public Schools. We'll Take the High Road. A Resource Unit for the Use of Teachers in Preparing

Their Own Units on Aviation for Children in the Fifth and Sixth Grades. 1945. 53 p. processed.

Florida. State Department of Education. A Brief Guide to Teaching Mathematics in the Secondary Schools. Tallahassee, 1946. 60 p. (Bulletin No. 50).

Kentucky. Department of Education. The Program of Vocational Agriculture in Kentucky. Frankfort, 1945. Educational Bulletin, 13: 499-545, October 1945.

Wisconsin. Department of Public Instruction. Driver Education Procedures. Madison, Motor Vehicle Department, 1945. 20 p.

The conference that met on November 20-22 was the result. Recommendations made by the National Advisory Panel constituted the charter and program of the Conference. The technique of pre-conference panels was adopted, each panel to prepare a report recommending action by specific individuals and groups in each particular area of responsibility. The conference itself, totaling some 800 persons in attendance, then became a working conference, divided into the 15 discussion panels already indicated. Revisions were made in the preliminary reports as presented, and the final report of each panel was submitted in summary form at the concluding session of the Conference.

Plans for Follow-up

It was never the intention of those who planned the Conference that it should in itself represent a terminal effort. The action taken at the final

session put into tangible form the plans

made for further service. A resolution

creating a Continuing Committee was adopted, such Committee to consist of

the Executive Committee of the National Advisory Panel and the chairmen of the various panels of the Conference, with the vice-chairmen to serve as alternates. The functions of this Continuing Committee will be to edit the panel

reports, make plans for their print and dissemination, explore the possit ties of having a permanent secretar

same

plan for reassembling of the Confere on a national scale, and follow up action of the Conference by encourag State and community conferences of type. Special emphasis placed upon the participation of y people themselves through the inclus of their representatives on the Ex ecutive Committee and on the Cont ing Committee.

The National Conference will make available to community gro set of reports which will be usef guiding discussion and suggestin tion. "It is the responsibility no every locality and every individ every locality, having concern for people, to carry the work on with fullest degree of imagination ani tiative. It has been emphasized a emphasized that the solution to juvenile problem lies in the homes. schools and local institutions of country. It is only by action in t areas that results can be achieved."

Teen-Age Employment

TEEN-AGE employment has tinued at a high level since the ended, according to the annual re of the National Child Labor Con recently issued under the title. "C Labor-In the First Year Afr War."

Exact figures for 1946 are available, says the report, but estad based on employment certificate other figures indicate that app mately 2,000,000 young people, 14 to are still employed full or part t a million less than at the peak of " time employment and a million than were employed before the wa

That the decline in the employ of teen-agers has not been as rapidspectacular as had been anticipa can be accounted for largely by the f that, so far, the level of employ generally has not declined. The c of youth employment has always : lowed the curve of general employme

From "Tentative Draft of Introduction të ume of Summaries of Reports of the National ( ference for the Prevention and Control of Ja Delinquency." (Mimeo.)

E LEARN by doing," is thor

Wughly lodged in the science

eacher's mind, so when she plans her work in science in the grade school, she s determined to have plenty of activity oing on. "Get those kids out of their eats," the professor of methods said in is course last summer, "give them someing to do. Remember, they learn by oing."

F. . That's fine. But learn what? That 3 the question science teachers have so requently failed to ask themselves. hildren color bird pictures, they make ›urals, they press flowers, they experient, they keep notebooks, they write cience "poems," they collect stuff, they o ninety-nine-and-one other things all the name of activity. What is it hat's active? Just hands and feet, or o activities involve the use of the think

ig apparatus, too? They should. What, exactly do we want these activies to accomplish? What is their purose in relation to the big aims for which e are striving in science? These quesons are too often completely ignored r insufficiently considered.

urposeful Activity

An activity, to be adequately purposeil, must in some definite manner conibute toward one or more of the folwing: A more complete understanding f an important science principle or eneralization, a broader interest in and ppreciation for science, a more scienfic method of problem solving or a etter social attitude. In addition it hould be of such a nature as to seem orth while to the pupil. This factor e have too often overlooked. In our al to "get the show on the road," we ave failed to spend time enough to ow the learners how this activity can rve their present and/or future needs. When children are genuinely conrned about a science problem, they tack it with much more energy and thusiasm than is otherwise the case. hen they can see where they are going d why they are going there, they are uch more apt to arrive having accomshed something along the way. Hav

ing been properly motivated then, a problem that is within the realm of understanding of the learner and of real interest to him can stimulate activity that will be full of purpose and vim.

This kind of activity can and should by all means involve some planning on the part of pupils. After they have set up a plan much cooperative work in the group is involved. The more voice pupils can have in the planning and carrying out the plan, the better. Likewise the more they can be involved in judging the results achieved, the better. Evaluating Activities

Using the elements involved in this point of view as the units of a measuring stick, let us hold it up to some of the more commonly used activities. Experimenting is, of course, one of the learn-by-doing activities commonly considered as essential in teaching science in the elementary schools. Unfortunately experimenting as an activity is often poor. In fact it is often so poorly

done as to be almost useless because it consists of having children read the experiment instructions from a book, following them like a recipe and then drawing sloppy conclusions. Children jump to conclusions like frogs unless they are checked again and again. Too few experiments, as now performed in many classrooms, involve any thinking at all on the part of the pupils.

them in the test tube." The pupils follow her directions. "Now test them with a magnet," she directs. The mag

net does not attract the mass. "Now, you see we have made a chemical change because the characteristics of the two chemicals have changed. Do you see?" The entertained but bewildered children say, "Yes, Miss Brown." And Miss Brown says, "Now let's see what our books say." The children read the paragraphs describing the experiment and results. Obviously there has been no planning here to make the children think, no planning by the children, no real direction of their activity, no problem-solving methods were used, no application of experimental results. In fact it's almost a waste of sulphur!

Some General Guiding Principles

In order to make experimenting become a meaningful activity we need, then, some general guiding principles for planning experiments. The following are among the more important ones.

1. Experiments should be conducted in such a manner as to cause pupils to think. An experiment in which the teacher tells the pupils everything, obviously gives no food to nurture growing minds.

2. By all means, children should be conscious of the purpose for performing an experiment. It is often desirable to write the purpose on the board in a simple, direct form. simple, direct form. Certainly the problems should be children's problems insofar as possible and should not anticipate the results already read from the book by the pupils. For example: The children arrive in school on a slippery winter morning. The janitor has scattered salt on the school steps to clear the ice. The children want to know what happens to the ice and why that happens. They decide to set up an experiment to discover the reason. Chances are they will not be easily satisfied with superficial performance. They get the point of why they are experimenting and are therefore more apt to press the performance to an utimately satisfying conclusion.

3. Careful planning is essential to materials must be assembled (by the successful experimenting. Appropriate children if possible), a plan of procedure must be set up, the plan must then be accurately followed to insure that the results can be depended upon. Less "jumping the gun" and more "hey, wait a minute, let's take another look at this," should be the motto in grade-school science experiments