separate sections or divisions of a subject, accepting each as a more or less
complete unit, without connecting these sections and divisions into a logical
whole.
But all such methods are a mistake. They do not provide for the associative
bonds between the various facts or groups of facts in our knowledge, without
which our facts are in danger of becoming but so much lumber in the mind.
Meanings, relations, definitely recognized associations, should attach to all that
we learn. Better far a smaller amount of usable knowledge than any quantity of
unorganized and undigested information, even if the latter sometimes allows us
to pass examinations and receive honor grades. In short, real mastery demands
that we think, that is relate and associate, instead of merely absorbing as we
learn.
4. PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION AND INTROSPECTION
- Test the uncontrolled associations of a group of pupils by pronouncing to the
class some word, as blue, and having the members write down 20 words in
succession as rapidly as they can, taking in each instance the first word that
occurs to them. The difference in the scope, or range, of associations, can easily
be studied by applying this test to, say, a fourth grade and an eighth grade and
then comparing results. - Have you ever been puzzled by the appearance in your mind of some fact or
incident not thought of before for years? Were you able to trace out the
associative connection that caused the fact to appear? Why are we sometimes
unable to recall, when we need them, facts that we perfectly well know? - You have observed that it is possible to be able to spell certain words when
they occur in a spelling lesson, but to miss them when employing them in
composition. It is possible to learn a conjugation or a declension in tabular form,
and then not be able to use the correct forms of words in speech or writing.
Relate these facts to the laws of association, and recommend a method of
instruction that will remove the discrepancy. - To test the quickness of association in a class of children, copy the following
words clearly in a vertical column on a chart; have your class all ready at a given
signal; then display the chart before them for sixty seconds, asking them to write
down on paper the exact opposite of as many words as possible in one minute.
Be sure that all know just what they are expected to do.