A STUDY OF THE DIVERGENT AND CONVERGENT THOUGHT PROCESSES I N RELATION TO SCIENCE LEARNING

PAUL LUDWIG WILLIAM v o n WITTGENSTEIN B .A. (Hons .)

, Simon

F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y , 1969

A THESIS SUBMITTED I N PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS (EDUCATION)

i n t h e Department 0f

B e h a v io u r a l S c i e n c e

@

PAUL LUDWIG WILLIAM v o n WITTGENSTEIN 1 9 7 1 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY A u g u s t 1971

APPROVAL

Name :

Paul Ludwig W i l l i a m von W i t t g e n s t e i n

Degree:

Master of A r t s ducatio ion)

T i t l e o f Thesis:

A Study of t h e D i v e r g e n t and Convergent Thought Processes i n Re1a t i on t o Science Learni ng

Exami n i ng Commi t t e e : Chairman: T. 3 . M a l l i n s o n , Ph.D. Educational Foundati ons

W o r d o n R. Eastwood, Ph .D. S o c i a l and Phi l o s o p h i c a l Foundations Senior Supervisor

Behavi o u r a l Science Foundations Exami n i ng Commi t t e e

. (k?

,

-

J . Dawson, P ~ . D .

~ r o f e $ i o n a l Development Centre Examining Committee

-

3 . V. T r i v e t t , M.A. P r o f e s s i o n a l ~ e v eopment l Centre E x t e r n a l Examiner Date Approved:

, '

!

1

i7;

ABSTRACT This study was designed t o explore the relationships between "creativity" and science learning with the use of divergent materials ( k i t s ) currently being used in British Columbia schools

.

The i n i t i a l stage of t h i s research involves a historical review of some of the leading educational theorists and t h e i r contributions which are relevant t o this research.

These include Pestalozzi, Herbart,

Froebel , Montessori , Dewey, and Pi aget

.

The second stage of t h i s research i s a discussion of c r e a t i v i t y and divergent and convergent thought processes.

Authors reviewed are

Beveri dge , Cropley , Ghisel i n , Hudson, Torrance, Taylor, Thomson, Wartofsky and Wooldridge.

The studies of Bradley, Cline, Richards and

Needham, Cropley and Field, Field and Cropley, and Holland, link the creative nature of s c i e n t i s t s and of "doing science" with the teaching of science using a divergent approach. The empirical portion of t h i s research includes a description of the experiment, i t s rationale and design.

I t was hypothesized t h a t the

more divergent approach t o science learning ( i .e.,

via the k i t s ) would

r e s u l t in greater science knowledge based upon objective testing.

It

was further hypothesized t h a t the pupils who tested t o be most creative would have more significant gains with the k i t method than those who tested t o be less creative.

The hypotheses were not supported as the

results did not consistently favor e i t h e r method w i t h s t a t i s t i c a l l y significant data. iii

The concluding chapter contains a discussion of the imp1 i cati ons o f the results of the study, the biases realized by the w r i t e r , as well

as suggestions f o r further research.

To Marian and Lisa, who have done w i t h o u t t o o much

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Chapter

. I 1. I

INTRODUCTION

. . . . . . . . .

REVIEW OF LITERATURE: IMPLICATIONS FOR SCIENCE TEACHING

. . . . . Johann H e i n r i c h P e s t a l o z z i . Educational Philosophy . . Pedagogy . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . Johann F r i e d r i c h H e r b a r t . Educational Philosophy . Psychology . . . . . . . . F r i e d r i c h Froebel

. . . . .

. . . . .

Educational Program

Educational Philosophy

. . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . Maria Montessori . . . . . Educational Philosophy . . Pedagogy . . . . . . . Psychology . . . . . . John Dewey . . . . . . . Educational Philosophy . . Pedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jean P i a g e t Pedagogy

. . . . . . . . .

I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r Science Teaching

. . . . . . . . . .

Chapter

I11

.

Page CREATIVITY AND STUDIES RELATED TO SCIENCE LEARNING Creativity

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

S t u d i e s R e l a t e d t o Science L e a r n i n g

IV

.

.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . Teaching Procedure . . . Conduct o f t h e Experiment . T e s t i n g Program . . . . . . . . F i r s t Series Second S e r i e s . . . . . . . . T h i r d Series . Evaluation o f the Tests Uses . . . . . . . Word A s s o c i a t i o n . . . P a t t e r n Meanings . . . . . General Science T e s t V . ANALYSES OF THE DATA . . . Pre-Test Scores . . . . Phase I . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase I 1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Divergent Thinking Test Totals High Versus Low D i v e r g e n t s

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39 47

DESCRIPTION AND DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT

Review o f t h e Previous Teaching Method

39

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

3 53 55

61 63 63 64 64 65 65 65 65 66 68 68 70 73 75 77

Page

Chapter

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparison o f High and Low Groups

77

H-L Categories (Uses Task)

81

H-L Categories (Word A s s o c i a t i o n Task)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

H-L Categories ( F i g u r e Meaning Task)

. . . . . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . V I . CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . On t h e Results of t h e Study . . . . . Biases . . . . . . . . . . . . Observations . . . . . . . . . . APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A . TOTAL DATA TABLES . . . . . . . . . B . DIVERGENT THINKING TASKS . . . . . . . C . ASTRONOMY NOTES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D. CONTRAST TEACHING METHODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

82

. 83 . 84 . 86 . 86 . 87 . 88 . 91 . 92 . 95 . 100 . 117 . 123

LIST OF TABLES Table

Page

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phase I T o t a l Group Means . . . . . . .

V-1

Pre-Test Data

V-2

Comparison o f

V-3

Comparison o f Phase I1 T o t a l Group Means

V-4

Means and Standard D e v i a t i o n s f o r D i v e r g e n t T h i n k i n g Task T o t a l s

76

V-5a

Comparison o f High-Low

78

5b

Comparison o f High-Low

5c

Mean Verbal and Non-Verbal A b i l i t y Scores o f t h e High-Low Groups

81

A-1

T o t a l Data.

93

A-2

T o t a l Data.

. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Groups Group Means . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . Division I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Division I1

68 71 74

79

94

LIST OF FIGURES Figure

Page

B-1

P a t t e r n and F i g u r a l Tasks

B-2

P a t t e r n and F i g u r a l Tasks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

96 97

A STUDY OF THE DIVERGENT AND CONVERGENT THOUGHT PROCESSES I N RELATION TO SCIENCE LEARNING

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION I n 1969, t h e B r i t i s h Columbia P r o v i n c i a l Department o f Education issued a r e v i s e d c u r r i c u l u m guide f o r elementary school science.

In it

was o u t l i n e d a new approach t o t h e t e a c h i n g of science which i n v o l v e d t h e use of i n s t r u c t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s i n t h e form o f k i t s .

These k i t s

a l l o w t h e p u p i l s t o experiment w i t h t h e i r own equipment as i s s u e d from t h e m a t e r i a l s provided.

The new approach i s t o be i n f u l l use through-

o u t t h e p r o v i n c e by 1972. The k i t s a r e expensive, r e l a t i v e t o t h e former methods used, and t h e expendable items, of which t h e r e a r e many, must be replaced a f t e r each use.

The c o s t o f t h e new program i s borne by each i n d i v i d u a l school

board, and t h e implementation o f t h e program i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e teachers.

The q u e s t i o n o f values arose.

Are t h e k i t s w o r t h t h e

money and t h e e x t r a e f f o r t o f t h e teachers? The method o f t h e new program i s t o c a p i t a l i z e upon t h e c r e a t i v e aspects o f c h i l d r e n ' s p l a y and thereby maximi ze t h e l e a r n i n g p o t e n t i a1 i n t h e school s i t u a t i o n .

The emphasis i s on conceptual r a t h e r than

f a c t u a l l e a r n i n g ; o r i n o t h e r words, general n o t i o n s about t h e n a t u r a l laws o f science and o f c l a s s i f i c a t i o n systems, r a t h e r than s p e c i f i c details.

The q u e s t i o n r a i s e d i n t h i s area i s : can a l l c h i l d r e n g a i n more

from t h e new method than from t h e o l d ? prompted t h i s research.

I t i s t h i s q u e s t i o n which

2 I t was hypothesized t h a t t h e more d i v e r g e n t approach t o science

l e a r n i n g ( i .e.,

v i a t h e k i t s ) w i l l r e s u l t i n g r e a t e r science knowledge

based upon o b j e c t i v e t e s t i n g .

I t was f u r t h e r hypothesized t h a t t h e

p u p i l s who t e s t e d t o be t h e most " c r e a t i v e " would have more s i g n i f i c a n t gains w i t h t h e k i t method than those who t e s t e d t o be l e s s c r e a t i v e . Chapter II out1 i n e s t h e h i s t o r i c a l background f o r t h e development of t h e k i t s

.

Some in f l u e n t i a1 educational t h e o r i s t s a r e examined w i t h

regard t o t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s which a r e r e l e v a n t t o t h i s research.

They

i n c l u d e Johann P e s t a l o z z i , Johann Herbart, F r i e d r i ch Froebel , Maria Montessori, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget.

The s e c t i o n on each t h e o r i s t

contains , where p e r t i n e n t , a summary o f t h e i r educational p h i 1osophy , psycho1ogy, pedagogy, and educational program. Chapter III deals fir s t w i t h " c r e a t i v i ty ,"it s d e f i n i ti ons and some o f t h e research i n t h i s area.

The authors reviewed i n c l u d e some

o f t h e l e a d i n g researchers and t h e o r i s t s of t h e 1as t f i f t e e n years.

The

research d e a l i n g w i t h t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f c r e a t i v i t y and science i n c l u d e s t h a t o f Bradley (1965), C l i n e , Richards and Needham (1963), Cropley and F i e l d ( l 9 6 9 ) , F i e l d and Cropley (1969) and H o l l a n d (1961). Chapter I V presents a d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e experimental p o r t i o n o f t h i s research, t h e r a t i o n a l e and design. Chapter V presents t h e analyses of t h e data gathered d u r i n g t h e e m p i r i c a l p o r t i o n o f t h i s research.

I n c l u d e d are t h e hypotheses and con-

c l u s i o n s suggested w i t h i n each phase o f t h e a n a l y s i s . Chapter V I contains t h e conclusions o f t h e study, t h e biases cont a i n e d t h e r e i n , and suggestions f o r f u r t h e r research.

CHAPTER I 1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE : IMPLICATIONS FOR SCIENCE TEACHING The meaningfulness o f t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e c r e a t i v e aspects of l e a r n i n g and of t h e convergent versus d i v e r g e n t thought processes of science students t o which t h i s study i s devoted, may be enhanced by s e t t i n g i t i n the appropriate context.

Science programs and programs i n

o t h e r s u b j e c t m a t t e r areas have been influenced b y many educational t h e o r i s t s , and t h e most i n f l u e n t i a l a r e those who e x e m p l i f i e d t h e i r t h e o r i e s by p r a c t i c a l appl i c a t i on and demonstrated how t h e l e a r n i n g p r o cess can be f a c i 1it a t e d .

Among these a r e Johann P e s t a l o z z i ( 1746-1827),

Johann H e r b a r t ( 1776-1841 ) , F r i e d r i ch Froebel ( 1782-1852) Montessori (1870-1952), (1896-

)

, Maria

John Dewey (1859-1952) and Jean P i a g e t

.

The c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f each o f these as w e l l as some o t h e r s who were i n f l u e n c e d by them o r whose work i s r e l a t e d w i l l be considered. But, as t h i s s t u d y i s n e i t h e r s p e c i f i c a l l y concerned w i t h t h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s , n o r a h i s t o r y o f educational thought, t h e treatment w i l l be brief.

Note must a l s o be made t h a t some o f these t h e o r i s t s were c h i e f l y

concerned w i t h k i n d e r g a r t e n o r e a r l y c h i ldhood education.

Consequently,

an i n f e r e n c e drawn f o r elementary science education i n h i g h e r grades and w i t h o l d e r c h i l d r e n needs t o be viewed as an e x t r a p o l a t i o n and s u b j e c t t o t h e l i m i t a t i o n s o f such.

A.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi 1

.

Educational Phi 1osophy Owing to an economical ly prosperous time in Zurich , Pes tal ozzi

lived under an apparently liberal government which was attempting t o educate people of a l l social classes.

He saw education as a means of

social reform through which his ideal of equal opportunity could be realized.

He f e l t that i t was the duty of society t o develop each man's

a b i l i t i e s t o his maximal potential.

This could best be accomplished

through what he termed "natural education. " His view was t h a t the multitude of objects which constitute environment e x i s t independent of man's knowledge of them.

However, man i s

able t o know them through sensation, reflection, and organization of sense-data experienced.

All nature i s chaotic and b r u t a l , and without

discipline; t h i s includes man. Pestalozzi wanted, through education, t o establish an order f o r chaotic sense impressions, and t o develop a God-centered, moral society in which a l l primitive impulses were controlled.

Although he held a

genetic conception of man's physical nature, he agreed with Locke's tabula rasa conception of the mind upon which l i f e ' s experiences are written.

However, Pestalozzi held t h a t sense experience must be organ-

ized before being entered i n t o the mind (written on the s l a t e ) . This organization i s called contemplati on.

He contended t h a t i f the learning

process followed a c h i l d ' s natural c u r i o s i t i e s , there would be a pattern of development from near t o f a r and from simple to complex.

Each

succeeding step in educating could be based upon existing know1 edge. He used the terms "natural education" and "psycho1ogy of learni n g n l synonymously.

In so doing, his reference was t o man's mind following

the natural laws and order of nature.

The development of "mind" was the A plant absorbs basic

basis f o r his theory of organic development.

elements from i t s immediate environment and transforms them i n t o a harmonious whole of balanced parts.

A child, likewise, develops as a r e s u l t

of contact with his immediate environment. within.

Both grow and unfold from

A farmer tends his plants so as t o provide a controlled environ-

ment t o aid a balanced growth and avoid tropisms.

Similarly, a teacher

must control the environment of a pupi 1 t o avoid an imbalance in development. Moral and religious growth was looked upon as the basis f o r a sense of soci a1 responsi bi 1i ty . A1 though moral i ty and re1 i gi on were not overtly taught, t h e i r values were evident in the personal relationships derived from the school s i t u a t i o n .

Such things, he f e l t , could only be

learned ci rcumstantial ly . The teacher then must provi de the' best condi tions f o r the c h i l d ' s maturational process and guide h i m t o achieve a balanced development through consci ous e f f o r t . 2.

Pedagogy Pestal ozzi believed t h a t sensation (apprehension of sense-data)

i s the basis f o r learning and consequently t h a t sound educational practice ' ~ e r a l d Lee Gutek, Pestal ozzi and Education (New York: Random House, l968), p 86.

.

imp1 i e s t h e p r o v i s i o n o f experiences w i t h t a n g i b l e m a t e r i a l s . F o r P e s t a l o z z i sensation was c l e a r l y t h e b a s i s f o r a c q u i r i n g knowledge. I n s t r u c t i o n i n e f f e c t i v e sense impression had t o be r e l a t e d t o n a t u r a l laws and t o t h e a c t i v e process o f Anschauung. P e s t a l o z z i aimed a t o b t a i n i n g c l e a r ideas from t h e confused mass o f c h a o t i c sensations. To proceed from perceptual experience t o c l e a r and d i s t i n c t ideas o r concepts necessi t a t e d t h e f u n c t i oni ng o f numerous mental a b i 1it i e s , such as memory, imagination, thought, understand2 i n g , judgement, and reasoning.

...

T h i s p o i n t o f view o r assumption l e d P e s t a l o z z i t o p o s t u l a t e t h e o b j e c t lesson based on number, form, and language i n which t h e l e a r n e r a c q u i r e d t h e a b i l i t y t o recognize t h e number o f o b j e c t s , t h e i r appearances, form, s t r u c t u r e o r o u t l i n e , and then t o l e a r n t h e name and t o express i t b o t h o r a l l y and i n w r i t t e n language. P e s t a l o z z i ' s t h e o r y o f c h i l d development makes expl i c i t what i s i m p l i c i t i n t h e f o r e g o i n g - - t h a t a person develops from near t o f a r .

By

t h i s he means t h a t c h i l d r e n move from knowledge o r awareness o f t h e i r own bodies and immediate surroundings t o knowledge o r awareness o f o t h e r persons, o b j e c t s and places.

The f u n c t i o n o f t h e school i s t o f a c i l i -

t a t e t h e e f f o r t s o f c h i l d r e n t o expand t h e i r area o f awareness.

To do

t h i s t h e school must n o t o n l y be a c h i l d ' s w o r l d t h a t would g a i n and s u s t a i n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e c h i l d , b u t a l s o p r o v i d e adequately f o r expression o f these i n t e r e s t s . He b e l i e v e d e x i s t i n g schools t o be, i n content and form, based upon a d u l t i n t e r e s t s , o r a t b e s t on i n t e r e s t s which a d u l t s perceived as being t h e i n t e r e s t s of c h i l d r e n .

A d d i t i o n a l l y , he saw these a d u l t

7

i n t e r e s t s being presented t o the child in an abstract manner which precluded the child from enjoying and benefiting from the sensory experience t h a t provides a natural ly graduated continuum of learning . Pestalozzi , in basing his teaching on sensory experience, a1 lowed "form" t o be the primary consideration.

Under t h i s heading he reduced

form t o simpler components such as l i n e s , perpendiculars, horizontals, c i r c l e s , squares, and more complex combinations of these ; always from the simple t o the complex.

He would have the child recognize the geomet-

rical forms, copy them, measure them, and break them u p i n t o t h e i r components again, thus leading t o formation of a concept regarding any shape.

Number was dealt w i t h by giving pupils the numbers from one t o

ten, and relating them t o actual objects which were subsequently represented by a s e r i e s of lines and dots.

In t h i s manner, concrete objects

were abstracted into representations on paper and the concept of number was removed from the concrete.

This led t o the abstraction of the

concrete into the form of language.

He applied the same principle t o

language learning by reducing words t o t h e i r component sounds and presenting them f i r s t o r a l l y , then in written form. 3.

Educational Program Pestal ozzi was cri t i c a l of tradi t i onal educational programs.

He

believed that they imposed adult abstractions of adult experience upon a c h i l d ' s i n t e r e s t s , and l e f t untutored crucial phases of his development. A child was given f i v e years a t home t o enjoy the security and

loving warmth of a mother's attention.

For Pestalozzi , t h a t t h i s should

8 cease upon e n t e r i n g a school was u n t h i n k a b l e . must be a b l e t o r e c e i v e l o v e from p u p i l s .

A teacher must l o v e and

The l o v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between

teacher and p u p i l would be t h e b a s i s f o r a sense of d u t y and o b l i g a t i o n , ergo a b a s i s f o r moral and s o c i a l development.

Education, t o him, was

an harmonious development o f h e a r t ( l o v e ) , body ( p h y s i c a l l y )

, and

mind

(thought processes), t h e r e f o r e h i s dai l y r o u t i n e w i t h pupi 1s contained physi c a l e x e r c i s e t o c o n d i t i o n t h e body. I n t e l l e c t u a l development was based upon h i s concept o f number, form and language.

Having been thoroughly researched by t h e teacher, a

subje c t would be presented t o a c l a s s .

The p r e s e n t a t i o n would be i n

e i t h e r t h e form o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e specimen o r s e r i e s o f specimens, o r t h e form o f photographs, i f the former was n o t p o s s i b l e .

The teacher

then proceeded t o guide t h e observations o f t h e specimen and g i v e names, f i r s t t o the whole, then t o t h e p a r t s and t h e i r p r o p e r t i e s . The teacher encourages t h e p u p i l i n t h e development o f language, o f making sounds, forming observation, and t h e mental s k i 1 1s images, and imagining concepts, powers on which P e s t a l o z z i bases h i s whole educational p r a c t i c e . 3

...

He p o s t u l a t e d t h a t t h e mind tends t o s o r t o u t and c a t e g o r i z e t h e mass o f o b j e c t s presented by the environment.

I n so doing t h e common

p r o p e r t i e s o f form and number are applied, and these i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h shape and o t h e r sense impressions, when r e l a t e d through t h e mind t o previ o u s experience, l e a d t o an attempt a t naming.

Thus the n a t u r a l p r o -

gression o f h i s educational continuum of number, form, and language, o f simple t o complex:

3 ~ J.. C u r t i s and M. E. A. B O U ~ ~ W O A OShort ~ , H i s t o r y o f Educat i o n a l Ideas (London: U n i v e r s i t y T u t o r i a l Press Ltd., 1961), p. 343.

Constant e x e r c i s e i n d e s c r i b i n g v e r b a l l y what he sees, f e e l s , and hears, and what he has seen, has f e l t and has heard, w i l l g i v e a c h i l d i n c r e a s i n g command over language b o t h i n vocabulary and cons t r u c t i o n . P e s t a l o z z i accepted as a fundamental t h a t a whole sentence i s s i m p l e r than i t s component p a r t s , y e t when he planned t h e teaching o f s p e l l i n g and reading he s t a r t e d from s y l l a b l e s - - h e assumed t h a t t h e ' n a t u r a l ' process was t h e f o r m a t i o n o f s i n g l e sounds i n t o words, and words i n t o speech.4 The teaching o f "form" was an attempt t o combine measuring, drawi n g and w r i t i n g

.

Thus, n a t u r a l shapes were categorized, geometrical

shapes conceptualized, and a f i r m b a s i s f o r w r i t i n g t h e l e t t e r s o f t h e alphabet was established. I n t h i s approach t o teaching number, r e a l and common o b j e c t s were utilized.

Peas, beans, stones and t h e l i k e , were used t o g i v e t h e con-

c e p t of many o r few, and t o teach c o u n t i n g along w i t h a d d i t i o n and subtraction. P e s t a l o z z i began h i s number teaching by g i v i n g t h e students t h e conceptions o f numbers from one t o ten, f i r s t w i t h t h e h e l p o f a c t u a l o b j e c t s and then l a t e r by l i n e s and dots on t a b l e s . Only when t h e c h i l d r e n had been thoroughly exercised i n t h e c o u n t i n g o f o b j e c t s , such as peas and pebbles, d i d the i n s t r u c t i o n proceed t o f i g u r e s , which were regarded as a b b r e v i a t i o n s o f t h e s p e c i f i c r e l a t i o n s of more o r l e s s t h a t had been developed by t h e c o u n t i n g exercises.5 To summarize P e s t a l o z z i I s theory, a teacher must l o v e t h e p u p i l s , who w i 11 r e c i p r o c a t e t h e 1ove and experience emotional s e c u r i t y , w h i l e demonstrating a r e s p e c t and d e s i r e t o please.

A t t h i s p o i n t t h e teach-

i n g o f t h e basics o f "form, number and language" can begin.

A1 1 i n s t r u c -

t i o n i s based upon sensory experience and leads from t h e simple t o the complex, from near t o f a r , from concrete t o conceptual. 4 ~ b i d . , pp. '~utek,

q.c i t . , p. 121.

B.

Johann F r i e d r i ch H e r b a r t

1.

Educational Philosophy To Herbart, t h e aim of education was m o r a l i t y .

I n order t o achieve

t h i s end t h e r e a r e t h r e e main c a t e g o r i e s t o be considered: l o g i c , metaphysics and a e s t h e t i c s .

L o g i c was presented i n a s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d ,

t r a d i t i o n a l manner, and a1 though he had no p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i n it

per se, he f e l t i t was necessary f o r t h e development o f h i s system.

Each

o f t h e others, metaphysics and a e s t h e t i c s , were broken i n t o s u b d i v i s i o n s f o r consideration.

These p a r t s form an a l l - i n c l u s i v e system, based upon

the o r g a n i z a t i o n o f nature. An i n d i v i d u a l ' s perceptions o f n a t u r e o r t h e e x t e r n a l w o r l d g i v e r i s e t o a mu1t i p l i c i t y o f concepts i n h i s mind.

The mind i t s e l f i s a

t h i n g amidst t h e a p p a r e n t l y c h a o t i c e x i s t e n c e o f t h i n g s . have independent natures and r e a l i t i e s . disturbances.

These t h i n g s

When t h e y i n t e r a c t , they cause

When t h e mind i n t e r a c t s w i t h environment, the disturbances

are sensations which i n t u r n l e a d t o ideas o r concepts about t h e " r e a l " world.

One can never g e t t o know t h e essence o f t h i n g s ; one can o n l y

r e c e i v e sensations and know the e x t e r n a l r e a l i t i e s .

A teacher can educate by t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h i n g s t o i n t e r e s t t h e mind i n a l o g i c a l o r d e r .

Such an o r d e r o r s e r i e s o f steps i n c l u d e

c l a r i t y , a s s o c i a t i o n , system, and method. I n order t o c r e a t e many-sided i n t e r e s t s i n t h e p u p i l , prepare and p r e s e n t t h e m a t e r i a l a t hand--the s p e c i f i c facts--as c l e a r l y as p o s s i b l e . Remember t h a t many-sided i n t e r e s t s and many-sided s e l f a c t i v i t i e s are one and t h e same process; t h a t s e l f - a c t i v i t y i n i t s e l f

i s n o t educative, much depending upon t h e d i r e c t i o n i t i s given ; t h a t t o arouse a t t e n t i o n you should present y o u r m a t e r i a l conc r e t e l y ( p i c t o r i a1 l y ) r a t h e r than d e s c r i p t i v e l y , and gradual l y and 6 logically

...

...

The a s s i m i l a t i o n o r a b s t r a c t i o n and g e n e r a l i z a t i o n take p l a c e i n conjunct i o n w i t h ideas already e x i s t i n g i n t h e p u p i l .

I t i s a l s o necessary f o r

t h e teacher t o envisage these steps as being l o g i c a l modes w i t h i n t h e same process. The many-sided i n t e r e s t s f a l l i n t o t h e two b a s i c c a t e g o r i e s o f e m p i r i c a l and s o c i a l .

The former i s concerned w i t h t h e reason f o r t h i n g s

and w i t h causes and e f f e c t s .

The l a t t e r i s concerned w i t h human beings

and t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p s , w i t h r e 1 i g i o n , and u l t i m a t e l y w i t h sympathy.

I f a moral i n d i v i d u a l i s t o be t h e o b j e c t o f education, then a1 1 these i n t e r e s t s and t h e i r connected s i d e issues must be developed i n a balanced program so as n o t t o produce a one-sidedness s i m i l a r t o t h e " t r o p i s m " which concerned Pestal o z z i

2.

.

Psycho1ogy H e r b a r t b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e mind was developed by t h e experience o f

an i n d i v i d u a l and t h a t i t s s t r u c t u r e and c o n t e n t was a r e s u l t o f t h e s o u l ' s encounter w i t h o t h e r r e a l t h i n g s . sensations.

This encounter was by way o f

E x t e r n a l r e a l i t i e s impinge upon t h e senses o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l

adapt themselves t o p a s t experiences, and become a p a r t o f t h e mind's system o f ideas o r knowledge.

He attempted t o make psychology a

6 ~ e h d iNakos teen, The H i s t o r y and Phi 1osophy o f Education (New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1965), p. 348.

,

science, and i n Newtonian terms t h i s meant dealing with forces which then could be measured and reduced t o mathematics.

If the soul i s confronted

w i t h an encounter of two things which are similar, they wi 11 reinforce

each other.

I f the encounter i s between two dissimilar things, they

will form closely-kni t combinations.

I f the encounter i s between two

contrary things, the stronger would dominate the weaker in proportion t o the extent i t i s stronger. Herbart did not undertake t o devise methods of measurement f o r a l l variables in encounters.

He did use examples of sound being measured

in decibels, hot and cold being measured in degrees, colour fusing or showing dominance, and choral work producing a "stronger" presentation than a single voice.

When the soul (or mind) i s confronted with exter-

nal reals through the senses, i t i s continually being a1 tered according t o the relative s i m i l a r i t y , strength or weakness of the thing presented. Some will reinforce what i s recorded in the mind i f they are similar, some will form combinations of "complexions" i f they are dissimilar and some wi 11 e i t h e r dominate or be rejected, depending on thei r. relative strength i f they are contrary. A lesson ( i .e., a new presentation or mass of presentations) appear-

ing i n mind would simply sink below the threshold of consciousness this i s unless united to other similar presentational masses. . where the famous "steps" come into play. They were t o link each item of subject matter t o existing masses in mind by e x p l i c i t l y showing t h e i r relatedness. New learning had t o be related t o old. Otherwise the teacher would waste his time by merely dropping i n t o mind, so t o speak, material that would immediately sink below the threshold of consciousness and l i e i n e r t . The development of great apperceptive masses was also the means of achieving the great aim of education, moral strength of character, f o r only large, stable apperceptive masses could produce consistent and persistent s t a t e s of character. 7

..

b bid.,

pp. 61-62.

13 In summary, Herbart was not a major influence upon the educational system of his own day.

He did not agree with his contemporaries

in e i t h e r the philosophical or educational f i e l d s , nor in his support of psychology as an exact science.

The philosophers Kante, Fichte,

Schelling and Hegel were extremely popular.

His educational system was

one more suited to a system of private tutors than the popular education f o r the masses.

His psychology dealt with the building of a mind and

personality through experience rather than the more favoured dual i s t i c and traditional ly re1 i gi ous doctrines . His fame and popularity came posthumously because of a group who expounded doctrines in his name. Herbartianism, as i t i s known, came forth with Herbart's ideas greatly modified.

His system of pedagogy did not offer any simple solution t o

those wishing t o deal w i t h numbers of people which are not well known t o t h e i r teachers.

Herbartianism compensated and i s best known f o r the

f i v e steps t o be followed by educators. a ) Preparation:

The steps are:

where the teacher recalls particular material with

which the p u p i 1s are fami l i a r and which i s relevant t o the lesson t o be taught; b)

Presentation:

where the new material i s introduced t o the class

in as interesting and dramatic a way as possible to gain i n t e r e s t ; c) Association:

where the new material i s related t o t h a t which i s

already familiar; d)

Generalization:

closely related t o step three, and where gener-

a l i t i e s regarding the subject matter are pointed out to pupils;

14 e)

Application:

where t h e p u p i l has an o p p o r t u n i t y t o use t h e new

m a t e r i a1 i n p r a c t i c e . Herbart p a i d t r i b u t e t o Pestalozzi b u t d i d n o t believe h i s t h e o r i e s went f a r enough.

P e s t a l o z z i was n o t n e a r l y as systematic as

Herbart, and t h e former was t o o fragmentary and r e s t r i c t e d t o elementary schools t o be o f b e n e f i t t o an educational whole whereas H e r b a r t ' s aim was t o present a more rounded system l e a d i n g t o t h e u n i v e r s i t y l e v e l of academi c achievement C.

.

F r i e d r i ch Froebel 1

.

Educational Phi 1osophy Froebel came from a v e r y r e l i g i o u s background, so i t i s no wonder

t h a t he placed such an emphasis on God and God's c r e a t i v e w i l l .

The

o t h e r two i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r s i n h i s philosophy a r e science, p a r t i c u l a r l y b i o l o g y , and education and t h e i m p o r t a n t p a r t i t p l a y s i n s e p a r a t i n g man from animals. He b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e r e i s a u n i v e r s a l p a t t e r n o f development f o r human beings; and as f o r i n d i v i d u a l s , so f o r n a t i o n s .

Education had t o

take a new course and s t o p t h e s t u l t i f y i n g veneration o f t h e o l d h a b i t s and modes o f thought.

The p a s t should be viewed as knowledge and t h i s

should be a s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r going t o a h i g h e r l e v e l o f development, e s p e c i a l l y i n t h e areas o f science.

I consider t h a t t h e r e i s a u n i v e r s a l p a t t e r n o f development. When a c e r t a i n l e v e l has been reached a f t e r a p e r i o d o f growth, t h e r e i s a

point of culmination. A t t h i s stage and in the form i t has now reached everything passes through an exactly opposite cycle so t h a t with a clearer, more intense knowledge of i t , i t comes back to the unity of being. Having assimilated t h i s experience, i t then goes forward with energy restored and l i f e renewed f o r a s t i l l higher level of growth. To p u t i t more b r i e f l y , I regard t h i s simple pattern of development from the analytical t o the synthetical, such as I find in pure thought, as the course of development of a1 1 being.8 One can see the biological i n t e r e s t showing i n t h a t what he describes i s analogous t o the l i f e of a perennial plant.

I t grows in

seasons, reaches plateaux of development, recedes and grows again w i t h renewed vigour a f t e r resting.

Man was created in the image of God t o

experience freely and t o use his experiences t o u p l i f t himself t o higher existence, not to be r e s t r i c t e d by predetermined ideals of goodness and perfection.

.

. . i t should be borne i n mind t h a t the accepted ideal o r the perf e c t l i f e i s intended t o serve as a model only in i t s aim and essence, never in i t s form. I t i s a profound misconception t o take those human beings who exemplify the s p i r i t u a l 1 i f e as formal models, f o r the usual method i s t o check and restrain rather than t o u p l i f t mankind. Throughout his l i f e Jesus himself attacked such clinging t o an external standard. . . The perfect l i f e which we as Christians see in Jesus was a l i f e which was 1ived i n c l e a r and vivid awareness of the original ground of i t s being, and which came from the eternal creator self-active and s e l f - r e l i a n t . Through the pattern of his l i f e Jesus requires each human being t o become such a copy of the eternal ideal and, i n his turn, such a pattern f o r hims e l f and others t h a t he advances freely according to eternal law by his own determination and his own choice. This i s the function and purpose of a l l education and should be the only one.9

.

Although Froebel ' s view of education encompassed every stage from the infant to the university graduate, he did not meet with his greatest

16 success u n t i l he concentrated on i n f a n t education as t h e b a s i s f o r h i s system.

I f each stage o f development c o u l d evolve from t h e c h i l d r e n

s t a r t e d i n h i s kindergarten, a new and b e t t e r w o r l d and a renewal o f l i f e f o r mankind would evolve.

He s t u d i e d the a c t i o n s and responses o f

babies from b i r t h onwards and wrote much about h i s observations.

Through

t h e stages o f development experienced by t h e c h i 1dren themselves , Froebel formulated h i s plans f o r a c o n t i n u i n g educational experience, each phase o f which was b u i 1t upon t h e previous ones.

2.

Pedagogy Froebel b e l i e v e d t h a t a s o c i e t y i s composed o f i n d i v i d u a l s and

f o r s o c i e t y t o progress, each i n d i v i d u a l must do so.

He saw education

as t h e means f o r s o c i e t a l advancement, and k i n d e r g a r t e n s as a b a s i s f o r t h e educational sys tem.

Through the experience o f group a c t i v i t y , 1earn-

i n g , and group l i v i n g under h i s system, i n d i v i d u a l s would emerge w i t h a s o c i a l conscience, ready t o serve the needs of t h e communi ty.

Froebel

d i d n o t p r i m a r i l y concern h i m s e l f w i t h n a t i o n a l systems o f education b u t was more concerned w i t h community l i f e and t h e t r a n s f o r m i n g o f a people's l i f e s t y l e through the f a m i l y and through education. To Froebel a c h i l d ' s p l a y was of utmost importance and t h e key t o the whole educational program.

This form o f a c t i v i t y i s a l l - e n g r o s s i n g

and a f f o r d s maximal p o t e n t i a l f o r c r e a t i v e s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n by c h i l d r e n . P l a y i s t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l o f c h i l d development. I t i s t h e spontaneous expression o f thought and f e e l ing--an expression which h i s i n n e r l i f e r e q u i r e s . This i s the meaning of t h e word " p l a y . " I t i s t h e p u r e s t c r e a t i o n of the c h i l d ' s mind as i t i s a l s o a p a t t e r n and

copy of the natural l i f e hidden in man and i n a l l things. So i t promotes enjoyment, s a t i s f a c t i o n , serenity, and constitutes the source of a l l that can benefit the child. A child who plays well of his own accord, quietly persisting until he i s physically t i r e d out, will develop as an e f f i c i e n t and determined person, ever ready t o make sacrifices f o r the good of himself and others .lo The purpose of a c h i l d ' s play i s t o discover the various aspects of his environment and t h e i r relation t o h imself.

A system should be

u t i 1i zed where each acti vi ty corresponds w i t h the devel opmental stage of the child; therefore the sequence should be from simple t o complex. A number of playthings or " g i f t s " given t o the child comprise the pro-

gram devised by Froebel

.

Each i s significant in two respects: that i t

has an emotional and a practical counterpart in adult 1i f e .

The sequence

of g i f t s i s from s o f t b a l l s , a cube and cylinder, large cubes divisible into smal l e r cubes to oblongs and to prisms . Later stages involve drawing, clay modelling, and paper in various shapes and forms.

Still

l a t e r stages involve gardening, tending pets, and responsibilities out of doors w i t h d i r e c t communion with nature so t h a t the child who i s a whole within himself can realize that he i s also a part of a whole. The purpose and character of these plays may be described as follows: They are a coherent system, s t a r t i n g a t each stage from the simplest a c t i v i t y and progressing t o the most diverse and complex manifestations of i t . The purpose of each one of them i s t o i n s t r u c t human beings so t h a t they may progress as individuals and as members of humanity in a l l i t s various relationships. Collectively they form a complete whole, like a many-branched t r e e , whose parts explain and advance each other. Each i s self-contained, whole, a seed from which manifold new developments may spring t o continue further a c t i v i t y . They cover the whole f i e l d of i n t u i t i v e and sensory instruction and lay the basis for a l l further teaching. They begin by establishing

spati a1 re1 a t i onshi ps and proceed t o sensory and 1anguage training so t h a t eventually man comes t o see himself as a s e n t i e n t , i n t e l l i gent and rational being and as such s t r i v e s t o l i v e . From observation of Nature and 1i f e in a1 l i t s phenomena they lead us t o perceive that there i s always an inner coherence and that the material and s p i r i t u a l worlds are one.11 In summary, Froebel was impressed by his reading of Pestalozzi's writings and his experience with him a t Yverdun.

He met w i t h his great-

e s t success in developing kindergartens which were t o be the basis f o r a better, more wholesome humanity.

He stressed the religious aspects of

education more heavi l y than Pestalozzi

.

A1 though there are simi l a r i t i e s

i n t h e i r theories of child development, Froebel believed in the perfect

l i f e , as attained by Jesus, t o be the wi 11 of God and the steps toward i t appear as surges upward in both the individual and society.

Pestalozzi

was more concerned w i t h unfolding of the individual toward the maximum of his own potential

.

Froebel's emphasis on the design of playthings f o r children opened the way f o r future developments in the programming of educational tasks and toys t o capture the i n t e r e s t of pupils as well as broadening t h e i r knowledge of relationships. D.

Maria Montessori 1.

Educational P h i 1osophy The basic tenet of Montessori's philosophy i s l i b e r t y f o r the

child,

Other educators saw t h i s need f o r freedom on the part of the ' ' ~ b i d . , p . 98.

l e a r n e r , b u t she devised a system which i n c o r p o r a t e d i t . Her freedom p e r t a i n e d n o t o n l y t o academic, manipulative, and mobi 1it y concerns, b u t a l s o t o c h i l d - s i z e d f u r n i t u r e which was n o t f i x e d i n place. l e a r n from t h e i r environment and w i t h t h e i r environment.

Pupils could

The r o l e o f

teachers i s b a s i c a l l y passive, a d m i n i s t e r i n g t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n o f materi a l s and envi ronment , t h e r e g u l a t i o n of 1ib e r t y so l e a r n i n g s i t u a t i o n s a r e discovered by the c h i l d a t times a p p r o p r i a t e l y determined by the readiness of t h e c h i l d . The importance of t h e Montessori method l i e s i n t h e e f f e c t s p r o duced i n t h e classroom.

C h i l d r e n a r e l e f t f r e e t o go about t h e i r work

and a l l a c t i o n s which a r e n o t d i s t u r b i n g t o others are allowed. disorder t h a t i s eliminated.

It i s

The r e s t r a i n t s used b y Montessori are m i n i -

mal and r e q u i r e i n f r e q u e n t i m p o s i t i o n because t h e c h i l d has work organi z e d i n such a f a s h i o n as t o p e r m i t an o u t l e t f o r energies, s e l f development , and s a t i s f a c t i o n . I t i s t h e p e r f e c t o r g a n i z a t i o n o f work, p e r m i t t i n g t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f self-development and g i v i n g o u t l e t f o r t h e energies, which procures f o r each c h i l d t h e b e n e f i c i a l and calming s a t i s f a c t i o n . And i t i s under such c o n d i t i o n s o f work t h a t l i b e r t y leads t o a p e r f e c t i n g o f t h e a c t i v i t i e s , and t o the a t t a i n m e n t o f a f i n e d i s c i p l i n e which i s i n i t s e l f t h e r e s u l t o f t h a t new q u a l i t y o f calmness t h a t has been developed i n t h e c h i l d . 1 2

The i n d i v i d u a l d i f f e r e n c e s i n c h i l d r e n must be allowed f o r .

It i s

n o t f o r t h e teacher t o determine what tasks should be done a t c e r t a i n times o f the day.

aria

A c h i l d m i g h t wish t o do a r i t h m e t i c i n s t e a d o f

Montessori, Dr. Montessori's Own Handbook (New York: Schocken Books, 1965), p. 187.

20

practising writing, and he should have the freedom and materials available t o do so.

Children progress a t different rates and are therefore

prepared f o r similar tasks a t varying times.

I t i s the responsibility

of the teacher then t o observe a l l children closely and t o determine the needs of each, and t o arrange f o r materials t o be available so t h a t a continuous development can be realized in each child.

The chi Id in t u r n

achieves s a t i s f a c t i o n rather than f r u s t r a t i o n , and i s b e t t e r behaved and eager t o achieve greater success in the learning s i t u a t i o n . 2.

Pedagogy The technique employed within the Montessori Method follows the

physiological and psychological development of children closely and i s divided i n t o the three areas of motor, sensory and language education. To accomplish t h i s , Montessori developed educational toys and tasks designed t o incorporate the three main areas of concern in gradual stages ranging from simple t o complex.

To these toys and tasks she gave the

-

name didactic materials.

Didactic materials contain within themselves a control f o r e r r o r , that i s , they are self-correcting.

Either they f i t or they do not; the

final r e s u l t i s clearly correct or incorrect.

The child i s given access

t o these materials only as playthings, and they are presented in an order which progresses from less t o greater i n complexity, and from concrete t o abstract.

Each step must be learned before the next step i s

allowed i n t o the c h i l d ' s hands.

In other words, the c h i l d ' s experiences

are organized i n such a way that he learns from them what i s wanted by /

the teacher.

The child i s rewarded by engaging in meaningful tasks and

i s able t o evaluate himself on his own performance because of the s e l f correcting features of the devices. The sensory experiences which Montessori arranged f o r the child are also b u i l t into the didactic materials.

In performing the task of

f i t t i n g cylinders into t h e i r respective places in a block with holes t o contain the cylinders, the child sees them, handles them and becomes thoroughly familiar with them.

So i t i s with the s i z e and shape of

other geometric figures and materials of the curriculum,

The t a c t i l e

sense i s exercised t o a point where the chi ld can recognize objects w h i l e blindfolded. children.

Mastery of the "game" gives great satisfaction to the

Color co-ordination of objects f o r separation into d i f f e r e n t

groups brings the visual sense into play in y e t another way, and i s tied into the more abstract concept of categorization. The auditory sense i s exercised i n two ways.

Where music i s con-

cerned, the lessons are obvious. When silence i s taught, the lessons are not so obvious.

Silence i s learned by the listening as -a group, f o r

sounds such as clocks ticking, birds outside, o r movements i n another part of the building.

Silence then i s really an exercise in self-control

as well as an auditory experience. The more abstract lessons of Montessori involve language and number, and these concepts are linked with sensory development associ ated wi t h the di dacti c materials

.

Words as names, description, place-

ment, number, and color, teach the language of the physical and spatial world.

Other more abstract relationships such as temporal, tonal, /

22 comparative qua1 it i e s and gradations o f these a r e t a u g h t d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o t h e m a t e r i a l s i n t h e i r s i t u a t i o n a l use.

Each o f t h e f o r e g o i n g

i s i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e whole experience o f t h e c h i l d a t h i s own pace of development.

...

o u r l i t t l e ones make t h e impression o f c o n t i n u a l l y 'making d i s c o v e r i e s ' i n t h e w o r l d about them; and i n t h i s t h e y f i n d t h e i r g r e a t e s t j o y . They t a k e from t h e w o r l d a knowledge which i s ordered and i n s p i r e s them w i t h enthusiasm.13 I n summary, Montessori became i n v o l v e d w i t h t h e education o f c h i l d r e n through d i f f e r e n t concerns than o t h e r educators.

She combines

t h e t h e o r i e s o f P e s t a l o z z i and Froebel i n t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l p u p i l i s o f prime concern i n a programmed e n v i ronment which a1 lows t h e p r a c t i c e o f 1i m i t e d freedoms.

She a1so i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e methodical , s c i e n t i f i c

approach o f H e r b a r t and h i s emphasis on psychology.

3.

Psycho1ogy Montessori went f u r t h e r than h e r predecessors i n t h a t she designed

a c u r r i c u l um conj o i ned w i t h many d i v e r s e o b j e c t s f o r e d u c a t i onal p l ay

.

She used a p r a c t i c a l psychology i n designing h e r classrooms on a s c a l e f o r t h e c h i l d r e n ' s use.

Equipment such as c h a i r s , cupboards, and t a b l e s ,

were o f a s i z e which p e r m i t t e d and encouraged use by t h e c h i l d r e n .

She

c a l l e d t h e o b j e c t s o f p l a y d i d a c t i c m a t e r i a l s , and t h e y were designed t o be t h e bases o f lessons which became i n c r e a s i n g l y d i f f i c u l t and more a b s t r a c t as the p u p i l progressed through the s e r i e s .

Each d i d a c t i c

23 instrument was i n i t s e l f a s e r i e s o f lessons d e a l i n g w i t h shape, number, c o l o r , and 1anguage

.

Montessori attempted t o use a l l t h e senses i n t h e l e a r n i n g p r o cess, p a r t i c u l a r l y the audio, v i s u a l , and t a c t i l e senses; hence t h e use o f h e r d i d a c t i c m a t e r i a l s i n c o r p o r a t e s these senses v i g o r o u s l y . The Montessori Method of teaching s t i l l enjoys much favour, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the k i n d e r g a r t e n and primary areas o f education. E.

John Dewey

.

1 Educational Phi 1osophy Dewey i s known as a p r a g m a t i s t and t h e r e f o r e one who d e a l t w i t h personal and purposive thought i n i n q u i r y .

I n so doing t h e a b s t r a c t s o f

absolute t r u t h and r e a l i t y a r e v a l i d a t e d o n l y by personal emotions and capabilities i n practical application.

I t cannot be assumed t h a t t h e

r e s u l t o f thought was t h e u l t i m a t e f o r Dewey; t h e process o f i n q u i r y , which i n v o l v e s an adjustment between a person and h i s environment, was more i m p o r t a n t .

There must be i n t e r a c t i o n .

be a c o n t i n u i t y o r e x p e r i e n t i a l continuum.

I n experience, t h e r e must The process o f i n q u i r y should

become h a b i t . According t o Dewey, one o f t h e b a s i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f h a b i t i s t h e f a c t t h a t every experience enacted, m o d i f i e s t h e one who experiences and t h e qua1 it y o f t h a t i n d i v i d u a l 's subsequent experiences.

Habit i s

n o t merely a f i x e d way of doing t h i n g s , i t i s t h e a t t e n d a n t i n t e l l e c t u a l a t t i t u d e s , which a f f e c t and e f f e c t our responses t o subsequent experiences.

Experiences a r e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d by comparison and c o n t r a s t

through reflective thought when viewed in the continuum of experience. He said t h a t :

. . . By

putting the consequences of different ways and 1ines of action before the m i n d , i t enables us t o know what we are about when we a c t . I t converts action t h a t i s merely appeti t i v e , blind and impulsive into i n t e l l igent action .I4 This involves the determination of ends and the selection of the most viable method of achieving them. In no way does he attempt t o reinforce the dualism of mind and matter or mind and body.

On the contrary, he advocates a philosophy

"which recognizes the origin, place, and function of mind in an a c t i v i t y which controls the environment. "15 Such a conception views intelligence as a purposive reorganization of material experience through action. The purposive reorgani zati onal aspect of experience must come through reflection and the relationships that are established as a result--the connection between past experience, current p o s s i b i l i t i e s and t h e i r potentialities. He points out two conclusions important to education: (1) Experience i s primarily an active-passive a f f a i r ; i t i s not pri marily cognitive. B u t (2) the measure of the value of an experience l i e s in the ~ e r c e ~ t i oofn relationships or continuities t o which i t leads u p . 1k inciudes cognition in the degree in which i t i s cumul a t i v e or amounts to something, or has meaning.16 14~ohnDewey, How We Think (Boston: D. C . Heath and Company, 1933), p. 17. 5 ~ o h nDewey, Democracy and Education (4th pri nti ng ; New Y ork : The MacMillan Company, 1964), p . 323.

25 There i s no room f o r t h e s p e c t a t o r t h e o r y i n h i s philosophy.

The

body i s a necessary p a r t o f t h e mind; t h e two cannot be d i s s o c i a t e d .

If

an emphasis i s placed upon one w i t h o u t t h e o t h e r , t h e secondary p a r t becomes a useless and d i s t r a c t i n g appendage t o be d i s c i p l i n e d u n r e a l i s tically.

The body i s an o r g a n i c c i r c u i t r y f o r t h e i n g r e s s and egress

of i n s t r u c t i v e and meaningful data t o be organized and r e f l e c t e d upon so t h e body may r e a c t i n a manner which i s meaningful t o t h e i n d i v i d u a l . R e f l e c t i o n , he p o i n t s o u t , i s t h e discernment o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s between what we t r y and t h e consequences.

Such connections between a c t s

and consequences i s thought, and t h i s a l l o w s f o r e s i g h t , which i n t u r n a l l o w s f o r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n a c t i o n and f o r a c t i o n s taken. T h i n k i n g i s thus e q u i v a l e n t t o an e x p l i c i t r e n d e r i n g o f t h e i n t e l l i gent elements i n our experience. I t makes i t p o s s i b l e t o a c t w i t h an end i n view. I t i s t h e c o n d i t i o n o f our having aims . I 7 2.

Pedagogy I n t h e education system o f Dewey, i t i s t h e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f t h e

educator t o guide t h e s t u d e n t i n t o conscious a r t i c u l a t i o n o f f a c t s and ideas.

The educator must s t r i v e t o l e a d t h e s t u d e n t t o adopt what i s

c a l l e d t h e " s c i e n t i f i c a t t i t u d e and method."

The l e a r n i n g i s o f i n t e l l i -

gent a c t i v i t y which i n v o l v e s t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f ends, t h e s e l e c t i o n o f means, a n a l y s i s and s y n t h e s i s t o a t t a i n those ends. H i s pedagogy i s based upon t h r e e observed impulses o f c h i l d r e n : f i r s t , t h e s o c i a l d e s i r e t o communicate; second, t h e impulse t o make

26

things, e i t h e r i n emulation o r in an a r t i s t i c and creative sense; t h i r d , the impulse t o investigate things.

The l a t t e r two do not necessarily

occur in t h i s sequence, b u t these impulses should be capitalized upon by teachers.

Schools must change, he s a i d , to become places where

children can learn by experience as opposed to the traditional f a c t oriented, listening situations which perpetuate the dualism of mind and body by exercising one and denying the other. Another of his emphases was the relationship of the school and society.

Curricula must be designed t o a s s i s t students i n dealing w i t h

a modern and changing society.

Intelligence therefore becomes the main

factor in dealing with new s i t u a t i o n s .

I n t e l l i g e n t conduct of l i f e , i n

his view, r e s t s upon a s c i e n t i f i c method of problem solving.

There are

four phases involved i n t h i s process; a ) The sensing of a problem which i s generated by i n t e r e s t ; b) Observation of the problem and condi t i ons surrounding i t ; c)

Formulation of plans of action o r hypotheses;

d) Testing of the hypotheses actively t o validate them. The u t i l i z a t i o n of a s c i e n t i f i c approach in thinking i s the only method by which an individual can avoid traditional beliefs and establish a s e t of "warranted assertions" regarding current l i f e .

Intelligent

thought i s the main factor in coping with new s i t u a t i o n s , and the subject matter of schools must always r e l a t e t o social l i f e . The two principles of continuity and interaction are not separate from one another. They intersect and unite. They a r e , so t o speak, /

the longitudinal and l a t e r a l aspects of experience. Different s i t uations succeed one another. B u t because of the principle of cont i n u i t y something i s carried over from the e a r l i e r t o the l a t e r ones. As an individual passes from one situation t o another, his work, his environment, expands or contracts. He does not find himself living in another world b u t a different part or aspect of one and the same world. What he has learned along the way of knowledge and s k i l l in the one situation becomes an instrument of understanding and dealing effectively with the situations which follow. The process goes on as long as l i f e and learning continue.18 In the educational sense, the intellectual relationships of new objects and situations t o e a r l i e r experiences i s e s s e n t i a l .

I t i s the

responsibility of the educator t o guide the student into conscious a r t i c ulation of facts and ideas.

The student must become the centre of exper-

i e n t i a l situations which are of i n t e r e s t t o him.

He must e i t h e r possess

or be able t o obtain the correct information t o make observations, and then he must be allowed t o assume the responsibility f o r developing them in an orderly way t o the ultimate testing experience. Dewey's emphasis on relationship of subject matter t o social l i f e may be exemplified by the teaching of language as a form of communication which i s naturally desirable to a child.

I f language i s taught a r t i f i c -

i a l l y as many f a c t s , parts of speech, and constructions, i t becomes divorced from the social element.

I f language i s taught with respect

t o the i n t e r e s t s and communicative desires of pupils, i t becomes a t once more meaningful, useful and interesting f o r them.

He said:

.

. . This does not mean, however, t h a t students are to be seduced unaware into preoccupation with lessons. I t means that they shall 18~osephRatner (ed.) , Intelligence i n the Modern World (New York: The Modern Library, 1939), p . 670, c i t i n g John Dewey, Experience and Education (New York: The MacMi llan Company, 1938).

be occupied w i t h them f o r r e a l reasons o r ends, and n o t j u s t somet h i n g t o be learned. This i s accomplished whenever t h e p u p i l perceives t h e place occupied by t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r i n the f u l f i l l i n g o f some experience.19 I n summary, Dewey contends t h a t education i s n o t a p r e p a r a t o r y s t e p towards l i f e , b u t l i f e i t s e l f , and should be t r e a t e d as such. Schools should a l l o w t h e c h i l d t o l i v e and become a p a r t o f t h e process r a t h e r than an absorbing observer o f i t . Schools should r e f l e c t t h e community and s o c i e t y a t l a r g e so t h a t when a p u p i l leaves school he i s a l r e a d y a p a r t o f t h e c u r r e n t stream o f s o c i e t y .

I f t h i s i s t o be

accompl ished i n a meaningful way then t h e school and t h e communi t y must i n t e g r a t e t h e i r e f f o r t s t o t h e p o i n t where each i s a resource o f t h e other. Dewey f e l t t h a t Froebel c o n t r i b u t e d much t o education by way o f r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l c a p a c i t i e s o f c h i l d r e n and t h e s p u r r i n g o f i n t e r e s t i n t h e area o f educational research. cism t h a t Froebel 's

". . . f o r m u l a t i o n

He s a i d by way o f c r i t i -

o f t h e n o t i o n o f development and

h i s o r g a n i z a t i o n o f devices f o r promoting i t were b a d l y hampered by t h e f a c t t h a t he conceived development t o be t h e u n f o l d i n g o f a ready-made l a t e n t p r i n c i p l e . "'O

T h i s i s an adoption o f an a p r i o r i principle

unacceptable t o Dewey. Dewey's p r a i s e of P e s t a l o z z i i s b a s i c a l l y t h a t a progressive and e n l i g h t e n e d s o c i e t y c o u l d be achieved through a democratic educational 1 9 ~ o h nDewey, Democracy and Education ( 4 t h p r i n t i n g ; New York: The MacMi 1 l a n Company, 1964) , p 169.

.

system and t h a t such a d e s i r a b l e end c o u l d o n l y be through t h e support o f the state.

P e s t a l o z z i saw t h i s and c o u l d n o t g a i n s t a t e support t o

any degree t h a t would advance h i s t h e o r i e s i n p r a c t i c e . Dewey supported H e r b a r t ' s b r i n g i n g o f teaching i n t o focus w i t h regard t o both s u b j e c t m a t e r i a l and method. Herbart undoubtedly has had a g r e a t e r i n f l u e n c e i n b r i n g i n g t o t h e f r o n t questions connected w i t h t h e m a t e r i a l o f s t u d y than any o t h e r educational philosopher. He s t a t e d problems o f method from t h e s t a n d p o i n t o f t h e i r connection w i t h s u b j e c t m a t t e r : method havi ng t o do w i t h t h e manner and sequence o f p r e s e n t i n g new s u b j e c t m a t t e r t o i n s u r e i t s proper i n t e r a c t i o n w i t h old.21 However, Dewey p o i n t e d o u t H e r b a r t ' s fundamental t h e o r e t i c a l d e f e c t as

". . .

i g n o r i n g t h e existence i n a l i v i n g being o f a c t i v e and

s p e c i f i c f u n c t i o n s which are developed i n r e d i r e c t i o n and combination which occur as they a r e combined w i t h t h e i r environment. ,122 This p o i n t i s c o i n c i d e n t a l w i t h h i s c r i t i c i s m o f Montessori.

He

claimed t h a t an o v e r - c o n t r o l of p o s s i b i l i t i e s i n p l a y and i n s t r u c t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s was n o t b e n e f i c i a l t o t h e p u p i l .

A c h i l d l e a r n s by making

mistakes, both i n t h e correctness i n doing t h i n g s and i n t h e e x t e n t o f h i s own c a p a b i l i t i e s .

Dewey upheld t h e use o f t h e senses and a c t i v e

use o f t h i n g s i n a meaningful way b u t n o t i s o l a t e d as tasks f o r t h e development o f d e x t e r i t y and separate s k i l l s .

He f e l t t h a t Montessori's

d i d a c t i c m a t e r i a l s and Froebel Is p l a y t h i n g s were so designed as t o i n corporate an a d u l t concept o f correctness.

He said,

". . . i t i s more

i m p o r t a n t t o keep a l i v e a c r e a t i v e and c o n s t r u c t i v e a t t i t u d e than t o secure an e x t e r n a l p e r f e c t i o n by engaging t h e p u p i l I s a c t i o n i n t o o minute and t o o c l o s e l y r e g u l a t e d pieces o f work.

Accuracy and f i n i s h

of d e t a i l can be i n s i s t e d upon i n such p r o p o r t i o n s o f a complex work as a r e w i t h i n t h e pupi 1 ' s c a p a c i t y . It 23 Dewey s t a t e d r e p e a t e d l y t h a t a s c i e n t i f i c method o f thought i s t h e most i n t e l l i g e n t and meaningful way t o c o n t r o l new experiences. I n f o r m a t i o n about t h e w o r l d should never become an end i n i t s e l f ; i t has t o have a r e l e v a n t meaning f o r t h e l e a r n e r .

Such relevance i s a r e s u l t

o f p a s t experience w i t h c u r r e n t i n t e r e s t by way o f involvement w i t h d e s i r e d ends and a v a i l a b l e means.

F.

Jean P i a g e t P i a g e t i s n o t f o r m a l l y an educator.

He i s p r i m a r i l y concerned

w i t h t h e psychology and p h y s i o l o g y o f l e a r n i n g .

H i s research method i s

t o observe c l o s e l y ; t o r e c o r d t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f a few s u b j e c t s over an extended p e r i o d o f time; and then t o search t h e m a t e r i a l f o r emerging patterns.

He has determined t h r e e major stages and f o u r substages o f

i n t e l l e c t u a l development, each o f which i s h i e r a r c h i c a l l y determined and c o n t i n g e n t upon physi 01o g i c a l devel opment. I n t e l l i g e n c e , i n t h e P i a g e t model, i s a process o f a d a p t a t i o n and o r g a n i z a t i o n . Adaptation i s seen as an e q u i l i b r i u m i n t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e organism and t h e environment. O r g a n i z a t i o n i n v o l v e s a s t r u c t u r a l concept c a l l e d t h e schema. P i a g e t d e f i n e s schemas as

e s s e n t i a l l y repeatable psychological u n i t s of i n t e l l i g e n t action. Schemas may best be interpreted as types of "programs" o r " s t r a t e g i e s " t h a t the individual has a t h i s disposal when i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h the envi ronment . Adaptation involves the two invariant processes of assimi l a t i on and accommodation. Assimilation i s the incorporati on of the envi ronment i n t o present patterns of behavior. Accommodation i s the change i n the i n t e l l e c t u a l s t r u c t u r e s (schemas) which i s necessary i n order f o r the person t o a d j u s t t o demands which the external environment makes on the individual .24 The parameters of these stages of adaptation a r e neither firmly fixed chronologically nor p a r a l l e l i n s t r u c t u r e .

An individual child

may reach the next stage e i t h e r e a r l i e r o r l a t e r than the general observation, or he may be advanced i n only c e r t a i n aspects of h i s development. The sensorimotor stage has been established as being from 0 t o 2 years. The next s t a g e , the preoperational, has two sub-categories: preconceptual thought ( 2 t o 4 years) and i n t u i t i v e thought ( 4 t o 7 y e a r s ) .

The t h i r d

stage, the operational, has two phases: concrete operational thought (7 t o 11 years) and formal operational thought (11 t o 16 y e a r s ) . During the sensorimotor stage the child i n t e r a c t s w i t h the environment basically through r e f l e x action.

He has no concept of time,

space, c a u s a l i t y , i n t e n t i o n a l i t y o r object permanence.

There i s no

apparent continuity of relationships established and there a r e no symbolic functions such as language.

These begin i n the next stage.

Preconceptual thought i s the stage during which imitative behaviour becomes apparent.

This pertains t o physical action and language usage.

24~dmundM. Sullivan, Piaget and the School Curriculum--a C r i t i c a l A ~ o r a i s a l (Ontario: The Ontario I n s t i t u t e f o r Studies i n Education, E?~EGXNO. 2, 1967), pp. 2-3.

32 Memory develops t o t h e p o i n t o f i m i t a t i n g absent persons o r t h e i r sounds and a c t i o n s .

The w o r l d o f t h e c h i l d now begins t o expand beyond t h e

h o r i z o n of immediate sensory p e r c e p t i o n o f p a r t i c u l a r s

.

During t h e substage o f i n t u i t i v e thought more than one aspect o f a problem can be comprehended a t one time.

For example, i n t h e conserva-

t i o n o f volume experiment l i k e volumes o f l i q u i d are poured i n t o cont a i n e r s o f various shapes.

The f o u r y e a r o l d c h i l d w i l l focus on one

aspect such as t h e comparative h e i g h t o f t h e l i q u i d s and c l a i m t h e higher l e v e l t o i n d i c a t e greater quantity.

As he matures towards t h e

o p e r a t i o n a l stage, he w i l l consider b o t h t h e h e i g h t and w i d t h o f t h e cont a i n e r and a l s o remember t h a t t h e l i q u i d s were measured equal a t the start.

Handling t h e t h r e e aspects he w i l l consider t h e amounts t o remain

t h e same regardless o f t h e shape o f t h e c o n t a i n e r . Between t h e ages o f 7 and 11 t h e r e develop f o u r operations which enable t h e c h i l d t o become more adept i n h a n d l i n g a b s t r a c t ideas ; v i z . , combinativi t y , r e v e r s i b i l i ty, a s s o c i a t i v i t y and i d e n t i t y . a)

C o m b i n a t i v i t y i s an o p e r a t i o n whereby two classes may be combined i n t o one comprehensive class which embraces them b o t h

b)

R e v e r s i b i l i t y i s an o p e r a t i o n whereby every l o g i c a l o r mathematic a l o p e r a t i o n can be cancelled by an opposite o p e r a t i o n By r e v e r s i b i lit y d i v i s i o n i s t h e converse o f mu1t i p 1 ic a t i on.

c)

A s s o c i a t i v i t y i s an o p e r a t i o n whereby several classes a r e combined. I t makes no d i f f e r e n c e which w i l l be combined f i r s t (e.g., [a+b] + c = a + [ b t c ] )

...

...

.

d)

I d e n t i t y i s an o p e r a t i o n whereb combining i t w i t h i t s opposite.

a q u a n t i t y can be n u l l i f i e d by

15

33 During t h e stage o f formal o p e r a t i o n a l thought t h e c h i l d breaks away from concrete and a c t i o n - o r i e n t e d thought t o deal w i t h a b s t r a c t concepts i n a hy p o t h e t i c o - d e d u c t i ve reasoning

.

Verbal l y posed problems,

a t t h e beginning o f t h i s stage, cannot be s o r t e d o u t and dea 1t w i t h , b u t t h e a b i l i t y deve l o p s as t h e stage progresses. There are f o u r f a c t o r s which P i a g e t o u t l i n e d as being i m p o r t a n t f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e f o r e g o i n g stages.

The f i r s t i s

m a t u r a t i o n and i s based upon t h e h i e r a r c h i c a l p r o g r e s s i o n through t h e stages o f cogni ti ve development

.

Each stage , begi n n i ng w i t h t h e sensori -

motor, i s t h e b a s i s f o r t h e n e x t stage and may be i n f l u e n c e d by t h e e n v i r onment o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l

.

Therefore t h e r e i s no f i x e d r a t e o f p r o g r e s s i o n .

The second f a c t o r i s p h y s i c a l exper i e n c e which i s t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e c h i l d w i t h h i s p h y s i c a l environment

.

R e p e t i t i o n i s t h e keynote

and leads t o t h e establishment o f o b j e c t permanence schemas.

"The develop-

ment o f concrete o p e r a t i o n a l thought i s s a i d t o occur through t h e manipul a t i o n o f concrete o b j e c t s and t h e i n t e r n a l i z a t i o n o f these m a n i p u l a t i o n s . The t h i r d f a c t o r i s s o c i a l experience and i s t h e r e s u l t o f s o c i a l interaction.

This i n v o l v e s a s h i f t i n emphasis from e g o c e n t r i c t o s o c i o -

c e n t r i c modes o f thought.

As t h e c h i l d becomes more aware of h i s peer

groups, r u l e s begin t o become f l e x i b l e i n games and r e s p e c t i s b o t h given and sought by p a r t i c i p a n t s .

The language mode changes from monologue t o

d i a l o g u e w i t h i n d i v i d u a l s and groups. The f o u r t h f a c t o r i s e q u i l i b r a t i o n which i s t h e b a l a n c i n g o f assimi l a t i o n and accommodation.

"The concept o f e q u i l i b r a t i o n i s d e f i n e d as

a p r o g r e s s i v e i n t e r i o r o r g a n i z a t i o n o f m a t e r i a l i n a s tep-wise f a s h i o n .

,127

11

26

G.

Imp1 i cations f o r Science Teaching The foregoing has shown a brief historical background f o r the

current trend i n science teaching which has developed in the following manner.

When the ideas of the historical persons are juxtaposed i t i s

found t h a t the keyword throughout has been "experience" with emphasis upon a graduation of conceptual material from concrete t o abstract. I n t r i n s i c in t h i s process of children's cognitive development i s the physical maturing of pupils and the dexterity involving small muscle control

. The manner in which one uses and i s used by his environment i s

the basis f o r his cognitive processes.

The social and e x i s t e n t i a l envir-

onments are s o intertwined as t o be a single conjoint influence.

I f the

associ atton of environment and experiences i s a routine adaptation in the framework of habit, or one so familiar as t o require no concentrated thought, there i s merely recognition of previous experience.

I f , how-

ever, the past experiences are widely varied and numerous, the chances of a synergetic relationship are increased; t h a t i s , a relationship which i s worth more than merely the sum of the components.

I f combinations of

experiences can be applied to a present situation there i s again an increase.

I t can be realized, then, t h a t in the case of divergent

thinking , the permutations and combinations of past experiences wi t h present situations can more readily be expressed as exponential, because i n any one thought there are the results of many past experiences, both concrete and abstract.

The s u i t a b i l i t y of action i s determined solely on

the determination of an 'end in view, which i s i t s e l f a means f o r further inquiry.

35 When considering the context of science teaching, the obvious approach i s via an experimental method.

Such a method has been developed

by several companies and research groups and i s available in the form of "kits" which provide materials f o r concept learning.

Materials are

provided f o r experimentation with a minimum of guidance.

Any guidance,

theoretically, should be by questioning technique which wi 11 lead the pupil on t o the desired r e s u l t by way of a new inquiry.

His investiga-

tiorls are limited by virtue of the equipment a t his disposal, b u t the interaction of pupil, material, classmates, and i n s t r u c t o r , o f f e r h i m many opportunities f o r varied approaches t o any one problem.

Granted,

the problem i s superimposed, b u t the divergency of approaches t o a solution are as varied as the pupil makes them.

The materials provided are

analogous to Froebel Is g i f t s , Montessori 's didactic materials, and Dewey's things. Froebel Is g i f t s were seriated t o accommodate the transition from concrete t o abstract. They became increasingly d i f f i c u l t and manipulatory as the series progressed.

Ultimately they led t o a c t i v i t i e s out of

doors f o r a relationship t o be established with the world as a whole. I t was Montessori Is contention t h a t a child, given the materials necessary f o r the discovery of a principle (and only those materials necessary), would through the process of induction, come upon the revel ation himself.

I t i s interesting to note that Montessori and Piaget

agree implicitly in the respect that Piaget has recorded an apparent timetable of cognitive growth patterns which must be experienced by each child, and Montessori never pushed o r hurried a child t o learn the

36 lesson h e l d i n h e r d i d a c t i c m a t e r i a l s because they were n o t ready f o r i t

i f they d i d n o t unlock t h e s e c r e t themselves. Dewey s a i d t h a t

". . . a n a l y s i s

and rearrangement o f f a c t s which

i s indispensable t o t h e growth, knowledge and power o f e x p l o r a t i o n and r i g h t c l a s s i f i c a t i o n cannot be a t t a i n e d p u r e l y m e n t a l l y - - j u s t i n s i d e t h e head.

do something t o t h e t h i n g s Men have t o -

. . . ."28

T h i s doing i s

i n t h e form o f l a b o r a t o r y work where c o n d i t i o n s may be a l t e r e d , and t h e r e i s a concomitant l e a r n i n g w i t h t h e d o i n g

.

Furthermore, Dewey recognized

t h a t t h i s "doing" must be a t an age young enough f o r t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l aspects o f t h e experience t o be s i g n i f i c a n t . The philosophy o f t h e science program c u r r e n t l y b e i n g phased i n t o B r i t i s h Columbia schools i s as f o l l o w s .

Two elements o f l e a r n i n g a r e o f

prime concern: t h e processes and t h e e f f e c t i v e knowledge.

The processes

i n science, o f course, should f o l l o w t h e phases o f s c i e n t i f i c method. These phases i n c l u d e observing , q u e s t i o n i n g , t e s t i n g , measuri ng , forming conclusions and p r e d i c t i n g , among o t h e r s .

Chi 1dren do these t h i n g s

n a t u r a l l y and i t i s t h e j o b o f t h e science teacher t o o r d e r these, along w i t h "meaningful" experiences.

The 1969 i s s u e o f t h e elementary science

c u r r i c u l u m guide suggests t h a t d e f i n i t e a t t e n t i o n should be p a i d t o a l l o w i n g p u p i l s t o use, and r e a l i z e by using, t h e c r e a t i v e processes i n v o l v e d i n a r r i v i n g a t s c i e n t i f i c knowledge. There a r e c e r t a i n premises which u n d e r l i e t h e modern approach t o elementary school science. 2 8 ~ o h nDewey, Democracy and Education ( 4 t h p r i n t i n g ; New York: The MacMillan Company, 1964), p. 275.

...

a)

Every pupi 1 l e a r n s b e s t when F i r s t hand him t o use. stand r e l a t i o n s h i p s , t o make t o develop resourcefulness. i m p o r t a n t than t h e t h i n g s he

b)

The experiences of t h e p u p i l as he attempts t o f i n d t h i n g s o u t a r e o f t e n more i m p o r t a n t than what he d i s c o v e r s . There are manv ways o f i n q u i r y i k t o t h e n a t u r e o f t h i n g s , and t h e more oppor- * t u n i ty each p u p i l has o f p u r s u i n g i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n d i v e r s e ways, t h e r i c h e r h i s experience w i l l be

...

real things are available f o r experiences h e l p t h e p u p i l t o undera p p l i c a t i o n s , t o a c q u i r e s k i 11s and HOW t h e p u p i l l e a r n s t h i n g s i s more learns.

...

c)

P u p i l s w i l l e x p l o r e b o t h e x t e n s i v e l y and i n t e n s i v e l y and unpred i c t a b l y . They do n o t n o r m a l l y recognize t r a d i t i o n a l s u b j e c t boundaries

...

Furthermore, t h e r a p i d l y a c c e l e r a t i n g pace o f t h e knowledge e x p l o s i o n makes i t i m p r a c t i c a l t o i n s i s t t h a t t h e mere l e a r n i n g o f f a c t s i n some predetermined f a s h i o n i s an e s s e n t i a l p a r t o f a science education

...

d)

As f a r as p o s s i b l e " t h e i n t e r e s t o f i n d i v i d u a l p u p i l s and groups o f pupi 1s should determine science a c t i v i t i e s . " The i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and d i s c o v e r i e s which t h e p u p i l s w i l l make can then be as e x c i t i n g as they were t o t h e o r i g i n a l s c i e n t i s t s

...

e)

The teacher supports w i t h wise p l a n n i n g t h e p u p i l s ' attempts t o understand t h e n a t u r e o f t h e w o r l d , f o r " i n q u i r y - c e n t e r e d science n e c e s s i t a t e s a new r o l e f o r t h e teacher t h a t i s , i n many ways, f a r more d i f f i c u l t and complex than t h a t o f t h e teacher who wishes simply t o i m p a r t i n f o r m a t i o n . " The teacher provides t h e m a t e r i a1s and organizes t h e classroom t o encourage t h e p u p i l s working w i t h t h e m a t e r i a l s

...

The teacher creates a l e a r n i n g s i t u a t i o n i n which t h e p u p i l looks t o him f o r guidance and encouragement, b u t n o t f o r answers.

A good teacher makes maximum use o f d i v e r g e n t r a t h e r than convergent questions. The former serve as a p o i n t o f d e p a r t u r e f o r c r i t i c a l t h i n k i n g . They l e a d pupi 1s i n t o e x p l o r a t o r y a c t i v i t i e s t o t e s t t h e f r u i t f u l n e s s o f t h e i r ideas .29 I t i s c l e a r l y e v i d e n t then, t h a t t h e attempt t o c r e a t e successful

science students i s v i a a d i v e r g e n t approach.

The m a t e r i a1 i s t o be

"~ ementary l Science, Years 1-7, P r o v i nce o f B r i t i sh Col umbi a, Department o f Education, D i v i s i o n o f Curriculum, V i c t o r i a , 1969, pp. 3-4.

38

concrete and the approach i s t o be divergent.

The question remains

whether or not the successful pupils handle the situation in a divergent manner. In order t o provide an answer f o r t h i s question one must look into the area of c r e a t i v i t y and i t s relationship t o science learning. The new science program i s h i s t o r i c a l l y and theoretically soundly based according t o the educators and researchers already cited.

The next

chapter i s devoted t o c r e a t i v i t y and i t s relationship t o science educati on.

CHAPTER I11 CREATIVITY AND STUDIES RELATED TO SCIENCE LEARNING A.

Creativity The d e f i n i t i o n of c r e a t i v i t y varies from one w r i t e r t o another,

and a1 though a1 1 agree upon some c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , complete unanimity has not y e t been reached. Taylor and Holland 1 give c r e d i t t o J . P . Gui l f o r d f o r the l i s t of a number of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which a r e generally accepted by other researchers. ings of i n t e l lectual

These c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a r e l i s t e d under the head-

, motivational

and personality c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

Intel lectual Originality - s t a t i s t i c a l unusualness ; Redefinition - readiness t o give up old i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of t h e familiar; Adaptive F l e x i b i l i t y - unusual solutions when fami 1i a r ones f a i 1 ; Spontaneous Flexi bi l i t y - freedom from categorization , movement from one t o another readily; Associ a t i onal Fluency - many meanings , synonyms readi l y avai lable ; Word Fluency - a b i l i t y t o produce words containing s p e c i f i c l e t t e r combinations ; Ideati onal Fluency - produci ng c e r t a i n idea requi rements i n 1imi ted times ; Elaboration - addition of minor s t e p s ; Evaluation - r e a l i z i n g worth of a solution r e l a t i v e t o the s i t u a t i o n and i t s l i m i t a t i o n s . Moti vati onal Curiosity

-

capacity t o be puzzled;

' ~ a vi l n W . Taylor, John Hol 1and, "Predictors of Creative Performance," Creativity: Progress and P o t e n t i a l , ed. by Calvin W. Taylor (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., l964), p . 19.

,

Intellectually persistent - desires closure of a problem; Tolerant of ambiguity - tenuous re1 ationshi ps tolerated; I n i t i a t i v e - enterprising; Cognition - 1i kes reflective and divergent thinking.

...

He has an inner need f o r recognition; he needs variety and autonomy; he has a preference f o r complex order and challenges therei n ; he has an e s t h e t i c and t o some extent, religious orientation; he r e s i s t s premature closure and crystal 1 ization of concepts, though he has a strong need f o r ultimate closure; he desires a mastery of a problem; he finds chall engi ng , the i ntel lectual ordering of the apparently unclassifiable; and he wants to improve upon currently accepted orders and systems. The use of passional sources of energy and kinesthetic cues may be important .2 Personality There i s some evidence t h a t creative persons are more s e l f s u f f i c i e n t , more independent i n judgement, more open t o the irrational in themselves , more s tab1 e , more feminine in i nteres t s and characteri s t i c s , (especially in awareness of t h e i r impulses), more dominant and self-assertive, more complex, more s e l f accepting, more resourceful and adventurous, more radical (Bohemian) , more self-control led, and possibly more emotionally s e n s i t i v e , and more introverted b u t bold .3 These, and other t r a i t s of the creative person, have been assembled into various forms of definitions w i t h regard t o the process and the product.

Usually creativity i s known by the results of a process t h a t i s not

often evident. This r e s u l t i s recognized as something unique, something imaginative and possessing excellence. John L . Holland said the creative person i s depicted as

". . .

independent, complex in outlook, curious, self-assured, intellectual , interested i n science and a r t , and generally e f f e c t i v e . ~ ' ~He stated further t h a t creative performance

". . . seems

t o be the outcome of a conscious

4 ~ o h nL . Hol land, "Creative and Academic Performance Among Talented Adolescents," Journal of Educational Psycho1 ogy , 1961 , Vol . 52, No. 3 , p. 137.

conception o f being o r i g i n a l

, active

p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n c r e a t i v e hobbies ,

and reinforcement by parents who possess values and a t t i t u d e s which appear t o be conducive t o such performance. 11 5 E. Paul Torrance has u t i l i z e d t h e f o l l o w i n g d e f i n i t i o n as t h e b a s i s f o r h i s research i n c r e a t i v i t y .

It i s

...

a process o f becoming s e n s i t i v e t o problems, d e f i c i e n c i e s , gaps i n knowledge, m i s s i n g elements, disharmonies, and so on: i d e n t i f y i n g t h e d i f f i c u l t y ; searching f o r s o l u t i o n s , making guesses o r f o r m u l a t i n g hypotheses about t h e d e f i c i e n c i e s ; t e s t i n g and r e t e s t i n g these hypotheses and p o s s i b l y m o d i f y i n g and r e t e s t i n g them; and f i n a l l y communicating t h e r e s u l t s .6 Robert Thomson out1 i n e d f o u r steps which r e s u l t e d from c r e a t i v i t y research done by C. P a t r i c k .

The steps are:

Preparation. Here t h e s u b j e c t makes h i m s e l f f a m i l i a r w i t h h i s s i t u a t i on and materi a1s ; Incubation. The problem begins t o be defined. and fragments o f t h e f i n a l product appear;

Suggestions occur,

I l l u m i n a t i o n . A s p e c i f i c goal i s envisaged and t h e s u b j e c t begins t o work towards i t . V e r i f i c a t i o n . The r e s u l t s are worked o u t f u l l y , r e v i s e d , a1 tered, completed. ( T e s t i n g - - i n t h e case o f hypothesis) .7 Many authors and researchers use t h e terms d i v e r g e n t and convergent r a t h e r than c r e a t i v e and non-creative, b u t these terms are n o t

6 ~ Paul . Torrance, Torrance Tests o f C r e a t i v e Thinking, NormsTechnical Manual, Research E d i t i o n (Princeton, New Jersey: Personnel Press Inc., 1966), p. 6. 7 ~ o b e r tThomson, The Psychology o f T h i n k i n g ( B a l t i m o r e ; Penguin Books, 1964), p. 189.

completely synonymous. Psychology has generally adopted the use of the term creative.

Liam Hudson says, "Whatever the logical connection be-

tween convergence or divergence and original i ty , psycho1 ogi s t s are prone to view the topics as one and the same.

Many psychologists, particularly

American ones, see the diverger as potentially creative and the converger as potentially uncreative.l18 J . P . White9 argues t h a t the c r e a t i v i t y of a g i r l with crayons and a drawing pad, a boy devising uses f o r bricks, a child learning mathematics i n school and s c i e n t i s t s 1 i ke Einstein and novelists l i k e Dostoevsky have no c r e a t i v i t y in common except the word.

B u t the meaning of t h i s word i s not a mysterious inner process. In f a c t i t has no one meaning in these d i f f e r e n t examples, b u t a number of meanings, with j u s t enough in common between them t o make i t plausi b l e , though confusing, t o apply the same word t o a1 1 four cases -10 White continued that creative thinking i s not a peculiar type of t h i n k i n g t h a t has features differing from other types of thinking.

"Creative" i s

merely a label given t o the public products and not t o the process which i s private and not publicly observable.

The persons responsible f o r the

products are label led "creative" by virtue of t h e i r achievements. To find what the creative process i s in s c i e n t i f i c discovery, one must turn t o recognized s c i e n t i s t s and t h e i r reflections upon the matter, and writers who have investigated the problem in depth. 8 ~ami Hudson, Contrary Imaginations (New York: Schocken Books, 1966), p. 100.

'5. P . White. "Creativity and Educati on: A Phi 1osophi cal Analysis ," Jane R . arti in (ed. j , Readings i n the Phi losophy of ducat ion: A Study of Curriculum (Boston: Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1970), p p . 122-137.

Wartofsky generally agrees with the previous s tatements t h a t there

m u s t be familiarity with the subject matter and the a b i l i t y t o ultimately abstract t h a t which i s sensually perceived. The 'abstractions' which perception achieves a t t h i s l e v e l , we may say, are not yet detached from actual perceptual situations themselves, nor are they represented in some e x p l i c i t symbol apart from d i r e c t responses to envi ronmental stimuli . Perceptual 'abstracti on ' i s a t best a way of operating within perceptual experience, in actual perceptual situations. Memory and imagination take us a step beyond actual , relatively d i r e c t perceptual involvement. In e f f e c t , we detach the perceptual image from d i r e c t outward sensory or motor a c t i v i t y . Thus imagination and memory provide a kind of isolation from the flux and press of sensory discrimination and response. B u t both memory and imagination are s t i 11 tied t o the d i r e c t imagery of sense perception, even when t h i s imagery appears i n fanciful o r distorted form. The memory image, or the imagined image, may be vivid o r f a i n t , vague and confused, o r clear and d i s t i n c t ; b u t i t remains bound t o the sensor qualities of colors, shapes, sounds, f e e l s , smells, and so on.1

f

He continued t h a t the level of abstraction of the memory image yields a greater possi bi 1i t y f o r mani pulati on of the abstractions and symbols until a desirable conclusion has been reached f o r explanation and communication.

He l i s t s s i x advantages of t h i s as a method.

a ) Conceptual representation in a 1anguage i s economi cal ; b) The detachment of the conceptual representation from d i r e c t perception and action permits the reflection on ends and means and introduces the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of judgement and rational choice; c) The conceptual model i s time-binding (memory allows stop action review of events f o r examination) ; d)

Implicit habits or learned patterns of action become explicated as rules or plans which can come under conscious scrutiny and criticism;

' ~ a r xW . Wartofsky, Conceptual Foundations of S c i e n t i f i c T h o u g h t (New York: The MacMi 11an Company, 1968) , pp . 35-36.

e)

E x p l i c i t r u l e s o f c o n t r a d i c t i o n and consistency emerge w i t h t h e development o f r a t i o n a l discourse.

f)

Explanation o r understanding o f t h e 'why' o f t h i n g s r e s t s on knowledge by means o f concepts . I 2 Beveridge went a l i t t l e f u r t h e r when he s a i d :

Emotional sensi t i v i ty i s perhaps a v a l u a b l e a t t r i b u t e f o r a s c i e n t i s t t o possess. I n any event t h e g r e a t s c i e n t i s t must be regarded as a c r e a t i v e a r t i s t and i t i s q u i t e f a l s e t o t h i n k o f t h e s c i e n t i s t as a man who merely f o l l o w s r u l e s o f l o g i c and experiment. Some o f t h e masters o f t h e a r t o f research have d i s p l a y e d a r t i s t i c t a l e n t s i n o t h e r d i r e c t i ons . I 3 He then o u t l i n e d t h e biography o f several s c i e n t i s t s and t h e i r t a l e n t s , such as E i n s t e i n and Planck who were musicians, Pasteur who was a p a i n t e r , and Bernard who was a p l a y w r i g h t

his el in'^

.

has c o l l e c t e d t h e comments on c r e a t i v e s t y l e and func-

t i o n i n g from many recognized people i n v a r i o u s f i e l d s ranging from t h e a r t s t o mathematics

.

Henri p o i ncar6 described h i s process o f mathemati c a l

d i s c o v e r y as c o n t a i n i n g several d i s t i n c t steps.

F i r s t t h e r e was a pro-

longed p e r i o d o f i n t e n s e involvement w i t h a problem. period, e i t h e r l o n g e r o r s h o r t e r than t h e o r i g i n a l a c t i v i t y d i v o r c e d from t h e problem.

, or

Then t h e r e came a r e 1a x a t i on o r

During t h i s second stage t h e r e would

o f t e n be sudden i n s i g h t i n t o t h e problem worked upon.

Then t h e r e was t h e

f i n a l stage o f a second p e r i o d o f c o n c e n t r a t i o n t o work o u t and e x p l a i n t h e i n s i g h t gained d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f r e l a x a t i o n . 121bid., pp. 37-38. 13w. I. B. Beveridge, The A r t o f S c i e n t i f i c I n v e s t i g a t i o n (New York: Vintage Books, 1957), p. 102. l 4 ~ r e w s t e rG h i s e l i n (ed.) Mentor, 1959).

, The

C r e a t i v e Process ( C a l i f o r n i a :

There are s l i g h t variations from t h i s pattern i n his experience, b u t the essence i s the same.

In his own words, he says:

Most striking a t f i r s t i s t h i s appearance of sudden illumination, a manifest sign of long, unconscious prior work. The role of t h i s unconsci ous work i n mathemati cal i nventi on appears t o me i ncontes table, and traces of i t would be found in other cases where i t i s less evident. Often when one works a t a hard question, nothing good i s accomplished a t the f i r s t attack. Then one takes a r e s t , longer or shorter, and s i t s down anew a t the work. During the f i r s t halfhour, as before, nothing i s found, and then a l l of a sudden the dedisive idea presents i t s e l f t o the mind. I t m i g h t be said t h a t the conscious work has been more f r u i t f u l because i t has been interrupted and the r e s t has given back t o the mind i t s force and freshness. B u t i t i s more probable t h a t t h i s r e s t has been f i l l e d out with u n conscious work and t h a t the r e s u l t of t h i s work has afterward revealed i t s e l f t o the geometer j u s t as in the cases I have c i t e d ; only the revelati on, instead of coming during a walk or a journey, has happened during a period of conscious work, b u t independently of t h i s work which plays a t most a role of excitant, as i f i t were the goad stimul a t i ng the results a1 ready reached during r e s t , b u t remaini n g unconscious , t o assume the conscious form.15 The period of r e s t he speaks of i s nothing other than a period where the unconscious, as he puts i t , i s freed t o work in a divergent manner. The combinations of ideas seem t o go on automatically, the s t e r i l e ones are rejected b u t the useful o r synergetic combinations impinge themselves upon the conscious mind t o be recognized and worked out. In response t o research being done by Jacques Hadamard on the question of the psychology involved in mathematical invention, Albert Einstein reported the following t o be his experience: The words or the language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem t o play any role in my mechanism of thought. The psychical e n t i t i e s which seem t o serve as elements in thought are certain signs

and more o r l e s s c l e a r images which can ' v o l u n t a r i l y ' be reproduced and combined

.

There i s , o f course, a c e r t a i n connection between those elements and r e l e v a n t l o g i c a l concepts. I t i s a l s o c l e a r t h a t t h e d e s i r e t o a r r i v e f i n a l l y a t l o g i c a l l y connected concepts i s the emotional b a s i s o f t h i s r a t h e r vague p l a y w i t h t h e above-mentioned elements. B u t taken from a psychological viewpoint, t h i s combinatory p l a y seems t o be t h e e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r e i n p r o d u c t i v e thought--before t h e r e i s any connection w i t h l o g i c a l c o n s t r u c t i o n i n words o r o t h e r k i n d s o f signs which can be communicated t o others . I 6 Again t h e emphasis i s on a "combinatory p l a y " o r a d i v e r g e n t thought process.

For f u r t h e r v e r i f i c a t i o n o f t h i s phenomenon, t h e w r i t e r

i n t e r v i e w e d Rand C o l l i n s , a s t u d e n t c u r r e n t l y completing h i s Master's t h e s i s on a study o f t h e conformation o f p r o t e i n s u s i n g a n u c l e a r magnetic resonance method. images.

H i s responses i n d i c a t e t h a t he i s a v i s u a l i z e r o f

He began w i t h t h e experimental stage and recounted t h a t when t h e

r e s u l t s o f an experiment were before him he attempted t o e x p l a i n them.

In cases where t h e problem appeared simple and s t r a i g h t - f o r w a r d , t h e exp l a n a t i o n was worked o u t immediately.

I n more d i f f i c u l t cases t h e c r i t e r -

i o n appeared t o be r e l a x a t i o n i n the form o f sleep.

I f he gained a good

t e n hours o f sleep he would o f t e n awake w i t h an i n s i g h t o r a s o l u t i o n t o t h e problem.

I f he gained o n l y seven o r so hours o f sleep, t h e r e s o l u t i o n

o f t h e problem was delayed u n t i l d u r i n g t h e work o f t h e n e x t day.

It

would appear t h a t i n h i s case t h e r e i s a c r i t i c a l p e r i o d o f r e s t r e q u i r e d where t h e unconscious has t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o manipulate t h e p e r t i n e n t d a t a f o r r e l e v a n t and meaningful r e l a t i o n s h i p s t o be e s t a b l i s h e d .

D. E. Wooldridge says of t h e b r a i n f u n c t i o n i t s e l f : The development and employment of complex concepts doubtless i s b a s i c t o most i n t e l l e c t u a l a c t i v i t y . This must be e s p e c i a l l y t r u e of c r e a t i v e thought. I n t h i s connection t h e r e may be p a r t i c u l a r s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e f e a t u r e o f o u r p o s t u l a t e d storage mechanism whereby the a c t i v a t i o n of one s t o r e d memory p a t t e r n lowers t h e t h r e s h o l d o f a l l o t h e r p a t t e r n s c o n t a i n i n g s i m i l a r sensory c o n t e n t . An e s s e n t i a l i n g r e d i e n t of c r e a t i v e thought i s t h e a b i l i t y t o move q u i c k l y and e a s i l y from one concept t o a r e l a t e d one. I t seems poss i b l e t h a t t h e p r i n c i p a l d i f f e r e n c e between t h e c r e a t i v e and t h e uni m a g i n a t i v e i n d i v i d u a l i s simply t h a t t h e feedback o r o t h e r mechani sm i n v o l v e d i n t h i s t h r e s h o l d - l o w e r i n g process i s more e f f e c t i v e f o r t h e one than f o r the other.17 B.

Studies Related t o Science Learning Some research has been done w i t h r e l a t i o n t o t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f

the r o l e t h a t divergent t h i n k i n g o r c r e a t i v i t y plays i n the learning o f science i n t h e school s i t u a t i o n . ~ a study t o p r o v i d e evidence C l i n e , Richards and ~ e e d h a m ' conducted r e s p e c t i n g the v a l i d i t y o f c r e a t i v i t y t e s t s as p r e d i c t o r s o f performance i n h i g h school science.

T h e i r sample c o n s i s t e d o f 114 h i g h school s t u -

dents, 74 males and 40 females, i n S a l t Lake City, Utah.

The b a t t e r y o f

t e s t s used by them was more e x t e n s i v e than t h a t used i n t h e p r e s e n t study, b u t t h e same and s i m i l a r t e s t s were i n c l u d e d . t h e C a l i f o r n i a Mental M a t u r i t y I n v e n t o r y .

An I.Q.was e s t a b l i s h e d by

The c r e a t i v i t y t e s t s which

were s e l e c t e d f o r emphasis on I d e a t i o n a l Fluency t o reduce t h e f a c t o r i a l

" ~ e a n E. Wooldridge, The Machinery o f t h e B r a i n (New York: McGrawH i l l Book Co. Inc., 1963), p. 225. 1 8 v i c t o r B. C l i n e , James M. Richards, Walter E. Needham, 'Creativi t y Tests and Achievement i n High School Science," Journal o f Applied Psychology, 1963, Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 184-189.

48

complexity of the battery, were developed by 3. P. Guilford.

They in-

cluded consequences, Word Association, Hidden Figures, Brick Uses and Match Problems. There were five c r i t e r i a established as relevant t o achievement in high school science. 4.00

A, 3.00

=

=

The f i r s t was grade point average, based on

B , 2.00 = C , 1.00 = D .

The second criterion was the

score obtained on a "Sequential Test f o r Educational Progress (S .T . E . P .) Science Achievement Test."

This was obtained from the student f i l e s .

The third criterion was a teacher rating of the overall performance of each student as compared t o a hundred randomly selected science students. These scores were adjusted so the highest score possible was one hundred. The fourth criterion was the number of science courses taken up t o the time the data were collected.

The f i f t h criterion was based upon infor-

mation obtained from research done by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation, and included student responses to a question on involvement i n science

.

The results of t h e i r study indicated clearly that the c r e a t i v i t y battery does have

...

considerable predictive validity against each of the c r i t e r i a f o r each of the sexes, and that the c r e a t i v i t y t e s t s do account f o r a substantial amount of c r i t e r i o n variance in addition t o t h a t accounted f o r by the I .Q. t e s t . Furthermore, on a l l five c r i t e r i a f o r males and two of the f i v e c r i t e r i a f o r females the multiple correlation f o r the creativity battery i s higher than the f i r s t order validity t e s t s of the I .Q. t e s t and on the remaining three c r i t e r i a f o r female the c r e a t i v i t y battery predicts almost as well as the I.Q. t e s t . 9

T

49

A study was done by Cropley and ~ i e l d * ' and was concerned with

the question of whether high achievers differed markedly from low achievers in science, in terms of s t y l e rather than level of i n t e l l e c t .

Their

battery of t e s t s was administered t o a l l Fifth and Sixth Form students of two high schools in large country towns i n New South Wales, Australia. A t o t a l of 178 students included 104 boys and 74 g i r l s

.

The series of t e s t s included a standardized t e s t of science achievement designed specifically f o r Australian students a t t h i s level.

An I .Q. rating was obtained. were then given.

Four t e s t s involving intellectual s t y l e

They included o r i g i n a l i t y , and flexi bi1 i t y , both

designed by E . P . Torrance, category width, designed by T . F . Pettigrew, and a t e s t on the abstractness of intellectual functioning designed by

R. P . Tisher a f t e r those of Jean Piaget. The standard t e s t s were scored according t o the published specif i c a t i o n s , while the originality and f l e x i b i l i t y ratings were weighted according t o those of the designer and again by Cropley.

The Tisher t e s t

scores were based upon the students being predominantly concrete, early formal o r l a t e formal in t h e i r s t y l e of responses.

The results include

product-moment i ntercorrel a t i ons , means, standard deviations f o r achievement, and I .Q. and s t y l e variables. The main finding was support for the idea t h a t "intellectual style: i s of importance in science achievement. 2 0 ~ .J . Cropley, T . W . Field, "Achievement i n Science and Intellectual Style ," Journal of Applied Psycho1 ogy , 1969, Vol 53, No. 2 , p p . 132-135.

.

The most successful science students in the present study were characterized by highly abstract and original thinking and by t h e i r characteristic ways of relating apparently discrepant data. These findings are consistent wi t h others based on scores of unusual ly successful undergraduate s c i e n t i s t s in an Australian university (Cropley , 1967b). In a longitudinal study covering the 4 years requi red f o r an undergraduate honors course in science, i t was shown that men graduating with honors came almost exclusively from among those who had been rated highly divergent in t h e i r s t y l e of thinking on entry t o the university 4 years previously.21 The data they gathered, however, did not show t h a t the relationship between intellectual s t y l e and achievement was peculiar t o the area of science. The same study was reported in another journal22 with a s l i g h t l y different emphasis upon the r e s u l t s . The processing of science information by pupils in the experimental sample has been shown t o be related t o a number of specific modes of cognitive functioning which, i t i s claimed, must be recognized by science teachers and curriculum writers i f pupi 1s are t o achieve opti mum understanding a t any given time .23

..

. In particular the conception of a specific science cognitive s t y l e appears t o have considerable merit. Finally, i t i s f e l t that classroom practice could benefit from a more detailed knowledge of each pupi l ' s preference in cognitive functioning .24 Another study , by ~ r a d l ,25 e ~ examined a1 ternati ve methods of teaching the physical science program in Michigan State University.

No

'*T. W . Field and A . J . Cropley, "Cognitive Style and Science Achievement," Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol 6 , 1969, pp. 2-10.

.

2 3 ~ b i d . ,p . 9.

2 5 ~ o b e r tL . Bradley, " ~ e c t u r eDemonstration versus Individual

51

reference was made t o c r e a t i v i t y o r cognitive s t y l e .

The two methods

were the lecture-demonstrati on presentation and the individual 1aboratory method.

The lecture-demonstration method was the experimental part of

the study where the instructor performed the experiments and lectured to the students. The other method involved the students in doing t h e i r own experiments.

The c r i t e r i o n of the final examination in the course was

based on the assumption t h a t i t adequately measured the objectives of the course. The population sampled was that enrolled in the course a t the time of the study and consisted of two groups with unequal numbers which were s t a t i s t i c a l ly equated.

There was no significant difference in the

a b i l i t y scores of the two groups as measured by the CQT-T scores established a t the time of enrollment a t the university. The instructors made no e f f o r t t o follow the same testing program during the term; one gave weekly ten minute quizzes while the other gave five one hour t e s t s

.

The outstanding r e s u l t of t h i s study i s t h a t the particular methods of teaching d i f f e r very l i t t l e as evidenced by student learning and retention, when the aims and objectives of the General Education Science are examined on the basis of a pencil and paper t e s t . . . . However, in so f a r as t h i s paper provides evidence, individual laboratory experience f o r the attainment of general education goals does not appear t o be necessary.26

Laboratory Work i n a General Education Science Course," The Journal of Experimental Education, Vol 34, No. 1, Fa1 1 , 1965, pp. 34-42.

.

52 I n summary, research i n t o c r e a t i v i t y and d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g versus convergent t h i n k i n g i n d i c a t e s t h a t t h e r e a r e v a r i o u s modes o f c o g n i t i v e functioning.

The methods f o r determining these v a r i o u s modes have met

w i t h a degree of success. The s t u d i e s i n v o l v i n g science l e a r n i n g and i n t e l l e c t u a l s t y l e have y i e l d e d a l e s s e r degree o f success i n c o r r e l a t i n g these two f a c t o r s . One of t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s i n t h i s may be t h e d i f f e r e n t age groups used i n t h e s t u d i e s and t h a t t h e i n t e l l e c t u a l s t y l e o f i n d i v i d u a l s changes w i t h m a t u r i t y , as suggested by P i a g e t . The s t u d i e s o f Cropley and F i e l d i n v o l v e b o t h i n t e l l e c t u a l s t y l e and science l e a r n i n g , and suggest t h a t a c r e a t i v e approach t o t h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r o f science would b e s t s u i t d i v e r g e n t t h i n k e r s .

.

et a1 suggests t h a t c r e a t i v i t y t e s t s have a The study o f C l i n e p r e d i c t i v e value i n pre-determining successful science s t u d e n t s .

This

f i n d i n g i s f u r t h e r backed by t h e l o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d y r e f e r r e d t o by Cropley and F i e l d . B r a d l e y ' s s t u d y u t i l i z e d a d i v e r g e n t and a convergent approach t o science teaching w i t h t h e two classes o f u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s .

He found

no d i f f e r e n c e i n t h e r e s u l t s based upon t h e c r i t e r i o n o f f i n a l examinati ons

. The combination o f these s t u d i e s suggests i t s e l f as an area f o r

research and t h i s s t u d y has combined them i n t h e f o l l o w i n g manner.

It

i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e use o f t e a c h i n g and l e a r n i n g i n b o t h t h e d i v e r g e n t and convergent methods and e s t a b l i s h e s degrees o f c r e a t i v i t y f o r t h e grade seven group i n v o l v e d .

CHAPTER I V DESCRIPTION AND DESIGN OF THE EXPERIMENT A.

Review o f Previous Teaching Method The p o p u l a t i o n used f o r t h i s research was t h a t comprising t h e

grade seven pupi 1s o f an elementary school.

During t h e i r previous two

years o f science they had been exposed almost e n t i r e l y t o an i n v e s t i g a t i v e approach t o science l e a r n i n g .

As k i t s and m a t e r i a l s became a v a i l a b l e ,

they were u t i l i z e d i n t h e school w i t h t h e c u r r e n t "Discovery Method" as o u t l i n e d i n t h e teacher guide books f o r t h e v a r i o u s k i t s .

As t h e k i t s

were n o t a v a i l a b l e i n g r e a t enough numbers f o r each school i n t h e d i s t r i c t t o have them f u l l time, some u n i t s were t a u g h t by t h e t r a d i t i o n a l methods. I n t h e case o f t h i s p o p u l a t i o n , t h e r e were f i v e u n i t s u t i l i z i n g k i t s and t h r e e u n i t s t a u g h t i n t h e i r grade s i x y e a r by t r a d i t i o n a l methods of l e c t u r e , reading t e x t s and demonstrations by t h e teacher.

- I n the

l a t t e r cases t h e p u p i l s reacted w i t h resentment a t n o t b e i n g allowed t o "experiment" i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y . The n a t u r e o f t h e k i t s i s such t h a t each c h i l d has equipment e i t h e r f o r himself o r f o r a group o f t h r e e o r f o u r .

The r e s u l t i s t h a t each

c h i l d a c t u a l l y manipulates t h e equipment and conducts experiments i n t h e laboratory setting.

The resentment mentioned stemmed from a change of

r o l e from " s c i e n t i s t " t o " p u p i l " and was expressed as such by many i n d i v i dual s

.

54 By the end o f t h e i r grade s i x year, t h e r e were enough k i t s avai lable t o p r o v i d e t h e experimental science approach f o r them on a continui n g basis. When t h e group entered grade seven, they d i d n o t have t h e same c l a s s make-up. However, t h e same p o p u l a t i o n remained w i t h few exceptions. The f i r s t u n i t o f t h e i r grade seven science y e a r was r e l a t i v e l y t r a d i t i o n a l due t o k i t m a t e r i a l being u n a v a i l a b l e .

The u n i t i n c l u d e d warm

and c o l d blooded animals and was based upon t e x t reading, questions on the chapters read, and p r i v a t e research on p a r t i c u l a r animals o f t h e i r own i n t e r e s t .

They were encouraged t o do f i e l d work w i t h cameras and t o

do t h e i r own photographic processing.

The p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e i r booklets,

and p r o j e c t s which r e s u l t e d from t h e i r research, took p l a c e d u r i n g t h e l a s t week o f September.

Both classes s t u d i e d t h e same u n i t .

On October Znd, 1970, b o t h classes were given t h e s e r i e s o f t h r e e d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g t e s t s (see Appendix B)

.

On October 6th, t h e Education-

*

a1 T e s t i n g Service General Science Test, Form A was given.

The f o l l o w -

i n g science lessons began t h e f i r s t phase o f t h i s research w i t h t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e new u n i t s .

The two classes, h e r e i n a f t e r r e f e r r e d t o

as D i v i s i o n I and D i v i s i o n 11, were t r e a t e d as separate and d i s t i n c t entities.

D i v i s i o n I r e c e i v e d t h e experimental approach t o l e a r n i n g

f i r s t w h i l e D i v i s i o n I1 was t a u g h t i n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l manner. science p e r i o d was o f e i g h t y minutes d u r a t i o n .

*

H e r e i n a f t e r r e f e r r e d t o as science t e s t A and B.

Each

B.

Teaching Procedure (see Appendix D) The school d i s t r i c t i n which t h i s research was done has a c e n t r a l

o f f i c e f o r t h e storage, replenishment and disbursement of science k i t s

.

I t proved impossible t o o b t a i n t h e "Gases and A i r s " k i t a t the two times

necessary f o r t h i s research, due t o another school having booked i t previously.

The u n i t used t o r e p l a c e i t was one d e a l i n g w i t h t h e p h y s i -

c a l s t a t e s of water, and i s described l a t e r i n more d e t a i l . The teaching methods used must be described a t t h i s p o i n t .

The

experimental, o r d i v e r g e n t approach, i n v o l v e s an a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n on the p a r t o f pupils.

Meaningful encounters w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e e n v i r o n -

mental phenomena a r e encouraged by t h e teacher.

Children are given the

o p p o r t u n i t y t o experience n a t u r a l phenomena i n a manner which i s persona l l y i m p o r t a n t f o r them.

The problems t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d are made s a l i e n t

by t h e teacher by v i r t u e o f apparent c o n t r a d i c t i o n w i t h what i s g e n e r a l l y

observed.

The c o n t r a d i c t i o n s a r e n o t e x p l a i n e d t o t h e p u p i l s , b u t are

i n v e s t i g a t e d by t h e pupi 1s i n t h e i r own manner and e x p l a i n e d by them i n t h e i r own terms.

When s u f f i c i e n t data has been gathered by a c l a s s ,

p a t t e r n s emerge which can be used as bases f o r f o r m u l a t i n g hypotheses and "1 aws

." Through t h i s method a conceptual framework i s g r a d u a l l y b u i l t .

It

i s one which d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e s t h e p u p i l and t h e r e f o r e i s p o r t a b l e t o s i t u a t i o n s o u t s i d e t h e classroom.

An example o f t h i s i s when t h e u n i t on

"Microgardening" ( t h e study of molds) was taken by t h e grade sevens, many parents complained, i n a good natured manner, t h a t t h e i r homes were being f i l l e d w i t h moldy a r t i c l e s as experiments b e i n g conducted t h e r e .

56 Simi 1arly , during the uni t of "Kitchen Physics" the home kitchen cupboards were ransacked in search of materials t o "experiment" with.

Several

g i r l s who had previously shown l i t t l e i n t e r e s t in science, related laboratory work with home chores in t h a t they "discovered" how detergents removed food and grease from dishes.

As a final example, some boys realized

why a car or bicycle t i r e i s heavier when inflated as a d i r e c t r e s u l t of doing the "Gases and Airs" u n i t .

A1 though t h i s i s not a problem directly

involved in the u n i t , the r e s u l t was obtained because the boys were encouraged t o follow t h e i r own l i n e of experimentation d u r i n g the u n i t presentation. The traditional approach t o science has been textbook oriented. The r e s u l t has been both limiting and r i g i d .

Chapters were assigned t o

be read, questions were given on the reading, and sometimes a demonstration of an experiment or a film was included.

Facts were the a l l important

core of the program and i f they were memorized by pupils, success was thought t o have been achieved.

Textbooks are a d i s t i l l a t i o n of hundreds

of years of observations, t r i a l s and e r r o r s , p u t i n t o p r i n t by experts who are not questioned by grade school pupils. All too often the teacher i s not knowledgeable in the science area and i s forced to rely upon a textbook.

In many such cases the science

lesson merely becomes a reading lesson with the possibility of attendant f r i l l s such as demonstrations.

Pupils learn t h a t science i s a school sub-

j e c t and often f a i l t o remove i t from t h a t abstract context and r e l a t e i t t o everyday 1i f e situations

.

The unit of "Astronomy" was particularly suited t o presentation by

57 the t r a d i t i o n a l method.

Diagrams, f a c t s , f i g u r e s , mathematical r e l a t i o n -

ships and formulae were u t i l i z e d .

The p u p i l s were t a u g h t i n a r e g u l a r

classroom where the seats were arranged f a c i n g t h e f r o n t i n rows.

Some

demonstrations were given, i n t h e form of shadow c a s t i n g and measurement. The u n i t presented t o D i v i s i o n I was "Gases and A i r s " designed and produced by t h e Elementary Science Study (E.S.S.)

.

The m a t e r i a l s

were given t o groups which were formed by t h e p u p i l s themselves, and no group had more than f i v e members.

Cupboard space was a l l o c a t e d and each

s e t o m a t e r i a l s was l a b e l e d w i t h t h e names o f t h e group members.

Each

piece o f equipment was checked a g a i n s t a master l i s t t o ensure completeness

.

The r e s t o f t h e p e r i o d was given t o f r e e i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i t h t h e

mater a l s . The second science p e r i o d began w i t h a demonstration and l e f t t h e c l a s s w i t h t h r e e questions.

They were shown how t o s e t up t h e apparatus

f o r the "Burning-Candle" experiment, how i t was t o be c a r r i e d out, and how t o r e p e a t i t . The burning-candle experiment i s one i n which a candle i s f i x e d u p r i g h t i n a shallow t r a y o f water.

The candle i s then l i t and a j a r o r

s i m i l a r c o n t a i n e r i s i n v e r t e d over t h e candle so t h e open end i s below t h e s u r f a c e o f t h e water.

The flame on t h e candle i s g r a d u a l l y e x t i n -

guished and water r i s e s i n t h e c o n t a i n e r . They were l e f t w i t h these questions: ( a ) "Why does t h e candle go out?" (b) "Why does the water r i s e i n t h e tube?" ( c ) "Does t h e water r i s e the same amount each time?". From t h i s p o i n t each lesson was conducted i n a s i m i l a r manner.

58 During t h e science periods, i n d i v i d u a l a t t e n t i o n was g i v e n t o p u p i l quest i o n s and problems.

I n t h i s way the group was more o r l e s s kept t o g e t h e r

w i t h regard t o techniques t o be learned, and exposure t o new experimental p o s s i b i l i t i e s as m o t i v a t i o n s f o r more i n v e s t i g a t i o n .

For some subjects,

t h e suggestions were unnecessary because they had already done what was suggested, o r t h e y were beyond t h a t p o i n t c o n c e p t u a l l y .

For o t h e r s t h e

suggested r o u t i n e s provided more o f a challenge than they c o u l d cope w i t h , and t h e y needed a d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e amount o f t h e i n s t r u c t o r ' s time f o r encouragement o r more constant guidance. A f t e r t h e discussions i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e c l a s s was aware o f t h e f a c t t h a t oxygen was i n v o l v e d i n the r e a c t i o n s they were w i t n e s s i n g , t h e y were t a u g h t how t o c a l c u l a t e t h e percentage o f a i r used up and t o i n d i cate reasons f o r a d e v i a t i o n between t h e i r i n d i v i d u a l r e s u l t s and t h e expected r e s u l t based upon t h e percentage composition o f a i r . I n t o t a l t h e r e were twenty o f f i c i a l science periods devoted t o the u n i t o f study.

I n a d d i t i o n t h e r e was one p e r i o d devoted t o viewing f i lms

on another t o p i c , one p e r i o d devoted t o a c l e a n i n g up o f t h e equipment a t t h e end o f t h e u n i t , and one p e r i o d l o s t as a r e s u l t o f t h e Thanksgiving holiday.

Because o f t h e f l e x i b i l i t y i n time t a b l e s i n t h e school,

t h e p u p i l s were allowed t o use t h e l a b o r a t o r y d u r i n g language a r t s time i f t h a t area o f t h e i r work was up t o date and they wished t o go on w i t h

t h e i r science s t u d i e s .

However, t h e r e was no coercion i n t h i s r e s p e c t .

This means, o f course, t h a t keener p u p i l s u t i l i z e d t h e l a b o r a t o r y f a c i l i t i e s more than t h e a l l o t t e d science periods b u t as records were n o t k e p t t h i s f a c t o r can o n l y be mentioned.

59 The u n i t presented t o D i v i s i o n I 1 was "Astronomy."

The b a s i s f o r

t h i s p r e s e n t a t i o n was t h e u n i t designed b y t h e I 1 l i n o i s Astronomy P r o j e c t . There i s a k i t o f m a t e r i a l s provided b u t t h e y a r e n o t of t h e same n a t u r e as those provided f o r "Gases and A i r s .

"

They c o n s i s t of compasses, pro-

t r a c t o r s , and metre s t i c k s , p l u s v a r i o u s o t h e r items which were n o t used f o r t h i s study.

I n a d d i t i o n t o these t o o l s , each pupi 1 was given a

s i x t e e n page s e t o f mimeographed notes and questions on t h e s u b j e c t (see Appendix C)

.

A1 though most o f the questions c o u l d be answered d i r e c t l y

from t h e b o o k l e t , some d i d r e q u i r e o u t s i d e reading and research. The i n i t i a l lesson c o n s i s t e d o f a demonstration o f v a r i o u s o p t i c a l phenomena and a h i s t o r y o f astronomy, e x p l o r e d by way of d i s c u s s i o n and l e c t u r e methods.

The second lesson began t h e geometrical d e t e r m i n a t i o n

of distances and s i z e .

As t h e s u b j e c t s had r e c e i v e d no i n s t r u c t i o n i n

formal geometry, t h e basics had t o be t a u g h t .

C i r c l e s , t r i a n g l e s and

angles were drawn and the r e l a t i o n s h i p s o f t h e i r p a r t s were shown.

Notes

were taken and various exercises were done by t h e c l a s s .

These i n c l u d e d

naming t h e p a r t s o f diagrams, c a l c u l a t i n g t h e value o f

and u s i n g p r o -

tractors.

The m e t r i c system was i n t r o d u c e d and d r i l l e d w i t h t h e a i d o f

metre s t i c k s .

A f t e r several lessons t h e y were assigned some reading i n

a t e x t book and they were i s s u e d w i t h the b o o k l e t s mentioned.

The ans-

wers t o t h e questions were reviewed a t i n t e r v a l s and p r i v a t e research was encouraged where i n t e r e s t was shown. I n t o t a l t h e r e were twenty o f f i c i a l science periods devoted t o this unit.

I n a d d i t i o n t h e r e was one p e r i o d devoted t o viewing f i l m s on

another t o p i c , and one p e r i o d was l o s t as a r e s u l t o f t h e Thanksgiving h o l iday.

60 On December 9 t h , both classes were given Form B o f t h e science t e s t and t h e f o l l o w i n g day t h e y were g i v e n t h e second b a t t e r y of d i v e r gent t h i n k i n g t e s t s .

On December 1 1 t h b o t h classes began t h e i r new u n i t s .

D i v i s i o n I began t h e u n i t on astronomy and t h e format a l r e a d y o u t l i n e d pertained t o t h a t learning situation.

D i v i s i o n II began an experimental l y

o r i e n t e d u n i t r e g a r d i n g t h e v a r i o u s p h y s i c a l s t a t e s o f water because t h e "Gases and A i r s " u n i t was u n a v a i l a b l e .

The amount o f equipment was some-

what l i m i t e d so t h e r e was some d i r e c t i o n towards research i n books, b u t t h e m a j o r i t y of time was spent doing experiments i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y .

Each

p u p i l was g i v e n i n s t r u c t i o n s i n n o t e form and a l l subsequent teacherp u p i l c o n t a c t was on an i n d i v i d u a l b a s i s , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f a r e v i e w lesson and t h e summary lesson a t t h e end o f t h e u n i t . The l a b o r a t o r y work i n c l u d e d t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e b o i l i n g p o i n t o f water alone, then w i t h v a r i o u s amounts o f s a l t added.

The tem-

p e r a t u r e o f i c e was determined w i t h o u t , then w i t h s a l t added i n v a r i o u s amounts.

Observations were made b o t h i n s i d e and o u t s i d e t h e beakers and

a r e l a t i o n s h i p between what t h e y saw and what occurs m e t e o r o l o g i c a l l y , was e s t a b l ished.

D i s t i 11a t i on apparatuses o f t h e pupi 1s ' own designs

were b u i l t i n some cases, and commercial models were used i n o t h e r cases, t o o b t a i n as accurate a b o i l i n g p o i n t as t h e y could.

Others devised

t h e i r own experiments t o d i s c o v e r what e f f e c t d i f f e r e n t m a t e r i a l s had on t h e b o i l i n g p o i n t and f r e e z i n g p o i n t o f water, and t o d i s c o v e r v a r i o u s methods of c r e a t i n g a r t i f i c i a l p r e c i p i t a t i o n i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y . The progress o f these u n i t p r e s e n t a t i o n s was i n t e r r u p t e d by t h e Christmas h o l i d a y s , which l a s t e d from December 23rd t o January 4 t h .

The

61 f i r s t post-Christmas science p e r i o d f o r b o t h D i v i s i o n I and D i v i s i o n 11 began w i t h a review of what had been i n progress b e f o r e t h e h o l i d a y , and t h e u n i t s proceeded t o t h e i r conclusions on February 3 r d .

The n e x t day,

both classes completed science t e s t A, and t h e day f o l l o w i n g t h a t , the c r e a t i v i t y t e s t s were completed.

I n t h e case o f b o t h d i v i s i o n s , t h e r e

were eighteen o f f i c i a l science periods devoted t o these u n i t s .

Again,

f o r the experimental approach, p u p i l s who wished t o , c o u l d go i n t o the l a b o r a t o r y and continue t h e i r science experiments d u r i n g 1anguage a r t s time, and no r e c o r d was k e p t o f t h i s a c t i v i ty C.

.

Conduct o f t h e Experiment The research was undertaken according t o t h e f o l l o w i n g quadripar-

t i t e design. Experimental

Tradi t i o n a l

Division I

Phase I

Phase I 1

D i v i s i o n I1

Phase I 1

Phase I

During Phase I,D i v i s i o n I r e c e i v e d t h e experimental approach and D i v i s i o n I I r e c e i v e d t h e t r a d i t i o n a l approach t o science.

During Phase

11, the s i t u a t i o n was reversed so D i v i s i o n I r e c e i v e d t h e t r a d i t i o n a l and D i v i s i o n I I r e c e i v e d t h e experimental approach t o science. The t e s t i n g was c a r r i e d o u t a c c o r d i n g l y .

A t t h e beginning of

Phase I , both d i v i s i o n s were given t h e Educational T e s t i n g Service General Science Test, Form A, t o e s t a b l i s h a b a s i s o f general science knowledge. They were a l s o g i v e n a b a t t e r y o f t h r e e t e s t s i n an attempt t o e s t a b l i s h

62 a degree o f d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g .

These d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g t e s t s were

chosen from the work o f Getzels and Jackson (1962) and Wallach and Kogan (1965).

A t t h e end o f Phase I t h e t e s t s were administered again, where

the science t e s t was Form B and t h e c r e a t i v i t y t e s t s were a d i f f e r e n t form than those given i n the p r e - t e s t (see Appendix B ) .

A f t e r Phase 11,

the o r i g i n a l , pre-Phase I t e s t s were g i v e n t o e s t a b l i s h f i n a l l e v e l s i n both areas.

Science t e s t Form A was re-administered because o f t h e 1ack

of a t h i r d Form which c o u l d perform t h i s f u n c t i o n .

The o r i g i n a l c r e a t i v -

it y b a t t e r y was re-administered t o m a i n t a i n a constant r e l a t i v i t y w i t h t h e Form A science t e s t . I n a l l cases, t h e science t e s t s were administered i n the t r a d i t i o n a l classroom s e t t i n g and were timed, f o r t y minute t e s t s .

The b a t t e r y

i nt o t o t o t h e classes, and o f d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g t e s t s were g i v e n according t o t h e suggested times o f t h e researchers mentioned above, one hour was given f o r t h e i r completion.

On both subsequent t e s t i n g dates,

however, each i t e m o f t h e uses t e s t was given t h r e e minutes, and each page o f the Wallach and Kogan t e s t s was given f o u r minutes. t h e Word A s s o c i a t i o n t e s t was given f i f t e e n minutes.

I n each case

The reason f o r t h e

change i n t h e d i r e c t i o n o f t h e d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g b a t t e r y was t h e appare n t l a c k o f p u p i l response t o some t e s t areas as a r e s u l t o f t h e i r spendi n g t o o much time on o t h e r s .

The r e v i s e d p r e s e n t a t i o n gained a b e t t e r

response and d i d n o t appear t o h i n d e r any p u p i l s i n any way, except t h a t those who had few responses had t o s i t q u i e t l y and t h i n k o f t h e immediate question w h i l e w a i t i n g f o r t h e i n s t r u c t i o n t o go on t o t h e n e x t problem. The p u p i l s i n v o l v e d i n t h i s study were n o t apprised of t h e i n t e n t

63 o f t h e t e s t i n g u n t i l a f t e r a l l t h e t e s t s were g i v e n and t h e data c o l l e c ted.

There were questions r a i s e d by them when they recognized t h e f i r s t

b a t t e r y upon i t s second p r e s e n t a t i o n , b u t e x p l a n a t i o n was d e f e r r e d u n t i l a f t e r i t was w r i t t e n . D.

T e s t i n g Program The t e s t s were given i n t h r e e s e r i e s .

The f i r s t was a t t h e begin-

n i n g o f t h e research program, j u s t p r i o r t o Phase I . was g i v e n a t t h e end of Phase I and p r i o r t o Phase 11. was given a t t h e end of Phase 11.

The second s e r i e s The t h i r d s e r i e s

Each s e r i e s consisted o f t h r e e d i v e r -

gent t h i n k i n g tasks and an o b j e c t i v e science knowledge t e s t . 1.

F i r s t Series a)

Divergent T h i n k i n g Tasks (see Appendix B)

The d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g tasks chosen from t h e work o f Getzels and Jackson ( 1 9 6 2 ) were t h e "Uses T e s t " and "Word A s s o c i a t i o n .

"

The former

i s a l i s t o f f i v e common a r t i c l e s , and t h e s u b j e c t l i s t s as many uses f o r each i t e m as he can.

The l a t t e r i s a l i s t o f t w e n t y - f i v e words, each of

which has mu1t i p l e meanings, and t h e s u b j e c t i n d i cates as many o f the meanings as he i s able. The t h i r d d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g t a s k was chosen from t h e work o f Wallach and Kogan (1965) and was a combination o f " F i g u r a l Meanings" and " P a t t e r n Meanings." tests.

Wallach and Kogan used e i g h t o f each as separate

The experimenter chose t o combine these and each submission t o

t h e s u b j e c t s contained f o u r o f each t a s k .

*

*

The f o u r were arranged so

T h i s d e c i s i o n was based upon t h e need f o r two d i f f e r e n t t e s t s t o accompany t h e two forms o f t h e science knowledge t e s t s .

64

they alternated between "Pattern" and "Figural Meanings," f o r a total of eight interpretations per session.

The subjects wrote as many interpre-

tations of each pattern or figure as they were able. b)

The Science Knowledge Test

The Educational Testing Service General Science Test, Form A was given t o the subjects.

I t i s of multiple choice design and t e s t s areas

of factual knowledge and deductive thinking.

There are s i x t y questions

t o be done in a forty minute period. Second Series

2.

a ) Divergent T h i n king Tasks The "Uses Test" was administered containing five i tems d i f f e r e n t from those i n the f i r s t series of t e s t s .

In a l l other aspects the task

was the same. The "Word Association" task was the same as t h a t i n the f i r s t series . The "Figural Meanings" and "Pattern Meanings" task involved the eight Wallach and Kogan designs not used in the f i r s t s e r i e s . b)

The Science Knowledge Test

The Educational Testing Service General Science Test, Form B was administered.

I t contains s i x t y questions t o be answered in a forty

minute period. 3.

Third Series All t e s t s given were identical t o those given in the f i r s t s e r i e s .

E.

The Evaluation of the Tests 1.

Uses The scoring in t h i s t e s t was a total of plausible responses with-

out regard to uniqueness.

A total score consisted of the sum of respon-

ses for each of the f i v e items.

(See Appendix B , page 99, f o r t e s t and

instructions given .) 2.

Word Association Each s u b j e c t ' s responses were given two scores.

The f i r s t was

the total number of replies which were correct and the second was the number of meaning categories given.

For example, in response t o "cap,"

the words "toothpaste, head, boot1 e," would score three for total number of responses, plus two for meanings, f o r a total of f i v e .

Credit was

given for slang expressions, as in the word "cap" referring to a d r u g form or capsule, particularly L.S.D.

Incorrect meanings or homonyms were

not given any c r e d i t , for example "plane" got c r e d i t f o r " a i r " or "tool" b u t not for "land" or "not fancy."

total mark. 3.

The two scores were summed for a

(See Appendix B, page 98, f o r t e s t and instructions given.)

Pattern Meanings The subjects were requested to l i s t a s many d i f f e r e n t things as

the pattern made them think i t could be and the score f o r t h i s t e s t was based upon uniqueness of response.

All responses of a l l subjects in each

group were tabulated to determine uniqueness within each group, and ,

those which were unique in ideational content were given one mark.

66 The total number of unique responses determined the score f o r each sub(See Appendix B , page 97 f o r rep1 ications of the patterns.)

ject. F.

General Science Test Tese t e s t s were scored i n accordance with the answer keys pro-

vided.

Timetable of the Experiment Phase I October 2 October 5

October 6 October 23 November 30 December 2 December 9 December 10

-

Divergent thinking t e s t s , f i r s t s e r i e s . Began "Gases and Airs" u n i t , Division I . Began "Astronomy" u n i t . Science Test, Form A. Lorge Thorndi ke I .Q . Tests , both Di vi s i ons . Ended "Gases and Ai rs . Ended "Astronomy" uni t

.

Science Test, Form B . Divergent thinking t e s t s , second s e r i e s .

Phase I 1 December 11

-

Began "Astronomy" unit , Division I . Began "Water" unit, Division 11.

December 23-January 3 January 4 February 3 February 4 February 5

-

-

Chri stmas Hol i days.

Review of pre-Christmas a c t i v i t y and conti nuation. Ended both units. Science Test, Form A, both Divisions. Divergent thinking t e s t s , third s e r i e s .

CHAPTER V ANALYSES OF DATA

A.

Pre-Test Scores The d a t a o b t a i n e d from t h e t e s t i n g program c a r r i e d o u t p r i o r t o

t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e t e a c h i n g t r e a t m e n t s i s g i v e n i n T a b l e V-1

.

TABLE V-1 PRE-TEST DATA Division I

Division I1

Type o f T e s t Mean -

-

Verbal A b i l i t y

-

S t . Dev.

Mean

Raw Scores

Non-Verbal A b i l i t y Scores

S t . Dev.

--

-

12.263

Raw

General Science T e s t , Form A Uses T e s t

10.694 10.546

8 .O96

Word A s s o c i a t i o n

23.449

F i g u r e Meanings

6.600

Examination o f these d a t a shows t h a t t h e two d i v i s i o n s a r e s u f f i c i e n t l y s i m i l a r t o be c o n s i d e r e d as two samples f r o m t h e same p o p u l a t i o n . However t h e need f o r some s p e c i f i c comment i s i n d i c a t e d .

a)

The a b i l i t y t e s t means a r e so c l o s e t h a t t h e y can be c o n s i d e r e d

69 i d e n t i c a l b u t b o t h t h e v e r b a l and non-verbal standard d e v i a t i o n s reveal g r e a t e r variances f o r t h e D i v i s i o n 11 d i s t r i b u t i o n .

How-

ever, u s i n g t h e t - t e s t (P < .05), t h e d i f f e r e n c e i s n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t and hence may be assumed t o be due t o chance. b)

The D i v i s i o n I 1 mean and standard d e v i a t i o n f o r t h e General Science, Form A a r e g r e a t e r than f o r D i v i s i o n 1.

The d i f f e r e n c e s

are not s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t . c)

The r e s u l t s of t h e i n i t i a l Uses T e s t c o n s t i t u t e a problem.

The

D i v i s i o n I mean (21.38) i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y g r e a t e r than t h e D i v i s i o n I 1 mean (15.34) a t t h e 0.01 l e v e l .

As t h i s i s t h e o n l y

i n s t a n c e when t h e D i v i s i o n I mean i s g r e a t e r than t h e D i v i s i o n I 1 mean and as t h e h i g h e r means remain i n f a v o u r o f D i v i s i o n I f o r t h e second and t h i r d t e s t i n g one i s i n c l i n e d t o accept t h a t , on t h i s t e s t , D i v i s i o n I i s s u p e r i o r .

However t h e means f o r t h e

subsequent a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s a r e l e s s markedly d i f f e r e n t which tends t o suggest t h a t a t e s t i n g anomaly may have caused the very low i n i t i a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n value.

Also, n o t e must be made t h a t

f o r t h i s t e s t the D i v i s i o n I 1 standard d e v i a t i o n i s a l s o lower ( t h i s s i t u a t i o n i s mai n t a i ned through t h e subsequent admi n i s t r a t i o n s ) b u t the d i f f e r e n c e i s n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t . d)

From i n s p e c t i o n - o f t h e r e s u l t s f o r t h e Word A s s o c i a t i o n t e s t the scores c o r r e l a t e d p o s i t i v e l y w i t h those obtained f o r t h e a b i l i t y and achievement t e s t s .

This m i g h t be taken t o i n d i c a t e t h a t t h i s

t e s t measures convergent t h i n k i n g whereas t h e more open Uses T e s t may measure a more d i v e r g e n t dimension. e)

F i g u r e Meaning scores f o r t h e two d i v i s i o n s on t h e P r e - t e s t a r e

markedly s i m i l a r and suggest a h i g h degree o f s i m i l a r i t y t o a b i l i t y , achievement and Uses T e s t scores.

However r e f e r e n c e t o

the t o t a l data (see Appendix A) r e v e a l s a wide and apparently e r r a t i c range of scores.

One i s a t a l o s s t o know whether t h i s

t e s t i s markedly s e n s i t i v e t o d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g o r whether i t i s unreliable. B.

Phase I During t h i s phase D i v i s i o n I r e c e i v e d t h e experimental o r discovery

method t r e a t m e n t whereas D i v i s i o n I 1 was given t h e non-experimental o r formal i n s t r u c t i o n treatment. a)

Two hypotheses can be examined.

That t h e two treatments would r e s u l t i n d i f f e r e n t gains on t h e scores obtained from t h e Co-operative Science Test, General Science

b)

.

That d i f f e r e n t increments i n t h e scores would be obtained from the divergent thinking tests.

A p r i o r i assumptions and reasoning suggest t h a t more knowledge o f science would be gained from use o f t h e discovery approach than from use o f t h e formal i n s t r u c t i o n method.

Also t h e f r e e r c o n t e x t o f t h e discovery tech-

nique leads t o t h e assumption t h a t i t s use may r e s u l t i n s i g n i f i c a n t l y g r e a t e r i n c r e a s e i n scores on t h e d i v e r g e n t t h i n k i n g t a s k s . The f o l l o w i n g t a b l e summarizes t h e data obtained and enab l e s comparisons t o be made (Table V - 2 ) . As noted i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n i n t h e previous s e c t i o n the i n iti a1

I

--

I

Division I

Division

I1

Co-operative Science Test

Pre-test Form A

28.56

8.085

31.31

10.546

Post-test Form B

29.78

9.987

35.88

10.005

Diff.

+1.22

+1.902

+4.57

- .541

21.38

9.263

15.34

8.096

Post-test

23.72

8.807

20.19

5.359

Diff.

+2.34

- .456

+4.85

- 2.737

Pre-test

72.91

20.375

75.69

23.449

Post-test

77.72

18.401

74.91

18.398

Diff.

t4.81

- 1.974

- 0.78

-

Pre-test

9.97

9.201

9.50

6.600

Post-test

12.22

10.249

12.09

6.222

D~ff.

+2.25

,1.048

+2.59

- 0.378

Divergent Thinking Tasks Uses Pre-test

.537 N.S.

1.084 N.S.

1.778 P