Abstract
A NUMBER of simple and instructive experiments are described by Mr. Wyatt in the practical handbooks referred to above. Following sound educational principles the student is told what to do, but so far as it is practicable he is left to find out for himself the conclusions to be drawn from the experiments. In this respect the books are constructed upon the lines of others which are already in use in schools where elementary science is taught. A few practical exercises are given on the principles brought out by the experiments; but the teacher will find it necessary to considerably increase the number of these, if he wishes his pupils to remember what they have done. In his shorthand manuals Sir Isaac Pitman used to advise the students who wished to become proficient in the art of phonography to “Practice, Practice, Practice,” and the same advice applies to instruction in elementary science. Not one or two, but twenty or thirty experiments are, for instance, necessary before young students can thoroughly understand the significance of the principle of Archimedes. The difficulty in the way of carrying out so much experimental work is one of time, and if a large amount of work has to be accomplished in a short time, the depth of knowledge is thinner in proportion to the area covered.
Handbooks of Practical Science.
No. I. Mensuration, Hydrostatics and Heat. Pp. 53. No II. Chemical Experiments. Pp. 58. By G. H. Wyatt. (London: Rivingtons, 1897, 1898.)
Science Handbooks for Laboratory and Class Room: Elementary Physics, Practical and Theoretical. First Year's Course.
By John G. Kerr Pp. 140. (London: Blackie and Son, 1898.)
Quantitative Practical Chemistry.
Part I. Elementary Stage. Pp. 55. Part II. Advanced Stage. Pp. 31. By A. H. Mitchell (Reading: National Publishing Association, Ltd., 1897.)
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Handbooks of Practical Science Science Handbooks for Laboratory and Class Room: Elementary Physics, Practical and Theoretical First Year's Course Quantitative Practical Chemistry. Nature 57, 435 (1898). https://doi.org/10.1038/057435a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/057435a0