FOLLOWING an introductory analysis of the changing concepts of method indicated by the research literature, attention is given in this chapter to four basic aspects of instructional method: (a) organization of the learning situation, (b) maintenance of interpersonal relations for effective learning, (c) guidance of learning experiences, and (d) evaluation of learning. A concluding section summarizes needs for research in instruction.
Changing Concepts of MethodUntil one or two decades ago, research dealing with instruction in the high school was largely confined to comparative studies of various "named" methods of teaching such as the project, laboratory, Morrisonian, socialized recitation, or recitation. A considerable number of reviews and bibliographies (3,4,6,22,38,49,53, 69) attest to the frequency of such studies and also to the lack of conclusiveness-indeed, sometimes to the contradictory evidence-regarding the merits of individual methods. The relative infrequency of these comparative studies of named methods in the past decade and the appearance of more studies of particular aspects or factors of teaching method in general, suggest an important change in present conceptions of method. This change has been noted in several recent syntheses of research on methodology.Stiles (69) concluded from his review of the research in this area that certain provisions which might be common to many patterns of teaching are more significant than the pattern itself. He pointed out that patterns designated by the same name in different situations were likely to be far from identical, and that patterns under different names were often similar in outline. Monroe's review (49) of the literature and research regarding teaching-learning theory from 1890 to 1950 noted the trend toward a single "pattern method of teaching." He commented on the recent tendency to define a "method of teaching" as "an ordered enumeration of the teacher's instructional responsibilities" or as "a course of procedure" rather than to continue to identify various methods of teaching, each as "an organization of teaching devices" (51: 177-78). In their review and analysis of methodology, Thelen and Tyler (72) defined methodology as a set of procedures for dealing with problem-solving processes and noted as phases of the methodology of group instruction the usual steps in group problemsolving activities. 54 at NANYANG TECH UNIV LIBRARY on June 15, 2015 http://rer.aera.net Downloaded from