Robert L. Marrott Home Page

Something to think about and act upon from ...

Boyd K. Packer, Teach Ye Diligently, 222-224 --

In education, as in other fields, there comes along every now and then some new development, some so-called discovery or innovation or invention that is said to be the final answer to all of the problems in teaching. Such things sweep the world, are enthusiastically adopted by teachers, professionally and in other organizations, then either fade away or adjust themselves into the small niche that they will fill thereafter.

 

I remember a few years ago when teaching machines were proclaimed as the final answer. There was much to recommend them. They could be adapted to the fast learner or to the slow student. They were excellent for individual study. Any subject matter could be programmed to fit them, and there were any number of other virtues. But somehow they were not the final answer, and so it goes.

 

Teachers would do well not to be extremists on anything and to be cautious and wise in adopting new techniques or procedures.

 

Audio and visual aids in a class can be a blessing or a curse, depending upon how they are used. They might be compared to spices and flavorings that go with a meal. They should be used sparingly to accent or make a lesson interesting, but the basic instruction, when all is said and done, will for the most part be lecture, question and answer, and recitation....

 

Be careful to use visual aids sparingly. The best of them are really the simplest and are often those that are readily available. On balance I think that no teaching aid surpasses, and few equal, the chalkboard . . .