r item of information. Not infrequently, even in college
teaching, the question can be answered by a single word or a short
sentence; and usually such a question, even if it does not itself
suggest the answer, requires a minimum of mental effort on the part of
the student. This method determines only whether the student has
acquired a number of unrelated facts, and does not insure that he has
any knowledge of their relation to each other or to other facts he may
know, nor does it test his ability to use these facts in deducing
conclusions or establishing principles. Apparently this method of
conducting a recitation, or quiz as it is often called, is far too
common in teaching engineering subjects. It is the result chiefly of
the mistaken belief that the purpose of technical teaching is to give
information.

The "thought" question is one which requires the student to reflect
upon the facts stated in the book and to draw his own conclusions.
This method is intermediate between the "fact" question and the
topical discussion; it is not so suitable to college students as to
younger ones, and is not so easily applied in engineering subjects as
in more general subjects such as history, economics, or social
science. It will not be considered further.

The topical recitation consists in calling upon the student to state
what he knows upon a given topic. This method not only tests the
student's knowledge of facts, but also trains him in arranging his
facts in logical order and in presenting them in clear, correct, and
forceful language. (1) One advantage of this method of conducting the
recitation is that it stimulates the student to acquire a proper
method of attacking the assigned lesson. Many college students know
little or nothing concerning the art of studying. Apparently, they
simply read the lesson over without attempting to weigh the relative
importance of the several statements and without attempting to
skeletonize or summarize the text. The ability to acquire quickly and
easily the essential statements of a printed page is an accomplishment
which will be valuable in any walk of life. In other words, this
method of conducting a recitation forces the student to adopt the
better method of study. (2) A second advantage of the topical
recitation is that it trains the student in expressing his ideas. It
is generally conceded that the engineering-college graduate is
deficient in his ability to use good English, which is evid