ethod of solving them; discover as large
a body of facts as possible; arrange them in an order that seems to
him logical, with his reasons; and to make whatever inferences seem to
him sound in the light of facts,--supporting his conclusions at every
point. The ability to make such a total mental reaction promptly and
comprehendingly is the best test of any teaching whatsoever. The
important thing is that we shall not ourselves lose sight of the
essential parts of it in our enthusiasm for one portion of it.

In judging attitude and appreciation I think it is possible for
discriminating teachers to obtain the testimony of the pupil himself
in appraisal of his own progress and attitude. This needs to be done
indirectly, to be sure. The student's self-judgment may not be
accurate; but it is not at all impossible to secure a disposition in
students to measure and estimate their own progress in these various
things with some accuracy and fairness of mind. Besides its incidental
value as a test, I know of no realm of biological observation,
discrimination, and conclusion more likely to prove profitable to the
student than this effort to estimate, without prejudice, his own
growth.

THE LITERATURE OF THE SUBJECT

=Scarcity of authoritative pedagogical literature in biology=

For various reasons very little attention has been given to the
pedagogy of college biology by those in the best position to throw
light upon this vital problem. More information as to the attitude of
teachers of the subject is to be derived from college and university
catalogs than elsewhere,--howbeit of a somewhat stereotyped and
standardized kind. Much more has been written relative to the teaching
of biology in the secondary schools. In my opinion the most effective
teaching of biology in America today is being done in the best high
schools by teachers who have been forced to acquire a pedagogical
background that would enable them to reconstruct completely their
presentation of the subject. Most of these people obtained very little
help in this task from their college courses in biology. For these
reasons every college teacher will greatly profit by studying what has
been written for the secondary teachers. _School Science and
Mathematics_ (Chicago) is the best source for current views in this
field. Its files will show no little of the best thought and
investigation that have been devoted to the principles underlying
instruction in biology. Lloy