it this morning--do you see it clearly as a scene
before your mind's eye?" (2) some call for a review and generalization
of facts presumably already known, as "Find instances of the
dependence of character upon habit;" (3) many consist of simple
experiments demanding no special apparatus and serving to give a
direct acquaintance with matters treated in the text, such as
after-images or fluctuations of attention; and (4) many call for the
application of the principles announced in the text to special cases,
the object being to "give the student some very definite thing to do"
(Thorndike), in doing which he will secure a firm hold of the
principles involved. In general, teachers of psychology aim to "keep
the student doing things, instead of merely listening, reading, or
seeing them done" (Seashore, 1, page 83). In a few colleges,
laboratory work of a simple character forms part of the introductory
course, and in one or two the laboratory part is developed to a degree
comparable with what is common in chemistry or biology. As a rule,
however, considerations of time and equipment have prevented the
introduction of real laboratory work into the first course in
psychology.

=Classroom methods--The lecture=

Of classroom methods, perhaps all that are employed in other subjects
find application also in psychology, some teachers preferring one and
some another. The lecture method is employed with great success by
some of the leaders, who devote much attention to the preparation of
discourse and demonstrations. One professor (anonymous) is quoted[54]
as follows:

"I must here interject my ideas on the lecture system. The lecture has
a twofold advantage over the recitation. (1) It is economical, since
one man handles a large number of students; the method of recitation
is extravagant. This fact alone will mean the retention of the lecture
system, wherever it can possibly be employed with success. (2) It is
educationally the better method, for the average student and the
average teacher. For the reconstruction of a lecture from notes means
an essay in original work, in original thinking; while the recitation
lapses all too readily into textbook rote and verbal repetition.

"It is, nevertheless, true that sophomore students are on the whole
inadequate to a lecture course. They cannot take notes; they cannot
tear the heart out of a lecture. (They are also, I may add, inadequate
to the reading of textbooks or general literature