A PLAN FOR THE IN-SERVICE TRAINING OFTEACHERS IN THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

HERSCHEL E. GRIMECleveland Public Schools, Cleveland, Ohio

Most of the teachers in the elementary schools of our country arerequired to teach all the subjects in the elementary school curriculum.For this reason it has been necessary for them to secure a broadgeneral training covering many subjects rather than an intensivetraining in one or two subjects. Furthermore, since they are inter-ested in so many different areas of learning, it is very difficult forthem to find the time required to keep abreast of all the changes thattake place in the philosophy underlying the teaching of each of thesesubjects.

Since most teachers in the elementary school have not had a greatdeal of training in the field of arithmetic, many of them need help ininterpreting the philosophy of the teaching of the subject. They needhelp, also, in putting this philosophy into practice. They must beencouraged to develop alertness in recognizing and skill in using ef-fectively the number situations that arise in the daily activities ofthe classroom. Many need help in planning projects or units of workwhich require the pupil to do quantitative thinking or which pro-vide motivation for the drill necessary for mastery of the skills.

For several years, the supervisors in the Division of Mathematicsof the Cleveland Public Schools, assisted by the principal and teach-ers at the Arithmetic Curriculum Center, have carried out a carefullyplanned program of in-service training for teachers in the primarydivision. The outstanding features of the program will be describedin this paper.

THE ARITHMETIC CURRICULUM CENTERA school system, such as that of Cleveland, is too large for whole-

sale experimentation, yet, fairness to the children of the city demandsthe continuous improvement of the curriculum. To facilitate the ap-praisal of new ideas and new methods of teaching, and to carry oncurricular experimentation and revision, Cleveland^ school leaders,in 1928, established nine elementary school Curriculum Centers.Each of these centers is devoted to the consideration of one curricularsubject and the contributions its study can make to the education ofthe children of the city.

In effect, the centers serve as experimental laboratories that in-quire into the most effective ways of teaching various school sub-jects. The results of the experimentation are passed on to all the ele-mentary schools of the city, as soon as they have been carefully

517

518 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

checked. In this way, every teacher and every child in the city bene-fits from the work done at the Center.At present, Almira School serves the city as the Arithmetic Cur-

riculum Center. At this school, the teachers and the principal, work-ing with the supervisor of arithmetic and other members of theschool staff, experiment informally with various procedures and tech-niques. They try out and evaluate different methods of teaching thevarious topics in arithmetic. They study the needs and the interestsof children of various ability levels and develop effective teachingunits to meet these interests and needs. Visual aids and devices, sup-plementary books and workbooks are evaluated at the CurriculumCenter, and either rejected or recommended to other schools in thecity on the basis of the evaluation.One of the major contributions of the Curriculum Center is the

opportunity it affords for elementary teachers of the city to visitthe Center and observe children being taught by teachers who have aspecial interest in arithmetic and who are able to teach the subjectwell. In addition, teachers, after spending several years at theCenter, may be transferred to other schools where, because of theirinterest in arithmetic and their experience at the Center, they arein a position to help other teachers improve their ability in teachingthis subject. Over a period of years, the work of the CurriculumCenter has influenced and improved the teaching of practically everyteacher in the elementary schools of Cleveland.

DEMONSTRATION LESSONS BY RADIO

For a number of years, one 15-minute lesson in arithmetic hasbeen broadcast each week over the Cleveland Public Schools FMRadio Station WBOE. The lessons, which are of an informal nature,cover various phases of the arithmetic program. The children andthe classroom teacher take an active part in each of them. The les-sons present a concrete type of arithmetic intended to develop in-sight and understanding. The concepts and skills taught are thosethat can be used by children in their everyday experiences. They dealwith such topics as using the calendar, making change, shopping forMother, the Community Fund and planning a class party.Some of the lessons are designed to teach the fundamental proc-

esses of arithmetic, such as the meaning of multiplication, or borrow-ing in subtraction. All processes are taught by means of concrete ob-jects, using groups of children, coins, bundles of tickets and the like.The practice or drill for each process is discussed in the TeachersGuide, under ^Follow Up.^ The actual drill is not given in the radiolessons. The main purpose of the lessons is to make arithmetic mean-ingful and interesting to the children.

A PLAN FOR IN-SERVICE TRAINING 519

The lessons have been prepared and broadcast by teachers who arespecialists in the teaching of arithmetic. These teachers have beenallowed sufficient time to prepare the lessons carefully, so that eachlesson demonstrates a good way of teaching a particular topic. Thetechniques and methods used with the lessons are those which haveproven successful under varied classroom conditions. The visual aidsand devices constructed for use in the radio lesson may be used bythe teacher in her daily classroom work throughout the year.

While the radio should not, in any sense, be considered a substitutefor the functions of the supervisor of arithmetic in visiting a class atwork, it does serve as a means by which over 100 teachers have beenreached each semester and have been contacted once a week. Everyone of these teachers has participated in carefully-planned lessons,intended to develop concepts and meanings. Through this activeparticipation, the teachers of the city have learned new techniquesand procedures for putting meaning into the arithmetic they teach.

A COURSE or STUDY IN ARITHMETIC

In the fall of 1947, a Course of Study in Arithmetic for the primarydivision was published. The materials presented in this course ofstudy are the result of careful study and experimentation over aperiod of many years. Practically every primary teacher and princi-pal in the elementary schools of Cleveland contributed suggestions orparticipated in some phase of the study, planning and experimenta-tion that was involved in its development.

This course of study states in simple language the philosophyunderlying the teaching of arithmetic in the primary division. It isintended as a guide and a source of help in making arithmetic vitaland meaningful to the primary child. Each of the objectives of thecourse is listed with many suggested procedures for teaching each ofthem. Liberal use has been made of illustrations to clarify procedureswhere necessary.One section is devoted to units of work or projects that can be used

to make arithmetic meaningful and to show how it can be used ineveryday classroom activities. Another section is devoted to gamesand devices through which the child is led to discover the meaningof number facts and relations, or which may be used for practice.For the purpose of evaluation, a series of tests, based on the ob-

jectives of the course of study, has been developed. These tests areused by the teachers to help determine when a particular pupil hasmastered a group of objectives and is ready to go on to more ad-vanced work.

It is not enough to formulate a philosophy and to write a course ofstudy based on this philosophy. A course of study, no matter how

520 SCHOOL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

carefully it has been prepared, is of little value if it is not actuallyused by the teachers for whom it is intended. To acquaint teacherswith the arithmetic course of study and to offer suggestions as to howit might be used, a series of discussion meetings was planned. Everyteacher in the primary division of the Cleveland schools was requiredto attend one meeting. So that teachers might derive the most valuefrom the meetings, the number in attendance at any one of them waslimited to thirty. The supervisor of arithmetic discussed briefly theplan of organization of the course of study and ways in which itmight be used. Opportunity was then given the teachers to ask ques-tions and to express their opinions concerning the contents of thecourse and its use. As a result of these meetings, the course of studywas put into use in all the elementary schools of the city in a com-paratively short period of time.

AN ARITHMETIC CLINIC FOR TEACHERS

In 1945 and again in 1946, a meeting of all teachers in the primarydivision was held at the Arithmetic Curriculum Center. At thesemeetings, teachers from the Center discussed various phases of thearithmetic program and gave demonstrations of procedures that hadproven successful. Everyone agreed that the meetings were very muchworthwhile; however, in such a limited amount of time it was im-possible to cover more than a few of the topics taught to primarychildren. To overcome this weakness, it was decided, in the fall of1947, to hold a series of meetings rather than only one.During the present school year, meetings have been held on Satur-

day mornings. Although attendance is entirely optional and nocredit is granted, approximately 500 teachers took advantage of thisopportunity to improve their ability in the teaching of arithmetic.Teachers interested in the kindergarten and first year primary met asa group and those interested in the work of the upper primary yearsmet as another group. Each group met for an hour and a half on eachof four successive Saturdays. So that there would be an opportunityfor asking questions and for taking part in the discussion, the numberin a group was limited to 25.The person in charge of the group, assisted by teachers from the

Curriculum Center, discussed different phases of the arithmetic pro-gram and demonstrated good teaching methods. Emphasis was placedon the use of concrete materials to give meaning to the arithmetictaught in the first years of school. Teachers were shown how to teachthe meaning of numbers, using the abacus, coins, tickets and bundlesof tickets. They were shown how to give meaning to the process ofcarrying in addition by the use of dimes and pennies, and bundles oftickets. They learned improved ways of conducting an activity or

A PLAN FOR IN-SERVICE TRAINING 521

project such as keeping attendance, conducting a Valentine Sale, andcollecting and keeping a record of money for the Red Cross.

Teachers, principals and members of the school staff are agreedthat the plans for in-service training of teachers, discussed in thispaper, have resulted in a distinct improvement in the arithmeticbeing taught in the Cleveland schools. Plans have already been madefor continuing this program for primary teachers and for extendingit to include the same kinds of training for teachers in the upper ele-mentary division during the next school year.

TECHNICAL BUREAU TO BE NEW FEATURE ATNATIONAL CHEMICAL EXPOSITION

"The newly created ^Technical Bureau’ at the National Chemical Exposition,Chicago Coliseum October 12-16, 1948, will be a personal information serviceavailable to all who are in attendance at this great international Exposition," saysDr. Clifcorn, chairman of the Exposition Committee, Chicago Section, AmericanChemical Society."The technical bureau will be manned between 3 and 6 P.M. each day by the

internationally known Dr. Ward V. Evans, retired chairman of the chemistrydepartment of Northwestern University, now professor of chemistry, LoyolaUniversity," says Dr. Clifcorn.Thousands of specific problems, both on product development and production,

are brought to the Exposition. It is intended that the technical bureau personalservice should speed up the finding of the solutions to these problems, accordingto Dr. Clifcorn. "With practically every manufacturing process involving chem-istry in some way, this Exposition, with its approximately 200 exhibitors andnewly created technical bureau, will again be of inestimable value to all Americanindustry," the chairman stated. "Everyone is urged to come to the Expositionwith specific problems."

BRUCELLOSIS ATTACKS MANY VETERINARIANSA warning that the entire veterinary medical profession is threatened by a

disease of animals has been sounded by Dr. Thurman B. Rice, professor ofpublic health at Indiana University.

Dr. Rice reports statistics show that half of the veterinarians engaged inlarge-animal practice have had brucellosis, known as undulant fever in man.

In the central-west, he estimates that as many as 90% of the veterinarianshave the disease or have had it.Hogs are rated the most dangerous source of infection, but cattle, goats, sheep,

horses and occasionally dogs may pass on the disease. The germ enters the humanbody not only through a skin abrasion or the membrane of the eye but alsothrough normal skin.Research workers handling infected animals "are nearly sure to get the dis-

ease," Dr. Rice warns.

A DEFINITION OF SCIENCEThat portion of accumulative knowledge in which new concepts are continu-

ously developing from experiment and observation and lead to further experi-mentation and observation.�Conant: On Understanding Science.