od oS a: o t= IN. ous Eiducat O]} | Rel ® lon ‘ . - ee eS ee ee Se ey eee ee ¥ 3 yiy3, 4 - ‘ 4 . fe =e 4 ote Sahni Sele babe bik € £ ee ao ore "Th ai She ’ S ‘ Piper APR 7 1986 . LOGICAL SET eet ae ; CP: Spe wets e1m j Aj fra, we BA Ur } RINCE Fy Or Oy AS 4° is 2 2 = = = = = = = = = 2 = = = = = = = z = = = 3 = 2 = = 3 2 3 2 THE PROJECT METHOD RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CECCCETEESS TE EEEC EE EOE TELAT EN TOOT TEESE LET PROFESSOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION COLUMBIA COLLEGE Eee eee COKESBURY PRESS TEE nn 5 IMPORTERS :: PUBLISHERS NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE PU SULTEEUSUEROSBUAOERSOSSAN DORSET ADEELLET ENTE AASUUUEEEADEASSURASEGA OPE EESAAEEEAA PEATE EATER aNTGLESTY PT W TOSSDENTAN ACTS STTUALEHITES TU EE SUALDATEAUAEDUDSUUTDASDESEEDSUEEAUSERES TEED EEE TEL Copyright, 1994 LAMAR & BARTON PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Hrdiration This book is affectionately dedicated is to Dr. Patterson Wardlaw, Dean of the School of Education in the University of South Carolina; eminent teacher and friend; apostle of public education in his native state; a constant inspiration to all students who have been privileged to sit in his classroom. INTRODUCTION The besetting sin of education, as of religion, is formalism. It is so easy to fall back upon mere authority, to look no further than the book, and to be satisfied with the pupil’s repetition of what he reads or is told. Such a conception of educa- tion is precise and definite; it permits exact divi- sion into departments, subjects and units of credit; it enables a meticulous teacher to give an examination paper a mark of 69% per cent; it makes it possible for a pupil to feel that he knows just when his education.ends and life begins. The trouble is that such a conception of educa- tion is not true. Education itself is life. And it has a way from time to time of bursting the bonds of tradition and habit and adapting itself to the developing needs and resources of the race. The present is one of these tradition-breaking times in the history of education. The growing complexity of modern life has thrown new duties upon the schools, and they are responding with new methods. Most of these new methods are re- lated more or less closely to the general idea of teaching by means of projects. A project, in short, is an enterprise. A pupil undertakes a project whenever he purposes to do something or to make something, and gets to work iii iv INTRODUCTION to carry out his purpose. Projects are of teach- ing value in so far as they pass beyond mere habit, imitation, or rule-of-thumb procedure, and involve thinking. The best projects educationally are such as confront the pupil with naturally emerging» problems, awaken him to a need for facts, and lead him to apply these facts to the solution of his problems. Such projects serve to motivate the pupil’s study and to beget within him desirable habits and methods of study, reasoning and con- duct. In the carrying out of such projects, the teacher is an inspirer, leader, counselor and helper, rather than a taskmaster. Methods of teaching by means of projects have long been employed in graduate study and in pro- fessional training; and the principles of project teaching are now being applied with increasing confidence to the work of elementary and second- ary schools. Professor Crum has conducted an interesting experiment in the application of these principles to the work of a college class. Teachers in the higher grades of church schools and in pub- lie and private secondary schools, as well as col- lege teachers, may profit by this record of his ex-, perience. L. A. WEIGLE YALE UNIVERSITY, April 12, 1924. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE BAUER CURT, TH (G3 oA, AR URE OS NA a ak Be BAAR RA TIDY RRA ANN ui I. What is the Project Method of Teaching.... 1 IT. A Project in Church History—The Protes- PA GEVOLOTMIAGLON Wee! Me cil! Mains Ma bea a eal 11 III. The Project Method as Applied to the His- Lory Of nS Mn elish Bible wi leis oa yA 23 IV. ‘A Harmony of the Gospels .............. 42 W.'@he Life of Christ v...0s es ens iledoeet obs 65 VI. The Historical Geography of Palestine ..... 74 VII. The Dramatization of Bible Stories as Edu- BEANIE CETOICCLS och tase d's ey bis biciale atefees 87 VIII. Costuming for More Elaborate Dramatic BRO IGCES aa nip se sas 5 3% Ca iaheta it ain wake te eh anal shale 102 IX. Making a Book—A Project in Church His- BPR cg ives Pe a siete aie lola, ss tiga Wha S oe aia ttaveg! 120 X. The Diet of Worms, a Drama ............. 124 (Produced by the class in Church History as outlined in Chapter I.) SRO SSEOERAYICD Been SoC ath a. winlnsy atta ede \aSiatdiek ei tis siatiode 149 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION — CHAPTER I WHAT IS THE PROJECT METHOD OF TEACHING? Not a New Principle—oOf the various criticisms that. have been brought against the much talked of project method of teaching one of the least valid is that it is a new method. The only new phase of the whole question is its present popu- larity. All along, from the very beginning of teaching, the best teachers have used this prin- ciple, unconsciously perhaps, and certainly with- out its present name, but nevertheless its prin- ciple. It is therefore, with some resentment that many teachers listen to much that is said of pro- ject teaching as though it were a new discovery in educational practice. Wherever teachers have been independent enough to go beyond the bounds of traditional practice the method has been often used without giving to it a particular name. An Unfortunate Name.—Perhaps the worst thing to be said against the project method is its name. Surely there is something in a name in 2 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION spite of the proverb. One cannot but think of a parallel situation in regard to Bible investigation. How unfortunate it is that the phrase ‘‘higher criticism’’ came into vogue. Those students of the Bible who began this kind of study never dreamed that they were placing a great handicap upon a very praiseworthy line of investigation by giving it an unhappy name. How much better would it have been had they adopted some humbler title such as ‘‘Bible study.’’ The word criticism has irrevocably associated with it in the popular mind the idea of destructiveness, and. no amount of explanation can remove the odium attached thereto. Hence this unfortunate name has im- peded the progress of honest investigation and has caused many of the more timid to refrain from that painstaking study of the Bible which © reflects true scholarship and intellectual honesty. The word ‘‘project’’ in the minds of many, carries with it only the idea of physical manipula- tion or manual work, and to this conception it is limited. It is, therefore, thought to deal only with those practical exercises which are a necessary part of scientific studies. Some have tried to con- fine it to the manual trades and to agriculture, while other teachers in these fields, feeling that it is an overworked term, have taken refuge in similar practices going under different names. This principle has by some been termed ‘‘prob- lem teaching,’ teaching by ‘‘practicums,’’ ‘‘vital- ized’’ teaching and the like, all containing essen- PROJECT METHOD OF TEACHING 3 tially the same idea. It would be very desirable if the profession could agree upon some name which would adequately cover the conception, but there is little hope for such. After all, the main fact to keep in mind is that in recent years there has come to the door of the schoolroom a persist- ent visitor who is seeking entrance. What we shall call him is a matter of minor importance. So far the most favored name is ‘‘project method.’’ Our chief concern is to find qut what he is and what he has to offer in educational prac- tice. The. Project Defined—But without further words, what is a ‘‘project’’?, We shall begin by giving a definition which appears to the writer to be one of the clearest; it is that of Professor John Alford Stevenson: * ‘“A project is a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting.”’ One will observe the threefold nature of this definition. In the first place there is the ‘‘prob- lematic act,’’ in which any problem is involved; it may be making a fly trap, growing an acre of potatoes, writing a drama or making a harmony of the Gospels. Then, the ‘‘act’’ must be carried to completion. The idea of consummating a worth- while undertaking is predominant. Life at its best consists of accomplishing tasks. There is 1 Stevenson: The Project Method of Teaching, p. 43. Mac- millan. 4 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION some innate purpose in finishing the job, and it is this finishing of the job which brings it within the realm of a real life situation and distinguishes it from the formal exercise with its theoretical ob- jective. Lastly, the act must be in its natural set- ting. People do not farm in laboratories nor learn social science in the classroom. The best projects, the real projects, are those that are worked out in their natural setting. Professor Franklin Bobbitt has this to say con- cerning the ‘‘project’’: ‘‘On the work-level, the task to be performed is cen- tral; the science is organized about it. A boy, for example, in the school shop wishes to construct and oper- ate a telegraphic apparatus. This ambition will serve as the center of the science training. He will be motivated to gather information concerning batteries, wires, electro- — magnets, making and breaking of circuits, ete. He wiil learn just the things that he needs for the task in hand; and nothing more at the time. Through using his ideas in the planning and in the actual construction he comes to realize the full significance of the various facts. The derived interest aroused is for most individuals more potent than the native interests in the abstract science facts and principles. For this reason the knowledge is more effectively driven home and remembered. ; ‘There is a strong drift in public education toward the project-method of organization. The school corn | clubs, for example, assemble all possible information rela- tive to the growth of corn and use it for the control of © practical procedure. ... The tree- protecting league gathers all possible Fats concerning the species of trees attacked by insects, fungi, ete., together with the scien- tific information needed for ponn bain the destructive PROJECT METHOD OF TEACHING 5) influences. They reject for the time all botanical or entomological information that has no bearing on the problem in hand. ... In brief, one learns the things needed for directing action in connection with the situa- tions in which the action is to take place, and just pre- vious to the drawing up of the plans. Only under such circumstances can knowledge properly reveal its signifi- eance, be rightly focused upen human affairs, or be normally assimilated. Knowing and doing should grow up together.’’ 2 THE EDUCATIVE PROCESS What is Education?—An old question, to be sure, but one which needs constantly to be asked. Surely much of practice in our schools is not con- ducive to that type of procedure which most prac- tical teachers consider to be the true educative process. Too often has memory occupied an un- duly large place in our work, and the acquisition of information for its own sake has burdened us with data which are of little service in real life. An old notion has prevailed that education is merely a preparation for life—education 1s life. The classroom experience of a child is real life, and all barriers which would segregate it and tend to rob it of its reality should be torn down. In this connection Professor Bagley says: ‘‘Hducation is another word for experience. School training and ‘real experience’ are often contrasted to the disadvantage of the former, as in the hackneyed phrase, ‘Experience is the best teacher’; but experience in the 2 Bobbitt: The Curriculum, p. 30. Houghton Mifflin Co., 1918. 6 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION last analysis is the only teacher. What the school at- tempts to do—what, indeed, it is doing with increasing success as the art of teaching is refined—is to control the conditions of experience that the important lessons will be learned in the most economical and effective way.’’ * Thinking.—Perhaps the most important single function in the process of learning is that of think- ing. The educative process is not receptive. The most important factor is that of activity. The human mind develops through activity, as truly as does the body. The much-used phrase that we learn by doing is as true as it is hackneyed. Some- one has said that we learn our reactions—this is eminently true. The best way to provide reac- tions worth learning is through furnishing prob- lems for the student to solve. The problems are really thinking situations, and when a student meets a problem, works out its solution and masters it, he is doing what he will have to do all through life and is truly educating himself. It is this phase of our educational practice which needs to be emphasized. In his Walden, Thoreau gives a quaint state- ment of the futility of some of our teaching. It appears to be somewhat exaggerated, but there is, nevertheless, a grain of valuable truth hidden in his words of rebuke: “*... ‘But,’ says one, ‘do you not mean that the students should go to work with their hands instead of 3W. C. Bagley: Education as a Unique Type of Experience, Religious Education, Feb., 1923, Vol. 18, p. 35. PROJECT METHOD OF TEACHING 7 their heads?’ I do not mean that exactly—I mean that they should not play life, or study it merely, ... but earnestly live it. . . . How could youths better learn to live than by at once trying the experiment of living? Methinks this would exercise their minds as much as mathematics. If I wished a boy to know something about the arts and science, for instance, I would not pursue the common course, which is merely to send him into the Neighborhood of some professor, where everything is professed and practiced but the art of life—to survey the world through a telescope or a microscope, and never with his natural eye; to study chemistry, and not learn how his bread is made, or mechanics, and not learn how it is earned; to discover new satellites in Neptune, and not detect the motes in his eyes, or to what vagabond he is a satellite; or to be devoured by the monsters all around him, while contemplating the monsters in a drop of vinegar. Which would have advanced the most at the end of the month—the hoy who had made his own jack- knife from the ore which he had dug and smelted, read- ing as much as would be necessary for this—or the boy who had attended the lectures on metallurgy at the In- stitute in the meanwhile, and had received a Rogers pen- knife from his father? .. . . To my astonishment I was informed on leaving college that I had studied naviga- tion !—why, if I had taken one turn down the harbor I should have known more about it...’ The Project a Product of Necessity.—The pro- ject method of teaching as we use it to-day has grown out of conditions which have forced it into the field of education. It is truly a product of necessity, and has passed through something of an evolutionary process. The study of science has made it necessary to adopt methods which 8 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION will fit the student more thoroughly for the tasks which he is to meet out in life. Schools of engi- neering soon found that practical problems were necessary if the student was to fit himself for his — work. Work shops were provided, and among some of the earlier schools, where such facilities were not to be had because of lack of funds, pro- vision was made with local plants in which students were allowed to do their practical work and then report the results in class. The Rens- selaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, has the following provision to meet this situation: ‘That with the consent of the proprietors, a number of well-cultivated farms and workshops in the vicinity of the school be entered on the records of the school as places of scholastic exercises for the students, where the application of the sciences may be most conveniently taught.’’ Similarly, in law schools there has been the de-' mand for practical exercises and problems similar to those in actual life. The moot court has par- tially filled this need. Perhaps the most widely used teaching principle now in law schools isthe case method. Instead of teaching the principles of law in systematized and codified form, actual cases are studied, and the principles derived | secondarily. The same method has stnpamarned progress in the study of medicine. What the study of cases is to the law school, practice in the ‘clinie is to the PROJECT METHOD OF TEACHING 9 medical school. Of course in the teaching of medi- cine such vitalized instruction began with the ad- vent of modern medicine; its extension is the product of more recent years. For the project idea as we know it to-day, we are perhaps more indebted to teachers of agri- culture than to any other group. Stevenson says: **It was first employed in agricultural education by R. W. Stimson, who used the expression ‘home project’ in the agricultural courses of the Massachusetts voca- tional schools. In 1908-1910 the unmodified word ‘proj- ect’ was used by Stimson, Sneeden, Prosser and Allen in their report to the Massachusetts Legislature. Since its use,in Massachusetts, the term with many variations in meaning has been applied to many of the subjects of the course of study.’’ # The Project Method the Normal Way.—Why should procedure in school differ so radically from procedure out of school? Why should work in the classroom appear artificial while that outside is real? If the school is to perform its highest service its activities must be more closely related to life experiences. And the only way to do this is to bring into the schoolroom real problems for solution. It is along this path, and only this, that worth- while progress has been made in the world. The successful business man is the man who actually, works out projects. The project method is the normal way of achievement. Until problems arise 4Stevenson: The Project Method of Teaching, pp. 40-41. 10 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION there is no solution, no progress, no accomplish- ment. The world never knew that the mosquito carried the malarial parasite until it faced the problem of combating the diseases. And a simi- lar situation arose in the fight against yellow fever. The Panama canal was made possible be- cause of a commercial exigency, and that fine piece of engineering was given to the world only through the solution of a big problem. This is the rile of life, this is the way civilization has moved forward. It was the method of Archi- medes, of Galileo, of Pasteur, of Gorgas and all pioneers who have had part in the achievements of mankind. | Similarly, with progress made in wireless tele- phony; it is the process of overcoming obstacles in the path of radio transmission. And, in the South there is the great economic problem of the boll weevil. His depredations have forced upon the Southern people an economic stumbling-block - which is commanding the united thinking of the best scientific minds of the country. It is in such situations that thinking occurs. It is the ‘‘forked road’’ situation that makes men think, and school children too. Many educators view with much hope the effective use of this principle in our schools. | CHAPTER II A PROJECT IN CHURCH HISTORY Tuer Prorestant REFORMATION The teacher of religion soon becomes aware of the fact that his students need a thorough under- standing of the Protestant Revolt of the 16th cen- tury that the Protestantism of to-day may be more thoroughly comprehended. The need for a broad background of information is pressing, and before the Protestant Church of to-day can fulfill its highest mission she must take the time to recall the circumstances and conditions which gave her birth. Most fundamental in all our efforts in re- ligious education is an understanding of this his- torical background. Else we drift into a crcle of activity and eventually repeat the same errors from which we were once liberated. The student of to-day needs to come in touch with the foundations of this structure we call Protestantism. It is all the more needful if he is to have part in shaping the policies and fixing the destiny of this branch of the Christian Church. Indeed such an understanding is essential if he is to know his own church, whether Lutheran, Bap- tist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Congregational, 11 12 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Methodist or other. Ignorance of those great re- ligious forces, which have liberated the conscience of mankind, tends toward denominational bigotry and egotism. One becomes absorbed in the ac- tivities of a particular denominational group and fails to see the broader movement; and worse still, loses himself in his own church and overlooks the great religious objectives of the race. Sufficient, then, are the reasons for devoting half year to a study of the Protestant Reforma- tion. The project, an account of which will follow, was undertaken by a group of college. students in the Junior class. The class met two hours a week for eighteen weeks making a total of thirty-six — recitations. The Conventional Method.—Ordinarily a text- book on the Protestant Reformation would be selected and regular assignments by pages would be made. The teacher would do more or less lec- turing and would require the class to take notes and perhaps have them presented to the instructor for inspection and grading. As a stimulus to mental activity, and for the purpose of securing some data in the form of tens or zeros, questions would be asked on the lesson and answers would come forth from the book with varying degrees of accuracy. Perhaps some collateral reading would be assigned and reports required to verify the statement that the work was well done. A test would probably be given as a stimulus, and cer- tainly as a goad to urge on the inevitable straggler A PROJECT IN CHURCH HISTORY 13 who sits in every classroom. And, as a final urge and a day of accounting, there would be the ex- amination, for which there is always much ‘‘cram- ming’’ and often little knowledge. Please do not understand that the writer is dis- crediting, wholly, the above procedure and that he has lost all faith in the conventional method of teaching. He has, however, followed that path with students and has felt that in some re- - spects, at least, there must be a more excellent way. One cardinal fault with much teaching is that students are not allowed to take the initiative in the problem at hand. The teacher carries the load, and the class follows, or not. Let the class carry the load, and let the teacher direct. Many recitations are characterized by two factors, the offensive movements of the teacher and the de- fensive attitude of the students. The recitation may easily resolve itself into a volley of questions and queries which originate behind the teacher’s desk, while the class is kept busy trying to fab- ricate answers which will fit the questions asked and satisfy the inquisitor. Is it not reasonable to suppose that there may be injected into the teaching process some live purpose, aim, or objective which will add interest to the task at hand and thus vitalize study by re- lating it to life and experience? Why may there not be some interesting problematic act which will add zest to the work? And why not undertake a 14 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION unit of study that may be completed? And why may not the work be given a natural setting rather than an artificial setting? The following projects will attempt to answer these questions. The Project.—It was agreed that the class would dramatize some outstanding situation in the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s appearance before the Diet of Worms gave promise of dramatic elements and it was definitely decided that the dramatization would center around this incident. It was explained that a thorough knowl- | edge of the whole Protestant movement would be necessary before the Diet scene could be properly — presented. It was readily seen that leading up to this incident were many and varied causes, and that the Diet of Worms was but the culmination of a network of incidents and events. In other words it was a unit around which clustered the main lines of thought and activity that energized the Protestant Revolt. To understand Luther at Worms is to have an appreciation of the major movements in religion in the 16th cen- tury. The project, then, was to write a drama, the scene of which was to be laid in Germany during the Protestant Revolt and the main action was to center about Martin Luther. Not All Dramatists —It was soon discovered that not all people are given to writing dramas, and for fear of running awry with an undertaking - for which many had no aptitude, a’sudden shift Wi (Oa A XK PROJECT IN CHURCH HISTORY G) was made in the plans. Some were very anxious for the dramatic undertaking, others simply could not do it. The addition of an alternative plan saved the situation. It was this: All the general investigations into the subject were to be the same but the final development was to take two courses. Those who felt they could not write a drama were allowed to write a short book on ‘‘Some Aspects of the Protestant Reformation.’’ The class was then working on a double project. One group was gathering data for a drama, an- other group for a hook. With these two very definite objectives in view the work was under- taken in a whole-hearted fashion. eneral Investigations—It was, of course, necessary to give certain ‘‘leads’’ to the investi- gation and study of a unit of historical knowledge as large as the Protestant Reformation. The topics for investigation were assigned for each recitation until a general survey of the field was made, and from that point the movement was to correlate and collect those facts which were to make the drama or the book a finished product. It will be noted, from the list of topies given below, that there was not much effort at orderly sequence—no syllabus or outline, but rather a series of interesting events, places and characters. The correlation of these was left to the student and to what orderliness might grow out of the in- structor’s informal lectures and the open discus- sion in class. 16 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION The list of topics for investigation was as fol- lows: 1. Outline of Martin Luther’s Life. 2. Political and Ecclesiastical Influence of the Papacy in the 16th Century. 4. The Character of Medieval Monastery Life. 5. Charles V. 6. The Roman Nuncio Aleander. 7. The Inquisition, Episcopal, Papal, Spanish. 8. Outline of the Political Situation in Europe in Luther’s Lifetime. 9. Humanism. 10. Life of Erasmus. 11. Life of Savonarola. 12. Life of John Colet. 13. Life of John Calvin. 14. Life of John Knox. 15. Religious Pilgrimages and Image Worship. 16. History of the Vatican. 17. The Brethren of the Common Lot. 18. Character Sketch of Hans Bohm. 19. The Bundschuh Revolts. 20. Medieval Church Festivals and Miracle Plays. 21. Mendicant Orders. 22. Leipsiz Disputation. 23. The Ninety-five Theses. 24. The Augsburg Confession. 25. The Council of Trent. Conduct of the Recitation—For about half of the term, the recitation period was spent in con- sidering the general phases of the course. That is, there was no special effort to condense the accumulated data to fit either the drama or the A PROJECT IN CHURCH HISTORY 17 book. The work upon the project had not prop- erly begun. It was understood that a general survey of the field was necessary before anything in particular could be done. Reports were made by the students and supplemented by suggestions and notes from the instructor. All of these dis- cussions were characterized by a lively interest. The class caught the spirit of freedom and inde- pendence and felt very keenly that they had a hand in determining the character of the course. The Drama.—A few words, in detail, about plans for the dramatic arrangement may be per- missible. The question of what was to be in- cluded in the play soon arose. The main difficulty was in de*ermining what to leave out. How many acts? What ought we include, so that a play of two or three hours’ length might convey to an audience the cardinal points in the situation and at the same time carry no surplus matter. After considerable deliberation the dramatic group decided that three acts would be sufficiently long. There were, of course, divergent views con- cerning the main points around which these acts should center. The following outline of one of the plays is fairly representative of the group: Act I, Scene I. Medieval Monastery. Scene II. Luther Ordained Priest. Act II, Scene I. Indulgence Sellers. Seene II. The Ninety-five Theses. Scene III. Burning the Bull of Excommuni- cation. 18 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Act III, Scene I, The University of Wittenberg. Seene II. The Diet of Worms. Seene III. The Peace of Augsburg. The Book.—The little book of eight chapters on ‘‘Some Aspects of the Protestant Reforma- tion’’ was the project for the second group. This book was to be written with a very specific pur- pose in view. It was to be written for young people, and presumably to serve as collateral reading in the Young People’s Department of the Sunday School. Further, this book was presum- ably to occupy a place in the International Closely Graded Lessons. To make the task more specific the class was shown specimens of literature for the Young People’s Department. This gave a very definite idea of what was desired and impressed the thought that the work in hand was practical and was related to some real life problems. Some of the books in the Closely Graded Lessons are ‘““The History and Literature of the Hebrew People,’? ‘‘The History of New ‘Testament Times,’’ ‘‘The Bible and Social Living’? and others. The fact that these students were writing a similar book on an historical subject and that there was the possibility of their work having practical value, added an element of genuineness - and naturalness to their efforts. The eight chapters of the book are as follows: Chapter I. The Political and Ecclesiastical Influ- ence of the Papacy in the 16th Century. Chapter II. The Political Situation in Europe. A PROJECT IN CHURCH HISTORY 19 Chapter JII. The Renaissance and the Reformation. Chapter IV. Medieval Church Festivals and Miracle Plays. Chapter V. Humanism and the Reformation. Chapter VI. Martin Luther. Chapter VII. The Theory and Practice of Papal In- dulgences. Chapter VIII. The Diet of Worms. Bibliography. Outside Help.—Not far from the college, where this project was worked out, is the Lutheran Theological Seminary. Arrangements were made whereby the students could make use of the Seminary Library. The authorities there co- operated by selecting all the books on the Protes- tant Reformation and placed them on a separate table where they were easily accessible. As one would expect, the atmosphere of the place was conducive to serious study of the great reformer. Various pictures of Luther were seen on the walls of the library and in the classrooms, and in all, the general surroundings made the study of Lutheranism and the Revolt of more than ordi- nary interest. The Dean of the Seminary, Dr. Voight, who is an authority on the Reformation, was asked to lecture to the class. This lecture was given near the end of the course, so that a full appreciation of the advanced discussion might be possible. The subject of this special lecture was ‘‘ Political as- pects of the Protestant Reformation.’’ It was re- 20 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ceived with unusual interest by the class and furnished a valuable background to the study. | summary.—The project was in every sense a success, measured from the standpoint of interest and the acquisition of facts. A large unit of knowl- edge was approached from a practical angle; in the first instance, a dramatic undertaking and in the second, the writing of a_ book. Students talked about their work outside the class- room. This is a sure sign of healthy interest. A problem closely related to life, and to the things people do when they are out of college -was under- taken and completed. The work was neatly bound and made to look as much like a book as possible. The title was generally printed on the cover with the author’s name appended in regular form. A table of contents was added at the end of the book © or at the close of each chapter. Hvery precaution was taken to conform to regular ‘‘book style’’ so far as the mechanical arrangement of a manu- script made that possible. When the books came in, all neatly bound, they were the objects of much interest to both the class and outsiders. A Field Secretary of Sunday School work visiting the col- lege was impressed with the general make-up of the completed project and asked that he be allowed to place some copies in his Religious Hiducation Exhibit which is shown in Training Schools for Sunday School teachers. Such a request, of course, added to the practical phase of the job and convinced the students that they--had done a A PROJECT IN CHURCH HISTORY 21 piece of work which had some real value in the outside world. It may be well to measure this piece of work by the generally accepted definition of the project. Perhaps the definition which comes nearest to a proper estimate of this conception is that of J. A. Stevenson: ‘‘A project is a problematic act carried to completion in its natural setting.’’ 1. Both the drama and the book were problem- atic acts. There were questions of arrangement, suitable data, dramatic climax, costuming, scenery, characters, etc., involved in the drama project. In the book there was the problem of selecting data for eight chapters, of adapting the style and treatment of the subject to young people, of producing a book which would be suitable for an already well established course of graded re- ligious literature. And for finishing a manu- seript which would conform to the best regulations in the book world. 2. The project was carried to completion. The drama was written and preparations are now be- ing made for its production. They were handed over to the Expression Department for criticism and suggestion. The head of the department re- ported that there was real dramatic merit in some of the plays and offered to direct the class in the production of one of the best of them. The proj- ect will reach its full completeness when the play is produced. 3. The project was carried out in its natural 22 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION setting. The work was done in the atmosphere of an institution of learning, where books and, more or less, expert advice were available. The college maintains considerable stage equipment and the Expression Department is constantly producing plays. For both the drama and the book the col- lege community furnished a natural setting for the practical working of the projects. CHAPTER III THE PROJECT METHOD AS APPLIED TO THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE The purpose of this chapter is to give briefly an account of a course in the history of the English Bible wherein the project method of teaching was applied. The class consisted of first year students, Freshmen, and the course covered a period of ap- proximately eight weeks, making a total of six- teen recitations. Usually an Uninteresting Course.—The teacher had noticed that this subject as previously taught had been uninteresting to the average student. This particular phase of general Bible informa- tion was considered dry and difficult to learn. Many of the names seemed queer and entirely foreign, the dates of the translations had little meaning and the whole process was generally arti- ficial and vague. Causes for This Lack of Interest.—The question naturally arises, Why should not a college student find interest in a subject of such practical value; a subject concerning the most widely known book inthe world? There are several reasons that are patent. First, the information was all second- 23 24 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION hand and too briefly compiled. The student had not the zest that the author of the book enjoyed as he searched through the original sources of in- formation and got at the material out of which books are made. The average mind rebels at pre- pared knowledge and has a longing for the spirit of adventure which the author enjoys in his search for information. I well remember with what re- luctance my former students undertook a study of the various translators, the dates, and char- acteristics of each translation. The trouble seemed to lie in the thought that the story of the English Bible was set apart from life and that there was nothing in it that might make its ap- — peal to the life of to-day. The second reason why the course was unin- teresting and difficult was that the student fell in largely with the memoriter method of study. The material was to be memorized; to be recited in class and retained only long enough to write down on an examination paper and then discarded to that oblivion where college students cast much that they learn. The besetting sin of most students is that they try to memorize the facts they find in books, instead of using these facts as an aid in understanding the subject. Most teachers will confess that there is a strong tendency among students to learn just what they find in the book. Worst of all they learn it in disconnected, disjointed fashion, out of relation with other facts. It is but trite to say that this THE PROJECT METHOD AND HISTORY 25 stultifies intellectual initiative and produces imi- tators and memorizers rather than thinkers and scholars. ‘The main objective of the average student in his study time, is to retain the informa- tion of the book, so that it may be recalled in the classroom when demanded by the teacher. He is often a slave digging out facts to be presented to an instructor, instead of an investigator working on his own account in cooperation with his teacher. I have discovered that there was a third cause for lack of interest in the subject. This might properly be termed, a lack of an adequate objec- twe. ,'There was no pertinent life-interest in the history of the English Bible to the student; no use for the information save to be repeated in class and reproduced on examination. Had the student had an appointment to deliver a speech on this subject before the Literary Society, he might have attacked the problem in an entirely different spirit. Or if some religious newspaper had requested an article along this line he could have approached his task with the consciousness that there was a reality in the work; a use for the thing he was trying to produce. As a matter of fact this is one standard by which the worth of any body of knowledge may be judged. This theory, of course, may easily be carried to absurd limits, but in it is to be found a factor which will go far toward vitalizing our conceptions of worth- while knowledge. A Project in Dramatization.—Realizing the “26 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION need of some stimulating objective in the course, the teacher suggested that the class, if they cared to, might dramatize the story of the English Bible. Suggestions and opinions were called for and there seemed to be entire unanimity on the part of the class in desiring to undertake the project. This of course was a very natural outcome, as every teacher well knows; for the average student is very willing to adopt the novel, and anything that looks interesting and out of the ordinary. But the’ impulse 1s not a bad one, and often the essentials of what we are driving at may be at- tained by following the natural bent of the student’s mind. If dramatizing the history of the English Bible will enable a group of students to grasp the essential facts in the situation, then the ~ innovation is justifiable. : The plan of dramatization was thoroughly dis- cussed by the class. It was agreed that a very simple presentation was necessary, and that the project might be carried to its full completion and would be presented in the college chapel some Sunday evening. In any event, presentation was to be made in the class as the culminating event in the course. Textbook or Not.—In this course no texthook | was used. As a guide to the general topic a chap- ter from a textbook which gave a general survey of the Bible and its contents was selected. This chapter gave very briefly the various translators and their work, extending from the early Anglo- THE PROJECT METHOD AND HISTORY 27 Saxon fragmentary translations down to the Standard Edition of the American Revised Ver- sion. It was desired that the bulk of the work should be done in the library and that many sources of information would be found. A brief outline of the proposed field of study was put on the blackboard and kept constantly before the class for reference and discussion. The outline was arranged chronologically with brief suggestive hints and dates as follows: Early Anglo-Saxon Translations I. Entrance into England of Augustine, the Roman- Catholic monk, with the Vulgate, 596. From this Latin text sprang most of the fragmentary translations of this period. II. Caedmon, a monk of Whitby in Northumbria, died 580. Author of the metrical paraphrases of the creation account and Old Testament stories. III. Guthlae of Croyland near the close of the seventh century prepared an interlinear translation of the Pslams. IV. Adhelm, Bishop of Sherbourne, later translated the Psalms into the English Vernacular, some in prose, some in poetry. V. Bede, the ecclesiastical historian, is credited with a translation of the whole Bible, but the claim is doubt- ful; it is more probable that he translated the Gospel of John. Died 735. VI. King Alfred is said to have translated some por- tions and to have prefixed the Ten Commandments in . English to his laws. Other fragmentary translations were probably executed under his direction. Died 901. VII. Aelfrie, Archbishop of Canterbury, about 990. 28 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Credited with the most extensive translation from the Latin into the vernacular. The Norman Invasion (1066) I. For several centuries biblical work was character- | ized by fragmentary translations into Norman-french. II. The Canterbury Psalter of 12th century contains interlinear translations of Anglo-Saxon and Norman- French. The Manuscript Bible I. Wycliffe (died 1384) a landmark in the history of the English Bible. His New Testament appeared about 1380, the whee Bible soon after. Translations made from Latin Vulgate and the ver- nacular text current at that time. II. Purvey, a contemporary of Wycliffe, soon after the latter’s death undertook a complete revision of the — Bible. This step contributed much to a refinement of the English translation. The Printed Bible (Translations of the Period of the Reformation) I. Tyndale, a Franciscan priest known as the father of the English Bible. Burned at the stake 1536. Tyn- dale’s work was influenced by contact with the Greek New Testament of Erasmus; his life was a conspicuous factor in the dissolution of the Roman Catholie Church. He issued the New Testament in full and parts of the. old, but died before the work was completed. IL. Coverdale issued the first completed printed Hng- lish Bible 1535. Translation based upon the Vulgate and translations of Luther and Tyndale, no claim being made that the work was based upon the original languages. THE PROJECT METHOD AND HISTORY 29 III. Matthew (Rogers). The Matthew Bible appeared in 1587. Its real author was, most probably, John Rogers, a friend of Tyndale, with whom the latter left his unfinished manuscripts before he died. IV. Taverner.—Richard Taverner edited in 1539 a Bible which was principally a revision of the work of John Rogers. Taverner was a Greek scholar. V. The Great Bible, 1539. (Cromwell, Cranmer, Tun- stall and. Heath. ) VI. The Geneva Bible, 1560. This translation made in exile. VII. The Bishops’ Bible, 1568. Genevan Bible was too Calvinistic and anti-episcopal, and the Great Bible was defective in translation, hence the Bishops’ Bible (three,fourths of translators were bishops), the official Bible of the Church. VIII. Rheims and Douay Version, a product of the Roman church, 1609; was not translated from the Greek and Hebrew but from the Latin Vulgate. Translations from 1611 to Present I. The Authorized Version, 1611, commonly called the King James Version. . Il. The English Revised Version, 1885. American scholars participated by way of suggestion ; these sugges- tions were incorporated in an appendix to each volume. III. The American Revised Version, 1898; issued by the University presses of England with American ap- pended suggestions incorporated in the text. IV. Standard Edition of the American Revised Ver- sion, 1901; an American product which is perhaps nearer to the original Scriptures than any to date. Bibliography: Wescott: History of the English Bible. SmytH: How We Got Our Bible. 30 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Price: The Ancestry of Our English Bible. _ HISELEN-BARCLAY: The Worker and His Bible. GARDNER: The Bible as English Literature. Encyclopedias and Bible Dictionaries. A More Condensed Scheme.—A more condensed scheme of the course is very helpful and may also be kept constantly in view of the class. It is ad- visable to have each student retain a copy of the outline and the briefer diagram in his notebook for constant reference. This is no minor matter. Students do not generally see knowledge groups in wholes. One of the first things to see m any course is the end. A journey is always pleasanter and shorter if the end is kept in view. Not to know where one is going, in travel or in study, is at once confusing and debilitating. As I look back over my college work as a student I am impressed © with the fact that I seldom knew just where I was headed. Teachers should be careful to explain to their students the main objectives of their work. There is too much fragmentery knowledge which can never properly be organized. The student needs constantly to be taken on the plane of the teacher where he may see his work in its proper perspective. The diagram given on opposite page, a kind of family tree of our English Bible, is adapted from the one given in that admirable little book of J. Patterson Smyth, ‘‘How We Got Our Bible.’’ The following paragraphs will show more fully the THE PROJECT METHOD AND HISTORY 31 DiaGRAM SHOWING GENEALOGY OF THE ENGLISH BrIBLE! | ORIGINAL MSS. LOST ist century | MANUSCRIPTS VERSIONS EARLY CHRISTIAN Original languages.... Latin, Syriac, etc. FATHERS | | | 4th century Vulgate | : 9th century. Toca | 14th century ee led 16th century Tyndale Coverdale Great Bible Geneva Bible | 17th century Authorized 1611 \ English Revised 1885 19th century American Revised 1898 Standard Edition (American) 1901 1 Adapted from Smyth’s, ‘How We Got Our Bible,’ 32 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION manner in which modern scholars make use of ancient manuscripts, old versions and quotations from the early Christian Fathers: ‘‘The science that deals with this mass of evidence is called ‘textual criticism,’ a science which though only in its infancy when our Authorized Version was issued, has reached in the present day a very high degree of | perfection. Suppose then, our revisers, men skilled in this study, are occupied on say a passage in the Epistle to the Romans, desiring to present as nearly as possible as it left the ands of St. Paul, how will they mae use of this mass of evidence? | ‘‘1. They will search for the very oldest Greek manu- scripts in which the Epistle occurs, for, as we have already seen, the oldest are likely to be the most correct, and they will get as many as possible of them to compare them together for the eliminating of any errors that may have crept in, for it is evident that if a number of copies . are made of the same original, even should each of the copyists have erred, no two are likely to make the same error, therefore a false reading in any one can often be corrected by comparison with the others. ‘*2. Then they will examine the Ancient Versions, and see how the passage in question was read in Syriac and Latin and other ancient languages 1700 years ago. © ‘**3. But what use can they make of the rest of the parchments—those writings of the early Christian Fa- thers? A very important use. They search these care- fully for quotations from this Epistle. These early | Fathers quoted Scripture so largely in their Contro- versies that it has been said if all the other sources of . the Bible were lost, we could recover the greater part of it from their writings.’’ + 1Smyth: How We Got Our Bible. James Pott & Co. THE PROJECT METHOD AND HISTORY 33 A Bird’s-eye View of the Course.—The general plan of procedure in the course was to have the class work up the data to supplement the outline, keeping in mind always the ultimate objective of presenting in simple dramatic form the high points in this story of the evolution of the English Bible. Before making the detailed study of the various editions, a rapid survey of the entire field was made, devoting two or three recitations to this task. After the general drift of the story was had, principally through lectures given by the in- structor, detailed assignments were made for work in the library. Library Work.—The task now was to make a careful investigation of some of the early Anglo- Saxon translators and their contribution toward the work. It is a mistake to think that students dislike to do research work. Some of the best work done by the Freshman class at this particu- lar time was of that nature. There is in this kind of work, the spirit of independence; of doing something on one’s own account. There is nothing so stimulating to the average student as the con- sciousness that his task calls for originality, and that he may walk an unbeaten path. I have seen my own students enter in upon such limited re- search with a vigor and interest that no textbook, however attractively written, could command. It was in this spirit of literary adventure that a class of Freshmen set out to learn something about Caedmon, Guthlac and Adhelm; for this was 84 PROJECT METHOD IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION the first day’s assignment. The class was divided into three groups and each group was assigned a translator. Notes were to be taken and reported. Everything in the library of the college was ran- sacked for information concerning these queer names. Dictionaries, encyclopedias, books on Biblical literature, history texts, etc., were all requisitioned, that interesting data might be un- earthed to go into the dramatic arrangement of the story. | Problem of the Arrangement of the Drama,— Very soon the question of the elaborateness of the dramatic arrangement arose. It was soon dis- covered that the arrangement must of necessity be as simple as possible. How are we to present on the stage the facts which we have dug up? This was an early question. Some asked, are we - to let Caedmon come on the stage and tell of his part and what he did; and are Wycliffe and Tyn- dale to do the same? Some suggested that it would be a flagrant exhibition of egotism for either of these characters to tell of their sacrifices and hardships in their efforts to put the Latin Bible into the English Vernacular. Some sug- gested that the spirits of these men might appear on the stage and thus obviate some of the oddities of the other plan. It was generally agreed that while a pronouncement in the first person would bring about certain perplexities, it was necessary to present these old characters, because the THE PROJECT METHOD AND HISTORY 35 audience would be interested in their general ap- pearance. ‘*History’’ the Interlocutor—After consider- able contemplation and discussion it was finally agreed that there would be a character named ‘‘History,’’ and that the whole pageant would re- volve around this one personage. ‘‘History’’ would recite a prologue and prepare the audience for what was coming; she would present the dif- ferent translators and tell of that part of their lives which might be embarrassing if related in the first person. The advantage of a versatile character like ‘‘History’’? was soon appreciated, and many of the problems of an intricate drama were solved. For the play had now resolved it- self into a simple pageant, with ‘‘History’’ as the leading manipulator. The Initiative of the Student.—One of the most valuable assets of the classroom is student initia- tive. 0 are 4 6 6 8 6 Ns Ree 10. See 0.6 O,.D>0 Cr ie “* *pesturoid qsyndeg 9qy uyor jo quid . SNOILVIONONNY GHL ‘6 YALdVHO QE-LZ:E nT LI-T'T ‘YIN oe eee ewe eee ene ‘ * solso[voues OMY ouL ‘e P-L NT C"6..m 0-0" 'e ie. 6-64 n) 66a -0~ 1, hoe aa @ 10-8078 f) 26-8 8.6 8 BUN Nis 6-8 86) G82 SOS jedso3 8,oyn'T] jo s0Bjolg ee ee ek era a me ee eee eee eee ee ee anes eee 4, S 0-64 6 S&S 680 +6 6-9 steeeeeses sradsos suyor jo onsojoig A NOILOGS AYOLONGOULNI “Il UALAVHO Gall ALVATYd JO SUVHA ALYIHL AHL I LYVd eSTHdSO0 WNOL AHL AO ANITLOO TVOILATVNV aos wel sprioydoys 94} pus spoFue ory, * tr sstsssesssqerug oy} sneer jo Wig * Ce ysydeg oud uyor jo ywig . 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