Habit-Formation and the Science of Teaching

In the book, Habit-Formation and the Science of Teaching, author Stuart Henry Rowe presents insights on being consciously aware of forming habits for different types of studies. The excerpts from the book below highlights some of his insights.

Interest in the subject as the foundation for habit formation

The real source of initiative must be drawn from an interest in the subject and and appreciation of the importance of making this organization automatic. These interests are themselves habits in many instances, but serve to carry other habits still further.

A habit of tolerance

Such (tolerance) habits are not established by definitely concentrating on them. The sort of initiative which is effective is based on imitation skillfully suggested, with considerable emphasis of approval and disapproval. In fact, it is quite possible that the very best way to bring about in a child such a habit is to make no attempt to teach it all, but merely to comment naturally and frankly as one would regardless of any thought of teaching. There is no doubt that many habits of religious, semi-religious, or moral chacarter are never really presented nor drilled upon. They develop naturally and incidentally, and it is safe to allow them to develop in that way, remembering that unconscious learning is the best kind, if it succeeds. All habits of wider application, like the protracted types of disciplinary habits, have elements of unconscious learning in them; habits of appreciating the scheme of nature as revealed in physics and chemistry, of catching the atmosphere of the French or German language, of looking for the elements in history which make for the success and failure of nations, are only established in the course of time as a result of much untaught learning and organizing on the part of the pupil. The formula corresponding to the habit might have been given almost at the outset, but, the habit in its full development is the product of time, i.e. the product of numerous instances of unconscious though reflective practice.

When studying a subject, first identify which habits are to be formed

Drill is the process of artificially promoting repetition for the sake of getting facility in some branch of study. Courses of study should indicate where important habits are to be formed. Books on special method should show these habits are to be formed.