H. E. Armstrong and the Teaching of Science 1880 1930

Originally published in 1973 this is a selection of the educational writings of H. E. Armstrong edited with a full introduction by W. H. Brock. Henry Armstrong (18481937) was a controversial and energetic publicist for reforms in science teaching and curricula. He was concerned to make teaching at all levels less didactic and authoritarian more practical and experimental; where possible a student should be prompted by his own curiosity and should learn things first hand. He called his approach ''heuristic'' - meaning learning through discovery - and sought to establish it through public platforms like the British Association schools and through his own training of teachers. In his introduction Dr Brock offers a historical critique of Dr Armstrong''s methods and achievements and considers to what extent he can be seen as a progenitor of subsequent curriculum reforms.