Recent Educational Experiments. I
Nottingham Remedial Teaching Centre.
In July, 1935, the City of Nottingham Education Committee appointed Miss A. M. Gibson as a Remedial Teacher to supplement the provision for children who are educationally handicapped.
Miss Gibson is an experienced teacher who hasi also studied Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Medical Psychology and has taken the Academic Diploma in Psychology of the University of London.
In Nottingham, in addition to Special Schools for Physically and Mentally Defective Children, provision is made for retarded children to be taught in special classes in the ordinary schools. There are at present over 60 of these special classes. They are small enough for the children to receive individual attention (not more than 32 in a class) and have a special curriculum with a practical bias. The children are re-tested annually by the Head Teacher with standardised educational tests and each class is then examined by the School Medical Officer. Any anomalous cases are specially noted by him, particularly those children whose educational progress is not commensurate with their innate ability. These cases are reported to the Education Committee’s Inspector and are then fully examined by her or by Miss Gibson, and those who are found to have specific educational disabilities or other handicaps are put on her waitin e list for treatment as soon as it can be arranged.
Cases selected for special treatment attend Miss Gibson’s Remedial Teaching Centre, where they are coached individually. The amount of time devoted to each case per week varies considerably; the majority attend twice a week for periods of 40 to 45 minutes, but certain cases have for a time attended daily, whereas in the later stages of treatment attendance once a week or merely an occasional visit is often found to be sufficient.
During this first year the cases treated have been mainly urgent cases of Reading disability in the Senior Schools. It is hoped that in future such cases will receive attention before entering the Senior Departments.
The organisation of this work, as well as the methods used are still in the experimental stage, and it is too early to report results.
Lankhills Special School, Winchester.
An interesting investigation has been proceeding in this progressive Residential Special School, under the direction of its Head Master, Mr. J. Duncan, into ” Concrete Intelligence ” as expressed in the power of performance as distinct from ability in the more theoretical branches of school work.
An Interim Report appears in the current Annual Report of the School Medical Officer for Hampshire (Dr H. Leslie Cronk) and to the final report, a copy of which through the kindness of the Head Master has reached us, we hope to refer at greater length in our next issue.
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