This  plan  is  identical  in  principle  with  that  now  in
use  at  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  at  Yale.  There
the  students  spend  their  whole  time  for  three  weeks
before  the  opening  of  the  second  year  in  a  well-organized
course  of  this  sort  called  '  mechanical  technology.'
The  boys  do  no  actual  manual  work  in  shops.  The
purpose  of  the  course  as  stated  in  the  catalogue  is,
'to  acquaint  the  student  with  the  terms  and  processes
in  use  in  manufacturing  and  power  plants,  and  to  give
him  some  personal  contact  with  engineering  work
before  taking  up  his  studies  in  the  classroom  and  the
drafting  room.'  "


160        THE   PROJECT   METHOD   OF   TEACHING


1


Both  of  these  methods  illustrate  the  effort  made
to  raise  the  problem  in  its  natural  setting.  The
students  see  the  commercial  operations  in  their  natural
setting  and  to  that  extent  the  procedure  approaches
the  idea  of  the  project.  The  exercises  are  not  true
projects  because  the  students  did  not  carry  out  any  of
the  processes ;  they  did  not  acquire  any  manual  skill,
nor  were  principles  developed  as  needed  in  carrying
any  of  the  processes  to  completion.
Another  method  of  handling  the  shop  problem  is
illustrated  at  the  Worcester  Polytechnic  Institute.
There  on  the  campus  is  established  a  small  manu-
facturing plant  where  twenty  journeymen  are  regularly
employed  and  articles  made  for  the  open  market.
The  students  work  side  by  side  with  the  journeymen,
but  are  relieved  by  them  of  much  of  the  monotonous
repetition.  Apparently  the  students  are  not  kept  at
a  process  longer  than  is  necessary  to  obtain  a  fair
mastery.  In  addition  to  this,  the  students  are  given
thorough  training  in  scientific  shop  management.
