Instruction of a technical subject with a general problem-solving methodology

Abstract

The author describes an electrical course taught at the General Electric plant in Lynn, Massachusetts. The course was unique in that before the subject was taught the students were taught two mental skills that were then used to teach the subject. The skills decreased memorization and increased comprehension. The two mental skills that were taught are: an analytic procedure for obtaining a problem's equations; and a way of graphically showing how a technical and/or mathematical subject is developed, i.e., a way of showing graphically the pattern of how the equations (or other kinds of relations) of a subject are combined to develop the subject.<>