duty to point out the improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons for it, but if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally come to habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success or failure in his own work.  In all this discussion of teaching children to study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual process—­and only very slowly does the child become conscious of the technique.  Which elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left to himself, must depend on his maturity and previous training.  In time, however, he should be able to apply them all—­for only by so doing will he become capable of independent study.

When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply, for, after all, memory is but mental habit.  There are other factors which enter into and which should be used in this type of study.  First, the child should realize the need for understanding the material that is to be learned, before beginning to memorize it.  He will then be taught to read the entire assignment through—­look up difficult words and references, master the content, whether prose or poetry, whether the learning is to be verbatim or not, before doing anything further.  Second, he will need to know the value of the modified whole method of learning, as well as its difficulties.  If in the supervised periods of study and in class work, this method has been followed, it is very easy to make him conscious of it and willing to adopt it when he comes to do independent study.  Third, he must be taught to distribute his time so that he does not devote too long a stretch to one subject.  The value of going over work in the morning, after having studied the night or two nights before, should be emphasized.  Also the value of beginning on assignments some time ahead, even if there is not time to finish them.  Fourth, the child should be taught not to stop his work the minute he can give it perfectly.  The need for overlearning, for permanent retention, must be made clear.  How much overlearning is necessary, each child should find out for himself.  Fifth, the value of outlining material as a means of aiding memory must be stressed.  Sixth, the child should be taught to search for associations, connections of all types, in order to help himself remember facts.  He might even be encouraged to make up some mnemonic device as an aid if these measures fail.  If instead of simply trying to hammer material in by mere repetition children had been taught in their study to consciously make use of the other elements in a good memory, much time would be saved.  But the responsibility should rest finally on the child to make use of these helps.  The teacher must make him conscious of them, sometimes from their value by experiment, and then teach him to use them himself.