Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

William James Talks to Teachers;

Contributions to Contemporary Learning Approaches
Lindsay A. Birchall
University of Calgary

Advanced History, Theory and Practice of Psychology EDPS 635

Dr. John Mueller
August 6th, 2014

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

William James
Known as The Father of American Psychology, William James was one of the most
influential historical figures in the field to date. Considered to be a founder of functional
psychology, James popularized pragmatism, a philosophical movement which recognized
practical consequences and individual life experiences as vital contributors to human
development. He termed this the theory of truth. James believed that a psychology without
introspection could not aspire to explain the complexities of human functioning (Pajares, 2003,
p. 47), acknowledging the individual as a navigator in their own development.
Because James endorsed the separation of philosophy and theory from practical
implications on human development, his ideas were not well accepted during their infancy.
Pragmatism challenged the developing institutes of Behaviourism in the early 19th century
because of James strong beliefs that an individuals neurodevelopment hinged on their
individual experience, contradictory to Behaviourisms belief of external consequences alone
shape a persons behaviours and beliefs. Specifically, James asserted that an individuals free will
or true beliefs conduct their perception of new information. He brought forth the conception of
habits, which he regarded as a series of neurological associations. James believed these habits
helped a person navigate new experiences more efficiently and automatically. James (1899),
boldly asserted, could the young but realize how soon they will become mere walking bundles
of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. We are spinning
our own fates, good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice
leaves its never-so-little scar (p. ?, Ch.8). This belief that an individuals associations and habits
are the main contributors to development influenced Jamess recommendations to promote
learning in the classroom.

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

Pragmatism has diversely contributed to a variety of institutes, including psychology,

pedagogy and social theory as well as metaphysics and ethics. William James wrote many
historically influential works including Principles of Psychology, which was a ground-breaking
text in the field of psychology, Essays in Radical Empiricism, an important text in philosophy,
and The Varieties of Religious Experience, which investigated different forms of religious
experience. William James Talks to Teachers (1899), was originally a series of lectures, later
converted to text and then published as a book. His general ideas about the nature of the learner,
the optimal conditions of instruction and the nature of important learning-instructional outcomes
continue to resonate on each and every Canadian classroom today (Pajares, 2003).
Talks to Teachers Effective Approaches to Teaching
James discussed a number of teaching approaches in his collection of lectures to teachers,
including: the importance individual learning styles, the effectiveness of imitation and modeling
as a teaching tool, the critical role motivation plays in a students learning, the obligation
teachers have to implement individualized approaches and the importance of student
engagement. Many of James recommendations, made over 100 years ago, are readily observed
within todays classrooms, across all ages and educational domains.
Variability in Learning Kinesthetic Learning. Through his laws of Contiguity
(associating one stimuli to another) and Similarity (categorizing new information based on past
experience), James identified how children effectively learn new information. He believed that
for the child to develop these associations, a teacher must employ the use of effective modalities
in their presentation of new concepts. Specifically, James (1899), theorized that harnessing a
childs innate curiosity, a higher level intellectual instinct that is more vivacious during
childhood and youth then adult life, (p.?, Ch. 5), refraining from verbal presentation of material

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

alone, was critical to a childs learning. More explicitly, James (1899), ascertains that, material
things, things that move, living things, human actions and accounts of human action, will win the
attention better than anything that is more abstract, (p.?, Ch.9). He also believed in seizing
practical opportunities where teachers can get their children to think, to feel, and to do, (James,
1899). Even at older ages, James (1899), identified that object-teaching and manual training
methods, (p.?, Ch. 8), will leave the most enduring influence on a persons learning in
comparison to rote verbal or text presentation. In the classroom, he believed that even though a
students wording may be correct, their understanding may be direfully wrong, (James, 1899,
p. ?,Ch.5). Consequently, having a student express themselves by making things, and not by
using words, a teacher can inevitably instill curiosity and engagement, thereby solidifying a
childs understanding of new information, (James, 1899).
James recommendations for learning by doing can be compared to current views of
individual learning styles, and predominantly, kinesthetic or tactile learning. Kinesthetic learning
emphasizes teaching the student to carry out the activity rather than listen to a lecture or merely
observe a demonstration. Most prominent literature on this approach is Neil Flemings VARK
(visual, auditory, reading and writing, kinesthetic) model which explains kinesthetic learners as
people who learn best through experience (i.e. moving, touching and doing) (Fleming, 1995;
Fleming & Mills, 1992). At present, countless educational institutions employ James
endorsements for applied learning, such as vocational schools (e.g. auto mechanics,
aestheticians), charter schools (e.g. Calgary Arts Academy), Apprenticeship programs (e.g.
masonry) and Universities programs (e.g. practicums, research, Psy. D). Clearly, James
understood the importance of learning through experience well before these methods entered into
mainstream educational systems we see today.

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

Modeling and Imitation. Throughout Talks to Teachers, James stressed modeling and
imitation as prime facilitators of a childs learning and development. In the words of James,
imitation is imperative to the classroom in two ways: One, imitation shades imperceptibly
into Emulation. Emulation is the impulse to imitate what you see another doing, in order not to
appear inferior, and two, the teacher who meets with most success is the teacher whose own
ways are the most imitable (James, 1899, p. ?, Ch. 4). James frankly believed that children
cannot learn through readings and lectures alone, contradictory to teaching approaches of his
time. He directed teachers to invite their students to observe their actions, because this approach
was an incomparably better stimulus than "Go and do it as the book directs, (James, 1899, p.?,
Ch.4). However, James (1899), cautioned teachers; that a childs development is a compilation of
their total experience, positive or negative. We may relate James idea of imitation and emulation
to what we now recognise as Social Learning Theory, (Bandura, 1961), which suggests that
children learn behaviours from watching others.
Typically developing children easily and readily learn by observing and imitating others.
Teachers today have an improved understanding that one childs behaviours in the classroom
impact other childrens behaviours, in positive and negative ways. And, because it is universally
believed that teachers are role models for their students, there is also an enhanced
understanding of how a teachers behaviours can impact their students. This heightens a teachers
awareness that their negative or undesirable behaviours can have just as pertinent of an effect on
a childs development as their positive attributes. James (1899), summarizes his view of
imitation by deducing that imitation and emulation transpose into ambition, closely associated
with pugnacity and pride. This understanding of developing ambition and pride is clearly present
in current educational institutions, reflecting what James conceived a century ago.

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

Behaviourism-Motivation and Negative Consequences. It is important to note that

although James did not embrace strict behaviourism, he did support behavioural principles as
they apply to an individuals life experience and learning. Throughout Talks to Teachers he
describes multiple examples supporting the importance of examining behaviours through an
antecedent-behaviour-consequence model (e.g. if a child grabs a toy from an adult and receives a
negative consequence they will make that association in their mind and not grab it again or if a
child requests the toy, then receives it, they will store that association in their memory, more
likely to request the toy again). James (1899), also discusses the importance of motivation in the
classroom by declaring that in almost any subject, a persons passion will drive their learning
experience. Because he believed that free will impacts an individuals learning, James projected
that the exact same experience may have differing effects on different students. Also congruent
with behaviourism, James declared that when observing students behaviours, the measurement
of those behaviours within the context they occur, was critical in determining how associations
may dictate an individuals perceptions and subsequent actions (e.g. water may be associated
with fear for some, but may be associated with motivating experiences for others). James (1899),
also states that a teacher who is well loved by her students will obtain better results (i.e. the
teacher is associated with positive motivation) then a teacher with a more forbidding
temperament (i.e. teacher has been associated with fear of consequence), supporting
behaviourism. To summarize, one must truly understand how a persons perceptions are related
to their associations, in order to better understand their individual learning experience and
motivations.
One may compare James views to current use and conceptualization of Functional
Behavioural Assessment (FBA) in the classroom. FBA guides the teacher in analyzing the

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

potential costs and payoffs for specific behaviours, based on the individual student, not children
as a whole. A childs free will or true beliefs will influence their perceptions and actions, which
may be better identified through FBA, rather than observation alone. To take the previous
example, grabbing a toy may be a function of communication (as in the example above), but it
also could be a function of poor frustration tolerance (i.e. waiting calmly for their turn) or control
(e.g. the child did not like how the adult was playing with the toy). As such, Jamess
understanding of how past experiences guide our perceptions of new experiences, how individual
motivation influences behaviour, and how we can measure those behaviours to determine their
functions is clearly present in todays educational institutions.
In reference to behaviourism, one can also examine James perception of fear of
consequence, which he anticipated would retain some place in the classroom. Although the
consequences themselves have significantly changed over the years (e.g. physical punishment to
the more current suspension or expulsion), the use of universal consequences has not.
And, in reference to James reflection of the individual experience, we may not be doing the
child justice using such universal approaches to consequence disruptive behaviours. For
example, if a child does not want to be in school, then a suspension would not be a consequence
for that child. Rather, a suspension would unfortunately reinforce disruptive behaviours, because
it would be a positive payoff. So, although there are current similarities in the ongoing use of
consequences in our schools, we may not be following James recommendations in a precise
enough manner, taking into account the individual students perceptions.
Individualized Learning Response to Interventions (RTI). At the very beginning of
Talk to Teachers, and throughout his lectures, James emphasizes the importance of the
individualized learning experience. Through associations one builds individual thinking and

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

feeling processes that are subject to conditioning as much as any externalizing behaviours are
subject to reinforcement and negative consequences (James, 1899). James coined this process
apperception; recognizing that our current state (e.g. age, place, state of emotion, level of
development) impacts the growth of our thoughts and perceptions. For this reason James
recommends an individualized learning approach, deviating from the older American-recitation
method that was also prevalent in Germany and Scotland at the time. He states that you may
take a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink; and so you may take a child to the
schoolroom, but you cannot make him learn new things you wish to impart, (James 1899, p.?,
Ch.14). Therefore, a childs state of emotion, cognition, language, etc., influences their ability to
learn. We may relate this topic to children with disabilities and what we currently identify as
interventions or RTI (Response to Intervention) in the classroom.
Our native reactions are a makeup of our neurological associations, which are James
notions regarding how we perceive and function within the world. For some, these abilities may
be impaired in comparison to the normative group (e.g. intellectual disability, learning
disabilities, ADHD, etc.). Or, these abilities may be impacted by our perceptions such as past
memories or emotions associated to the stimuli (e.g. trauma, neglect, attachment, etc.). As such,
teachers must be aware of these individual differences, and possibly, limitations to learning.
Most classrooms in North America have adopted and RTI model, which ensures each student has
access to the individualized interventions they require to learn. One may associate James
recommendations for individualized learning experiences to our current conceptualization of
RTI.
Attention. James discussed attention as a critical factor in each students learning
experience. He defined terms such as voluntary attention, passive attention and sustained

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

attention, and also developed concepts such as focal objects and marginal objects, all to have
profound effects on a students learning experience. James view of attention was revolutionary.
James assumed attention may be physiologically symbolized by a brain-cell played on in two
ways, from without and from within. Incoming currents from the periphery arouse it, and
collateral currents from the centres of memory and imagination re-enforce these (James, 1899,
p.?, Ch.11). He also tied motivation to attention by asserting that effort impacts a students
attention, especially for uninteresting stimuli. In addition, once a student is able to sustain
attention to an idea, James believed there was a higher likelihood the student would associate
new information with previous learning, promoting better utility.
One may parallel James conceptualization of attention to the current theory of
Behavioural Inhibition that Russell Barkley conceptualized in 1997. Behavioural inhibition
impairs the childs ability to refrain from initiating a response, cease an ongoing response or
redirect themselves to goal-oriented behaviours (Barkley, 1997, 1998, 2007). This behavioural
inhibition is believed to be the overarching deficit which causes further difficulties in executive
functioning in children with ADHD. Brown (2006) added to Barkleys model by theorizing that
poor processes of activation, when immediate reinforcement is not present, also impacts
inhibitory control in those with ADHD. One may associate James description of effort and
voluntary attention to Barkleys concept of inhibitory control. In addition, a childs ability to
differentiate between focal and marginal objects (e.g. salient vs. unimportant information) can
also be related to Barkleys theory of inhibitory control, because we know that children with
attention difficulties struggle to determine what they should and should not attend to in their
environment. Lastly, Browns addition to Barkleys model, focused on motivation as a key

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

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factor in sustained attention and attentional control, which is congruent with James assertion that
motivation is key to engaging a childs attention in the classroom.
Conclusion
In James Talks to Teachers he brought forth multiple relevant issues surrounding
childrens learning. Although his lectures are over 100 years old, many of his recommendations
resonate in classrooms today. Particularly, James brought forth the importance of the individual
child. Not only does one childs perception of their experience fluctuate from another childs but
their learning style and innate abilities in receiving new information differs. Motivation and
engagement are key to draw in a student in the classroom. By understanding individuals
experiences, we can better educate children in the classroom and provide them with interventions
they require to learn best. Furthermore, attention is dependent on the internal neurological
abilities of the child and the essence of their environment. We must appreciate and respect the
complex job teachers undertake in educating each and every child that enters their classroom.
James described it best when he asserted that Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art
(James, 1899,p. ?, Ch. 1). As school psychologists we must ensure the utmost respect, not only
for our students, but, more importantly, our teachers.

Running head: William James; Talks to Teachers

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References
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Aggressive Models, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63, 575-582
Barkley, R. (1997). Behavioral inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functions:
Constructing a unifying theory of ADHD. Psychological Bulletin, 121(1):65-94.
doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.121.1.65
Barkley, R. A. (1998). Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Clinical Workbook. R. A.
Barkley. New York: Guilford Press, pp. 108-134.
Barkley, R. A. (2007). School Interventions for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Where
to From Here?, School Psychology Review, 36:2, p. 279
Brown, T. E. (2006). Inside the ADD Mind: Attention Deficit Disorder: The Unfocused Mind in
Children and Adults, Attitude Magazine, April/May
Fleming, N.D; (1995), I'm different; not dumb. Modes of presentation (VARK) in the tertiary
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Flemming, N, D. & Mills, C. (1992). Not Another Inventory, Rather a Catalyst for Reflection, To
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Ideals. Retrieved from http://people.ucalgary.ca/~mueller/P305/TalksTeacher
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