ABSTRACT
My subject in this paper is the present state of studies in educational psychology, but to put this in context it is necessary both to look back and to look forward. It would perhaps be a more interesting project to trace the history of educational psychology from its emergence through William James and John Dewey to the momentous basic research of the early Americans on the psychology of the elementary school curriculum, such as Thorndike on the psychology of teaching arithmetic and spelling and Huey on reading. They opened up the rich prairies of this land of educational psychology and reaped great harvests. They were followed by the gleaners, who combed the fields and picked up the occasional straw. After them came the geese who wandered among the stubble, clucking excitedly when they found the odd grain which had been left. By this interpretation of history we are the geese.
