| Level | Item |
| Ref No | BPS/004/1/06/01/152 |
| Title | Memorandum on Methods of Army Instruction (With Special Reference to Small Arms). |
| Date | September 1942 |
| Extent | 1 item |
| Description | Abstract of 'Memorandum on Methods of Army Instruction (With Special Reference to Small Arms).' (no. 41) by Philip E. Vernon.
The memorandum highlights that most of the army during war is comprised of non-professional soldiers, and as such is generally higher educated than peace time army. There are some faults in weapon instruction. These include mechanical parrot-like teaching, where the training delivery is monotonous; unneccessary enumeration of parts of weapon at early stages and failure to appeal to interest; using technical vocabulary and unfamiliar words; too high a volume of content in a short period of time; lack of learning by doing; too quick a progression from content to content; excessive criticism by instructors and lack of praise; poor grading systems. The report then outlines the details of ASDIC Operator's jobs. Finally, many O.S. entering the S.D.O. course fail. To account for this, some desirable qualities in potential trainees include normal hearing; good reporting voice; younger age; fairly high general intelligence; capacity for sustained alertness and vigilance. |
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| AccessConditions | Registered Users by Appointment Only. |
| AccessStatus | Open |
| Location | O16 |
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| Rules | Description compiled in line with the following: ISAD (G) General International Standard Archival Description MAD3 Third Edition 2000 |
| ArchNote | Compiled by Sophie O’Reilly BPS Archivist History of Psychology Centre. |