Exhibit 12: a Teacher Wants to Know Which Method of Teaching

Exhibit 1.2: A teacher wants to know which method of teaching German verb forms can be expected to result in the greatest student achievement in that skill.The following is a list of procedures the teacher could follow.Which of the procedures best fits the definition of authority as a source of knowledge?

A) The teacher could employ various methods in her teaching until she gets a "feel" about which one works best.
B) The teacher could administer achievement tests to students taught by the different methods and compare the test results.
C) The teacher could systematically begin with known facts about the relationship between the teaching of foreign language and language achievement and logically determine what would be true concerning the results of various teaching methods.
D) The teacher could ask an eminent professor of German at a respected university.