The author provides guidelines for developing open learning materials. Guidelines include (1) provide an easy to use format, (2) keep learners mentally active, (3) allow for individual differences, (4) use the learners' experience, (5) provide a measure of learning, and (6) provide support for the learner. (CH)

Reported is a project designed to correlate six units of study from the Philadelphia Elementary Science Guide and to incorporate them in such a way as to reduce the suggested 32 weeks of teaching time, for the individual units, to 10 weeks for all 6 units. This was necessitated by an interruption of the school year by a teachers' strike. Three…

This curriculum guide describes the instructional program at the Ada H. H. Lewis Middle School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In brief, the goals of the program are to provide the schools' fifth-grade through eighth-grade students with educational opportunities based on an eclectic team-teaching approach. Four separate "houses" accommodate…

This book is an actual school year's work, written by three teaming, open classroom teachers in grades one, five, and six. It is designed for teachers of grades k-6 who are working right in the classroom with their students, for school administrators involved in curriculum development, and for parents expecting the best tangible results from an…

This guide examines the elements of the open space concept and offers insight and suggestions as to how to employ this process in the classroom. These elements are outlined as follows: (a) objectives--primarily to develop self-respecting, self-directing, autonomous individuals; (b) knowledge and method--with emphasis on cognitive or thinking…

This booklet presents a discussion of the use of an open framework approach to curriculum development for children aged 4 to 8. The material was developed during a seminar (sponsored by the Queensland, Australia, Department of Education) focusing on the curriculum development approach developed by David Weikart in the High/Scope Educational…

This collection of personal essays relates elementary classroom experiences representative of curriculum themes in open education. Essays are concerned with such topics as: (1) the question of what is the curriculum of the open classroom; (2) development of a curriculum on a medieval theme in a fourth-fifth grade class; (3) study of prehistoric…

This booklet describes a model and an observation system developed for use in comparing the basic elements of various individualized programs. The model identifies three basic elements contained in all individualized instructional programs--pacing, materials and activities, and objectives--and relates them to decision-making and the degree of…

This document describes the Chicago City-Wide Institute, a non-campus college established in 1974 as the ninth administrative unit of the City Colleges of Chicago. The basic mission of the Institute is to develop and operate programs at the college level for adults who cannot or choose not to go to a traditional college campus. The Institute also…

This unit of the Flexible Learning System (FLS) is designed to help adults who work with chilren aged 4-8 clarify and develop their own educational philosophy and its implications for teaching practices in early childhood education. The unit is centered around the analysis of four early childhood education models representing a broad range of…

On completion of this unit, one should be capable of performing each of the following unit objectives: describe individual differences among students; define individualized instruction, list modes of individualization, and present a general instructional model of individualization; justify student self-direction as a learning goal and as a…

Designed to help elementary school teachers who wish to "open" their classrooms, this learning module describes how the curriculum can be enhanced through the use of community resources (people, materials and places). The module provides information on the identification and utilization of these resources. The module is divided into four main…

This catalog presents 40 of the optional educational programs developed in New York State that accommodate factors such as student needs, parental preferences, and teacher interests. The catalog includes guidelines for establishing alternative learning programs and a request for information from other New York schools that have established such a…

Practical, classroom-tested ideas for developing classroom learning centers are presented in this book. The sixteen chapters deal with the following topics: an overview of learning centers and individualization, basic considerations in setting up a learning center, getting started, mechanics of operating learning centers, room arrangement and…

This handbook is designed to help administrators, educators, politicans, and others engaged in distance education who seek to introduce, extend, or improve correspondence education for adults. In the first of six chapters, the background and history of correspondence study, particularly in Britain and the United States, are reviewed. Chapter 2…