The author's primary goal was to investigate the relative viability of different kinds of open teaching. Project Learn, an open elementary classroom, met all the criteria set forth to be called such and was selected for the study. The independent variables were: teacher-guided instruction, small-group instruction, and individual-oriented…

This study compares open education groups and traditional education groups with respect to student attitudes toward high school; creative thinking of students; collaborative behavior among students; and student preferences for intellectual activities, activities involving change or sameness, and activities involving autonomy or dependence. Groups…

The Open Source Teaching Project (OSTP) is an attempt to apply a variant of the successful open source software approach to the development of educational materials. Open source software is software licensed in such a way as to allow anyone the right to modify and use it. From such a simple premise, a whole industry has arisen, most notably in the…

This report describes efforts of a technical assistance team under the Documentation and Technical Assistance Project of the Center for New Schools (Chicago, Illinois) to link research and practice for school improvement in Chicago Public School District 21. Section I discusses some characteristics and educational needs of urban areas, generally,…

This report covers a three-part project ("white paper", working papers, and discussion seminars) in adult open learning designed to provide the basis for an expansive discussion of the need for research in open learning. Following an executive summary, contents are presented in three parts. Part I consists of an introduction and…

As a part of a longitudinal study of learning in open plan and conventional design classrooms, the present study focuses on school design and its influence on selected behavior of pupils and teachers. The behaviors of pupils and their teachers in eleven learning areas of open plan and seven of conventional design were observed. Among the 18…

In this paper the author describes the structure, operations, and problems of a year-long, full time, experimental, environmental awareness program at the University of Montana. The program was designed so that students and faculty would work together in a loosely structured, integrated learning experience, with the usual authority structures…

In order to help social learning become a more operational theory, this thesis attempts to create a better understanding of the conditions conducive to effective group action in a social context. Parts one and two trace the evolution of social learning theory in education and planning. Part three attempts to identify within a practical setting --…

This synthesis of research focuses on nine factors influencing learning, including student characteristics, instructional factors, and environmental factors. In conclusion, the need for devoting more time to academic learning both in school and out of school and the importance of enlisting families as partners in education are emphasized. (MJL)

One of a series of monographs to encourage reexamination of evaluation issues and perspectives about schools and schooling, this booklet is a statement on teacher education, teacher accountability, evaluation, and the teacher as researcher. Included are an introduction and five subsequent sections: (1) Educational Jargon; (2) The Open Education…

To determine whether the open classroom environment produces a higher degree of internal locus of control than the traditional classroom, 200 seventh-grade students, matched for sex, socioeconomic status, academic achievement, and intelligence, were assigned to either open or traditional classrooms. It was hypothesized that both high and low…

Research evaluated the effectiveness of varying television (TV) lesson formats. Adults ranging in age from 17 to 58 viewed lessons in accounting and psychology in four formats featuring: 1) a storyline running through a lesson; 2) a news magazine format dealing with different concepts in one lesson; 3) a non-authoritarian narrator; and 4) an…

The research compares two open education programs in New York City (one in a private school, one a public school) from 1970 to 1976. Both programs stressed decentralization of the classroom into interest areas, individually created learning materials, and participation by children in decisions regarding use of time and space. The purpose of the…

This text gives an overview of distance education for students, administrators, and practitioners in distance education. Chapter 1 discusses the study of distance education. Chapter 2 analyzes forms of nonconventional education (open, nontraditional) that may have similarities to distance education but are not to be identified with it. Chapter 3…

Fourteen classrooms were grouped according to environmental format (open/mixed/traditional) and differences in teacher-student interaction patterns and perceptions of responsibility for outcomes assessed. As predicted, open classrooms showed the highest percentage of dyadic interactions. Also as predicted, open classrooms tended to show the lowest…