Understanding the spirit and philosophy of open education constitutes the most important ingredient for successful adaptation to an open classroom; teachers need training and retraining before implementing an open classroom. (JD)

This report contains four papers which discuss the theory, development, and evaluation of a Western Michigan University inservice program for developing individualized instruction. The first paper discusses inservice education based on the philosophical assumptions and implications of informal/open education towards individualized instruction. It…

Describes experience in teaching art in an open classroom for eighth grade students at Martin Kellogg Junior High School, Newington, Connecticut. (DS)

Essay surveys some of the current philosophical research-based, and practical arguments for informal education and attempts to delineate its essential characteristics. (Editor/CB)

Identification of general effects for open education is hindered by differences in the implementation of open education programs. Seven possible features of programs were identified. Effect size estimates were used to identify effective open education programs from 153 studies. Further analysis revealed the characteristics of the effective…

Describes Tolstoy's experimental school program as a forerunner of modern, open-education programs. In a radical departure from conventional, nineteenth century Russian educational practice, Tolstoy stressed individualized, independent learning with meaningful instructional materials. In his non-coercive classroom, self-discipline was founded on…

Identifies five factors that appear to have contributed to the survival of several firmly established programs in the alternative school movement. (Author/WD)

At the Waukesha County Technical Institute in Wisconsin students benefit from individualized instruction and open entry/open exit system. The key to this flexibility is a series of audio-visual modules to support lecture presentations and demonstrations. (HD)

Suggestions are presented that are drawn from basic skills instruction at the English Learning Centre at Gloucestershire College of Arts and Technology (England), an open learning center geared specifically for ESOL students. Funded for 2 years as a special project by the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit, the center examines procedures that…

Miami-Dade Community College's Open College allows students to enroll in classes, purchase course materials, and proceed through coursework at their own pace without having to go to a campus except for course examinations. Three major components of the distant learning program are audio, video, and print materials which are used in conjunction…

Carthay Center Elementary School, an urban school in Los Angeles, developed Individualized Instruction through Open Structure in order to meet the needs of a changing student population. The program attempts to excite children about learning and to reinforce basic academic skills. The child's interest, needs, and abilities are integrated into the…

Individualized instruction is an educational program in which grade levels and time units are designed to permit the student to work at his own pace and level with the use of unipacs. The unipac, a "unique package," is a specially designed group of learning activities based on specific behavioral objectives chosen by the student. Unipacs consist…

This booklet describes the basic curriculum design and staff organization of Project LEM, an experimental open education program at Hillers Elementary School in Hackensack, New Jersey. The LEM open education plan is characterized by differentiated staffing, multiage and multiethnic groupings, personalized instruction, a structured schedule, a core…

New patterns of organization are required to make openspace work in order to achieve the individual learning goals of students working at their own level, seeking information independently, and interacting freely with other students when required. A comparison of the traditional classroom with what is happening in the more "open" openrooms reveals…