A free school for teachers gives participants an alternative to traditional programs: innovations are practiced, not preached; modules meet participant-identified needs; and objectives, learning activities, and evaluation criteria are delivered a week in advance. (Completion of five modules earns an increment credit applying to a teacher's salary…

The open school concept used as an alternative to more traditional forms of schooling in selected elementary and secondary schools in Austin, Texas, includes seven major dimensions: individualized instruction, continuous progress of students, team teaching, multiage and multigrade grouping, differentiated staffing, open space classrooms and…

A project to develop a school within a school at the Model Secondary School for the Deaf is described. It is explained that 20 students were scheduled for the minischool for 14 to 17 hours per week of flexible grouping according to needs and styles of learning. Interdisciplinary teaming formed the backbone of the program. Five chapters concentrate…

Although the failure of open education experiments are often attributed to declining reading and mathematics scores, overwheming class sizes, and practical difficulties in implementing theory, the examination of a particular open education program in a suburban New York school district points to other possible reasons for the program's failure.…

This publication is a collection of eight articles concerned with the open education movement in the United States. The articles include "The Concept of Openness: An Introduction," by Vincent Rogers and Bud Church; "Open Education and American Values: A Tentative Exploration," by Bud Church; "A British View of Open Education in the U.S.," by…

The role of team leaders in leadership and management of instruction for children in portal learning centers is discussed. These centers are designed to meet needs and interests of highly mobile, nonconfronting youths unable to accept traditional classroom routine. The current project is working with the development of open environments for…

Indicators of the quality of a nontraditional college are difficult to define since the outputs of nontraditional education differ from traditional outputs. This document assesses some of the possible indicators, including accreditation status; state charters, licenses, and approvals; the college catalogue listing of faculty and indication of…

This report examines the results of a survey conducted to trace the activities of the graduates of SEED--a "free" high school that is an alternative to the regular high school program in Toronto. The survey was conducted to see how many former SEED students had gone on to universities or community colleges, had had problems meeting the…

Considering the "tyranny of distance" in all Australian public service, campus-based educational systems have limited relevance outside the cities. The authors describe the existing tertiary educational system and its experimental alternative framework (the inversion of the original), the Open Learning Project. However, the future of…

Open education and schools of choice are alive and well--even in an era labeled "back to basics". (Editor)

Describes a study of the Vancouver Project (British Columbia), integrating the Ashton-Warner Key Vocabulary approach to beginning reading instruction into nine open classrooms. (BF)

The jagged study zone model helps designers to create educational environments which challenge the learner and make the learner to commit to the learning process. The characteristics of a jagged study zone can be explained by showing how its features are related to traditional closed and open learning environments. The requirements for a jagged…

A primer on alternative schools. Described are existing programs in different areas, philosophy of the alternative schools, funding, student behavior, community relations, accountability, State regulations, management, and the environment of the alternative school. A list of sources of additional information on alternative schools is included.…

Argues that it is essential that alternative schools continually ask themselves: What is learning?'' Suggests that such schools must view the way the student values himself and his needs, the way he relates to other people, and the way he operates within the educational institution -- given the variables that will affect what a student learns at…

Observation of the authority structure at Xanadu, a free school, revealed that students rejected direction early in the first year of their enrollment, then discussed in evaluation papers the need for authority from the staff in averting the very problems that arose. (JB)