This study explored the functioning of exploratory and cautious children in open classrooms. Four areas of functioning were focused on: curiosity and exploration, learning and mastery, autonomous behavior, and interpersonal contacts. Thirty exploratory and 30 cautious children were selected through teacher ratings and exploratory tasks and…

The 14 chapters in this book explore the concept of lifelong learning and illustrate its application to specific situations. Titles and authors are as follows: "The Concept of Lifelong Learning" (Paul Oliver); "Degrees of Adult Participation: Lifelong Learning in European Universities" (Barbara Merrill); "Lifelong…

These guidelines are designed to help anyone considering the use of open and distance learning for teachers. They answer eight major questions and identify options available to planners and strategies for choosing them. Eight sections include: (1) "What is Wrong With Teacher Education?" (e.g., what it consists of and who the teachers are); (2) "Is…

The distinctions between types of open and distance learning broadly equate to the concept of learning at a time, place, and pace that best suits the learner. Distance learning refers to geography, whereas open learning refers to time. Flexible learning is a generic term referring either to geography or time. Combining these distinctions allows…

The four issues of the journal SKOLE published in 1998 contain articles, personal narratives, and interviews about educational philosophy, small alternative schools, freedom and democratic practices in education, and the overuse of Ritalin in schools. Feature articles discuss holistic education, how classroom technology promotes passivity and…

Offers a comparative framework for school organizations which illustrates tacit differences in teacher role expectations inherent in unique types of organizations. Expresses the central idea that the effective classroom teacher's role is operationally defined by the organizational system in which the teacher functions. (CSS)

Discussion of interactive technologies and open learning focuses on computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), especially computer based message systems, and their effects on open learning. Topics discussed include cooperative learning; distance learning; individualized instruction; local area networks; group communication; and design principles…

Analyzes current opinion on the development of information literacy skills among adult higher education students. Highlights include lifelong learning; information literacy and the role of the academic librarian; adult learning theory; defining information skills; and information literacy and the external student, including continuing education,…

Examines the fit between college outcomes assessment designed to assess specific qualitative outcomes and community colleges' diverse clientele, pointing to a disjuncture of methods and motives. Foresees the possibility of two-year colleges' changing their structure, organization, and academic expectations in response. (30 references) (MAB)

Established in 1973, a progressive Charlotte, North Carolina, elementary school has been subjected to trends and pressures (particularly the back-to-basics and direct- instruction movements) that threatened its integrity and survival. Irwin Avenue must cover citywide academic objectives, but organizes its curriculum around themes and active,…

Reviews personalized instruction models, highlighting contributions of DPIE (diagnosis, prescription, implementation, and evaluation), continuous-progress education, the open-school movement, portfolio assessment, cognitive apprenticeships, and Levin's Accelerated Learning program. All these models profile learning characteristics and promote…

A high school teacher describes how her classroom methods changed from traditional teacher-centered pedagogy to the active and democratic involvement of students in developing their own learning communities. Sidebars describe class projects: an oral history project that blossomed into a "Forties Festival" with 1940s alumni and the…

Multiage grouping is one way schools can organize around students and their learning. In multiage grouping, students of different chronological ages are intentionally assigned to the same classroom. Multiage grouping may also be called "mixed age." Other terms, such as "nongraded,""ungraded,""multigrade," or "split-grade," are often used…

This book investigates teaching practices before, during, and after reform impulses in the 20th century aimed at changing what teachers routinely do. Patterns of stability and change over a 90-year period are developed from evidence from a wide variety of sources, including classroom photographs, textbooks and tests used, student recollections,…

The effectiveness of flexible learning systems at the Tea Tree Gully Campus (TTGC) of the Torrens Valley Institute of Technical and Further Education in Australia was examined in a 2-year longitudinal study. Data were collected from 199 interviews and 696 questionnaires completed by TTGC students and staff during 1992 and 1993. Among the main…