This booklet on the Open University includes an introductory section on the system, programs of study, students, the adult learner, the teaching package, study centers, local support, and correspondence tuition. General principles of teaching by correspondence, the role of the course tutor, and student comments are covered. Support provided by the…

This study examines the interaction of individual differences in pupils' temperament and ability with variations in educational strategies used in elementary school classrooms. This interaction was analyzed by re-examining the data from 2 previous studies of the effects of various educational strategies on social and academic behavior problems.…

This study investigated the relationship between children's ability to conserve on Piagetian tasks and six measures of the openness of classrooms which comprise the Dimensions of Schooling Questionnaire (DISC): (1) individualization of instruction; (2) student independence; (3) environmental flexibility; (4) nongradedness; (5) flexibility of…

This collection of 11 articles focuses on integrating handicapped and nonhandicapped children in preschool programs. Article 1 presents arguments for preschool integration. Article 2 discusses research on peer interaction and mixed-age socialization. Article 3 advocates a behavior analysis and operant conditioning approach to studying and…

This grant application describes the theoretical background and research design of a project intended to study the interaction between children's styles of functioning and the opportunities and requirements of an open classroom environment. A major assumption to be tested is that exploratory children function more effectively in open classrooms.…

This document comprises a modular syllabus for a college education course for teaching open education in elementary and secondary schools. The aims of the course are to introduce students to open classrooms, to introduce a developmental approach for the teaching of a sense of history, to offer students a chance to use the techniques in an open…

The Lake Harriet Elementary School Open Classroom was initiated at the request of parents in the summer of 1973. The program was implemented in the fall of 1973. This evaluation indicates that, after the first year of operation, the original goals for the program are being met: The students, for the most part, are performing at normal or above…

An attempt was made to determine differences in reading achievement gains and student attitudes towards school between groups of third grade children enrolled in either modified open or traditional classrooms in the same school. The Metropolitan Achievement Test in Reading was used for pre- and posttest comparisons of achievement, and a…

This paper is the first-year report of a three-year project in Edina, Minnesota, developing a system for measuring differences among classroom environments and organizational patterns. Dimensions measured include teacher preferences for classroom structure, student perceptions of learning environments and classmate behavior, student attitudes,…

The growing conflict between what society demands and what education offers is discussed with regard to alternatives to traditional post-secondary education. It is suggested that the whole area of school subjects, jobs, and careers must be re-defined and explored in greater depth. New research designs are needed to make the relationship relevant…

Examined are open learning systems in Australia, Canada, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Poland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, and the United States. The implications of open-learning and its relation to nontraditional student and continuing education, educational and social…

A proposal is made to use local people's libraries as information distribution centers for the Integrated Rural Development Program in Pakistan. The local libraries would function as centers for literacy programs, adult education, open university programs, instruction in improved farming methods, and general information dissemination. Each center…

This investigation was conducted to determine if 5-year-old students randomly chosen from an open classroom for 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds communicated at random across sex, race, and age groups. The classroom was composed of nine learning centers and was organized around the following activities: math, dramatic play, blocks, art, reading, listening,…

An external evaluation reporting on the Title III, Elementary and Secondary Act, Open Concept School Program for Indian Education, focuses on cognitive and psychomotor development of experimental students, perceptions of the program (staff members, parents, and non-experimental teachers), and program accomplishment of other objectives, primarily…

Approximately 250 students in grades 1-6 of two elementary schools, one utilizing an open classroom instructional program and the other a traditional instructional program, comprised the sample in this first year of a planned 2-year study. The study focuses on the assessment of the comparative effects of the two instructional programs on three…