Increasingly, educational reform is linked to the concept of professional learning communities (PLCs). Definitions of PLCs vary, but generally the concept refers to a group of educators who "continuously seek and share learning, and act on their learning" (Hord 1997, 6). Stoll and her colleagues, concluding their review of the current state of…

This paper looks at the development and practice of an extracurricular "free university" on the University Park campus of the Pennsylvania State University. (Author)

This catalog of Evergreen State College, a college in Olympia, Washington that first opened its doors to students in September 1971, presents an overview of the unique academic program offered at the college. Information is given on courses offered in the past, information concerning supporting services, policies and procedures to be followed in…

Describes courses developed on the reality world" of the student, focusing on student experience instead of the traditional subject matter. (IR)

This book describes and analyzes the processes involved in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Peterborough County (Ontario) Mathematics Project (PCMP), a districtwide mathematics program. Apart from describing the features of the PCMP, the book is intended to provide insights into the complexities of school change. The…

Something is wrong with the twelfth grade. Many principals, teachers, and students argue that the twelfth grade is unchallenging, irrelevant, and perhaps useless. Recent widespread unrest among students suggests the need to thoroughly re-evaluate the twelfth grade program in order to investigate the causes for the unrest and to suggest workable…

Three documents describe the Project Success Environment Program, which was funded to help alleviate behavioral and academic problems of children from urban, low-socio-economic backgrounds by providing them with an opportunity to experience success in school. The program, sponsored by the Atlanta Public Schools, consisted of: (1) a positive…

Presents a series of ideas for educational reform, some drawn from the author's previous works. Experimentation is badly needed to see what will work at every level of education. Suggestions include encouragement of single-sex schooling and endorsement of allowing college curricular authority to reside with faculty. (SLD)

The Minneapolis Experimental Schools Project (Southeast Alternatives)--a five-year program established in 1971 to test comprehensive change in education--enrolls 2,200 K-12 students, approximately 4% of the public school population. Southeast Alternatives (SEA) is dedicated to four major goals: (1) to provide a curriculum which helps children…

Without well-defined criteria for success, all radical innovations are doomed to failure. To facilitate successful experimentation the following are necessary: an outside agency to conduct evaluation; criteria of success acceptable to innovators and critics; and, in control and comparison groups, assessment and accounting of the initial versus…

Curriculum development efforts at Columbia University occurring as a result of social changes and four years of seminar discussions are analyzed, and the seminar transactions and resulting programs discussed. A detailed description is given of Columbia's General Education Program, established after World War I. It is shown how and why the original…