Open Classroom: A Panacea?

Chapter 3: Three Decades of Research on Classroom Life: Illuminating the Classroom Communicative Lives of America’s At-Risk Students

“…The proponents of open classrooms and open education concluded that children would learn best if provided with a variety of readily accessible materials and regular opportunities to freely select the materials that most interested them (Halsted, Bober, & Streit, 1977). Gulley and Norwood (1976) described the open classroom and open education movements as having flexibility in the available space; the role of the teacher as instructor, diagnostician, and evaluator was to ensure the progress of all students and create a humane classroom environment.…”