The Dalton Plan
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magazine
Inspired
by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the last century,
educational thinkers such as John Dewey began to cast a bold vision of a new
progressive American approach to education. Helen Parkhurst caught the spirit
of change and created the Dalton Plan.
The ideas of Helen Parkhurst are even in our century a lasting inspiration for
educators all over the world.
Under the Dalton Laboratory Plan we place the work problem squarely before him, indicating the standard which has to be attained. After that he is allowed to tackle it as he thinks fit in his own way and at his own speed. Responsibility for the result will develop not only his latent intellectual powers, but also his judgment and character.
What does a pupil do when given responsibility? Instinctively he seeks the best way of achieving it.
The
Dalton Plan elicits a new response from the child’s nature by inviting him to
undertake the job in a way that appeals to his natural desire to learn things in
his own way and even in his own time.
He studies on his own responsibility in the company of his fellows, all persuing
the same adventure. He forms the same kind of relationships in his school life
that he will afterwards get in his business or professional life. He is learning
by trying. Helen Parkhurst, Education on the Dalton
Plan 1922
Helen
Parkhurst based her plan on three starting points.
She mentions FREEDOM as the first principle and COOPERATION as a
second one. (Education on the Dalton Plan, page 19)
A third element is the ASSIGNMENT .
That three-part plan continues to be the structural foundation of the Dalton
education.
Without affecting the educational intention, the Dalton development in several
countries shows a different practice of the three basic principles.
The Dalton
School New York is using :
The House is home
base in school for each Dalton student, and the House Advisor is parents’ key
contact with the school. In the First Program and Middle School, House is
comprised of students of the same age. In the High School, each House includes
students from every grade level, a microcosm of the larger community. At all
divisions the House Advisor guides and assists each student in the learning
process.
The
Assignment represents a contract between student
and teacher.
Designed by each teacher for each class. The Assignment is a printed document
that introduces the subject, makes suggestions for study and research, and
defines common obligations as well as opportunities for individual projects. The
Assignment provides the thematic focus for daily class and homework and may be
individually tailored to meet specific needs and develop specific strengths.
The Laboratory best describes the educational atmosphere that Dalton stives to create which combines study, research and collaboration. “Lab” refers to the one to one and small group sessions between students and teachers which augment the traditional classroom instruction Lab is scheduled at specific times throughout the school day.
The Ascham School in Sydney / Australia is using more or less the same structure. Work is set in monthly assignments, divided into weekly units. A number of periods is allocated to class lessons and during the remaining periods, the teachers responsible for the academic subjects are available in their subject rooms for consultation (“LAB”) and the students are taught how to schedule the appropriate number of times a week to see teachers to discuss progress, get help or plan extension work. Once a week the whole work done by each student is reported to her Form teacher, and the ASSIGNMENT for each week is expected to be completed in each subject before the next week’s work is commenced.
The
schools in Japan are in close contact with the Dalton school in New York.
Three schools for younger children have implemented the model from the First
Program of New York.
The
development in The Netherlands round 1930 was based on the same
principles Helen Parkhurst used in het
book Education on the Dalton Plan.
FREEDOM - COOPERATION - SELF-RELIANCE .
The first
Dalton development started in secondary education, but short after the
introduction some primary schools followed the ideas.
Since 1985 the first Dalton K-12 schools were generated (Utrecht and Tilburg).
Hans Wenke, together with Roel Röhner author of two books about Dalton
education, introduced RESPONSIBILITY as a standard instead of FREEDOM.
Also Helen Parkhurst explained freedom as a development of
responsibility.
In The Netherlands HOUSE is a common class arrangement. The classroom teacher is also the HOUSE advisor.
LAB one
can find in the individual help and regular student - teacher (or small group -
teacher) conversation. In many schools pupils from different ages help each
other (tutor learning, mentor learning or learning with guiders).
In primary education is LAB integrated in the HOUSE, in
secondary eduaction in special Dalton (LAB) hours.
ASSIGNMENT is inherent to SELF-RELIANCE.
Training self-reliance is giving children as much responsibility as possible
during their ASSIGNMENT work.
Primary schools work with WEEK-ASSIGNMENTS, secondary schools mostly with
MODULES.
In the
Czech Republic started a new development of the Dalton education in 1996
based on the Dutch model.
In Brno four Dalton schools implemented Dalton elements and started to create
ASSIGNMENTS as a special part of the curriculum.
Literature
 |
Dewey, Evelyn | The Dalton Laboratory Plan, New York 1921/1922 |
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Lynch, A.J. | The rise and progress of the Dalton Plan, London 1926 |
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Parkhurst, Helen | Education on the Dalton Plan, New York 1922 |
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Parkhurst, Helen | Growing pains, New York 1962 |
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Parkhurst, Helen | Undertow, New York 1963 |
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Parkhurst, Helen | De
wereld van het kind, Meulenhoff Informatief, Amsterdam,1985 original : Exploring the Child's World, Applton-Century-Crofts. Inc. , New York, 1951 |
|
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Popp, Susanne | Der Daltonplan in Theorie und Praxis, Julius Klinkhardt, Bad Heilbrun, 1995 |
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Röhner, Roel and Wenke, Hans |
Leve de
school, Dalton-onderwijs in de praktijk, Arko Nieuwegein, 1999 |
|
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Röhner, Roel and Wenke, Hans |
At’ zye skola, Daltonská
výuka v praxi, Paido Brno, 2000 |
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Röhner, Roel and Wenke, Hans |
Dalton-onderwijs, een
blijvende inspiratie, |
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|
Röhner, Roel and Wenke, Hans | |
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Röhner, Roel and Wenke, Hans | Hallo Dalton, Nieuwegein, ARKO, 2005 |
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Röhner, Roel and Wenke, Hans | Hallo Dalton, Znojmo, Bravissimo, 2006 |
