Readings | Learning Seminar: Experiments in Education | Experimental Study Group

This page contains many readings in educational research and alternative programs.

All readings from Maverick Colleges: Fourteen Notable Experiments in American Undergraduate Education are courtesy of L. Jackson Newell, Editor, on behalf of the Utah Education Policy Center. Used with permission. Excerpts are listed below, but the entire book can be accessed here. (PDF - 1.1 MB)

Course readings.
SES #	READINGS
1	Lori, Aviva. "You do the Math!" Haaretz, February 26, 2003. Holt, John. How Children Fail. New York, NY: Dell Publishing Company, 1964, pp. xiii-xv, 3-6, 10-17, 37-44, 48-49, and 67-69.
2	Pirsig, Robert. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. New York, NY: Morrow, 1974, chapter 16. ISBN: 9780688002305. Valley, George. "An Option for Intellectual Autonomy." Appendices E and F of My Years in the M.I.T. Experimental Study Group. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1974. (Courtesy of the Estate of George E. Valley, Jr. Used with permission.) (PDF) Giannini, Vittorio. "Nurturing Talent and Creativity in the Arts." From The Creative College Student: An Unmet Challenge. Edited by Paul Heist. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1968. ISBN: 9780875890159.
3	Kirschenbaum, Howard, Rodney Napier, and Sidney Simon. Wad-ja-get? The Grading Game in American Education. New York, NY: Hart Publishing, 1985, chapters 1, 4, and 12. ISBN: 9780805501131.
4	Naylor, Kerrie. "Antioch: Vision and Revision." From Maverick Colleges: Fourteen Notable Experiments in American Undergraduate Education. Edited by Katherine C. Reynolds. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah, 1993. (PDF) Nkabinde, Zandile. "Evergreen: Ever Green?" From Maverick Colleges: Fourteen Notable Experiments in American Undergraduate Education. Edited by Katherine C. Reynolds. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah, 1993. (PDF)
5	Lave, Jean, and Etienne Wenger. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, 1991, pp. 29-129. ISBN: 9780521423748.
6	Mattuck, Arthur P. The Torch or the Firehose: A Guide to Section Teaching. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995. Schoenfeld, Alan H. Mathematical Problem Solving. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, 1985, pp. 11-45. ISBN: 9780126288704.
7	A Prospectus: Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (PDF - 7.4 MB) Olin Classroom Assessment Techniques Lake, Kathy. "Integrated Curriculum." School Improvement Research Series #16. NWREL, May 1994. Gamson, Zelda, et al. Liberating Education. Resource A, B. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1984, chapter 5. ISBN: 9780875896038. Buzan, Tony. Use Both Sides of Your Brain: New Mind-Mapping Techniques. New York, NY: Plume, 1991, pp. 83-106. ISBN: 9780452266032.
8	Valley, George. My Years in the M.I.T. Experimental Study Group. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1974. (Courtesy of the Estate of George E. Valley, Jr. Used with permission.) (PDF)
9	Neill, A. S. Summerhill: A Radical Approach to Child Rearing. New York, NY: Hart Publishing, 1960, pp. ix-xx and 3-28. Hern, Matt. Deschooling Our Lives. Gabriola Island, Canada: New Society Publishers, 1998, chapters 6-8, 18. ISBN: 9780865713420. "Unschooling Science." GWS 143 (November/December 2001): 11-13. (Courtesy of Holt Associates, Inc. Used with permission.) (PDF) "Homeschool Resource Centers." GWS 139 (November/December 1999): 15-21. (Courtesy of Holt Associates, Inc. Used with permission.) (PDF - 2.2 MB)
10	Newell, L. Jackson. "Deep Springs: Loyalty to a Fault?" From Maverick Colleges: Fourteen Notable Experiments in American Undergraduate Education. Edited by Katherine C. Reynolds. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah, 1993. (PDF) Dead Poets' Society . Directed by Peter Weir. Touchstone Pictures, 1989.
11	Reynolds, Katherine. "Black Mountain: Meteor Among Mavericks," Takahashi, Ryo. "Reed: A Middle Course," and Adams, E. Ann. "Prescott: From Parson to Parsimony." From Maverick Colleges: Fourteen Notable Experiments in American Undergraduate Education. Edited by Katherine C. Reynolds. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah, 1993. (PDF 1) (PDF 2) (PDF 3)
12	Integrated Study Program Introduction Materials Parlett, Malcolm. "Study of Two Experimental Educational Programs at M.I.T." Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1971. Courtesy of Malcolm Parlett and Tom Kochan. Used with permission. (PDF) Feynman, Richard P., et al. Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. New York, NY: W.W. Norton and Company, 1997, pp. 15-24, 30-41, and 338-346. ISBN: 9780393316049.
13	Wilson, Keith. "St. John's: Back to Classics." From Maverick Colleges: Fourteen Notable Experiments in American Undergraduate Education. Edited by Katherine C. Reynolds. Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah, 1993. (PDF) St. John's College Viewbook (PDF - 4.3 MB) Courtesy of St. John's College Office of Admission. Used with permission. Joachim, Harold H. Descartes' Rules for the Direction of the Mind. Edited by Errol E. Harris. South Bend, IN: St. Augustine's Press, 1997. ISBN: 9781855065178.
14	Rimmer, Robert H. The Harrad Experiment. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1990, pp. 17-50. ISBN: 9780879756239. Rising, James. "Proposal for The Gumption Asylum." (PDF - 4.7 MB) New Schools Exchange Special Issue: A Bibliography (PDF - 1.7 MB) Levensky, Mark. "Some Advice About Starting Experimental Programs in Otherwise Traditional Schools."