Project Change: Open Education for Teachers and Children.

Overview & Synopsis

Project Change is an early childhood (ages 3-9) teacher education program at the State University of New York College at Cortland. Presently supported by U.S. Office of Education funding but guaranteed permanent institutionization by the college, the project seeks to train effective open classroom teachers in central New York through a master's program that combines performance-based training and open education. As part of a special emphasis on developing teachers as leaders of change in their schools, the program includes a variety of innovative in-service education activities, including the intensive training of 10 professional/paraprofessional early childhood teams nominated each year by area schools. The program stresses the creation of school-community support systems for change and the development of Cortland College as an open education resource center for public schools in the region. An appendix on coping with individual differences in the classroom is included. The agenda from 3-day workshop entitled "Education: Increasing Alternatives for Teachers and Children" is also presented. (Author/BRB)