SEVEN FEATURE THE DALTON PLAN

THE DALTON PLAN, is based on three fundamental principles. The first is freedom, which should perhaps be designated as individualized responsibility. The second principle is co-operation, or interaction between members of a group. The third is economy of energy through budgeting the pupil's time. That considers the plan as more of a sociological than an academic venture, and the objectives of education under this system emphasize the social aspect of the schools fully as much as the intellectual.
One of important feature of the plan is the organization of the school into 'houses,' each house consisting of pupils of all grades included in the school. This plan contrasts sharply with the usual practice, by which pupils are grouped homogeneousely into classes graded according to the level of their advancement.
A second salient feature of the Dalton Plan is the transformation of traditional classroom into subject-matter laboratories. In fact, the plan was originally known as the Dalton Laboratory Plan because of the basic ides that all instruction should be on a laboratory basis. This principle requires appropriate furniture for classroom, tables and chairs being provided rather than ordered rows of desks.
A third feature of the plan is abandonment of the daily schedule of classes. Instead of following a fixed routine each pupil budgets his own time and plans his own activities to accomplish the work laid out in the curriculum.
A fourth feature is the manner in which the curriculum is presented to the pupil. Instead of being laid out as a series of courses of study the curriculum is presented in term of "job". Each job represents one month's work in all subjects. Integration is carefully provided for in the planning of the job, and correlated progress is required so that the pupil does not advance more rapidly in some phases of his work than in others. The jobs are broken up into "units," each of which is a day's work in a single subject.
A fifth feature is the bulletin board. In effect the bulletin board takes the place of the daily schedule of classes. The pupil's first task upon reaching school in the morning is to consult the bulletin board and to note the scheduling for that day of group activities in which he will participate. The first fifteen minutes of the day are set aside as a period which the pupil may spend in planning his day's program.
A sixth feature is the independent work by the pupil. Class exercises of the recitation type are not held but instead the pupils work independently on their units and jobs, and consult teachers only for advice and assistance. Some group activities are maintained, for example, where the presence of the group is essential, but most of the academic work is carried on individually and independently by the pupils.
A seventh feature of the plan is the careful check that is continually made on the progress of pupils. Test a are given frequently in order to measure pupil achievements. Each pupil keep a job-book, in which the work he has accomplished is field, and this job-books are inspected occasionally to see that the pupils are doing the required work. Elaborate graphs are drawn showing the progress being made by each pupil.