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The Oregon Small Schools Program, (an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title III project) held a week-long institute in the summer of 1972 to demonstrate how construction can be individualized even with a large class load by organizing the curriculum and schedule so everyone can work at his own pace on meaningful projects. Given in this report are the major and concurrent presentations of the institute. Some of the major presentations dealt with topics such as the real challenge of individualized instruction, process learning, education in a changing world, new high school graduation requirements, and the input for planning. Some of the concurrent presentations given were on such topics as individualizing instruction in a small elementary school; individualized learning in practice; individualizing and humanizing science; the teacher's role in an individualized home economics program; scheduling and administrative organization; the retrieval-dissemination center; counseling in a small high school; individualized instruction in subjects such as language arts, mathematics, vocational business, and music; and scheduling for the improvement of instruction. A comprehensive account of the long-range plan for individualizing instruction in Oregon small schools is also given. (NQ)

The 1971 Oregon Small Schools Program summer institute at Willamette University, June 14-18, was attended by 200 elementary and secondary teachers, librarians, counselors, principals, and superintendents from more than 50 Oregon school districts. The major purpose of the summer institute (funded under Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) was to disseminate information regarding new techniques, innovative programs, and current educational thinking. The theme for the institute was "Contemporary Curriculum for Small Schools." The program attempted to meet the varied curriculum interests of participants with concurrent, small group sessions for administrators, secondary education, and elementary education. Sessions for elementary teachers and administrators were concerned with individually prescribed instruction, behavioral objectives, effective discipline, questioning strategies, and change in reading instruction. Sessions for secondary educators dealt with educational trends, behavioral objectives, and the legal process and concerns in school affairs. Major presentations dealt with a new design for rural elementary and secondary schools, individually prescribed instruction, due process, improvement of self-concept, student apathy, reading instruction, and teacher selection and evaluation. Condensations of major presentations, reports of concurrent sessions, 7 papers prepared by participants, and the results of an institute evaluation questionnaire are included in this institute report. (JH)

Various approaches to individualized learning were presented at this 1973 summer institute, attended by 426 administrators and teachers. Major topics included individualized learning, steps of the learning process, open classrooms, contracting, learning centers, management systems, goals, and resource packets. It was noted that the idea of individualized learning shifts the emphasis from teaching to learning and that learning must be the important focus. An institute evaluation summary of the 366 evaluations returned was included. (PS)