Winnetka Plan
Encyclopedia
The Winnetka Plan was an educational experiment held in the Winnetka
, Illinois
-based Winnetka School District 36
. Developed by Carleton Washburne
, who was the district superintendent, and inspired by John Dewey
's work in the University of Chicago Laboratory School, the plan attempted to expand educational focus to creative activities and emotional and social development, using a program of a type that later became known as "programmed instruction."
The curriculum divided subjects into "common essentials" and "creative group activities." While "common essentials" required students to demonstrate mastery to advance, the creative activities allowed students to advance at different rates and there were no strict goals or standards of achievement. Rather than putting "gifted" students into higher level classes, the students struggling with schoolwork were put into special classes to address those individual problems. Most of the time, the struggling student received one on one help from a teacher. To this day, these classes and teaching sessions still exist, sometimes called "Study Skills" or "Resources."
The plan was widely imitated and led to shifts in curriculum focus across the United States.
Winnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
-based Winnetka School District 36
Winnetka School District 36
Winnetka School District 36 is an elementary school district based in Winnetka, Cook County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago that is due north of the city. The district is composed of five schools: three neighborhood elementary schools, one middle school, and one junior high school...
. Developed by Carleton Washburne
Carleton Washburne
Carleton Washburne was the superintendent of schools in Winnetka, Illinois from 1919 to 1943. He is most notably associated with the Winnetka Plan that he developed for his district.-External links:...
, who was the district superintendent, and inspired by John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
's work in the University of Chicago Laboratory School, the plan attempted to expand educational focus to creative activities and emotional and social development, using a program of a type that later became known as "programmed instruction."
The curriculum divided subjects into "common essentials" and "creative group activities." While "common essentials" required students to demonstrate mastery to advance, the creative activities allowed students to advance at different rates and there were no strict goals or standards of achievement. Rather than putting "gifted" students into higher level classes, the students struggling with schoolwork were put into special classes to address those individual problems. Most of the time, the struggling student received one on one help from a teacher. To this day, these classes and teaching sessions still exist, sometimes called "Study Skills" or "Resources."
The plan was widely imitated and led to shifts in curriculum focus across the United States.