ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL #1471
DATES: 1969-2000
SIZE: .75 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The North Dakota Study Group Records were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by Vito Perrone via his son, Sean Perrone, Watertown, Massachusetts, on August 3, 2001 (Acc.#2003-2650).
ACCESS: Available for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
UA#57, Center for Teaching and Learning, Dean Vito Perrone Records
The North Dakota Study Group was formed in November 1972. A group of educators met to discuss student and teacher evaluation, as well as its impact on the field of education. The group felt that the evaluation methods which were being used did not truly reflect or encourage students' learning and thinking, and wanted to discuss ways to change evaluation processes and educational practices to better meet student needs. They also felt that teacher evaluation was subject to the same pitfalls and traps as student evaluation, and did not create an accurate portrait of the teacher being evaluated. The educators, headed by Vito Perrone, Dean of the Center for Teaching and Learning at the University of North Dakota, decided to meet on a yearly basis to discuss concerns related to education, to share ideas, and to attempt to improve the educational system by instituting alternatives to teaching and testing methods which they felt were problematic. Perrone became the Coordinator of the North Dakota Study Group (NDSG).
The first several NDSG meetings were held annually every February and lasted for two days. Members later decided that Study Group meetings should be lengthened to three days to allow more time for discussion and reflection. Meetings included educators from across the United States. The NDSG was faced with the dilemma of having more people interested in attending the meetings than there were spots available. For this reason, a lottery system was created. Aside from a limited number of "founding members" who were permitted to attend each meeting, the rest of the attendees for a given year were selected by lottery. The North Dakota Study group is still in existence and continues its annual meetings.
The North Dakota Study Group Records date from 1969-2000, and are divided into four sections:
The first section contains materials that are directly related to the North Dakota Study Group (NDSG). Meeting materials from 1986, 1989-1997, and 2000 includes schedules of events and rosters listing the names and contact information for the participating members for that year. Also included is correspondence between NDSG leaders and past, present, and potential members, primarily regarding the planning of the annual NDSG meetings. The correspondence dates from 1976-1998.
The second section includes materials related to the New School of Behavioral Studies in Education, at the University of North Dakota. The New School was an experimental college dealing with teaching and learning in an unconventional manner, focusing on self-direction by faculty and students, along with a great deal of group work. Also included are materials published by the University, as well as individual reflections on, and accounts of, experiences with the New School.
The next section consists of general materials related to education, including brochures, presentations, handwritten notes, and published results of surveys and studies regarding teaching schools. Also included are general articles and book excerpts which focus on the nature of education, including science education, standardized testing, how to effectively teach children, personal reflections of teaching, and teachers' concerns. Additional materials regarding the 500th Anniversary of Columbus' Landing in North America materials, and information on the Cambridge Rindge School of Technical Arts in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is also included.
The final section contains materials regarding the use of interviews as an evaluation tool. These materials also contain examples of interviews and interview guidelines.
Box 1
Folder
North Dakota Study Group Materials
"New School" Materials
General Materials Related to Education
Interviews as an Evaluation Tool
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