The Dalton Plan was the progressive pedagogical model used by Helen Parkhurst, who founded the Dalton School in New York City in 1919. Her book, Education on the Dalton Plan, was published in 1922, and within six months of publication it was translated into fourteen languages.

The plan's principles were freedom and cooperation. Freedom meant the ability for individuals to function independently and autonomously. Cooperation meant the interaction of group life. Concerned with preparing students to live in a democracy, Parkhurst created an environment to balance cooperation and freedom.

The components of the Dalton Plan were House, Laboratory, and Assignment. House was the arrangement of students into advisory groups, which met four times per week for a total of ninety minutes with a teacher-advisor. Its ...

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