Impact system for low-cost primary education

PROJECT IMPACT (INSTRUCTIONAL MANAGEMENT BY PARENTS, COMMUNITY, AND TEACHERS) IS AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIMENT BEING CONDUCTED IN NINE VILLAGES IN INDONESIA AND THE PHILIPPINES. ITS PURPOSE IS TO PROVIDE GOOD PRIMARY EDUCATION AT A GREATLY LESS PER-PUPIL COST. IT USES SEVERAL NON-TEACHER LEARNING METHODS, INCLUDING SELF-INSTRUCTION, PEER-GROUP LEARNING, UPGRADED PROGRESSION, SKILL TRAINING BY VOLUNTEERS IN THE COMMUNITY, AND PROGRAMMED TEACHING AND TUTORING BY OLDER STUDENTS. WHAT IS NEW ABOUT THE PROJECT IS ITS MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS AND THEIR INTEGRATION INTO A TOTAL LEARNING SYSTEM DIRECTED TOWARD THE ACHIEVEMENT OF STATED OBJECTIVES. THE PLAN FOR IMPACT BY 1978 IS TO HAVE 26 SCHOOL PERSONNEL SERVING A CLUSTER OF TEN CONTIGUOUS VILLAGES, EACH WITH 200-400 PRIMARY AGE STUDENTS. TRADITIONAL STAFFING FOR A SYSTEM WITH THAT MANY STUDENTS WOULD NUMBER 102 SCHOOL PERSONNEL. IMPACT SCHOOL FACILITIES ARE CALLED COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTERS, PARTLY TO DE-EMPHASIZE THE IDEA OF TEACHER-LED SCHOOL CLASSES. ON THE GROUNDS OF EACH CENTER ARE 30 TO 40 THATCH AND BAMBOO STRUCTURES, CALLED "LEARNING KIOSKOS," BUILT OF LOCAL MATERIALS BY PARENTS. BEGINNERS, IN GROUPS OF SIX TO EIGHT, LEARN READING AND MATH UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF OLDER PRIMARY STUDENTS. SELF-PACING IS EMPHASIZED. WEEKLY CONTRACTS AND INCENTIVE AWARDS ARE USED. PARENTS ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR CHILDREN"S LEARNING. LEARNING SEGMENTS IN IMPACT ARE CALLED MODULES. THEY FEATURE CLEARLY STATED OBJECTIVES, INSTRUCTIONS, SHORT LEARNING SEQUENCES, EVALUATION EXERCISES, REVIEW, AND POSTTESTS. THE COMPLETE PRIMARY CURRICULUM CONSISTS OF SOME 1200 MODULES -- 200 PER YEAR, WITH APPROXIMATELY 35 EACH YEAR IN A GIVEN SUBJECT.