North Dakota Study Group 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 first 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. For more information, please visit the North Dakota Study Group's website.

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