Goddard College, Liberal arts college in Plainfield, Vermont
Goddard College is a private liberal arts college in Plainfield, Vermont, spreading across grounds that include buildings designed by Arthur Shurcliff. The library within the Eliot D. Pratt Center holds around 70,000 volumes and documents for students and visitors.
The college began in 1938 as a place to experiment with new teaching methods and gained official recognition in 1959. A program for adult learners launched in 1963, combining distance study with short campus visits.
The name honors educator Royce "Tim" Pitkin Goddard, who worked to reshape how people learn. Red brick halls and wooden structures across the grounds surround open meadows where students gather for projects or outdoor sessions.
The institution worked with a model where learners spent most of their time away from campus and visited in person only for short periods. These sessions in Vermont focused on guidance and conversation between students and instructors.
Instead of letter grades, students received written narratives describing their progress and learning path. Each person could assemble their own course of study and choose areas to focus on based on personal interests.
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