The author's primary goal was to investigate the relative viability of different kinds of open teaching. Project Learn, an open elementary classroom, met all the criteria set forth to be called such and was selected for the study. The independent variables were: teacher-guided instruction, small-group instruction, and individual-oriented instruction. Each of three groups of students was taught by one of these methods. Three teachers, trained to use all of the styles, chose one for the study. Students chose the group they preferred according to the teacher style. The dependent variables were involvement and inquiry activity. Involvement was measured by a Post Meeting Feedback Questionnaire and an Activity Description Form. Inquiry activity was measured by Content Related Inquiry Tasks. Analyses of taped discussions at theoretically critical points and the teacher's observations yielded data relevant to the effects of the three teaching styles. All three open styles appeared to be viable alternative roles for open classrooms. Each style has its own relative strengths and weaknesses. There seemed to be no relationship between the dependent variables of involvement and inquiry activity for this study. (Author/EB)