Language: English

Published: Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1983

ISBN: 0-89859-271-2 978-0-89859-271-9

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: This paper reports short- and long-term outcomes of the Direct Instruction Head Start and Follow Through program model. Based on the premise that positive reinforcement is essential to maximum academic success, the Direct Instruction program was developed from an academic preschool model which specified exactly what children needed in order to succeed academically and dictated how teachers should modify children's behavior. The Follow Through program was developed to provide programs for kindergarten through 3rd grade that would help maintain gains made in Head Start or other preschool programs. In 1983 the Follow Through program could be found in 60 American cities and a number of foreign countries. Research suggested that the Direct Instruction/Follow Through program had a positive effect on reading and mathematics achievement. However, third-graders who received direct instruction, more often than comparison children, attributed academic success to external factors and failure to themselves. They also scored lower than children receiving cognitive developmental instruction on a test of nonverbal problem-solving. Longitudinal findings suggested that students receiving direct instruction had lower grade retention and higher attendance and graduation rates. Longitudinal comparison of direct instruction, Montessori, DARCEE, and traditional preschool programs revealed positive outcomes for children who received direct instruction: Follow Through children achieved at grade level when they were in the ninth grade.

Language: English

Published: [S.I.], Jun 1987

Abstract/Notes: Base-10 and place value understanding are important foundational math concepts that are associated with higher use of decomposition strategies and higher accuracy on addition problems (Laski, Ermakova, & Vasilyeva, 2014; Fuson, 1990; Fuson & Briars, 1990; National Research Council, 2001). The current study examined base-10 knowledge, place value, and arithmetic accuracy and strategy use for children in early elementary school from Montessori and non-Montessori schools. Children (N = 150) were initially tested in either kindergarten or first grade. We followed up with a subgroup of the sample (N = 53) two years later when the children were in 2nd and 3rd grade. Although Montessori curriculum puts a large emphasis on the base-10 structure of number, we found that children from Montessori schools only showed an advantage on correct use of base-10 canonical representation in kindergarten but not in first grade. Moreover, there were no program differences in place value understanding in 2nd and 3rd grade. Although Montessori children used different strategies to obtain answers to addition problems in 2nd and 3rd grade as compared with non-Montessori children, there were no program differences in addition accuracy at any grade level. Educational implications are discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v2i1.5677

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: Diese Arbeit geht der Frage nach, wie die [Leistungen] von [Montessori-Schülern] im Vergleich zu konventionellen Schülern zu bewerten sind[.] Insbesondere unter dem Aspekt, dass [Montessori-Schüler] der Vor- und Grundschule zu anderen Schulformen wechseln. Dazu wurden zwei Schülergruppen an der Milwaukee Public School betrachtet, von denen die eine in einem Montessori-Zweig unterrichtet wurde, die andere konventionelle Vergleichsgruppe aber nicht. Die Auswahl [...] der Schüler für die Montessori-Versuchsgruppe erfolgte über ein Losverfahren. Danach wurde eine Vergleichsgruppe konstruiert. Die Befragung fand am Ende der Sekundarstufe I statt, das heißt 5 Jahre nachdem die Schüler ihre Montessori-Umwelt verlassen hatten. Die Testergebnisse wurden korreliert und einer Faktoranalyse unterzogen, dabei wurden die folgenden Faktoren identifiziert: Mathematik/Naturwissenschaft sowie Englisch/Gesellschaftskunde. (Alanus).

Language: German

ISSN: 0944-2537

Abstract/Notes: Students who develop and apply their self-directed learning skills have advantages in school over those who do not (Betts & Knapp, 1981; Candy, 1991; Guglielmino, 1977; Schunk & Zimmerman, 2012). This is because self-directed learning (SDL) skills enable autonomous learning where students self-initiate, solve problems, develop new ideas, and monitor themselves with minimal external guidance (Knowles, 1976; Zimmerman, 2000). Despite the importance of these skills, research shows that few students consistently engage in SDL (Dent & Koenka, 2016; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Because of SDL's multi-faceted and complex nature, it is difficult to discern why this is the case (Dent & Koenka, 2016; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Multiple dynamic, interacting factors, including maturation, environmental supports, and historical events, likely contribute to students’ SDL development (Hoyle & Dent, 2017). As such, recent literature suggests that a relational dynamic systems (RDS) approach can help elucidate the dynamic, context-dependent patterns by which SDL skills unfold (Hoyle & Dent, 2017). According to RDS theories, development occurs within multi-level, interacting, relational systems; therefore, the bi-directional relationship between the person and their environment should be the unit of analysis (Lerner et al., 2011). This study aimed to provide a systematic investigation of the development of SDL skills, accounting for important contextual and developmental influences as well as individual pathways. Adolescence appears to be an optimal time for students to gain SDL skills (Brown, 1978; Brown et al., 1983); hence, this study focused on that developmental period. Also, because the Montessori educational approach is conducive to SDL skill development (Lillard, 2017; Rathunde, 2009, 2014), it was used as the school backdrop for this study. Furthermore, during data collection, a global pandemic caused by COVID-19 impacted school environments and was also included as a developmental context in this study. Specifically, this study utilized a longitudinal convergent mixed methods design to (1) identify patterns of SDL skill development across adolescence, (2) illustrate the reasons for those changes, and (3) illuminate the indirect effect of COVID-19 on students’ SDL. Emergent themes from student interviews conducted over four years augmented growth curve analysis results from an accelerated longitudinal design utilizing student surveys to address the research questions. Descriptive, correlational, multi-level model (MLM), and repeated-measures ANOVA analyses of student survey responses across four years (4 waves) of data collection with students grades 7 through 12 (n = 284) were applied to address the quantitative research questions. Emergent themes, derived through thematic analysis of 29 interviews, or 11 cases of students with a range of SDL skills (average, above average, and below average), addressed the qualitative research questions. Finally, quantitative results and qualitative findings were combined and compared to investigate convergence, divergence, and expansion areas that addressed integrative research questions. Findings shed important light on the development of adolescent students’ SDL skills across adolescence. Quantitative results and qualitative analyses were combined to address the research question: Do adolescent students’ SDL skills increase, decrease, or remain stable throughout middle school and high school? Findings resulted in areas of convergence and divergence across methods. Despite some diverging quantitative results, namely a non-significant growth model, other quantitative results, a non-significant no-growth model and descriptive plots, converged with qualitative findings from student interviews to suggest that within and between students, SDL skill development can include a combination of growth, decline, or stability over time. Findings from this study also suggest that each SDL skill can develop on its own timetable. Also, findings suggest a developmental pattern whereby SDL skills vary more in middle school than in high school. These findings have begun to disentangle contradictory results of earlier SDL research (e.g., Heater, 2005; Pajares & Valiante, 2002; Reio & Ward, 2005). From a practice perspective, the findings imply that it may benefit students to have tailored interventions that meet them where they are developmentally, considering each SDL skill individually and all together. The second integrative research question that was addressed in this study was: What roles do factors like grade level and the Montessori learning environment play in SDL development? Quantitative results and qualitative findings converged to suggest that students' SDL skills develop, at least in part, as a factor of the length of time a student has been immersed in the Montessori program. The findings also show that a student’s maturation may play a role in SDL skill development, especially when environmental contexts are supportive. In addition, qualitative interviews with students identified features of the Montessori program, such as open work time, scaffolded opportunities to be self-directed, autonomy support, and supportive teachers that aided students in their SDL development, which also aligns with the literature (Zumbrunn et al., 2011). This finding strengthens prior research, which found cursory evidence for how Montessori schools support the development of SDL skills (Ervin et al., 2010). In addition, quantitative results and qualitative findings diverged for the third overarching research question: Have changes in the learning environment associated with COVID-19 shaped the development of students’ SDL skills? If so, how? Although the quantitative results from this study failed to detect any indirect effects of the impact of COVID-19 on students’ SDL, qualitative findings found that changes in their learning environment as a result of COVID-19 impacted students’ SDL both negatively and positively. Research has also found that the global pandemic drastically impacted the school environment, so it is most likely that the quantitative measure failed to detect an effect (Huck & Zhang, 2021; Tarkar, 2020). Furthermore, in the interviews, most students reported a combination of negative experiences (e.g., more distractions at home, lowered motivation, fewer social interactions, higher stress, and missing in-school learning) as well as positive experiences (e.g., increased time management, access to resources, multi-tasking, organization, ability to shut out distractions, and time to sleep) that impacted their SDL abilities. Qualitative findings from this study extend prior research by providing student accounts of their experiences, including silver linings (Wilson et al., 2020). Despite its limitations, this study revealed important exploratory findings about how students’ SDL skills can develop across adolescence. Areas of convergence across qualitative and quantitative methodologies underscore the reliability of the study findings. There were also unique quantitative and qualitative findings that extend prior research and provide important implications for future research and practice.

Language: English

Published: Claremont, California, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Quality preschool programs that develop the whole child through age-appropriate socioemotional and cognitive skill-building hold promise for significantly improving child outcomes. However, preschool programs tend to either be teacher-led and didactic, or else to lack academic content. One preschool model that involves both child-directed, freely chosen activity and academic content is Montessori. Here we report a longitudinal study that took advantage of randomized lottery-based admission to two public Montessori magnet schools in a high-poverty American city. The final sample included 141 children, 70 in Montessori and 71 in other schools, most of whom were tested 4 times over 3 years, from the first semester to the end of preschool (ages 3 to 6), on a variety of cognitive and socio-emotional measures. Montessori preschool elevated children's outcomes in several ways. Although not different at the first test point, over time the Montessori children fared better on measures of academic achievement, social understanding, and mastery orientation, and they also reported relatively more liking of scholastic tasks. They also scored higher on executive function when they were 4. In addition to elevating overall performance on these measures, Montessori preschool also equalized outcomes among subgroups that typically have unequal outcomes. First, the difference in academic achievement between lower income Montessori and higher income conventionally schooled children was smaller at each time point, and was not (statistically speaking) significantly different at the end of the study. Second, defying the typical finding that executive function predicts academic achievement, in Montessori classrooms children with lower executive function scored as well on academic achievement as those with higher executive function. This suggests that Montessori preschool has potential to elevate and equalize important outcomes, and a larger study of public Montessori preschools is warranted.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01783

ISSN: 1664-1078

Abstract/Notes: Children in a Montessori preschool were administered a series of tests at the beginning of the school year and retested on the same battery 8 mo. later, at the end of the school year. The children exhibited a mean gain of about 11 points on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test IQ. They also exhibited a decline in Impuisivity and an increase in Superego scores, on the average, as measured by the Arrow-Dot Test. These longitudinal results corroborate an earlier cross-sectional analysis; and, as these results follow a prediction from Freudian theory, give indication of construct validity for the test.

Language: English

DOI: 10.2466/pms.1970.30.1.269

ISSN: 1558-688X, 0031-5125

Abstract/Notes: Preschool children were administered the IES Arrow-Dot at the beginning and end of the school year and scores compared with those based on a prior study in a Montessori preschool. Developmental trends of declining Impulsivity and rising Ego scores were corroborated. Superego development remained almost stable in contrast to a significant rise for the Montessori sample. Results support effective use of the test with preschoolers to assess baselines and developmental patterns of personality integration.

Language: English

DOI: 10.2466/pms.1975.40.1.209

ISSN: 1558-688X, 0031-5125

Abstract/Notes: The present two-year longitudinal study addressed developmental changes in different aspects of executive functioning (i.e., inhibition, updating, and cognitive flexibility) in a sample of 264 children aged between 5 and 7 years. Of special interest were issues of developmental progression over time, the influence of learning context and the predictive power of executive functions and school context for emerging academic skills. The results revealed pronounced improvements in all executive measures, both over time and as a function of age. For the learning context, small and age-dependent effects on executive skills were found. Inhibition uniquely contributed to the prediction of aspects of emerging academic skills, over and above chronological age and language skills.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2011.571841

ISSN: 1740-5610, 1740-5629