Abstract/Notes: We describe a fulfilling 7-year relationship between educational practice and program evaluation at the STAR School, an Arizona public charter dedicated to providing excellent education for Navajo children in a rural, impoverished area. Previous literature had empirically identified Pre/K math and language skills as predictors of future school success. Therefore, a Montessori-based curriculum with trained teachers was implemented. It provided high quality preschool math education that was congruent with Navajo cultural values. Program evaluation and educators’ insights comprised a long-term collaboration that guided annual improvement of the program. Children’s data on growth in math, language, and social development are summarized for the most recent 3 years of the program, as are parental assessments of the school. Results indicate that this program has been highly successful with Pre and K students. They entered more than a year behind, on average, in math concepts and language. By the end of their Pre/K experience virtually all of the children were at or above grade level in math. We believe that our work underscores the value of creating long-term collaborative relationships between rural educators who are implementing promising educational practices and dedicated researchers who can offer beneficial empirical and theoretical perspectives.

Language: English

Published: Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2017

ISBN: 978-3-319-42940-3 978-3-319-42938-0

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959

Abstract/Notes: The goal of this thesis is to describe teachers' communication with toddlers and pre- schoolers from mono- and bilingual families in Montessori schools or schools inspired by the Montessori method. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part is theoretical and contains chapters on children's communication and communication with children, its forms and specific aspects; language and language acquisition, bilingualism, the founder of Montessori education, the Montessori education per se and communication with children according to its principles. The second part is practical and presents an analysis of the pragmatic component of teachers' communication with children through audio recordings or hand-written notes taken during participant observation. It focuses on the characteristics and specific features of teachers' communication with children in Montessori pre- schools. It includes the description of communication environment which complements the teachers' communication with children. It also contains semi-structured interviews with teachers and photographs in the attachment. / Cílem této diplomové práce je charakterizovat komunikaci učitelek s dětmi batolecího a předškolního věku z mono- i z bilingvních rodin, v zařízeních typu Montessori nebo v zařízeních touto pedagogikou inspirovaných. Diplomová práce je tvořena dvěma částmi - první, teoretickou část, představují kapitoly o komunikaci dětí a s dětmi, jejích formách a specificích, o jazyku a jeho osvojování, o bilingvismu, o zakladatelce pedagogiky Montessori a jejích metodách a o komunikaci s dětmi v tomto výchovném směru. Druhá, praktická část, prezentuje analýzu pragmatické složky komunikace učitelek s dětmi, skrze audio nahrávky či písemné záznamy komunikace ze zúčastněného pozorování. Zaměřuje se na charakteristiku a specifické rysy komunikace učitelek s dětmi v Montessori zařízeních předškolního typu. Věnuje se také popisu komunikačního prostředí, který doplňuje komunikaci učitelek s dětmi, stejně tak jako polostrukturované rozhovory s učitelkami a fotografie, jež uvádíme v příloze.

Language: Czech

Published: Prague, Czechia, 2022

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 0028-5048

Language: German

ISSN: 0944-2537

Language: English

ISSN: 0889-5643

Abstract/Notes: Reprinted from Kolner Presse

Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959

Language: English