Abstract/Notes: This study aims to uncover a link between read aloud with Socratic discussion and its impact on literacy and critical thinking skills. In researching this relationship, both quantitative and qualitative data tools were used. Participants in the study included 60 students from a charter Montessori school in the Southwest United States ranging from grade 1 to 6. Students participated in a six-week intervention. The intervention included a 60-minute read aloud with Socratic discussion session conducted twice a week. The findings indicate that there is a general increase in literacy and reading comprehension skills. In addition, the study was also shown to have a significant impact on individual participation and critical thinking skills as it relates to themes of the book. The conclusion of the study recommends more research with varied communities and book choices. In the future we must find ways to stimulate critical thinking skills in the elementary child using relatable themes and critical questioning.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2020

Abstract/Notes: Bu araştırmada, Montessori eğitimi ile MEB OÖEP uygulanan okul öncesi öğrencilerin yaratıcı düşünme becerilerini incelemek amacıyla hazırlanmıştır. Çalışmada, nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden olan betimsel ve ilişkisel tarama desenleri kullanılmıştır. Bu araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 2020-2021 eğitim-öğretim yılı güz döneminde İzmir ilinde Montessori eğitimini uyguladığını duyuran herhangi bir anaokulu ile Muş ilinde MEB OÖEP'yi uyguladığını duyuran herhangi bir özel okulun anasınıfında eğitim gören toplam 40 öğrenci oluşmaktadır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu oluşturulurken yaş değişkeni göz önünde bulundurulmuş ve gruplar eşitlenmiştir. Araştırma verileri, Aslan (1999) tarafından Türkçeye uyarlanan "Torrance Yaratıcı Düşünce Testi" ve araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen "Kişisel Bilgi Formu" kullanılarak elde edilmiştir. Araştırmada elde edilen verilerin analizinde; Mann Witney U Testi ve Sperman Sıra Farkları Korelasyon Analizi uygulanmıştır. Montessori eğitimi uygulanan öğrencilerin TYDT toplam yaratıcılık puanları MEB OÖEP uygulanan öğrencilerin TYDT toplam yaratıcılık puanlarından anlamlı düzeyde yüksektir. Montessori eğitimi ile MEB OÖEP uygulanan okul öncesi öğrencilerinin toplam yaratıcılık puanları arasında önemli ölçüde ilişki vardır. Montessori eğitimi uygulanan öğrencilerin yaratıcı düşünme becerilerinden akıcılık, orijinallik, başlıkların soyutluğu ve zenginleştirme alt becerileri toplam yaratıcılık puanları, MEB OÖEP uygulanan öğrencilerin akıcılık, orijinallik, başlıkların soyutluğu ve zenginleştirme alt becerileri toplam yaratcılık puanlarından anlamlı düzeyde yüksektir. Erken kapamaya direnç alt becerilerinde ise her iki eğitimi de olan öğrencilerin bulguları benzer çıkmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlar doğrultusunda ulaşılan genel sonuç, Montessori eğitimi'nin okul öncesi öğrencilerinin yaratıcı düşünme becerilerine olumlu yönde katkı sağladığı ve MEB Okul Öncesi Eğitim Programına göre akıcılık, orijinallik, başlıkların soyutluğu ve zenginleştirme becerilerine göre daha etkili olduğudur. / In this study, it was prepared to examine the creative thinking skills of preschool students who were applied Montessori education and MEB OÖEP. Descriptive and relational scanning patterns, which are among the quantitative research methods, were used in the study. The study group of this study consists of a total of 40 students studying in the kindergarten of any kindergarten in the province of İzmir that announced that they have implemented Montessori education in the fall semester of the 2020-2021 academic year and any private school in the province of Muş that announced that they have implemented the MEB OÖEP. While creating the study group of the research, the age variable was taken into consideration and the groups were equalized. The research data were obtained using the "Torrance Creative Thinking Test" adapted into Turkish by Aslan (1999) and the "Personal Information Form" developed by the researcher. In the analysis of the data obtained in the research; Mann Witney U Test and Sperman Rank Difference Correlation Analysis were applied. The total creativity scores of the students who are applied Montessori education are significantly higher than the TTCT total creativity scores of the students who are applied to MEB OÖEP. There is a significant relationship between the Montessori education and the total creativity scores of pre-school students who are applied MEB OÖEP. Fluency, originality, abstractness of the titles and enrichment sub-skills among the creative thinking skills of the students who were applied Montessori education, the total creativity scores, the fluency, originality, the abstraction of the titles and the enrichment sub-skills of the students who were applied MEB OÖEP were significantly higher than the total creativity scores. In the sub-skills of resistance to early closure, the findings of the students with both education were similar. The general conclusion reached in line with the results obtained is that Montessori education contributes positively to the creative thinking skills of preschool students and is more effective than the fluency, originality, abstractness of the titles and enrichment skills compared to the Ministry of National Education Preschool Education Program.

Language: Turkish

Published: Samsun, Turkey, 2021

Abstract/Notes: It is essential to interpret information, determine its veracity, and assess its significance in today's society. Children need not acquire more information to be successful in the modern world; instead, they must develop higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). This study aims to establish whether or not children with a Montessori background have higher levels of HOTS than students with a non-Montessori background. The study analyzes data from a competency-based test in English, mathematics and science conducted for 78 fourth-grade students. It was discovered that the Montessori-educated children performed better in English and Science. Yet the difference in mathematics, where Montessori students scored higher, did not achieve much statistical significance.

Language: English

DOI: 10.37118/ijdr.26209.01.2023

ISSN: 2230-9926

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Abstract/Notes: Presented at NAMTA conference on educational reform, Washington, DC, February 28-March 3, 1991

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Abstract/Notes: Fostering creative minds has always been a premise to ensure adaptation to new challenges of human civilization. While some alternative educational settings (i.e., Montessori) were shown to nurture creative skills, it is unknown how they impact underlying brain mechanisms across the school years. This study assessed creative thinking and resting-state functional connectivity via fMRI in 75 children (4–18 y.o.) enrolled either in Montessori or traditional schools. We found that pedagogy significantly influenced creative performance and underlying brain networks. Replicating past work, Montessori-schooled children showed higher scores on creative thinking tests. Using static functional connectivity analysis, we found that Montessori-schooled children showed decreased within-network functional connectivity of the salience network. Moreover, using dynamic functional connectivity, we found that traditionally-schooled children spent more time in a brain state characterized by high intra-default mode network connectivity. These findings suggest that pedagogy may influence brain networks relevant to creative thinking—particularly the default and salience networks. Further research is needed, like a longitudinal study, to verify these results given the implications for educational practitioners. Research Highlights Most executive jobs are prospected to be obsolete within several decades, so creative skills are seen as essential for the near future. School experience has been shown to play a role in creativity development, however, the underlying brain mechanisms remained under-investigated yet. Seventy-five 4–18 years-old children, from Montessori or traditional schools, performed a creativity task at the behavioral level, and a 6-min resting-state MR scan. We uniquely report preliminary evidence for the impact of pedagogy on functional brain networks.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/desc.13389

ISSN: 1467-7687

Language: Korean

ISSN: 1226-9417

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: This research investigated Education for Sustainability (EfS) at an independent Montessori primary school, located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. A longitudinal case study involving analysis of data from a twenty year period was conducted to determine the effectiveness of EfS. Historical information about EfS at the school from 1990 to 2005 was examined, with the main focus of the study being on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) between 2005 and 2009. AuSSI promotes a whole school, whole systems thinking approach to EfS. Three school-based issues in EfS were studied. Firstly, the research aimed to determine what elements of EfS were in operation in the school prior to involvement in AuSSI. Secondly, student outcomes including engagement with whole systems thinking, attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS, were investigated during the first five years of participation in AuSSI. Thirdly, teacher perceptions of the EfS program, including engagement with whole systems thinking, were examined during this same time period. A case study approach was employed to enable in-depth investigation of EfS in the life of the school prior to, during and post implementation of AuSSI. This approach facilitated revelation of participants' lived experiences, their perceptions and understandings of EfS, as well as detailed information about student outcomes in EfS. Case study methodology was also compatible with the culture and processes of the participating school and provided an opportunity for utilising a whole systems thinking approach. Data was gathered from a range of sources, through surveys, interviews, observation and document analysis over a five year period. The total participants included eleven teachers and seventy five students. The research identified particular antecedents of EfS in the Montessori Method of education that existed in the school prior to AuSSI, including the whole child approach, together with the Montessori learning environment, curriculum and values. Following participation in AuSSI, student attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS were enhanced for all year levels. However, after three years when specific EfS actions and projects ceased, student EfS outcomes were limited. Furthermore, students’ thinking and behaviour indicated a ‘silo’, rather than whole systems thinking approach to EfS. Teachers perceived the EfS program as highly effective in the initial three years after joining AuSSI. Key elements that enhanced EfS included EfS staff champions who had access to EfS networks, leadership support, and active school community involvement in all EfS processes. However, after three years of being an AuSSI school, the culmination of reduced leadership support for EfS, lack of staff training, vague designation of staff with EfS responsibilities and inadequate community involvement, resulted in cessation of the EfS program. Teacher perceptions on whole systems thinking revealed alignment between Montessori philosophy, EfS and whole system thinking was more in theory than in practice. Through an in-depth longitudinal case study of a school this research highlighted the importance of whole school EfS professional learning, embedding EfS and whole systems thinking across the curriculum at all year levels, whole school support, and the usefulness of a sustainability continuum that recognizes the complex, dynamic interplay of issues involved in a school’s EfS journey. It is strongly recommended improvements to pre-service teacher education in EfS are implemented, and a review of the AuSSI toolkit is conducted to refine EfS evaluation processes and to target the specific EfS needs of teachers at different stages of schooling, as well as to enhance understanding and implementation of the whole systems thinking approach. Finally, EfS professional learning for all school staff in all schools is warranted to enhance depth of EfS engagement.

Language: English

Published: Perth, Australia, 2012