Abstract/Notes: This study compared the motivation and quality of experience of demographically matched students from Montessori and traditional middle school programs. Approximately 290 students responded to the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) and filled out questionnaires. Multivariate analyses showed that the Montessori students reported greater affect, potency (i.e., feeling energetic), intrinsic motivation, flow experience, and undivided interest (i.e., the combination of high intrinsic motivation and high salience or importance) while engaged in academic activities at school. The traditional middle school students reported higher salience while doing academic work; however, such responses were often accompanied by low intrinsic motivation. When engaged in informal, nonacademic activities, the students in both school contexts reported similar experiences. These results are discussed in terms of current thought on motivation in education and middle school reform.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/428885

ISSN: 0195-6744, 1549-6511

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2022

Abstract/Notes: Since its inception, the Montessori method has been highly regarded as an advanced, scientific and sound method of preschool education in Europe and the U.S. At the beginning of the 21st century, a wave of ＂Montessori＂ boom also emerged in China, with a large number of Montessori kindergartens springing up. As a young child born in the new century, I was also sent to a Montessori kindergarten by my parents. Although Montessori kindergartens are guided by excellent educational ideas, is the range of practices carried out in the kindergartens really suitable for the Chinese context and for Chinese children? This is a highly controversial issue and has been debated by scholars for a long time. In this article, however, the author incorporates the perspective of those who have experienced it, and reviews the operational model of Montessori kindergartens in China at the beginning of the 21st century, in order to provide some insights into the healthy development of kindergartens in the new era.

Language: English

DOI: 10.6918/IJOSSER.202301_6(1).0018

ISSN: 2637-6067

Language: English

ISSN: 0894-4555

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to look at how effective daily sight word practice was the acquisition of sight words. The study took place in a public charter Montessori school located in the Midwest. The classroom had 25 students ranging from first through third grade. Researchers assessed the daily sight word practice of 8 first graders. The researchers also administered two surveys which were given to the students and families. Each student was assessed using flashcards on the first day of each week and they were then given a list of those five words each week. They were also assessed on the last day of the week using the same flashcards from the first assessment. After six weeks of new words assessed, the students were then measured on 14 of the sight words within sentences. Overall, there was a positive learning experience for all six weeks. The parent survey focused on their knowledge of sight words and how they work on reading and sight words at home. The study shows daily practice of sight words does in fact help with the acquisition. Many parents know what sight words are but would like to learn new strategies about how to teach sight words to their child. The effects of daily practice helps strengthen the students reading skills and help create fluency.

Language: English

Published: River Falls, Wisconsin, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Across development, experience has a strong impact on the way we think and adapt. School experience affects academic and social-emotional outcomes, yet the extent to which pedagogy modulates underlying brain network development is still unknown. In this study, we compared brain network dynamics of students with different pedagogical backgrounds. Specifically, we characterized the diversity and stability of brain activity at rest by combining both resting-state fMRI and diffusion-weighted structural imaging data of 87 4-18 years-old students experiencing either the Montessori pedagogy (i.e., student-led, trial-and-error pedagogy) or the traditional pedagogy (i.e., teacher-led, test-based pedagogy). Our results revealed spatiotemporal brain dynamics differences between students as a function of schooling experience at the whole-brain level. Students from Montessori schools showed overall higher functional integration (higher system diversity) and neural stability (lower spatiotemporal diversity) compared to traditionally-schooled students. Higher integration was explained mainly through the cerebellar (CBL) functional network, while higher temporal stability was observed in the ventral attention (VA), dorsal attention (DA), somatomotor (SM), frontoparietal (FP), and CBL functional networks. This study suggests a form of experience-dependent dynamic functional connectivity plasticity, in learning-related networks.

Language: English

Published: Sep 21, 2023

Language: English

ISSN: 1539-7459

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: Motivation is a topic of high interest to music educators as they attempt to understand what makes their students want to continue learning. The use of the ukulele in the music classroom has grown over the last ten years due to its versatility. Despite its popularity and music educators’ support for its use, very little research exists on students’ motivation while playing it in a general music classroom setting. Therefore, the purpose of this current study is to compare the motivation levels of two groups of multi-age fourth through sixth-grade students learning the ukulele via different curricula in the music classroom. A quantitative MANOVA design method compared the motivation levels of students experiencing two different ukulele curricula. The study collected quantitative data from (N = 175) fourth through sixth-grade students at Maria Montessori School in Rockford, IL through an adapted twenty-two-item Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). The results indicated that there was a significant difference in motivation between students who experienced the Quaver Music curriculum and students who experienced the Music Will curriculum. The largest contributor to the difference is the Pressure-Tension subcategory, which leads one to conclude that students who experience lower levels of Pressure-Tension experience higher levels of overall motivation. Activities that promote lower levels of Pressure-Tension should be utilized in the classroom.

Language: English

Published: Lynchburg, Virginia, 2024

Language: English