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

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: Pada masa pandemi covid-19 ini hampir seluruh pendidikan di Indonesia mengubah sistem pembelajaran termasuk pendidikan bagi anak berkebutuhan khusus pada jenjang anak usia dini. Pembelajaran dilakukan secara daring untuk memutus mata rantai penyebaran covid-19. Anak diharuskan belajar di rumah dengan pendampingan orangtua namun tetap dalam pengawasan guru. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui metode pembelajaran untuk anak berkebutuhan khusus ditengah pandemi covid-19. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kepustakaan. Dari hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa terdapat beberapa metode pembelajaran yaitu pembelajaran daring dimana pemaparan materi hanya melalui online dan home visit dimana guru mengunjungi anak dan memberikan pelajaran secara langsung

Language: Indonesian

DOI: 10.51667/mjpkaud.v1i2.497

ISSN: 2798-6195

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: Abstract Montessori has become one of early learning methods chosen by Indonesian parentsat this moment, formally through education institution, or informally through selflearning at home (Bigceglia, 2014; Woo, 2014); both dedicated for normal and special needs kids (Cipta, et al,, 2019). Montessori education needs Montessori aparatus(specially designed Montessori tools to support sensorial learning) which is relativelyexpensive. Early learning education is normally done within 2-3 hours at school, thusthese toddlers spend most of their time at home. Thus it is clear there is need for parents to stimulate them in the right way, one of the way is by providing Montessoriaparatus or other more affordable sensorial toys. Using multiple methods of data gathering (primary & secondary), toy redesign, design iteration, user product trial andreview; the result of this research is 12 new Montessori toys integrated in coffee table,which add values in terms of multifunction, price, quality, and still apply Montessoriconcept.  Abstrak Montessori menjadi salah satu metode pendidikan usia dasar yang dipilihorang tua Indonesia saat ini, baik secara formal melalui institusi pendidikanresmi, maupun secara informal melalui pembelajaran otodidak di rumah(Bisceglia, 2014; Woo, 2014); baik diperuntukkan untuk anak normal maupununtuk anak berkebutuhan khusus (Cipta, et al., 2019). Pendidikan Montessori sarat dengan aparatus Montessori yang relatif mahal (alat bermain khasMontessori yang dirancang sedemikian rupa untuk mendukung pembelajaran sensori). Dengan durasi PAUD kurikulum apapun yang hanya 2-3 jam disekolah, anak usia dini biasanya lebih banyak menghabiskan waktu di rumah,sehingga jelas ada kebutuhan orang tua untuk memberikan stimulasi yangtepat untuk tumbuh kembang anak, dan salah satunya adalah dengan aparatus Montessori atau mainan sensori lainnya yang lebih terjangkau. Denganberbagai metode pengumpulan data primer dan sekunder, redesain mainan,proses iterasi desain, uji coba produk ke pengguna; dirancang 12 produkmainan Montessori baru yang terintegrasi dengan meja kopi ruang tamu,yang memiliki nilai tambah dari sisi multifungsi, harga, kualitas, dan tetapmengindahkan konsep Montessori.

Language: Indonesian

DOI: 10.25105/dim.v17i1.7844

ISSN: 2549-7782, 2527-5666

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: Brain hemispheres develop rather symmetrically, except in the case of pathology or intense training. As school experience is a form of training, the current study tested the influence of pedagogy on morphological development through the cortical thickness (CTh) asymmetry index (AI). First, we compared the CTh AI of 111 students aged 4 to 18 with 77 adults aged > 20. Second, we investigated the CTh AI of the students as a function of schooling background (Montessori or traditional). At the whole-brain level, CTh AI was not different between the adult and student groups, even when controlling for age. However, pedagogical experience was found to impact CTh AI in the temporal lobe, within the parahippocampal (PHC) region. The PHC region has a functional lateralization, with the right PHC region having a stronger involvement in spatiotemporal context encoding, while the left PHC region is involved in semantic encoding. We observed CTh asymmetry toward the left PHC region for participants enrolled in Montessori schools and toward the right for participants enrolled in traditional schools. As these participants were matched on age, intelligence, home-life and socioeconomic conditions, we interpret this effect found in memory-related brain regions to reflect differences in learning strategies. Pedagogy modulates how new concepts are encoded, with possible long-term effects on knowledge transfer.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13091270

ISSN: 2076-3425

Abstract/Notes: Objectives: Alzheimer's is the most prevalent cognitive disturbance, with a high spread among the elderly. The current research aims to investigate the impact of cognitive rehabilitation on the memory improvement of Alzheimer's disease patients. | Methods: The current research used a semi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test designs. The statistical population in Baghdad in 2021 included 60 patients with Alzheimer's illness, all considered a statistical sample and separated into two experimental and control groups (30 people in each group). The patient's cognitive abilities were assessed prior to the intervention (pre-test), straightly after the intervention (post-test), and two months later (follow-up). The experimental group had twenty-eight 45-minute sessions of training based on the Montessori Method (two sessions per week). The data were analyzed in SPSS version 19 using the independent t-test and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results have a P-value of less than 0.05. | Results: The findings of the independent t-test demonstrated that there is no significant differ between the scores of the both groups during the pre-test stage (P>0.05) but that this difference is significant during the post-test and follow-up stages (P<0.001). In addition, the findings of repeated measures ANOVA indicated a significant differ between the both groups' mean scores in post-test and follow-up (P<0.001). | Conclusion: Cognitive rehabilitation can help patients with memory disorders and positively affect their memory performance.

Language: English

DOI: 10.32598/irj.21.2.2066.1

ISSN: 1735-3602, 1735-3610

Abstract/Notes: While students are receiving a high-quality education within the classroom, some students face difficulty performing adequately on assessments. These students typically receive intervention support to assist in increasing their skill deficits. However, many schools are unaware of the different approaches they can implement within a Multi-Tiered System of Supports framework. While utilizing a standard protocol has been the preferred method, many schools are currently implementing the problem-solving approach because it targets one skill the student is struggling with. Little research has been conducted comparing or combining the two approaches leading schools to be clueless about which one will provide more positive results. A synthesis of articles implementing one or both approaches was conducted to determine which approach would work best in a Montessori school. Results showed an individualized approach might assist students more based on higher effect sizes. However, some researchers who compared the two approaches indicate both approaches are comparable in yielding positive results. To implement interventions effectively, educators must use an evidence-based intervention that’s explicit and structured, screen and monitor progress to make informed decisions, and implement the intervention with fidelity.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Maria Montessori’s approach, based on observation of and experimentation with children’s learning processes, remains one of the longest-standing and widely embraced forms of alternative education. Contemporary neuroscience research increasingly validates Montessori’s principles, yet a robust bridge between these two fields remains elusive. Factors such as differing goals, terminology and the lack of a collaborative framework hinder their synergy. This literature review explores the intersection between neuroscience findings and Montessori’s educational philosophy, structured into five key areas. The Perspective first presents various neuroscience insights: an exploration of aspects related to learning, brain development and cognition. Second, a brief background on Maria Montessori’s contributions: a historical overview of Maria Montessori's life, work and educational methodology. Third is the identification of the areas where neuroscience and Montessori principles intersect, including the importance of movement, emotional development, social learning, the role of the prepared environment, the transition from concrete to abstract concepts, self-regulation, sensitive periods and memory. Finally, while acknowledging the challenges and limitations in researching Montessori education, this review emphasises the growing evidence that supports the alignment of Montessori principles with neuroscience findings. This underscores the enduring relevance of Montessori’s holistic education approach and highlights the potential benefits of a deeper collaboration between these fields, to enhance educational practices and promote comprehensive learning experiences for children. / L'approche éducative de Maria Montessori, fondée sur l'observation et l'expérimentation de l'enfant, reste l'une des formes d'éducation alternative les plus anciennes et les plus largement adoptées. La recherche contemporaine en neurosciences valide de plus en plus les principes de Montessori, mais établir un pont solide entre ces deux domaines reste difficile. Des facteurs tels que des objectifs différents, une terminologie différente et l'absence d'un cadre de collaboration entravent leur synergie. Cette revue de la littérature explore l'intersection entre les résultats des neurosciences et la philosophie éducative de Montessori, structurée en cinq domaines clés : Premièrement, la présentation de quelques idées neuroscientifiques : Une exploration de divers aspects neuroscientifiques liés à l'apprentissage, au développement du cerveau et à la cognition. Deuxièmement, un bref historique des contributions de Maria Montessori : un aperçu historique de la vie, de l'œuvre et de la méthodologie éducative de Maria Montessori. L'identification des domaines où les neurosciences et les principes Montessori se croisent est ensuite présentée, notamment l'importance du mouvement, le développement émotionnel, l'apprentissage social, le rôle de l'environnement préparé, la transition des concepts concrets aux concepts abstraits, l'autorégulation, les périodes sensibles et la mémoire. Tout en reconnaissant les défis et les limites de la recherche en éducation Montessori, cette revue met l'accent sur les preuves de plus en plus nombreuses de l'alignement des principes Montessori sur les résultats des neurosciences. Cela souligne la pertinence durable de l'approche éducative holistique de Montessori et met en lumière les avantages potentiels d'une collaboration plus approfondie entre ces domaines, dans le but d'améliorer les pratiques éducatives et de favoriser des expériences d'apprentissage complètes pour les enfants.

Language: English

DOI: 10.26034/cortica.2023.4218

ISSN: 2813-1940