Abstract/Notes: How to combine experience and learning in a school or a university? How do new pedagogies get created? Who creates them, and why? The history of education is full of creative educators who integrated experience and education in new ways. By comparing a few of these cases it is possible to uncover some underlying characteristics of this practice. This is the goal of this study: to identify common, fundamental elements in the practice of integrating experience and education that transcend any particular pedagogy. The study selects six cases: three historical educators of children: John Dewey (U.S.), Maria Montessori (Italy), and Rabindranath Tagore (India); and three contemporary educators of managers and leaders: Ronald Heifetz (U.S.), Marshall Ganz (U.S.), and Henry Mintzberg (Canada). The data is collected from archival sources, direct observation and interviews. It focuses on their pedagogical creations and some biographical facts. Following a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006) the collected data is re-selected, coded, and organized according to common categories.A set of principles and practices on how to integrate experience and education emerged from this study. First: the sources of educative experiences: connecting with nature, service to society, community life, personal relationships, and discovering oneself. Second: the principles of educative experiences: educating for and in the present; embracing real life in real context; integrating content, method, and practice; educating in the 'whole game;' and combining head, heart, and hands. Third: the attributes of experiential learners: doing first, courageous, explorer, appreciative, reflective, and autonomous. And fourth: the tasks of creating pedagogies: designing learning experiences, establishing a laboratory of pedagogy, integrating everything into a culture, training other educators, leading a pedagogical movement, and writing about pedagogy and education. The findings contribute to the literature on experience and education by offering a set of principles and practices about pedagogical creation and development. These can help educators, schools, and universities to promote pedagogical innovation. Business schools can also use these findings to foster pedagogical experimentation and help bring their teaching methods closer to the actual practice of managers and leaders. / Comment allier l'expérience et l'apprentissage dans une école ou une université? Comment les nouvelles pédagogies voient-elles le jour? Qui les crée et pourquoi? L'histoire de l'éducation est riche de pédagogues créatifs qui intègrent l'expérience et l'éducation de façon créative. La comparaison de quelques cas permet de révéler des caractéristiques sous-jacentes de cette pratique. L'objectif de la présente étude est de recenser les éléments communs et fondamentaux de la pratique d'intégration de l'expérience et de l'éducation qui transcendent toute pédagogie. L'étude porte sur six cas : trois pédagogues historiques centrés sur l'enfant : John Dewey (É.-U.), Maria Montessori (Italie) et Rabindranath Tagore (Inde); et trois pédagogues contemporains en gestion et en leadership : Ronald Heifetz (É.-U.), Marshall Ganz (É.-U.) et Henry Mintzberg (Canada). Les données proviennent de sources d'archives, d'observation directe et d'entrevues. L'accent est mis sur la création pédagogique et sur des données biographiques. Suivant une approche de la théorisation ancrée constructiviste (Charmaz, 2006), les données recueillies sont sélectionnées de nouveau, codées et classées en catégories communes.Un ensemble de principes et de pratiques sur la façon d'intégrer l'expérience et l'éducation est ressorti de la présente étude. Premièrement, les sources des expériences éducatives : le lien avec la nature, le service à la société, la vie communautaire, les relations personnelles et la découverte de soi. Deuxièmement, les principes des expériences éducatives : l'éducation pour le présent et dans le présent; l'adhésion à la vraie vie dans un contexte authentique; l'intégration du contenu, de la méthode et de la pratique; l'éducation dans « l'ensemble du jeu » et la combinaison du cœur, de la tête et des mains. Troisièmement, les attributs de l'apprenant expérientiel : personne d'action, courageux, explorateur, reconnaissant, réfléchi et autonome. Et quatrièmement, les tâches de la création de pédagogies : la conception d'expériences d'apprentissage, la mise en place d'un laboratoire pédagogique, l'intégration de tout à une culture, la formation d'autres pédagogues, la direction d'un mouvement pédagogique et la rédaction sur la pédagogie. Les constatations apportent une contribution à la documentation sur l'expérience et l'éducation en établissant un ensemble de principes et de pratiques sur la création et le développement en matière de pédagogie. Cet ensemble de principes et de pratiques peut aider les pédagogues, les écoles et les universités à inspirer et à soutenir l'innovation pédagogique. Les écoles de gestion peuvent également mettre à profit ces constatations pour favoriser l'expérimentation pédagogique et rapprocher leurs méthodes d'enseignement de la pratique actuelle des gestionnaires et des leaders.

Language: English

Published: Montreal, 2018

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: The overall aim of this study has been to come to a better understanding of what it means to be a Montessori teacher, by getting a group of Montessori teachers to reflect on their lives and work. Data exploration has comprised journals, interviews, written reflections and collaborative con-textual analysis. Analysis of the teachers? occupational life histories and the findings as a whole have been used to shed light on: ?Values and specific aspects of the philosophy of Montessori edu-cation that primarily attract teachers to this profession. ?Ways in which teachers? conceptions of their professional roles reflect their own personal values, beliefs and convictions. ?Teachers? views regarding the role of Montessori education to-day and in the future. Eight female Montessori primary school teachers participated in the study. Findings reveal that the strengths of the Montessori method lie in its focus on philosophical awareness, the holistic approach and a genuine ethic of care. Montessori?s fundamental educational principles are also in alignment with the current Curriculum for Compulsory Schools (Lpo 94). On the other hand, difficulties are experienced due to conflicting tradi-tional/contemporary interpretations of Montessori theory and practice and a general lack of collaboration among Montessori teachers. Open discussion and a sharing of ideas and experiences would help Montessori teachers come to terms with how to apply fundamental principles in new ways without the fear of losing an educational ?identity?. The Montessori teachers in this study reflect this attitude. Tendencies toward continu-ity/meaningful change in education depend to a great extent on the ways in which teachers are able to critically reflect about how they think and what they do. Taking seriously what teachers have to say is in fact essen-tial in order to understand the forces that, among other things, govern and sway teachers? inner as well as outer motivations, something of relevance and concern to all involved in teaching and educational processes.

Language: English

Published: Malmö, Sweden, 2003

Abstract/Notes: This study examined the written works of Maria Montessori to determine what she considered the foundational theories, principles, and themes of her teaching method. Fifteen themes were identified and condensed into a 26-item Activity Evaluation Checklist (AEC). The study population of 5 parents, 5 administrators, and 5 teachers used the AEC and observed 10 children performing 6 activities designed for the Montessori classroom, resulting in 90 observations. Using scores of 1 to 5 for each of the 26 items, the study results indicated an accuracy correlation between the AEC and the 6 Montessori activities of a minimum of 95%, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the AEC as a tool to evaluate materials and activities designed for the Montessori classroom. The AEC can be used to determine how closely classroom materials and activities reflect Montessori's original principles. The AEC can also be used as a guide to create or adjust classroom materials and activities so they more accurately reflect Montessori's original principles.

Language: English

Published: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2000

Abstract/Notes: The highlights of Montessori's accomplishments are embodied in her cosmic views and organized into a Cosmic Plan of Education while she worked in the hills of Kodaikanal, India. The fruition of these cosmic views came late in her life and appeared to be synonymous with the development of her relationships with the warm and accepting Indian people. During this periodi Montessori devoted her energies to understanding how children naturally unfold into purposeful, yet interdependent individuals. Through all the professional challenges that Montessori faced in her lifetime as an educator of young children, her focal point continued to be 'the child'. This was especially true in connection with children during their transitional stage of growth from five- to seven-years of age when the acquisition of social, spiritual and cultural values are so strong. Montessori not only shared her methods and ideas with the people of India, but these people, in turn, influenced her views significantly enough to have caused her to formulate The Cosmic Plan of Education. This plan was designed especially for the transitional-age children but incapsulated within it was Montessori's own new-found East-West Cosmology. Through primary sources such as interviews, unpublished books and lectures, the dissertation gives the historical backdrop of the emergence of Montessori's cosmic views in the beginning five chapters. A description of the operation of the Cosmic Plan of Education during its conception is given in Chapter Six. The final chapters deal with how these views weathered the changes within the Indian society over the period of forty years.

Language: English

Published: Manoa, Hawaii, 1984

Language: English

Archive: Seattle University, Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons, Special Collections

Abstract/Notes: Did the work of Maria Montessori have an influence on the educational methods used in the infant and elementary school classrooms in England and Wales between 1910, when her work was first publicized in England, and 1933, when the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education published its report on Infant and Nursery Schools? To answer this principal question the following factors are considered: the effect on educational practices of the slow development of government provided education, the characteristics of the British Infant School, the social and political circumstances which were effecting education in 1910, the nature of Montessori's fame, and the official reaction to Maria Montessori and her work. For information concerning the methods actually being used in the classrooms from 1928 to 1933, the primary sources are memoranda submitted during that period to the Consultative Committee on the Primary School and to the Consultative Committee on Infant and Nursery Schools. The documents were analyzed for references to Montessori, for evidence of teachers having attended Montessori training courses, and for descriptions and advocacy of classroom methods which, according to a definition given by the Consultative Committee in its published report, reflect a Montessori influence. Eleven of thirteen Junior School Inspectors, six of thirteen Infant School Inspectors, and eleven of sixteen Heads of Infant Schools, according to the criteria used, advocate Montessori methods for more than half of the curriculum areas which they discuss. This evidence from the memoranda submitted to the Consultative Committees, combined with conclusions drawn from historical evidence, indicate that Maria Montessori did have considerable influence on the schools of England and Wales.

Language: English

Published: Mansfield, Connecticut, 1981

Language: English

Published: New York City, New York, 1971

Abstract/Notes: In the first half of the 20th century, Maria Montessori (1870-1952) created a radical approach to early education that she believed had the potential to aid political and socio-cultural transformation on a global scale. This study utilises critical theory and insights from the reconceptualist early childhood education movement to contextualise the background and examine the currency of Montessori’s vision of social justice for the child and subsequent world peace. The research focuses on the reflections of graduates from the Bachelor of Education (Montessori Early Childhood Teaching), a model of teacher education developed at the Auckland University of Technology. The study utilised socio-biographical inquiry and case study as key research tools. Participants were drawn from graduates in their first, second and third year of early childhood teaching practice. The specialty degree aims to highlight the social advocacy role of Maria Montessori with regard to children’s rights and as teachers qualify and enter the field, the project explores differences and similarities that they meet in the interpretation of Montessori philosophy. Information was also sought on the factors that support or challenge the development and resilience of teachers during their first three years of practice in the field. In particular, the study considers the relationship between the philosophy and practice of Montessori teachers in Aotearoa-New Zealand with reference to Montessori’s vision and explores how a teacher preparation model can be authentically reconciled with a social justice perspective. Case studies in four early childhood centres exemplify how a framework derived from Montessori philosophy supports development of the ‘just community’. This research has yielded information on the development of effective practice in early childhood education using the construct of critically engaged pedagogy. Insights arising from the project may therefore contribute to advancing both the literature and practice of Montessori education and especially in the New Zealand teacher education context.

Language: English

Published: Auckland, New Zealand, 2011

Language: English