Abstract/Notes: This article discusses an approach designed for mathematics educators. Maria Montessori intended this knowledge to be shared with other teachers, increasing the Montessori community's understanding of children's thinking. A group of Montessorians has even tried to formalize this process with a program called Teachers' Research Network. Similarly, the intent is to share mathematics education research and practices. Specifically, the author would like to suggest the use of word problems to help children build a more abstract understanding of addition and subtraction. In mathematics education, researchers are examining how children invent arithmetic operations in a program called Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI). The author describes the aspects of CGI that are similar to the Montessori tradition. Children use a variety of materials and strategies to solve problems. The role of the teacher is to modify the environment (using a variety of problem types and difficulties) to learn about each child's understanding. By observing how children pursue word problems, the researchers were able to assess what the children understood about operations, looking beyond whether or not they could perform the simple arithmetic calculations. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses, they discovered that children were indeed capable of solving complex word problems, including problems that involved more than one operation, in a variety of ways. The teacher's new understanding of the children's mathematical thinking is then used to vary the types of problems given in order to help children become more abstract thinkers. (Contains 1 table.)

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

ISSN: 1178-6213, 2744-662X

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Putnam, 1978

ISBN: 0-399-11802-0

Abstract/Notes: Reprinted in part from the Times Educational Supplement.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1920

Abstract/Notes: Excerpt from The Discovery of the Child.

Language: English

ISSN: 0749-565X

Abstract/Notes: Letter to the Editor

Language: English

ISSN: 0040-7887

Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01291.x

ISSN: 0009-3920, 1467-8624

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: Although Montessori's name is almost universally known in education circles today, and there are countless nursery schools throughout the world using the "Montessori Method," the real core of her thinking has remained largely misunderstood. Most people regard the method as a system for the education of very young children. And most who have some direct experience of it, either as parent or teacher, would regard it as involving a certain set of procedures and specialized educational materials with clear and elaborate instructions for their use. However, the essence of Montessori's philosophy of education is in reality far broader than this, and contains a powerful message for educators everywhere. What is less well-known about Montessori's work is that she began by establishing the effectiveness of her approach at the pre-elementary level, but also strongly encouraged the extension of her method to the higher levels of education. Wentworth's purpose in writing this book is to elucidate this vital aspect of Maria Montessori's life's work and to show how it applies to real-life teaching situations. She believed that by transforming the process of children's education she could help to transform the attitudes of the adults they will later become, and so those of society and the world at large--a message she promoted as vitally relevant to the future of humankind as a whole.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Routledge, 1999

Edition: 1st

ISBN: 978-1-4106-0440-8

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Duffield, 1913

Edition: 1st