Abstract/Notes: Researchers in medicine, education, and related fields continue to make new discoveries about how the brain functions or malfunctions. The implications of studies of how young children learn compare favorably with those of educators such as Maria Montessori, Jerome Bruner, and Jean Piaget. These researchers saw growth and development as a series of stages related to inherited potential, maturation, and experiences. Brain research has concluded that (1) no single area of the brain can function alone, (2) individuals generate and associate different meanings to similar experiences, (3) the brain grows in spurts, (4) the brain responds to the environment surrounding it, (5) the brain can easily establish elaborate abstract coding and decoding systems, and (6) the brain deals with the world systematically. The role of the Montessori teacher--making the children the center of learning, encouraging children to use the freedom provided for them, observing children in order to prepare the best possible environment, recognizing sensitive periods, and diverting unacceptable behavior into meaningful tasks--supports the implications of this research.

Language: English

Published: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania: Bloomsburg University, 1985

Language: English

ISSN: 0031-7217

Abstract/Notes: The prime objective of this research was to investigate whether the Montessori method of learning helped kindergarten pupils improve their mathematical proficiency, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, besides training them to be responsible learners. Quantitative, qualitative, and observational methods were employed in the investigation. The sample for the study comprised 180 kindergarten pupils from TadikaBestari Al-Hidayah, located in Bandar Seri Damansara, Malaysia. The instruments for collecting data were questionnaires, interviews, and field observations. Results from a pre-test and a post-test showed that pupils who used the Montessori method, i.e. the experimental group, outperformed (72.2% passed) their peers who were not exposed to the Montessori method (39% passed). The findings indicated that the Montessori method indeed helped learners to improve their mathematical proficiency. This research offers guidelines to future researchers on alternative learning methods, especially for very young children. The findings of this empirical research could be prototyped for learning other subjects.

Language: English

DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1104140

Language: German

ISSN: 0944-2537

Language: German

ISSN: 0944-2537

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: DR. MONTESSORI INTERNED --News comes from India that Dr. Montessori, known the world over for her method of teaching children, has been interned there.

Language: English

ISSN: 0362-4331

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: This is the final report of the Ancona Montessori Research Project for Culturally Disadvantaged Children begun in 1965 to investigate the effects of a modified Montessori program for disadvantaged children in the preschool and early elementary years. This report deals with the academic year 1969-1970, in which 29 disadvantaged children and a comparable group of 29 middle class children are the central focus of study. In addition, there is a followup on the school careers of disadvantaged children who attended Ancona at one time. A number of hypotheses about the potential effects of the project on the children's cognitive, social development are studied. Part I of the report deals with findings relative to the nursery school children, and includes a discussion of data from three measures of intellectual development (Stanford Binet, WPPSI and Merrill-Palmer) and from tester and teacher ratings of school-related behaviors and attitudes and social interaction. Part II details findings on the elementary school children and followup data on children who attended Ancona in previous years but are now elementary school students in other schools. In addition, data regarding children whose families have had long term involvement in the school is discussed. The appendix includes Ancona school Head Start program ratings of behavior during individual intelligence testing. (MS)

Language: English

Published: Washington, D.C., Aug 31, 1970

Abstract/Notes: This paper, part of a long term study, reports the effect of a modified Montessori preschool experience on cognitive development, school-related behaviors, and social interactions and perceptions of disadvantaged children. Each of thirty-five disadvantaged Negro children (31 in nursery classes and 4 in elementary classes) was pair-matched with a middle class child. In the disadvantaged group, 17 children were attending nursery classes for the first time. Pre- and posttests were made of cognitive ability, on the Stanford-Binet, Piaget tests of length conservation, and sociometric features. Also, children were rated by testers on performance and by teachers rated classroom behaviors. Data from previous years on some of the children were used in reference to long term change. Part I (nursery school) test results show that neither first nor second-year children significantly increased their I.Q. scores. Both disadvantaged and middle class children scored similarly on task orientation. Middle class children showed more friendship choices forming across social-class lines. Part II (elementary school) results present limited support for the theory that children who continue in Montessori, rather than public, school will show better school achievement. Data included school records of more than 30 children. A future study will investigate diffusion effects on mothers and younger siblings, and testing with measures more directly relevant to Montessori curriculum. (NH)

Language: English

Published: Washington, D.C., Aug 31, 1969