Language: English

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this research project was to study how Physical Activity (PA) can impact behaviors in a classroom setting. This study implemented PAs from the MNRI program to determine its impact on students’ on- and off-task behaviors. The study took place in a public Montessori school located in a medium-sized upper Midwestern city. There was a total of 16 children in the classroom and the grade levels included both first and second grade students, ranging from ages six to eight years old. Over the span of the six-week study (only Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays were days of observations due to COVID-19), students’ on- and off-task behaviors were observed. A combination of both quantitative and qualitative data was collected, and the results of the study showed that MNRI PA does aid in student behavior in a lower elementary Montessori classroom. The effects on the activities showed that there was an increase in on-task behaviors and a decrease in off-task behaviors post-intervention beginning the second week of intervention. This study also includes extensive descriptions of the MNRI archetypes and illustrations of the infant reflexes made available by permission from Dr. Masgutova.

Language: English

Published: River Falls, Wisconsin, 2021

Abstract/Notes: Self-directed learning (SDL) has been gaining popularity in recent years, particularly with adult learners. However, research has indicated that it can be an effective means to educate younger students within a variety of disciplines. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of student-directed learning through goal setting on academic performance and self-determination in lower elementary students. The researcher hypothesized that allowing students to self-direct their learning through goal setting would result in higher self-determination and improved academic performance. Researchers measured the progress of 15 students towards self-selected goals and compared their results to self-determination scores before and after the intervention. 77% of participants showed quantitatively measurable improvement of academic performance in their selected goal. 100% of participants showed qualitatively measurable improvements of academic performance in their selected goal. There was no evidence found to support that self-directed learning leads to higher self-determination, nor was their evidence found to support that self-determination leads to improved academic performance. This study provides evidence that student-directed learning implemented with student-selected goals in multiple academic areas leads to higher academic performance related to self-selected goals.

Language: English

Published: River Falls, Wisconsin, 2021

Abstract/Notes: Black students consistently underachieve academically in comparison to White students. To minimize the achievement gap between Black students and White students, some experts advocate the use of differentiated instruction as an alternative methodology to teach underachieving students. Differentiated instruction is predicated on teaching students based on their learning abilities and/or learning preferences. The differentiated instructional model examined in this study combined traditional teaching methodology with specific Montessori stage two and stage three constructs. This exploratory qualitative study examined the impact that Montessori constructs combined with traditional teaching methods had on academic achievement of Black students in grades four and five in an inner city school in Dallas County, Texas. The study further explored the sample’s perceptions of and preferences for the combined teaching methodology. The sample group had been exposed to the differentiated teaching model evaluated in the study. Disaggregated 2007 and 2008 TAKS results from the Texas Education Agency were obtained to compare the school’s fourth and fifth grade Black students’ achievement to their cohort groups in the district and in the state. The TAKS data comparisons found variability in performance among the groups in each of the subject areas assessed by TAKS. Qualitative data from a Likert Scale, multiple choice questions, questionnaires, written essay, and interviews were obtained from the participants to examine the students’ perceptions of and preferences for the combined teaching methodology. Data responses were analyzed and themes were developed to determine black students’ preferences for teaching, learning, and factors that contribute to learning. The findings of this study imply that future use of a differentiated instructional model that combines traditional teaching methodology and specific Montessori constructs and principles might be effective in improving Black student achievement.

Language: English

Published: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2009

Abstract/Notes: Montessori schooling, created by physician and educator Maria Montessori, is a well-known alternative to the traditional style of teaching. Many researchers have focused on how the Montessori method can produce successful and well-rounded students, not only academically, but within the social realm as well. What is less known is the extent to which Montessori impacts the social development of children and their forming of peer relationships and why it does so. After looking into and discussing the previous literature written on this topic, this thesis project utilizes reviews with two individuals with experience in the primary level Montessori setting to further understand how the Montessori method can possibly benefit the students socially and draw connections between teacher experience and scholarly research. It was discovered that the responses of the participants generally paralleled the claims of previous literature, with specific emphasis being placed on the sense of responsibility and ownership students held in the environment and the reduction of the teacher’s role in constructing how students utilize the environment and interact with one another.

Language: English

Published: Portland, Oregon, 2022

Abstract/Notes: Scope and method of study. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the connection between the beliefs, attitudes, and expectations teachers exhibit towards students who have attention challenges in three independent schools in England and the pathognomonic-interventionist continuum as identified by Jordan-Wilson and Silverman (1991), which identifies, along a scale, where teachers' beliefs lie. Teachers' sense of efficacy as they meet individual student needs was also explored as was what educators in these schools, who have limited, if any, recourse to special education assistance, do to support students who display the characteristics of attention deficit. The pathognomonic-interventionist continuum and Bandura's (1977) construct of self-efficacy were the lenses used to focus the research. The study records participants' responses and reflections about the phenomenon under study, describing what it is they do, how they perceive their responsibility towards their students, and how they support each other. Findings and conclusions. Data compiled from a sample of 10 teachers and 3 head-teachers, were disaggregated to provide a picture of how participant teachers work with attentionally challenged children in selected English independent schools. The results provide evidence that teachers whose profile identifies them with the interventionist perspective present stronger senses of self-efficacy. They are prepared to undertake prereferral-type activities to determine where the student is experiencing difficulty and are then willing to manipulate the learning environment to meet individual student needs. Teachers in these schools perceive it as their professional obligation to design teaching scenarios to benefit all students. Teacher efficacy, their sense of their ability to positively influence their students' educational performance and achievement, is unrelated to years of experience or educational background, but is related to the beliefs which they hold.

Language: English

Published: Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2006

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of the study was to investigate differences in literacy outcomes of Montessori-trained students under alternative instructional conditions in first grade. As a method of instruction, Montessori has not been adequately researched in the area of literacy to verify its efficacy in educating students. Previous studies compared Montessori students to non-Montessori students; therefore, the findings were open to the criticism that private school students enjoyed an a priori advantage over their public school counterparts. In this study, all participants had Montessori preschool experience. Roughly half the subjects chose public school and half chose to continue at Montessori for first grade. Sociofunctional linguistics, educational psychology, and Montessori's writing on education provided theoretical underpinnings for the study. A mixed research design was employed. Qualitative observations were conducted over a period of a calendar year. Quantitative measures were taken in a pretest/posttest format on five different literacy measures. Qualitative results show the core theme of the classroom was child-centeredness. This assertion was supported by five separate categories that emerged from observation. Quantitative results indicate that Montessori-trained students in alternative instructional conditions fared better on literacy measures than their counterparts who remained at Montessori for first grade. These results, along with methodological innovations for using literate register cohesion and genre analysis in literacy research, contribute to the educational research base in literacy studies.

Language: English

Published: West Lafayette, Indiana, 2005

Abstract/Notes: This study focused on helping students with learning disabilities to improve their listening comprehension and acquire early reading skills of decoding, reading and understanding what a word and two- or -three-word phrases say. Since reading at the advanced stage involves comprehension of sentences and paragraphs, in this study, building the foundation of reading at the word level is the logical place to start. With that skill in place, combining words into a phrase and understanding what it means will be the next step. Meanwhile, helping the students understand what was read to them through questioning builds their listening comprehension skills, which will be a great help in reading comprehension once the students have advanced enough to read sentences and paragraphs. The target group used for this study included six 1st graders with learning disabilities, who had difficulties with reading and comprehending. These 1st graders with learning disabilities were not taught one-on-one due to large class size. They had no knowledge of phonics. They could not relate the sounds they heard to the letters of the alphabet. The curriculum-based assessment (CBA) model was the alternative assessment model that was used to assess the students. The 12-week intensive study focused on two variables: a dependent variable and an independent variable. The dependent variable was reading at the word and phrase level, and the independent variable was word sound, blending vowels, consonant blending, and consonant and vowel blending. The scientific methodology was the single subject model, a 1-minute assessment. Each student was assessed for 1 minute each day for 3 days. The results of the assessment were used to determine the baseline before the intervention implementation. This methodology is also known as "AB Design." AB refers to a two-phase design, the baseline phase and the intervention phase. The intervention phase was introduced after the baseline phase was established and recorded in data format. Intervention data were recorded as well. The data collected were graphed in two phases. The results showed that the students were able to learn how to read and acquire comprehension within the 12 weeks. The reading strategies that were used in this study were based on Montessori's methods, which is a methodology in learning how to decode words which leads to automatic reading. These strategies are being used in Montessori schools throughout Dade County public schools, but not particularly with special education students. The results of this study were positive.

Language: English

Published: Cincinnati, Ohio, 2003

Abstract/Notes: The problem of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference between the academic achievement scores of students in grades 2 through 5 who are taught with the Montessori method of instruction and those students who are taught with traditional methods of instruction in the Helena Public Schools. Analyses used a two-way ANOVA; method and gender as well as method and aptitude were examined. The level of significance was set at alpha =.05. A matching technique was used to match Montessori students with students from traditional classrooms by the independent variables of grade, aptitude, gender, socioeconomic conditions, and handicapping conditions. The study also examined if there was a significant difference between the aptitude of all students in Montessori classrooms and all students in traditional classrooms. The population studied was second, third, fourth, and fifth grade students during the spring of 1996. A total of 120 students was used in the study of academic achievement. There were 145 F-tests conducted in this study. At the second grade level, students from traditional classrooms scored significantly higher than students in Montessori classrooms in mathematics computation and mathematics concepts and applications. Also at the second grade, when aptitude was taken into consideration, Montessori low aptitude students scored significantly higher in vocabulary than low aptitude students in traditional classrooms. There were no significant findings in any of the subtests at the third and fourth grade levels. At the fifth grade level, Montessori students scored significantly higher in language expression and social studies. Interaction was found with aptitude in language expression and with gender in science. A comparison of the aptitude of all Montessori students to all students from traditional classrooms revealed that Montessori students scored significantly higher. The overall results of this study show that the Montessori method of instruction and the traditional method of instruction provide students with comparable achievement test scores. A longitudinal study is recommended to examine the long-term effects of academic achievement of those students taught by the Montessori method of instruction.

Language: English

Published: Bozeman, Montana, 1997

Language: English