Abstract/Notes: Setting the table, feeding themselves, cleaning the table, washing dishes, cleaning spills, blowing their nose, helping with laundry, watering the garden, washing the tables, cleaning the windows, recycling trash/food, pouring their milk, and preparing food-these activities are all totally engaging to the older infant and toddler. Since we work in a Montessori community, there are always spare Sensorial materials in the closets. [...]Montessori Early Childhood adult learners have approximately 35-40 hours of classroom time studying the Sensorial materials, an additional 15 or more hours of practice (alone and with other adults), and extensive practice with children during their practicum in preparation for an examination before certification. While we Infant & Toddler educators focus on the skill of observation of the child's development to meet the infant's and toddler's needs, Early Childhood educators have thoroughly engaged in the study of when, how, and in what sequence to present didactic materials to engage the child from 3 to 6.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: Communication and collaboration between classroom teachers and student support teachers are critical in supporting student outcomes, and effective and productive lifelong relationships. The purpose of this action research study was to investigate the current process of obtaining student support at a Montessori school to improve the communication and collaboration between classroom teachers and student support teachers to and strengthen and clarify the process and to better support one another as educators who use two different methodologies of instruction to support students struggling with academic or social-emotional issues in the classroom. Participants and data collected in Cycle 1 consisted of interviews with classroom teachers, student support teachers, and school administrators. Additionally, a document review of current resources and forms used at the research site were analyzed. Action steps including the creation of new materials and training. Cycle 2 launched a co-created framework for scaffolding the communication between classroom and their student support team partners outside of the classroom. Findings included a desire to collaborate, a need for support and training, and the necessity of systems and structures in the institution that can exist regardless of faculty and staff turnover. Implications for the organization included opportunities to re-engage teachers with professional development, training, and structure to support their work with students and each other.

Language: English

Published: Boston, Massachusetts, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Catherine Nehring Massie provides important contextual information in considering children with attentional challenges. She discusses the prevalence of attentional challenges in today's culture and the contributing factors. She gives a general overview of the spectrum of attentional challenges and some of the indicators in children. Her history of Montessori and work with children facing attentional challenges provides a clearer understanding to the individual details and definitions as it builds upon years of work and observation. Critical to her article and those that follow is the link she draws between concentration (attention) and human development: "Attention lays the foundation for concentrated work--normalization of the child's personality." By partnering Montessori with medical knowledge, fostering focus and attentional development can be better achieved. [This talk was presented at the NAMTA conference titled "Finding the Hook: Montessori Strategies to Support Concentration," October 6-9, 2016, in Columbia, MD.]

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Language: English

Published: Altoona, Pennsylvania: Parent Child Press, 1980

ISBN: 0-9601016-0-8

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Abstract/Notes: Integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education promises to enhance elementary students’ engagement in science and related fields and to cultivate their problem-solving abilities. While STEM has become an increasingly popular reform initiative, it is still developing within the Montessori education community. There is limited research on STEM teaching and learning in Montessori classrooms, particularly from student perspectives. Previous studies suggest productive connections between reform-based pedagogies in mainstream science education and the Montessori method. Greater knowledge of this complementarity, and student perspectives on STEM, may benefit both Montessori and non-Montessori educators. This instrumental case study of two elementary classrooms documented student characterizations of aspects of STEM in the context of integrated STEM instruction over three months in the 2016-2017 school year. Findings show that the Montessori environment played an important role, and that students characterized STEM in inclusive, agentive, connected, helpful, creative, and increasingly critical ways. Implications for teaching and future research offer avenues to envision STEM education more holistically by leveraging the moral and humanistic aspects of Montessori philosophy.

Language: English

Published: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2017

Abstract/Notes: This research project aimed to promote a group of classroom leaders to become servant leaders. The project was conducted with two-hour seminars for the following three evenings on the following topics: (1) aspects of the Cosmic Education of Maria Montessori, (2) theoretical foundation of servant leadership along with the Bible scriptures, and (3) DiSC diagnosis for improving communication skills. Two mentoring sessions were added to reinforce learned skills in applying servant leadership. Additionally, a thorough bibliography and extensive appendices of materials that were presented during the project are provided in this report. The project analysis demonstrated that, through training and practical applications, participants became better servant leaders in their Montessori classrooms.

Language: English

Published: Tacoma, Washington, 2020

Abstract/Notes: This chapter reports on a study that investigated how a three-stage multimodal dialogic pedagogy first described by Montessori in 1909 is applied in present-day high-fidelity Montessori classrooms. This three-part lesson is a multimodal dialogic routine through which young children learn to perceive and label phenomena in ways that lead them incrementally into the domains of educational knowledge. The study comprised an analysis of recordings of two qualified and experienced Montessori teachers, one a preschool teacher and one a teacher of a multigrade (Years 1, 2, 3) class, both of whom apply this pedagogy in a suburban Montessori school in Australia. The analysis compares the application of this century-old approach to 21st-century understandings of dialogic pedagogy and provides insights into how teachers apply and adapt the original lesson blueprint in 21st-century Montessori settings.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Routledge, 2023

Edition: 1st ed.

ISBN: 978-1-03-228409-5 978-1-03-228410-1 978-1-00-329674-4

Series: Routledge Research in Education

Abstract/Notes: Research in effortful control is necessary to understand and support children's behaviors in Social and classroom settings (Rimm-Kaufman, Curby, Grimm, Brock, & Nathanson, 2009). This study reviewed literature discussing the relationship between parenting style and effortful control and Montessori philosophy as it relates to the work in practical life. The literature reviewed in this study suggested that parenting style may also be related to a child's effortful control. In addition, it was expected that the work of practical life in a Montessori classroom would positively influence effortful control in children. Using an experimental design, this study examined the efficacy of a Montessori Table Washing Task to prime effortful control in children ages 3-6. The Mischel Marshmallow Test (Mischel & Baker 1975) was used to test effortful control in the children. Children in the control group received only the Marshmallow Test. Children in the experiment group received a Montessori Table Washing Lesson prior to receiving the Marshmallow Test. Although not statistically significant, there was a difference in the groups. However, in this study, there was no correlation found between parenting style and the effortful control of the children. Implications of this study are that practical life work, like a Montessori Table Washing Task, may positively affect effortful control in pre-school age children.

Language: English

Published: Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2012