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

Abstract/Notes: Schools following the Montessori method use individual and small-group teaching methods and hands-on, concrete materials to provide a basis for deep learning of mathematical concepts. Schools with a mostly traditional approach to mathematics teaching mainly use large-group lecture methods with little use of manipulative materials. This study investigated the understanding of place value concepts and abilities of Montessori students by comparing task responses of 93 students in grades 1-3 in a Montessori school (n=47) and in a mostly traditional comparison school (n=46). Data collection included clinical interviews with each student. The theoretical framework used in the study was taken from Zoltan Dienes, a mathematician, who believed that mathematics is learned and created by forming layers of abstract generalizations. Interview tasks were both gathered from the literature and created by the researcher. Procedural tasks included those that asked students to count, to identify the value of digits in a number, and to use the standard addition algorithm for multidigit numbers. Conceptual tasks included those that required students to solve two-digit addition and missing addend questions with and without materials and to solve word problems involving three- and four-digit numbers. Some tasks included large numbers into the thousands because Dienes' framework calls for increasingly abstract generalizations, which for place value means larger and larger numbers.

Language: English

Published: Columbus, Ohio, 2000

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to ascertain whether students in a kindergarten/first-grade multiage class achieve at a different level than students enrolled in a traditional kindergarten or first-grade class in a selected primary school in East Tennessee. The question of the interaction between gender and type of instruction was also analyzed. The causal comparative quantitative research method was used to analyze data differentiating between students enrolled in multiage and traditional classes, retrospectively. A t-test was used to determine the level of performance the students demonstrated on the BRIGANCE K Screen at the beginning of the study. The number of mastered first-grade reading skills and mathematics skills, the score on the system-wide first-grade reading test and mathematics test, and gender interaction with type of instruction in each area were analyzed using ANCOVAs. Statistically significant results (pBRIGANCE 1 Screen(ANCOVA). In 1998, the combined males scored significantly higher than the combined females. In 1999, multiage males had significantly higher means than traditional males. ANCOVA results showed statistically significant difference in the number of mastered reading skills of the multiage students in 1998 as well as with the combination of all three years. The multiage mean was the higher of the two groups all three years. For the number of mastered mathematics skills, ANCOVA results showed a statistically significant difference in 1999 with the multiage scores higher than the traditional group. ANCOVA results showed no significant difference between the groups on the standardized reading and mathematics tests analyzed. Findings indicate that kindergarten students may benefit from kindergarten classes in a multiage setting, and that first-grade students may benefit from multiage settings in mastering skills in reading and mathematics but that benefit is not necessarily demonstrated by standardized test scores.

Language: English

Published: Johnson City, Tennessee, 2001

Language: English

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

Language: English

Published: [Washington, D.C.]: National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education, 2007

Abstract/Notes: With the passing of NCLB in 2001, pedagogy in the kindergarten classroom has changed exponentially. The requirement for a rigorous academic curriculum has replaced the play-based learning that used to be synonymous with the kindergarten classroom. Since the beginning of kindergarten, researchers have worked to prove the importance of play in the classroom and the role of the educator in these play-based learning scenarios. Many studies have found a correlation between play and child development, but this has not been enough to change the minds of educators and school districts across the United States. This qualitative case study explored teachers’ perceptions and classroom interactions during play through a triangulation of data including video recordings, interviews, and observations to explore the effect play might have on the social, emotional, and oral language development of kindergarten students in a district that is already implementing free play centers in the classroom. Varying beliefs among the educators and multiple scenarios of social, emotional, and oral language development skills being used by students during these free play sessions were explored. Key themes that emerged from the data included a range of understanding amongst the teachers, the need for regular professional development on how to implement play in the classroom, and the importance dramatic play has on social, emotional, and oral language development for kindergarten students.

Language: English

Published: Springfield, Missouri, 2022

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of the present quasi-experimental mixed-methods study was to examine the effects of an Intercultural Competence Intervention with Self-Regulatory Prompts (ICI-SRP) on elementary students’ development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and their self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating their intercultural learning, and to investigate the ways in which self-regulatory prompts (SRP) influence elementary students’ activation of self-regulatory strategies in intercultural learning. Twenty (N=20) Montessori elementary students from two Montessori schools participated in four sessions of an intercultural exercise, in which only the experimental group were given SRP. It was hypothesized that the experimental group’s use of SRP would further enhance the participants’ development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes and their self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating their intercultural learning. Quantitative data collected from the ICI-SRP survey was analyzed by conducting a univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for each of its four subscales and was used to examine the effects of SRP on the students’ development of intercultural competence (IC) and self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating intercultural learning. Qualitative data collected from focus groups was analyzed using the constant comparative method to shed light on the ways in which SRP influence the students’ activation of self-regulatory strategies in intercultural learning. Results from the ANCOVA did not support the hypothesis, as they showed non-statistically significant differences between the development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and the self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating intercultural learning in both groups. Results from the ANCOVA showed numerical increases in intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes in both groups, and numerical decreases in the self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating intercultural learning in both groups. Findings from the analysis of the focus group data were mostly aligned with the data from the ANCOVA. Data from the focus groups shed light on different types of IC knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and different types of planning and monitoring applied by participants of both groups. The overall findings of the present study suggest that it is likely for elementary aged students to develop IC through intercultural exercises, and that SRP may support that development under certain conditions. The findings of the study may contribute to the development of elementary students’ intercultural learning methods and tools.

Language: English

Published: Fairfax, Virginia, 2022

Language: Dutch