Abstract/Notes: Multiage programming is a school reform option used throughout the United States. Much of the current literature focuses on the short-term benefits of multiage programs, particularly at the elementary level, with little consideration for long-term effects or for what might happen to students once they leave the multiage classroom and enter middle school. While there has been significant research that generalizes the transition experience of the general population of students, there has been limited research conducted on this transition experience for this specific population, the multiage elementary student. The purpose of this simultaneous, mixed methods study was to provide an in-depth examination of the transition effects on students who transition from multiage elementary classrooms to traditional single-grade classrooms at the middle school. In this study, eight students who had previously attended multiage elementary classrooms were given the Piers-Harris 2 Children's Self Concept Scale at three points, fall, winter, and spring during their first year in middle school to assess the students' social and emotional well-being during the transition. Students were also administered a middle school transition questionnaire to identify what procedural, academic, or social issues were of concern to them. Students were interviewed about their transitional experiences. In the analysis of the data showed that the students' overall sense of self and self-esteem improved over the course of the transitional year. Student concerns with procedures, academics, and social life decreased over the course of the year. The following major categories emerged from the interviews: (a) adjusting to the structure of middle school, (b) adjusting to new academic demands, (c) managing relationships with teachers and peers, and (d) changing sense of self. The findings have implications for middle level educators, multiage classroom elementary educators and for parents.

Language: English

Published: Chicago, Illinois, 2012

Abstract/Notes: This mixed method study seeks to utilize a comparative analysis to explore the impacts of two types of parental involvement in urban elementary school students’ academic performance. Epstein’s (1995) widely cited typology describes six different types of parental involvement, and this typology serves as a framework for this study. More specifically, this study compares learning at home and collaborating with community, as parent involvement types, to student academic performance. The study utilizes descriptive statistics and correlational analyses to compare parent-reported student performance via a survey instrument and semi-structured focus group interviews to collect narrative data. Parental involvement has been vigorously studied over the last two decades, however, not much data appears to address how collaborating with the community, as a form of involvement, influences student performance and other studies provide an ambiguous picture for learning at home as another parenting type. Furthermore, there is evidence that direct-action parent organizing, as a parental involvement form of collaborating with the community, may impact educational outcomes and this study examines these research areas. After analyzing the data, the researcher did not find evidence of a significant relationship between learning at home and parent-reported student academic performance. However, the study did reveal a significant association between parents who were collaborating with the community and the parent-reported academic performance of their children. This moderate correlation from an often overlooked parenting type, collaborating with the community, may harbor rich findings within the literature and point to the need for greater scrutiny herein. In fact, this provides a warrant for additional research to explore the “efficacy” of collaborating with community as a type of parental involvement that significantly influences positive student academic performance.

Language: English

Published: Baltimore, Maryland, 2018

Abstract/Notes: The goal of this action research project was to investigate the effects of morning art activities on student focus. The intervention took place over five weeks at a public elementary school. Nineteen students participated in a lower elementary Montessori classroom of six to nine year olds. The qualitative and quantitative data collected were student surveys, behavior tally sheets, student and teacher assessments, field observations and conversations. The evidence showed a relationship between daily art activities and student concentration. The students increased their time on task while writing reflections about their artwork throughout the five-week study. Future research could examine the role of art on students’ social emotional development and how art exploration develops cooperation.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2016

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this action research project was to determine if there would be improved development of empathy in elementary students as a result of involvement in the Toddler Mentor Program. The study took place in a 6-9 year Montessori Elementary Classroom. There were eight participants, which were first and second year students in the classroom. The age range was 6-7 years old. The elementary students spent twenty minutes as a mentor in the Toddler classroom once a week. Data was collected by teacher observation pre, during and post project in three different environments, the elementary classroom, the toddler classroom and recess. The students were interviewed following all visits of the toddler classroom and also participated in group discussions. The results showed an increase in empathetic behaviors over the time as a whole group. Individually, the girls displayed consistent empathy in the toddler classroom and the boys showed the most improvement over time. In conclusion, the Toddler Mentor Program provided the students the opportunity to focus on social-emotional skills such as being helpful, kind, respectful, and acknowledging other’s feelings. In order to identify long-term effects outside the classroom more research is recommended.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2015

Abstract/Notes: The intent of this action research project was to determine to what extent the Montessori Mathematics curriculum support lower elementary students’ understanding of length measurement. The research took place in a private Montessori school classroom with first and second-grade students. There were 22 students in the class, 11 first graders, and 11 second-graders. Data was collected through a pre and post-test, field notes, and observations. The students also kept a journal and performed self-assessments. Photographs were taken to record the students’ use of different measurement tools. Children’s literature about length measurement was read and discussed with the students. The data indicated that students in first and second grade have a difficult time understanding length measurement, particularly reading standard measurement tools. While the Montessori mathematics curriculum supports student understanding of length measurement, it is clear that some of the students need to have other opportunities using nonstandard tools. Overall, the Montessori mathematics curriculum supported students understanding of length measurement. The findings suggest that additional materials need to be introduced in the classroom for students to utilize, and many opportunities are available to measure with nonstandard tools to completely understand measurement and length.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2015

Abstract/Notes: Within the realm of elementary public schools, several pedagogical models of early childhood education are practiced in the United States (Lillard, 2007). The constructivist approach to early childhood education is illustrative of best practices based on current theory. One model of constructivist early childhood education is the Montessori Method founded in the early twentieth century by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician (Montessori, 1912/1964). Though the Montessori Method is aligned with research-based best practices espoused by constructivism, there are relatively few public Montessori schools currently in the United States. A direct comparison is needed between the academic outcomes of public elementary school programs which implement the Montessori Method and those which implement a more traditional approach to early childhood education. The focus of this study is the academic achievement outcomes of Montessori public school students as compared to similar non-Montessori students.

Language: English

Published: Commerce, Texas, 2013

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this paper is to describe the findings of a study on the effects of integrating technology into lessons in a Montessori upper elementary classroom in Raleigh, North Carolina. The research looked at both the student engagement and the retention of information when technology was included in Montessori lessons. This study spanned a six-week period and was conducted with 25 fourth through sixth grade students. Data collection included a pre-lesson questionnaire, a teacher engagement report form, a teacher observation form, a post-lesson feedback form, and a short answer lesson response form. The results of this data analysis showed an overall preference by students for lessons that included technology, an increase in engagement relative to lesson that used only traditional Montessori materials, and a 16% increase in accuracy based on short answer responses when technology was included in one of the seven lessons that were tracked. The results of this action research indicate that utilizing technology in the Montessori classroom may increase student engagement and retention of information.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2015

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

Published: Houston, Texas, 1988

Language: English