Aspects of Self-Regulated Learning and Their Influence on the Mathematics Achievement of Fifth Graders in the Context of Four Different Proclaimed Curricula
Abstract/Notes: Metacognition is a part of the models of self-regulated learning. The consideration of a broader context resonates with a social cognitive perspective approach to learning which dominates the educational academic field with the theory of self-regulated learning. Metacognition is considered a crucial factor influencing mathematics achievement. Furthermore, the affective field including pupils' self-efficacy, interest and motivation are the phenomena involved in mathematical problem-solving. On the other hand, metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulations are not a regular part of mathematics education in the Czech Republic. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relation between pupils' attitude toward mathematics; metacognitive knowledge; self-efficacy and motivation; metacognitive monitoring; and their achievement in solving mathematical problems. All together 1,133 students of Grade 5 from four types of Czech schools participated in the study. There were traditional schools; schools teaching mathematics by genetic constructivism, i.e., Hejný's method; Montessori schools; and Dalton schools were involved. The assessed variables, namely relation to mathematics; metacognitive knowledge; self-efficacy and motivation; metacognitive monitoring; and mathematical achievement were used as an input to regression analysis. Item-response theory was used for assessing the performance of the students and demands of the tasks. The metacognitive monitoring was detected as the most significant predictor of mathematics achievement for higher- and lower-performing students as well as for the item with high and low demands. The study reveals how the different mathematics curricula (un)support the metacognitive processes involved in mathematical problem-solving. The information allows teachers to spend sufficient time with particular types of mathematics problems whose solutions is determined by activation of metacognitive processes. This demonstrates the importance of including the activities for development of metacognitive monitoring in mathematics education.
Abstract/Notes: During the preschool years, the socio-emotional responses children receive from interactions with teachers are incorporated into their own social behaviors. This is one of the key ways in which children acquire social and emotional skills. Based on field studies, it can be found that this learning process is not simple imitation of children, but of a more complex context of group interaction. To further clarify the impact of kindergarten teachers’ emotion on the sociometric status and behavior of 3–5 year-old children in their classes, the researchers chose a Montessori mixed-age kindergarten in Beijing as the field site and observed five classes within the kindergarten over a 2-month period in this ethnographic case study. The study found that the power gap between teacher and pupil spreads rapidly to all children in the classroom as a result of the teacher’s emotions, and even stimulates power stratification within the children. In addition, there are differences in the social behaviors between the children of different levels of power. As preschool children are in a critical developmental window when social knowledge is being accumulated and social skills are being acquired, using power relations within the kindergarten classroom as an entry point to analyze the impact of teachers’ emotions on children’s social behavior provides a new breakthrough for the professional development of early childhood education and the better achievement of educational goals.
Abstract/Notes: The 4 P’s creativity model (person, process, press, and product) underlines how creativity is strongly connected with the materials employed to conceive and realize a creative outcome. As a multiform construct, it invites a wide variety of approaches to the study of it. One of the most promising ways to address this issue is to connect it with cognitive development and related educational pathways, as creativity can be enhanced and stimulated in every child, leading to an improvement both at personal and societal level. Even if creativity is recognized and highly valued, there is still a lack of methods which can stimulate creativity in an effective way. Useful hints may come from the outstanding contributions of Piaget and Montessori who underlined that interaction with the physical world is a fundamental building block for cognitive development. In this paper, starting from these fixed points, we describe some creativity enhancing methods for children which give importance to the edge between digital and physical materials. Digital materials open new ways to the use and integration of physical materials with hybrid platforms which can be used in educational contexts. Together with this perspective we provide a description of the application of these methodologies to enhance creativity in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
Abstract/Notes: Studies in cognitive neuroscience have shown that education practices can affect the development of executive functions (EF) in young children, although there is very little evidence on young preschool children. The present study aims to provide support for this endeavor, and consists of a quasi-experimental design with one-group pre-test/ post-test measures of cognitive control at age 3 in an urban public Montessori preschool. Three-year-olds (N = 23) in an authentic Montessori public preschool in Washington DC improved significantly on core EF measures (inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility) validated by the NIH Toolbox Early Childhood Cognition Battery, and the data revealed large effect sizes. Comparisons against NIH published norms revealed no selection bias. Performance on EF measures did not correlate with age but did correlate with amount of time between testing sessions, suggesting the possibility that experience, more than age, could have contributed to cognitive control growth. A controlled comparison between mixed-age and single-age classes revealed no differences in these EFs, raising the possibility that aspects of the environment other than the age composition are likely to contribute to growth. We propose that a potential contributor to EF growth is Montessori education, and more specifically, that this growth might be found in the design of interaction of the child with the environment. In particular, we discuss the design element called control of error, and consider why this element might be related to cognitive abilities such as inhibitory control. In current national discussions on the importance of equitable early childhood education, the synthesis of findings from neurocognitive studies has implications for children’s academic and life success.
Abstract/Notes: Recent years have provided an interest on the part of public school systems regarding Montessori as an educational choice, often as a magnet school option. "No Child Left Behind" legislation emphasizes the social and learning needs of individual children as well as a national spirit of accountability for academic achievement, and the public sector is making a comprehensive examination of curriculum delivery systems which can provide benefits for all learners in quantifiable ways, most often in the form of standardized test scores which demonstrate improved student achievement. This study examines the relationship of public Montessori education expressed as Stanford Achievement Test scores in reading and math in comparison with similar scores for students in traditional programs, using a within subjects, matched pairs design of repeated measures over a three year period. Math scores for the groups were not observed to be significantly different, although, following the initial observation, the Montessori group continued to produce increasingly higher mean scores than the traditional students. Marginal significance between the groups suggests that the data analysis should continue to elucidate a possible trend toward significance. Reading scores for the groups demonstrated significant differences, and in the second and third years of the study, Montessori students produced means which consistently outperformed the traditional group.
Language: English
ISSN: 1556-763X, 1938-9809
Article
✓ Peer Reviewed
The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults
Eva Ose Askvik
(Author) , F. R. (Ruud) van der Weel (Author)
, Audrey L. H. van der Meer (Author)
Publication: Frontiers in Psychology,
vol. 11
Date: 2020
Pages: Article 1810
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Abstract/Notes: To write by hand, to type, or to draw – which of these strategies is the most efficient for optimal learning in the classroom? As digital devices are increasingly replacing traditional writing by hand, it is crucial to examine the long-term implications of this practice. High-density electroencephalogram (HD EEG) was used in twelve young adults and twelve 12-year-old children to study brain electrical activity as they were writing in cursive by hand, typewriting, or drawing visually presented words that were varying in difficulty. Analyses of temporal spectral evolution (time-dependent amplitude changes) were performed on EEG data recorded with a 256-channel sensor array. For the young adults, we found that when writing by hand using a digital pen on a touchscreen, brain areas in the parietal and central regions showed event-related synchronized activity in the theta range. Existing literature suggests that such oscillatory neuronal activity in these particular brain areas is important for memory and for the encoding of new information and, therefore, provides the brain with optimal conditions for learning. When drawing, we found similar activation patterns in the parietal areas, in addition to event-related desynchronization in the alpha/beta range, suggesting both similarities but also slight differences in activation patterns when drawing and writing by hand. When typewriting on a keyboard, we found event-related desynchronized activity in the theta range and, to a lesser extent, in the alpha range in parietal and central brain regions. However, as this activity was desynchronized and differed from when writing by hand and drawing, its relation to learning remains unclear. For the 12-year-old children, the same activation patterns were found, but to a lesser extent. We suggest that children, from an early age, must be exposed to handwriting and drawing activities in school to establish the neuronal oscillation patterns that are beneficial for learning. We conclude that because of the benefits of sensory-motor integration due to the larger involvement of the senses as well as fine and precisely-controlled hand movements when writing by hand and when drawing, it is vital to maintain both activities in a learning environment to facilitate and optimize learning.
Jane E. Barker
(Author) , Andrei D. Semenov (Author)
, Laura Michaelson (Author)
, Lindsay S. Provan (Author)
, Hannah R. Snyder (Author)
, Yuko Munakata (Author)
Publication: Frontiers in Psychology,
vol. 5
Date: 2014
Pages: Article 593
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Abstract/Notes: Executive functions (EFs) in childhood predict important life outcomes. Thus, there is great interest in attempts to improve EFs early in life. Many interventions are led by trained adults, including structured training activities in the lab, and less-structured activities implemented in schools. Such programs have yielded gains in children's externally-driven executive functioning, where they are instructed on what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. However, it is less clear how children's experiences relate to their development of self-directed executive functioning, where they must determine on their own what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. We hypothesized that time spent in less-structured activities would give children opportunities to practice self-directed executive functioning, and lead to benefits. To investigate this possibility, we collected information from parents about their 6-7 year-old children's daily, annual, and typical schedules. We categorized children's activities as "structured" or "less-structured" based on categorization schemes from prior studies on child leisure time use. We assessed children's self-directed executive functioning using a well-established verbal fluency task, in which children generate members of a category and can decide on their own when to switch from one subcategory to another. The more time that children spent in less-structured activities, the better their self-directed executive functioning. The opposite was true of structured activities, which predicted poorer self-directed executive functioning. These relationships were robust (holding across increasingly strict classifications of structured and less-structured time) and specific (time use did not predict externally-driven executive functioning). We discuss implications, caveats, and ways in which potential interpretations can be distinguished in future work, to advance an understanding of this fundamental aspect of growing up.
Ladan Shams
(Author) , David R. Wozny (Author)
, Robyn Kim (Author)
, Aaron Seitz (Author)
Publication: Frontiers in Psychology,
vol. 2
Date: 2011
Pages: Article 264
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Abstract/Notes: Multisensory perception has been the focus of intense investigation in recent years. It is now well-established that crossmodal interactions are ubiquitous in perceptual processing and endow the system with improved precision, accuracy, processing speed, etc. While these findings have shed much light on principles and mechanisms of perception, ultimately it is not very surprising that multiple sources of information provides benefits in performance compared to a single source of information. Here, we argue that the more surprising recent findings are those showing that multisensory experience also influences the subsequent unisensory processing. For example, exposure to auditory-visual stimuli can change the way that auditory or visual stimuli are processed subsequently even in isolation. We review three sets of findings that represent three different types of learning ranging from perceptual learning, to sensory recalibration, to associative learning. In all these cases exposure to multisensory stimuli profoundly influences the subsequent unisensory processing. This diversity of phenomena may suggest that continuous modification of unisensory representations by multisensory relationships may be a general learning strategy employed by the brain.
Angela K. Murray
(Author) , Michael Miller (Author)
, Elyse L. Postlewaite (Author)
, Kiara Clark (Author)
Publication: Frontiers in Education,
vol. 7
Date: Nov 1, 2022
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Abstract/Notes: The objective of this case study is to offer a new perspective on innovation in higher education pedagogy by exploring how Montessori principles can be applied in an elective upper-level undergraduate marketing analytics course. Innovation in higher education is crucial for preparing students for the ever-changing challenges they will face in the workplace and in society. Montessori education offers a unique perspective for addressing many of the shortcomings identified in current approaches to undergraduate instruction. This study involved designing a course that incorporated well-established principles of Montessori education—which has demonstrated success in fostering deep learning, engagement, intrinsic motivation, and adaptability particularly among adolescents. The methodology leverages the naturalistic approach to gathering real world evidence using an inductive design based on data from instructor field notes, weekly student response submissions, and an end-of-semester student survey. In conclusion, results of the study suggest Montessori education, particularly experiential learning elements and direct connections to industry, should continue to be explored for its potential to inspire innovation in higher education. However, successfully changing the instructional paradigm requires efforts beyond a single course. Truly shaping undergraduate education for the 21st century involves broad and integrated change across departments and even universities to empower students to take control of their own learning, to be inspired and motivated by their own intrinsic values, and to expand their thinking beyond narrow expectations of textbook learning.
Abstract/Notes: Early childhood education (ECE) provision is becoming a growing priority. During the past twenty years, Latin America has shown a growing recognition in the provision of educational programs for young children, birth to age eight, is essential. Urban and rural populations intimated in 2009, that many countries utilizing equitable access to quality early childhood programs is often seen by policy makers as a means of achieving economic and political goals (United Nations, 2012). Unfortunately, a pre-occupation with economic and political goals may conflict with the provision of quality programming for young children. In a number of Latin American countries provisions for educating young children exist as intent to provide quality services. The continuing challenge is to finance, organize and regulate those well-meaning intentions. The objective of this article is two-fold. First, to describe national policy efforts that regulate the education of young children consistently. And, second, to reflect the status of early childhood education programming; and to examine the possibilities for the improvement of the quality and accessibility of an education for all young children. Five Latin American nations have been chosen for examination, including: Belize, Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru. (Contains 4 tables.)
Abstract/Notes: How do we help children practice and retain the second language in a Dual Language program? We must find effective and fun ways, like Peer Tutoring and Cooperative Groups. This research was conducted with a group of 21 six and seven year olds in a Dual Language Immersion classroom in a Title 1 school. There was a mixture of boys and girls, Latinos, African-Americans and Caucasians. Data collection was done through surveys, observations, artifacts and narratives. The data showed that while these strategies did increase vocabulary, they did not inspire the children to speak more Spanish. They still reverted back to speaking in English. Based on my findings, students require more vocabulary and would benefit from more opportunities to practice it.
Language: English
Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2016
Master's Thesis (Action Research Report)
The Relationship Between Using Conceptual Language and the Depth of Student Understanding of Dynamic Addition and Multiplication in 4-9-Year-Old Montessori Students
Abstract/Notes: This study aims to bring clarity to the relationship between procedural mathematical work and abstracted math learning when carrying in addition and multiplication. To explore this relationship, researchers employed both quantitative and qualitative data tools that unearthed the nuances within this specific process of math learning. Participants in the study included twenty-nine students from two different schools in different mixed age groups including ages three-to-six-years-old and six-to-nine-years-old. Students participated in a six-week intervention process, working on dynamic addition and multiplication using conceptual mathematical language to support the process. The findings indicate an overall two-point increase across learning variables post intervention. The conclusion of this study implores the broader educational community to revisit systemic, procedural math learning processes. In the future, we must question the finality of manipulatives and their place in the continuum of authentic math learning.
Language: English
Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2019
Master's Thesis (Action Research Report)
You Don’t Need to Speak to be Heard: The Effects of Using American Sign Language with Hearing Lower Elementary Montessori Children
Abstract/Notes: Our research introduced the use of ASL signs with hearing elementary children and examined if this intervention affected the noise level produced in the classroom. The project was performed in two Montessori lower elementary classrooms (1st-3rd grade); one at a Maine private Montessori school, with 28 hearing children, and one at a Wisconsin public Montessori school, with 34 hearing children. In Wisconsin the researcher was a teacher in the classroom, in Maine the researcher was not. Data was measured using four tools: a decibel measuring app, observation form, tally sheet, and a structured discussion. In both classrooms, the change in noise level was minimal, decreasing by 2% overall. Qualitative results, however, indicate the project was worthwhile. The children responded positively to instructions given using ASL and their enthusiasm of learning signs justified the intervention. The intervention granted the children opportunities to discuss exceptionalities. We recognized the importance in such conversations and encouraged this dialogue.
Language: English
Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2019
Master's Thesis (Action Research Report)
Increasing Student Motivation in a Foreign Language Classroom Through Mindfulness
Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to explore how mindfulness practices help increase motivation in high school students in a foreign language classroom. This study was conducted at a small school in an urban area in Texas. Nineteen students between the ninth and tenth grades were the participants in this research. The data collection included a pre and post motivational questionnaire that helped identify how motivated the students felt in the classroom. Data was collected on each participant through weekly self-assessments. The results of this action research showed that the implementation of mindfulness practices helped to increase the motivation of the students in the high school Spanish class. The action research project was conducted at the beginning of the second semester of the school year with a duration of four weeks.
Language: English
Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2020
Article
Language Material for Sentence Analysis
Phyllis Pottish-Lewis
(Author)
Publication: AMI Elementary Alumni Association Newsletter,
vol. 28, no. 3
Date: 1996
Pages: 7, insert
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Language: English
Article
Becoming and Being the Foreign Language Specialist in Your Classroom [preview of presentation at 2001 summer conference]
Maren Schmidt
(Author)
Publication: AMI Elementary Alumni Association Newsletter,
vol. 33, no. 3
Date: 2001
Pages: 7
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Language: English
Article
Playing with Meaning: Humour, Language Development and Imagination
Carla Foster
(Author)
Publication: AMI Journal (2013-),
vol. 2014-2015
Date: 2014/2015
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Abstract/Notes: Carla Foster shows how the imagination facilitates evolutionary humour, which enriches language, and how linguistic humour introduces cognitive fluency—another characteristic of imagination, referring to the movement of the mind in all directions through space and time.
Language: English
ISSN: 2215-1249, 2772-7319
Article
Helping the Child in the Conquest of the Written Language