Language: English

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: 2008 Refresher Course

Language: English

Language: English

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: This study documents a Montessori teacher education program in three Nicaraguan villages. In each village, the researcher observed the implementation of a teacher education program designed by Montessori Phoenix Projects, and carried out research conversations with local participants. The data collection process spanned a period of one and one-half years. The resulting framework is designed to inform the implementation of grassroots teacher education courses serving resource-limited communities. The framework presents learning points essential for teacher education programs appropriate to childhood education within the Montessori tradition in resource-limited communities. These points include creating context, identifying breakdowns, generating possibility, and using a mimetic construct of time in curriculum development. Additionally, the results of this research offer insights for evaluation, arguments for the essential incorporation of tradition in socioeducational development, and methods in which collaboration with community members, NGOs, and educational authorities can move beyond the limitations of traditional forms of development. The works of Arendt, Gadamer, Geertz, Habermas, Herda, and Ricoeur inform the research and analysis. The research framework is comprised of the theoretical constructs of breakdowns (Arendt 1961), mimesis (Ricoeur 1984), and dissipation (Janstch 1980). Within this framework ontological resources are brought to light and serve as the progenesis to make new the old environment and bring imagined worlds of possibility to life. By converting breakdowns into new, recognizable forms through everyday language, options carrying hope for the future become visible. A critical aspect of these options involves understanding another's world. This study presents a unique model for making a difference in the lives of people who live in culturally diverse communities. Moreover, the model is not burdened by the traditional budget and personnel restraints associated with most development models. The framework presented in this dissertation may assist education reform consultants who work in developing countries and who are committed to give a voice to those people who commonly are not heard.

Language: English

Published: San Francisco, California, 2002

Abstract/Notes: This applied dissertation was designed to understand the experience of participants as they engaged in a process of transforming attitudes about teaching and learning through participation in a Montessori teacher-training program with a blended design. Participants were surveyed regarding their previous experiences in education as both student and educator, previous experiences in Montessori education, and previous experiences with distance education programs. Research questions guiding the study:Particular aspects such as self-directed learning, facilitating relationships, and learning in social contexts have been known to be considered best practice in constructivist program design, but what is the phenomenological experience of adult participants as they grapple with transforming best practice in teaching and learning with their own pre-kindergarten to eighth-grade students? 2. How do individual participants perceive the blended program influenced a personal transformation of teaching and learning? How does the perceptual transformation compare to others? 3. How do administrators perceive the blended program influenced changes to the overall school culture as a result of faculty participation in the program? 4. How consistent are standards of best practice in constructivist settings with individual perceptual transformations and perceptions of changes to school culture as well as to interactions with students?A comparative design was carried out for the study. Participant and administrator questionnaires were analyzed for patterns and insights regarding descriptions of change experienced during a blended distance education (DE) course using constructivist methodology. A final analysis of the data revealed that participants had various experiences with traditional education as students and as educational professionals. Most participants reported a lack of confidence teaching within the traditional system and subsequent relief when learning the constructivist, Montessori pedagogy and methodology. One surprising finding was that some educators were predisposed to using constructivist principles in teaching before any formal training. Another significant finding was that adults were able to guide school-age students in becoming self-directed and autonomous as learners. A third finding was that there were specific advantages of a blended DE training program design that were not present in other models of DE or face-to-face teacher training.

Language: English

Published: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2013

Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959

Language: English

ISSN: 0040-7887

Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959