By Rebecca M Gordon
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Montessori was born in 1870 in the province of
Ancona in Italy.
She graduated medical school in 1896 and thus
became the first woman physician in Italy at the
age of 26.
She had one son named Mario.
She founded her first Casa dei Bambini in Rome in
1907.
She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three
times—in 1949, 1950, and 1951.
She founded the Association Montessori
Internationale (AMI) to continue her work.
She died in 1952.
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Children develop according to inner genetic promptings.
She held that there are sensitive periods in a child’s development when they
are genetically programmed to master certain tasks.
Because of this, she felt that education should be child-centered. In other
words, she felt that children should be allowed to select the tasks which
most interested them at the time rather than being forced to follow a specific
curriculum.
In this way, children would be able to be true to their sensitive periods and
learn things in a natural progression.
However, the environment for these children, the materials that are available
to them, must be carefully controlled so that they are appropriate.
Child-centered learning focuses on choice. If they are allowed to choose,
within a properly structured environment, the children will be able to learn
whatever is suitable for their current needs.
Also, they will learn independence or the ability to do things and solve
problems by themselves rather than blindly relying on others.
Montessori also believed that there should be no system of rewards or
punishments in schools. If the children are doing what interests them from
their own free choice, if they are internally motivated, there is no need for
either the carrot or the stick.
Thus, child centered learning produces active, motivated individuals who are
capable of making their own choices.
According to her theory, teachers should be involved in setting up
appropriate environments and should be observers.
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Choice: Montessori believed that children should
be allowed to choose their activities in school,
because they would naturally focus on what was
most interesting to them and what was most
important for them to learn at the time. However,
she emphasized that this freedom of choice
should be balanced by a highly structured
environment. This freedom fosters independence
and internal motivation.
Spontaneous Activity: Montessori believed that
children should be free to engage in spontaneous
activity and should not be checked by teachers
unless they were engaging in behaviors that were
either dangerous to themselves or others, or
unacceptable to social norms.
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Auto-education: Montessori believed that
children should be given materials which are
self-correcting so that they learn their own
problem-solving skills and are not dependent on
authority figures for solutions. She also noted
that contact with nature was very autoeducational. This also emphasizes independence
and internal motivation.
Truth: Montessori believed that children should
be told the absolute truth in a simple, brief, and
concise way. They should not be tricked into
paying attention or taught with complicated and
unclear methods or fantasy play.
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Fantasy Play: Montessori believed creativity
involved the combination of previously known
realities in unique ways. Thus, for her, true
creativity came from having a strong
foundation in reality. Because of this, she
believed that children under six should not be
taught by means of fantasy play. Rather, they
should be grounded in real experience so
that they would have a rich storehouse of
reality from which to draw on later.
The problem to be examined in this research
project is whether this child-centered approach
actually produces better results than the
traditional teacher-centered approach.
Specifically, will children learn more information
quantitatively with a child centered approach?
Will what they learn be understood better? Will
they be able to explain the information in their
own way rather than just regurgitating
memorized facts? Will they become more
independent and self motivated? These are the
questions this research project is seeking to
answer.
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The Montessori method will produce a similar
result as to the quantity of information
learned.
The Montessori method will produce a better
qualitative understanding of the topic.
My observations of the children will
uphold/support Montessori’s views on the
role of choice, spontaneous activity, autoeducation, truth, and fantasy play in learning.
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2 kids (1 five year old boy, 1 seven year old girl)
 The children were given 4 half hour ‘lessons’.
 Two of the lessons were given in a Montessori style and environment where the
children were allowed to choose their own tasks within a structured environment
which the researcher observed in the manner of a Montessori teacher.
 Two were given in a more traditional manner where the researcher sat with them
at a table and taught them the lesson from a book.
 The Montessori lessons were on the life cycle of butterflies.
 The traditional lessons were on the life cycle of frogs.
 The first day they received one Montessori lesson followed by one traditional
lesson. The researcher asked them after each lesson to list the stages of the
respective cycles in order.
 The second day they received one traditional lesson followed by one Montessori
lesson. The researcher asked them after each lesson to describe the respective
cycles in their own words.
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The research was conducted at the researcher’s
home. The room used was a small library room.
Bookshelves line all of the walls, but the books stored
there are all aimed at adults and were not likely in the
researcher’s opinion to distract the participants. The
researcher placed a folding table with three chairs
along one wall. A sofa ran along the wall opposite.
The other two stations were placed on square boxes
on the floor along the third wall. The room is located
upstairs in the house and thus was quiet and
undisturbed during the lessons. Since the research
participants were the researcher’s niece and nephew
who visited the house often, they were also very
comfortable in the environment provided.
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The stations consisted of:
a game from a Montessori materials site which
provided information in the form of a puzzle
a set of accurate figures of the stages of the cycle
for the children to manipulate
several picture books which explain the life cycle
a station with pictures of the stages and materials
for the children to draw/color their own butterfly
pictures.
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The researcher sat with the children at a table
and read aloud a book on frog life cycles to
the children.
She used the same book to review what they
had learned for the second lesson.
She also used a picture of the cycle as an
illustration to discuss.
Finally she had the children complete a
worksheet which involved pasting a picture of
each stage in the appropriate order on the
page and labeling them.
Type
Questions
Barbara
Jimmy
Traditional
Can name stages of frog
life cycle in order. (Day 1)
Worth 1 point for each
one named.
Gives an accurate
narration of the life cycle
of a frog. (Day 2)
Evaluated On a scale of 15
Can name all stages of
butterfly life cycle in
order. (Day 1) Worth 1
point for each stage in the
right order.
Gives an accurate
narration of the life cycle
of a butterfly. (Day2)
Evaluated on a scale of 15
4
4
4
3
4
3
4
2
Traditional
Montessori
Montessori
Choice
Montessori
Traditional
Positive observations
•J-asked if he could do more than
one station and expressed
excitement when told that he
could.
•J-Commented that drawing was
kind of hard, he wasn’t very good
at it. Chose not to draw during the
first lesson.
•B-wanted to draw right away.
Said that she liked drawing, was
good at it, and smiled periodically
while she was drawing.
•Both children chose to work at
several of the stations
•Both children were interested and
engaged.
Negative observations
•J-especially during second
lesson, began wandering listlessly
from station to station. I asked
him about the picture he drew as
a way of re-engaging him.
•B-wanted to draw a frog. She did
not make a fuss, but it was clear
that the activity I proposed was
not her first choice.
•Both children interrupted with
things they already know about
frogs and about other animals.
Spontaneous Activity
Montessori
Traditional
Positive Observations
•They chatted aloud to me
and each other on topic.
•Periodic quiet when they
concentrated on their
respective tasks.
•B-spontaneously gathered
up figurines and proceeds to
enact the life cycle for me (a
bit hazy on detail).
•J-put the figurines away
each time he used them.
•They offered information on
topic which they already
knew from class.
•They were involved in the
discussion.
Negative Observations
•They also chatted aloud off
topic. (centipedes and
plankton etc.)
•They were distracted by a
plane flying over head, but
only briefly.
•J-wandered from task to
task, showed signs of
boredom.
•B-wanted to draw a frog.
She did not put up a fuss
about not being able to, but
it was clear that she would
not have done the planned
activity, if she had a choice.
•They interrupted a lot, both
on and off topic.
•They had trouble keeping
their seats.
•Both talked at once.
•They hijacked the lesson a
few times.
Auto-education
Montessori
Positive Observations
•The puzzles were autoeducative tools.
•The figurines were placed on
a background with labels and
explanations.
•B-Copied a monarch
butterfly from the accurate
picture.
Negative Observations
•B-asked me about
something J read aloud.
•B-asked me how many legs
a butterfly should have.
Traditional
Truth
Montessori
Traditional
Positive Observations
•Two of the three books I
used had all real pictures.
•The pictures at the drawing
station were real pictures.
•The figurines were realistic
models.
•B-also asked about how
many legs a butterfly has for
her picture which shows a
concern for truth.
•The book I used to teach
them had real pictures.
•B-when she filled out the
worksheet she used specific
colors for the words. Blue for
eggs (because they are in the
water), black for tadpoles
(because they looked black in
the pictures), red for
tadpoles (because she felt
like it), and green for the
frog (because frogs are often
portrayed as green).
Negative Observations
•One of the books I used did
not have real pictures.
•B-commented that the
figurines were not real
because they were plastic
and they would be furry in
some spots if they were.
•I used a drawing of the frog
life cycle which did not use
real pictures.
Fantasy
Montessori
Observations
•B-fantasy play with figurines (“my name is
Mr. Caterpillar”).
•J-active fantasy play with figurines,
integrates them into a game, names them,
engages in narrative/dialogue aloud, makes
fighting sound effects and explosion sounds.
•B-Made up her own kind of butterfly,
labeled and explained it to me. Christmas
eye butterfly . Used two things that she had
prior knowledge of Christmas (colors green
and red) and false eyes and combined them
into a new ‘species’. This is in accord with
Montessori’s ideas about fantasy. Also B is 7
which is a more suitable age for fantasy
according to M.
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Hypothesis 1: This hypothesis was upheld for
one child but not the other. Jimmy scored
worse on the Montessori lesson questions
than the Traditional lesson questions, while
Barbara scored the same on both.
Hypothesis 2: This hypothesis was not upheld
with respect to either child. Barbara did
equally well across both lesson types, while
Jimmy actually did worse on the Montessori
lesson question.
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Choice: The data showed mixed results for choice. The children were engaged and
interested in both types of lessons. However, they also chose to comment off topic
in both lessons and Jimmy chose to do nothing for part of the second Montessori
lesson. Too unilateral a respect for choice could have negative consequences.
Spontaneous Activity: The data also showed mixed results with regard to
spontaneous activity. However, in the Montessori lessons the children were free to
engage in dialogue about related topics without ‘disrupting’ the lesson. When they
talked about other things during the traditional lesson it was disruptive and
discouraged. Thus, a greater respect for spontaneous activity may lead to more
integrated or extensive knowledge.
Auto-education: Since the Montessori lessons were constructed specifically to have
auto-educative tools while the traditional method was constructed specifically to not
have these kinds of materials, they obviously played a bigger role in the Montessori
lessons. However, Barbara did ask for my authority on several points during the
Montessori lessons rather than relying on her own ability to find information.
Truth: My data on truth was also based mostly on the materials I chose to use for the
project. They children seemed to respond equally well to the ‘truthful’ materials and
more artistic materials. Barbara did make several comments in the Montessori
sessions, however, which seemed to show an interest in whether things were real
and truthful.
Fantasy: Both children’s behavior upholds Montessori’s views. The children naturally
engaged in fantasy play, even though the materials provided were not specifically for
fantasy play, which upholds her belief that children have a natural tendency toward
fantasy play. Also, Barbara’s picture demonstrated the kind of creativity in fantasy
play which Montessori wanted to develop in children.
In conclusion:
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The data on choice and spontaneous activity is too mixed
to draw any firm conclusions, but it does highlight some
interesting avenues of further research and application.
The data on auto-education depends mostly on how the
researcher set up the environment. However, it is
interesting that Barbara asked for my authority on some
questions. It is possible either to conclude that Montessori
schooling does not teach independence and selfmotivation or to conclude that Barbara’s traditional
schooling background had already affected her ability for
independent, self-motivated learning.
The data on truth showed no difference between the two
kinds of lessons, but it did reflect Barbara’s interest in
truth and reality.
The data on fantasy seemed to fully support Montessori’s
views.
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More children.
Work with a partner.
More/different stations: I think there were
issues with having enough things in Jimmy’s
sensitive period.
Have a writing station.
Have a better planned Traditional lesson,
perhaps even frame it around another
theorist in order to pin it down.
Rousseau
Nature
Vygotsky
Locke Skinner
Nurture
Montessori
Thanks for Listening!
Have any Questions?
Feel free to ask!