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EVALUATING MONTESSORI:Why the Results Matter More Than You Think
By Jacqueline Cossentino
T
he publication this past allo research ndings indicatingsignicant perormance gains orchildren who learn in Montessorischools has sent waves o interestthroughout the educationalcommunity (
Science
, Sept. 29, 2006).Educators who care about ambitiousschool reorm should take careulnote.Using a set o excellent proxies orlearning—not just achievement—and equally impressive populationand implementation controls,psychologists Angeline S. Lillard o in the group outperormed theirnon-Montessori counterparts innearly every measure. Findings or12-year-olds, while not as dramatic,also suggest reliable success rates orMontessori students.Even more important, the studyoers clues to both why Montessoriworks and what it would take tomake it work or large numberso students. Yet while the study’simpeccable design and stunningresults are what prompted the journal
Science
to accept it, criticscontinue to express doubt aboutboth the reliability o the results (toosmall a sample) and the ecacy o Montessori as a successul approachto reorm (no system can be thatgood).
M
any o the elements o Montessori thought to be“quaint” and “unscientifc” have been validated and absorbed into the educational mainstream.
In act, the ndings, along withthe critiques, recall early reactions toMaria Montessori and the “miraclechildren” whose reading, writing, sel-care, and concentration looked morelike those o well-behaved adultsthan preschool-age children. Theywere the products o Montessori’snew method o educating theyoung, honed and developed ather rst “Children’s House,” whoseounding in Rome 100 years ago thismonth is being celebrated this year.When Montessori later brought the“method” to the United States, therewas both awe and disbelie.Lacking a thoroughunderstanding o the complexities o Montessori’s approach, critics such asthe noted Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity, proessor William HeardKilpatrick railed against the “allacies”o sel-correcting materials, “outwornand casto” psychological theory,and a sharp ocus on concentrationat the supposed expense o social
Help us, O God, to enter in to thesecret of childhood, so that we mayknow , love and serve the child inaccordance with the laws of Thyjustice and following thy holy will.
Maria Montessori
The Absorbent Mind
p. 286
the University o Virginia and NicoleM. Else-Quest, then o the Universityo Wisconsin, have produced, or therst time, scientic evidence thatMontessori “works,” and not justor children o privilege. Drawingrom a population o inner-citypublic Montessori school students,the study shows that 5-year-olds
Our respect for the child's right toprogress gradually along the pathof growth would prevent us from trying to hold him back, and keephim at a phase of development thathe would naturally wish to outgrow.
Maria Montessori
The Child in the Church
p. 17
development.A century later, contemporarypsychology has caught up toMontessori’s revolutionary insights(insights gained rom close andongoing child study), and many o theelements o Montessori thought tobe “quaint” and “unscientic” not onlyhave been validated by experimentalpsychology, but also have beenabsorbed into the educationalmainstream. It is now common, orinstance, to nd child-size urniture,manipulative materials, mixed-age grouping, and dierentiatedinstruction in all manner o Americanclassrooms.Likewise, new research on braindevelopment, embodied cognition,
Reprinted by permission rom
Education Week
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