between the devil & the deep blue sea: an assessment of the large-scale research on montessori...
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Between the devil and the deep blue sea: an assessment of the large-scale research
on Montessori methods.
@cjlortie
an educational system or philosophy is always present
assume indelible
informed choice in education or health can be challenging
the pre-school crisis
brain development is rapid & profound in the first five years
25% of offerings are low qualityin Santa Barbara County
Source: First 5 SB
65% of parents of young children both workin SB County
Meeting capacity at only 55%
need & niche for Montessori
choices
personal implicit biases
two choices
two choices anew
Waldorf
Montessori
play is workdiscovery
constructivistempirical
playreading in first grade
reduced formal academicsemotional intelligence
M W
integrative ecology
interactions are central to ecology as they are to education
scientific knowledge synthesis
fail to see the forest for the trees
serial single-study knowledge
meta-analysis combines results from multiple studiesto reduce uncertainty & resolve disagreements
meta-analyses have become the one stopfor evidence-based decisions in many disciplines
forest plot
contrast diseases or interventions
contrast studies
examine some of the trees firstexemplars of Montessori research
case study: executive function
Lillard & Else-Quest 2006
lottery
limited bias
53 control - 59 Montessori students
cognitive & social skills tested
executive function by card-sort test (rules)
executive function
executive function
case study: bilingualism
100 students
Montessori & control pre-K classes
tested Spanish & English
Rodriquez et al. 2003
case study: bilingualism
case study: fine motor
Bhatia et al. 2015
50 control - 50 Montessori students
place tiny flags in present pinholes
5-year olds
case study: fine motor
case study: technology with Montessori
25 Montessori students
pre and post tests
Montessori, traditional, & digital media
6th graders
Tosco 2015
case study: technology with Montessori
case study: geometry
20 control - 20 Montessori students
pre and post tests
standard geometry test form
4-5 year olds
Ongoren & Turcan 2009
case study: geometry
case study: achievement scores
Lillard 2012
172 students
classic & supplemented Montessori vs standard
battery of tests
33-76 months old
case study: achievement scores
case study: creativity
40 control - 40 Montessori students
test-retest over two years
divergent thinking & standard creativity tests
1 to 4th grade equivalents
Besancon et al 2013
case study: creativity
feeling great
a total of 604 students tested
however, I can also find individual studiesthat fail to support Montessori as consistently best choice
Nonetheless, in all instances excepting one Montessori performance was never reduced/negative
reviewed nearly 1/3rd of all Montessori primary studies
solution: seek synthesis
meta-analysis for larger-scale
contrasts
hierarchy of evidence
meta-analyses
background info
single studies
achievement with intervention
Borman et al 2003
800 independent studies
77,660 students
models including Montessori
achievement with intervention
Borman et al 2003
m
manipulatives in math
Jacobse & Harskamp 2014
40 independent studies
6817 students
lower to upper elementary
manipulatives in math
Jacobse & Haskamp 2014
m
m
manipulatives in math
Carbonneau et al. 2013
55 independent studies
7237 students
elementary
manipulatives in math
Carbonneau et al. 2013
m
m
pre-school cognition effects
Camilli et al. 2010
55 independent studies
5000 students
pre-school programs including Montessori
pre-school cognition effects
Camilli et al. 2010
m
m
m
self-regulation meta-analysis
Burnette et al. 2013
113 independent studies
28217 individuals
elementary to adult
self-regulation meta-analysis
Burnette et al. 2013
self-regulation meta-analysis
Burnette et al. 2013
m
frame of reference for these meta-outcomes
interventions in ecological systems at 5% profound
interventions in evidence-based medicine at 10% high value
Montessori & associated methods are very effective at upwards of 25% benefits
recommendations from large-scale syntheses- not all studies on Montessori
between 149-350 primary research studies to date published
institutional recommendations
pre-school crisis is opportunity & early development critical
(1) offer Infant Montessori program
institutional recommendations
research suggests Montessori benefits persist
(1I) expand to Middle-School Montessori program
institutional recommendations
self-regulation & autonomy are Montessori cornerstones
(III) offer Montessori home-school checkin program
http://www.montessori-home-schooling.com/
institutional recommendations
research suggests technology + Montessori successful
(IV) increase augmentation with technology in Montessori
individual recommendations
pre-school benefits most consistently significant
(I) recommend & use Montessori offerings at this level
individual recommendations
benefits at elementary level persist but depends on measure
(II) consider direct versus indirect effects of educational model
individual recommendationsresearch at upper-EL & middle-school suggests
persistence of associated methods
(III) if you switch, consider building on freedom of choice, eliminating grades, flow, & learn by doing
implications net likelihood increases
Montessori
standard
contrast to other models: net likelihood effectivenessimplications
Montessori
standard
when to stop investingin
crea
ses
relative effectiveness
high moderate
high
moderate
pre-school
lower EL
upper EL
middle school
implications
implications higher-education
practical life learning increasingly important
basic problem solving needed
critical scientific thinking underdeveloped
time & project management/autonomy
implications higher-education
neurobiology supports protracted development
movement
freedom
discovery
flow