Montessori Compared with a Traditional Curriculum
MONTESSORI |
TRADITIONAL |
Mixed age group |
Same age group |
Child-centered learning environment |
Teacher-centered |
Motivated by self-development |
Motivated by teacher and / or rewards |
Children learn from their peers and self-correcting materials |
Teacher lectures and corrects student’s errors |
Individual learning: children pursue their own self-paced curriculum, individually or in small groups, in various parts of the learning environment |
Group learning: the class, as a group, studies one subject at a time with class schedules that limit the child's involvement |
Teacher acts as a guide, observes and directs |
Teacher is the focal point and dominant influence |
Child completes “cycles of activity” |
Activity cycles determined by set time |
Relatively few interruptions. Long blocks of time permit invaluable concentration |
Relatively frequent interruptions: bells, adult interventions |
Freedom to move and work within classroom |
Assigned seats and specific class periods |
Materials used for specific purpose with sequence of steps |
Materials used in many ways without previous instruction |
Work for joy of working and sense of discovery |
Work because they’re told to |
Environment provides discipline |
Teacher provides discipline |
Encouraged to help one another |
Seek help from teacher |
Child free to discover on their own |
Teacher guides child |
Emphasis on concrete |
Emphasis on abstract |
Reality-oriented |
Much role-playing and fantasy |
Specific places for materials, sense of order |
Random placement, not necessary to return to specific place |
Self-education through self-correcting materials |
Use of reward and punishment in motivation |
Recognition of sensitive periods |
All children treated alike |
Multi-sensory material to develop specific skills |
Play materials for nonspecific skills |