Montessori and Practice A Review of the Literature, 2010 –2013

By Janet Bagby, PhD, Kevin Wells, Kara Edmondson, and LaNette Thompson Beal, H. K. O., & Hendry, P. M. (2012). The ironies of school choice: Empower- This annotated bibliography is the third in a series published in Montessori Life , ing parents and reconceptualizing with the first bibliography reviewing articles published during the 10-year time public education . American Journal span of 1996 –2006 (Bagby, 2007) and the second one covering the years 2007 –2009 of Education , 118 (4), 521 –550. (Bagby & Jones, 2010). As with the previous two bibliographies, articles pub - This study addressed the issue of lished in non-Montessori professional periodicals that included information market-driven public schools and the about and/or the Montessori Method are included. While con - market-driven consumer choices pub - ducting the current search, we discovered nine articles published in 2009 that lic schools provide parents. Through were not annotated in the previous review. Those articles are included in this the experiences of parents faced with review, along with those published within the last 4 years. these choices, the authors shed light There are 83 articles in this review, a significant increase over previous on the complex and contradictory reviews, which suggests a growing interest in Montessori in the United States ways that public school choice both and internationally. By comparison, the 1996 –2006 bibliography reviewed 54 empowers and disempowers parents. arti cles, and the 2007 –2009 bibliography reviewed 37 articles. As with the previous Beatty, B. (2011). The dilemma of reviews, nearly half of the current articles were published in educational period - scripted instruction: Comparing teacher icals. The remaining articles appeared in publications representing a variety of autonomy, fidelity, and resistance in disciplines. Most noteworthy is the continuing research on the use of Montessori- the Froebelian kindergarten, Montessori, based interventions with individuals with dementia. Direct Instruction, and Success for All . Teachers College Record, 113 (3), 395 –430. Adair, J. K., & Bhaskaran, L. (2010). private schools . Journal of Research in This research study examined the Practices from an urban preschool Childhood Education, 26 (4), 418 –426. use of scripted instruction within clas - in Bangalore, . Young Children, This research examined the exec - sical , such as the methods of 65 (6) 48 –55. utive function of 112 fourth- through Froebel and Montessori, as well as These authors described three sixth-grade students at three types of within modern pedagogy, such as spe cific Indian cultural practices and private schools: Catholic, classical, and Direct Instruction and Success for All. how they were incorporated within a Montessori. Parents and teachers com - The author examined the attitudes of Montessori classroom in Bangalore, pleted a BRIEF (Behavioral Rating the teachers as well as their departures India. Guided meditation, decorating Inventory of Executive Function) on from scripts in their practice. with rangoli, and eating on the floor were each of the students. Contrary to prior examined within the cultural context research, in this study, parents ranked Belliveau, G. (2012). Shakespeare and of everyday life in India and were con - their children higher in executive literacy: A case study in a primary sidered practices that could help chil - function than their teachers did. classroom . Journal of Social Sciences, dren in United States Montessori class - Parents ranked their students the same 8(2), 170 –176. rooms expand their worldviews. regardless of school environment, This qualitative study followed a while classical teachers ranked the class of 22 children in a multiage Bagby, J., Barnard-Brak, L., Sulak, T., executive function of their students Montessori classroom to determine Jones, N., & Walter, M. (2012). The lower than teachers from Montessori how specific strategies fostered an effects of environment on children’s and Catholic schools. appreciation and understanding of a executive function: A study of three Shakespearean play. The author iden -

32 MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 tified five literacy-based strategies that hood education: Child study and the global citizenship. The author high - were most effective in achieving the empirical assault on Froebelian ration - lighted the success of the IBDP and its desired learning outcome. alism . Paedagogica Historica, 45 (4), strong relationship with universities 585 –604. as well as the relative lack of success of Besançon, M., Lubart, T., & Barbot, B. Using a historical lens, Brehony Montessori secondary schools, posit - (2013). Creative giftedness and edu - examined the philosophical perspec - ing possible lines of future research. cational opportunities . Educational & tives of early childhood education. Child Psychology, 30 (2), 79 –88. Focusing primarily on the work of Byun, W., Blair, S. N., & Pate, R. R. Using the Torrance Tests of Cre- Froebel, he also described the influence (2013). Objectively measured seden - ative Thinking, 80 French elementary of G. Stanley Hall and Maria Montessori tary behavior in preschool children: students (40 attending a Montessori on the child education movement. Comparison between Montessori and school and 40 attending a traditional traditional preschools . International school) were compared longitudinally Brenner, T., & Brenner, K. (2012). The Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and on a set of creativity tasks. Montessori Montessori Method in dementia care . Physical Activity, 10 (2), 1 –7. students scored higher on the creative Journal of Dementia Care, 20 (4), 18 –19. This study measured the levels of measurements, suggesting that the This brief article described the sedentary behavior of 4-year-olds attend - environmental context influences the authors’ work in designing an effec - ing nine Montessori and eight tradi - students’ creative potential. tive care approach for people living with tional preschools. The children wore dementia. Montessori for Dementia ActiGraph accelerometers to record Care combines the Montessori Method their sedentary behavior during the total with the gerontology practice of person- school day. Results indicated that the centered care to create a stimulating sedentary levels for the Montessori environment. children were significantly lower than for those attending traditional pre- Broome, J. P., & Preston-Grimes, P. schools. (2011). Open for business: Learning economics through social interaction Camp, C. J., & Lee, M. M. (2011). in a student-operated store . The Journal Montessori-based activities as a trans - of Social Studies Research, 35 (1), 39 –55 . generational interface for persons Economic education is the topic of with dementia and preschool children . this qualitative study. The authors Journal of Intergenerational Relation- examined a student-run school store at ships , 9(4), 366 –373. a Montessori middle school to investi - Camp and Lee reviewed previous gate how student social interactions studies involving persons with demen - Bunche Montessori Early Childhood Center demonstrate economic content knowl - tia interacting with preschool children edge and skills as well as how students ’ using Montessori-based activities. The Biswas, P. (2013). Peace education business roles develop their under - results of previous research indicate and globalization in the present era . standing of economic principles. This that there is a wide range of benefits Golden Research Thoughts, 2 (7), 1 –5. study can provide a model for learni ng for both adults and children involved Biswas listed Maria Montessori as economics concepts through a student - in these studies. These benefits include one of the educators whose work was run enterprise. reduction in apathy in older adults, foundational to the field of peace edu - increased constructive engagement, cation. Peace education is a multicul - Brunold-Conesa, C. (2010). Interna- increased positive affect in olde r tural and interdisciplinary approach to tional education: The International adults, increased self-engagement, and global human advancement through Baccalaureate, Montessori, and global increased passive engagement. educating children to appreciate not citizenship . Journal of Research in only the absence of violence but also International Education, 9 (3), 259 –272. Chia, N. K. H., & Kee, N. K. N. (2013). the positive aspects of peace. This study compared and contrasted Gender differences in the reading the International Baccalaureate Diploma process of six-year-olds in Singapore . Brehony, K. J. (2009). Transforming Program (IBDP) with Montessori sec - Early Child Development and Care , theories of childhood and early child - ondary programs within the context of 183 (10), 1432 –1448.

MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 33 Sixty-five children from three ban, Montessori, and Head Start, were This study examined a variety of Montessori private schools in Singapore interviewed. The authors found that factors to determine which contributed participated in this study to analyze there were three main barriers to chil - most to parents’ choice of preschools gender differences in varying aspects dren’s physical activity in child care: in Malaysia. The authors defined the of the reading process. Results showed injury concerns, financial concerns, and types of preschools available in Malaysia, no statistically significant differences a focus on academics. including Montessori, and described in areas such as reading fluency or the roles and contributions of preschools vocabulary but did show a gender dif - Copeland, K. A., Sherman, S. N., in general. Among the factors the authors ference in reading comprehension. Kendeigh, C. A., Saelens, B. E., & considered were educational philoso - Kalkwarf, H. J. (2009). Flip-flops, phy, curriculum, branding, religious val - Cook, P. R. (2009). Differentiating dress clothes, and no coat: Clothing ues, quality, facilities, and cleanliness. language arts in Belize . Forum on Public barriers to children’s physical activity Policy, 5 (1), 1 –14. in child-care centers identified from a DeJarnatt, S. (2012). Follow the money: In this ethnographic study, Cook qualitative study . The International Charter schools and financial account - implemented nontraditional method - Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and ability . The Urban Lawyer , 44 (1), 37 –83. ologies that included Montessori and Physical Activity, 6( 74 ), 1 –15. According to DeJarnett, private Reggio Emilia within a Belizean orphan - Child-care providers from inner- schools compete with public schools age with the belief that this high-need city, suburban, Head Start, and for public funds. How public money population would benefit from a cur - Montessori programs in Cincinnati, was spent by private charter schools, ricula that reflected social-constructivist OH, participated in focus groups to including the Philadelphia Montessori theory. Results pointed to the need to examine why physical activity levels Charter School, was reviewed. engage children in activities that inter - vary across early childhood environ - est them. ments. Results indicated that chil - Diamond, A. (2012). Activities and pro - dren’s inappropriate clothing can pro - grams that improve children’s execu - Copeland, K. A., Sherman, S. N., vide challenges to out door play and tive functions . Association for Psycho- Kendeigh, C. A., Kalkwarf, H. J., & that the clothing choices for the chil - logical Science , 21 (5), 335 –341. Saelens, B. E. (2012). Societal values dren can be a source of conflict Diamond cited key research evi - and policies may curtail preschool between the child-care providers and dence on the improvement of children’s children’s physical activity in child the parents. executive functions (EFs) through care centers . Pediatrics , 129 (2), 265 –274. activities and practice. She presented This qualitative research exam - Cossentino, J. (2009). Culture, craft & two school curricula that have been ined possible barriers to children’s coherence: The unexpected vitality of empiri cally shown to improve EFs: physical activity in child-care centers. Montessori teacher training . Journal Montessori and Tools of the Mind. Forty-nine child-care providers from of Teacher Education, 60 (5), 520 –527. Evidence indi cates that children with 34 centers, including inner-city, subur - Drawing on ethnographic studies poorer EFs benefit more from training of Montessori teacher education and and that the training could help them mainstream teacher education research , catch up with their peers. Cossentino examined key concepts related to teacher education. She argued DiCarlo, C. F., Pierce, S. H., that the uniqueness of Montessori Baumgartner, J., Harris, M. E., & Ota, teacher education occurs in the details C. (2012). Whole-group instruction of learning and teaching, specifically practices and children’s attention: A that the hows of practice are an integral preliminary report . Journal of Research part of the whys of practice . in Childhood Education , 26 (2), 154 –168. This research examined the relation - Dahari, Z. B. & Ya, M. S. (2011). ship between children’s attentiveness B

r Factors that influence parents’ choice and teachers’ use of whole-group instruc - e t t

H of preschool education in Malaysia: tional practices. Also developed was a e n d

e An exploratory study . International typology of recommended teacher r s o n Journal of Business and Social Science, practices. There were seven practices Montessori Children’s House 2(15), 115 –128 . that were positive predictors of chil -

34 MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 dren’s attention, one of which was innovative educators who were Gureckis, T. M., & Markant, D. B. modeling materials during whole- Korczak’s contemporaries. (2012). Self-directed learning: A cog - group instruction, the importance of nitive and computational perspec - which was stressed by both Piaget and Eschenbach, S. (2010). From inspired tive . Perspectives on Psychological Montessori. teaching to effective knowledge work Science , 7(5), 464 –481. and back again . Management Decision, Using both a computational and Dodd-Nufrio, A. T. (2011). Reggio 48 (4), 475 –484. cognitive perspective, this study exam - Emilia, Maria Montessori, and John This study examined the teaching ined the advantages of active learning, Dewey: Dispelling teachers’ miscon - practices of Eugenie Schwarzwald at the idea that people learn better ceptions and understanding theoreti - her school and the role these practices when that learning is self-directed. cal foundations . Early Childhood played in the principles developed Montessori’s advocacy of active infor - Education Journal, 39 (4), 235 –237. by Peter Drucker, the Austrian-born mation acquisition is mentioned as Preservice teachers’ misconception s management consultant, educator, well as the idea that self-directed about the connection between Maria and author. Eschenbach compared learning is a motivating force and not Montessori and the preschools of Schwarzwald’s philosophies and prac - just a pedagogical tool. Reggio Emilia were presented. The tices with those of Maria Montessori. author argued that while there are sim - Hazel, C. E., & Allen, W. B. (2013). ilarities in methods, due to their shared Freeman, O. (2009). “The Coke side of Creating inclusive communities Italian cultural heritage, the pedagogi - life”: An exploration of preschoolers’ through pedagogy at three elemen - cal and philosophical foundations of constructions of product and selves tary schools . School Effectiveness and Reggio Emilia are not well understood. through talk-in-interaction around School Improvement, 24 (3), 336 –356. The author also examined the influence Coca-Cola . Young Consumers, 10 (4), Hazel and Allen examined how of John Dewey upon Reggio Emilia. 314 –328. pedagogy-driven schools create inclu - This study analyzed preschoolers‘ sive communities. They performed Duke, D., & Salmonowicz, M. (2010). conversations about Coca-Cola. The open-ended interviews with members Key decisions of a first-year “turn - 14 focus groups were comprised of of Core Knowledge, experiential, and around” principal . Educational Manage- preschoolers aged 2 to 5 years who Montessori schools. They reported ment Administration & Leadership , were attending private Montessori that three themes emerged: communi - 38 (1), 33 –58. schools and community-based pre- ty and culture, structure, and respon - This article examined the decisions schools in Dublin, Ireland. The find - sibility and expectations. The authors made by a turnaround specialist during ings indicated that the preschool-aged noted that each school’s pedagogy her first year as principal of a low- children were competent in under - was built on academic education, per forming urban elementary school. standing product meanings from a affective education, and individualiza - After a thorough review of those deci - consumer perspective. tion of instruction. sions, the authors raised several ques - tions including whether the Montessori Giroux, D., Robichaud, L., & Paradis, M. Holland, K. E. (2011). Learning from program was abandoned too quickly (2010). Using the Montessori approach students, learning from music: and without proper review. for a clientele with cognitive impair - in early ments: A quasi-experimental study childhood reflected through musical- Engel, L. H. (2013). The democratic design . International Journal of Aging perceptual tasks . Visions of Research school and the pedagogy of Janusz and Human Development, 71 (1), 23 –41. in Music Education, 17 (1), 1 –21. Korczak: A model of early-twentieth- This quasi-experimental study sup - This qualitative study, conducted century reform in modern Israel . ported previous research that has show n at the school where the author is a International Journal of Progressive that Montessori-based activities can music teacher, used Montessori bells Education, 9 (1), 119 –132. have a positive impact on the basic psy - to investigate children’s perceptions of This author provided the history chologica l needs of dementia patients. melodic construction. Drawing from and pedagogy of Janusz Korczak, a The authors examined 14 individuals Jeanne Bamberger’s musical-perceptua l Polish educator in the early 1900s. with dementia during various activi - tasks, the author examined cognitive His work is compared and contrasted ties to show that there were indeed development in nonmusical domains. with Maria Montessori, Homer Lane, positive effects of Montessori-based A. S. Neill, and Anton Makarenko, activities on quality of life.

MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 35 Hyde, B. (2011). Montessori and Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and International Journal of Education , Jerome W. Berryman: Work, play, Other Dementias , 25 (8), 657 –665. 2(2), 1 –15. religious education, and the art of This study demonstrated that the This case study research examined using the Christian language system . use of a horticulture-based activity how autonomy supportive classrooms British Journal of Religious Education , program can successfully engage per - were implemented within an upper- 33 (3), 341 –353. sons with dementia in meaningful elementary Montessori classroom. The While examining the thinking activities. Montessori-based activities authors found that the Montessori phi - and writing of Jerome Berryman , have been shown to provide more con - losophy of student autonomy guided Hyde uncovered differences between structive engagement and pleasure how teachers applied strategies to the Berryman and the Montessori Method. during meaningful activities, increas - learning environment and how they He argued that where Montessori ing the patient’s sense of well-being. developed guidelines to help teachers focused on work rather than play, integrate the idea of autonomy support Berryman focused on play rather Kai, K. (2009). The modification and into their classrooms. than work. adaptation of Montessori education in Japan . The International Journal of Li, H., Wang, C., Wong, J. (2011). Ireland, J. E., Watters, J. J., Brownlee, J., Learning, 16 (7), 667 –676. Early childhood curriculum reform in & Lupton, M. (2012). Elementary This conceptual article discussed China . Chinese Education and Society, teacher’s conceptions of inquiry the influence of Froebel’s and 44 (6), 5 –23. teaching: Messages for teacher devel - Montessori’s theories on educational The authors analyzed the imple - opment . Journal of Science Teacher practices in Japan, particularly in the mentation of Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Education , 23 (2), 159 –175. field of early childhood education. and HighScope curricula in Chinese Using interview data from 20 ele - Beginning with the 1800s, the Japanese early childhood programs. They con - mentary school teachers, these authors educational system was examined cluded that implementation of Western explored the use of inquiry-based through a historical lens. The authors methods must be done in culturally, learning, a Montessori concept where concluded that the Montessori move - contextually, and linguistically appro - students learn in their own way by ment in Japan must continue to adapt priate ways. drawing on direct experiences fostered to a changing culture in much the by the teacher. The researchers conclud - same way the movement has adapted Lillard, A. S. (2011). Mindfulness ed that the teachers transitioned from in the United States. practices in education: Montessori’s focusing on how they taught to focus - approach . Mindfulness, 2 (2), 78 –85. ing on how their students learned. Kayili, G., & Ari, R. (2011). Lillard presented the benefits of Examination of the effects of the mindfulness training and compared Jacobs, L., & Dinoff, B. (2012). War- Montessori Method on preschool this training to Montessori practices. related somatoform disorder in an children’s readiness to primary edu - She concluded that these similar prac - older adult veteran . Clinical Case cation . Educational Sciences: Theory tices may be responsible for executive Studies, 11 (5), 376 –392. and Practice , 11 (4), 2104 –2109. function and socio-emotional benefits. This single-subject case study Kayili and Ari investigated the described a veteran of World War II effectiveness of the Montessori Method suffering from psychosomatic symp - for improving preschool children’s toms, dementia, and a war-related fear readiness for primary education. of dying. The authors instituted a step - Using assessment instruments includ - wise intervention to identify a treat - ing the Metropolitan Readiness Test ment plan. In the final phase of the plan, and the Kindergarten Behavior Scale, Montessori-based interventions were the results indicated that the Montessori used to minimize dementia-related Method is more efficient in preparing dis tress and war-related somatization . preschool children for primary school C a i

than traditional education programs. t

S i Jarrott, S. E., & Gigliotti, C. M. (2010). m m o n

Comparing responses to horticultural- Koh, J. H. L., & Frick, T. W. (2010). s based and traditional activities in Implementing autonomy support: Inly School dementia-care programs . American Insights from a Montessori classroom .

36 MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 Lillard, A. S. (2012). Preschool children’s Clinical Nursing, 20 (21), 3092 –3101. Pakistan . Journal of College Teaching development in classic Montessori, Twenty-nine residents of two and Learning, 7 (6), 39 –48. supplemented Montessori, and con - dementia-care units in a Taiwanese long- These authors examined the social ventional programs . Journal of School term facility participated in this study. development of 120 children from Psychology, 50 (3), 379 –401. Based on the results, the researchers ages 3 to 8 attending eight schools in Lillard examined whether high- rec ommended training caregivers in Pakistan. The Montessori Method was fidelity, classical Montessori programs Montessori-based intervention strategies identified as one of five types of early would outperform classrooms that as an evidence-based nursing practice. childhood education for the age range mixed Montessori methods with con - They concluded that these strategies not targeted by this study. ventional classroom activities. Results only assisted dementia patients with eat - indicated that children enrolled in ing but also lessened a caregiver’s work - Mather, D. S. (2012). Ipsilateral print - high-fidelity Montessori classrooms load and boosted morale. ing in children’s mirror-writing: A showed significantly greater gains on cause of specific learning disabilities ? a variety of outcome measures, ranging Lindholm, C., & Wray, A. (2011). Canadian Journal of Experimental from executive function to vocabulary. Proverbs and formulaic sequences in Psychology/Revue Canadienne de the language of elderly people with Psychologie Expérimentale, 66 (3), Lillard, A. S. (2013). Playful learning dementia . Dementia, 10 (4), 603 –623. 172 –180. and Montessori education . American These Finnish researchers exam - Mather investigated children’s Journal of Play, 5 (2), 157 –186. ined three people with dementia who writing in a public school that stressed This article addressed the contra - struggled with completing proverbs in printing, a Montessori school that diction that Maria Montessori believed a game used to enhance memory and stressed cursive, and a Waldorf school in playful learning yet criticized fantasy language skills. When questioning that delayed writing instruction. Though play in her writings. Lillard also dis - whether the proverb game was a good there were not specific differences cussed current research indicating fit, the authors cited two earlier studies in the prevalence of mirror-writing that high-fidelity Montessori pro - that effectively used a Montessori- among schools, the authors noted that grams support strong cognitive and inspired game, Memory Bingo, with 39 percent of the children who printed social outcomes for students. dementia residents in a day-care setting. letters correctly in a word written from left to right reversed the direction of Lin, L. C., Huang, Y. J., Su, S. G., Lockhorst, D., Wubbels, T., & Van their letters when asked to write the Watson, R., Tsai, B. W. J., & Wu, S. C. Oers, B. (2010). Educational dialogues same words from right to left. (2010). Using spaced retrieval and and the fostering of pupils’ independ - Montessori-based activities in ence : The practices of two teachers . McNeil, N. M., & Uttal, D. H. (2009). improving eating ability for residents Journal of Curriculum Studies, 42 (1), Rethinking the use of concrete mate - with dementia . International Journal 99 –121. rials in learning: Perspectives from of Geriatric Psychiatry , 25 (10), 953 –959. Montessori secondary school development and education . Child Residents with dementia in Taiwan teachers in the Netherlands were the Development Perspectives, 3 (3), 137 –139. were placed in either a spaced retrieval focus of this study. The authors inves - These authors recommended a memory training group, a Montessori- tigated whether teachers fostered re examination of the belief that teach - based activity group, or a control higher thinking skills and student ing young children mathematics using group to study the effects of training independence through their teacher- concrete materials, as opposed to abstrac t on eating ability. The intervention student dialogues. Analyses of the means, is the preferred method of resulted in a decrease in eating diffi - teachers’ dialogues indicated that the instruction. Montessori, Piaget, and culty for those who participated in the teachers appeared to work intuitively Bruner are cited for their perspectives spaced retrieval and Montessori-based with the students through positive on the benefits of hands-on learning activities groups. personal relationships but did not sys - with tangible objects. McNeil and Uttal tematically encourage the students to concluded that that students’ under - Lin, L., Huang, Y., Watson, R., Wu, S., use higher thinking skills. standing of new concepts can be & Lee, Y. (2011). Using a Montessori enhanced with the use of concrete method to increase eating ability for Malik, A., Sarwar, M., & Khan, N. and abstract representations of math institutionalized residents with demen - (2010). Identification of the social concepts. tia: A crossover design . Journal of development in early childhood in

MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 37 Mebratu, B., & Ma, Y. (2011). This study examined Malaysian tive on the relative strengths and Anthropology and education busi - parents’ satisfaction with Montessori weaknesses of each and the merits of a ness: Areas of application, approache s, kindergarten programs. One hundred merged approach. and methodologies . International and fifty parents from nine programs Journal of Business Anthropology, responded to the researchers’ ques - Platz, D., & Arellano, J. (2011). Time- 2(2), 102 –116. tionnaire. Results indicated a signifi - tested early childhood theories and This study examined the influence cant relationship between perceived practices . Education, 132 (1), 54 –63. of anthropology on educational stud - Montessori characteristics and par - These authors reflected upon the ies, noting the contributions of Hewitt, ents’ satisfaction. foundational theories and practices in Boaz, and Montessori. The authors early childhood development that are described Maria Montessori as an edu - Nightingale, D. (2011). Montessori still in use today. The authors gave cational anthropologist, citing as evi - success for people living with demen - special attention to theories and prac - dence her use of ethnographic methods tia . Journal of Dementia Care, 19 (2), 36 –38. tice related to the nature of children, to observe and explain children’s Nightingale conducted a pilot study how children learn, curriculum, and behavior and her belief in the total using specific Montessori activities to instructional materials. Locke, Rousseau, interaction of children with their envi - assist dementia patients in relearning Froebel, Dewey, and Montessori were ronments as the basis of learning. eating skills. Six Montessori activities, among those individuals examined. such as picking up cotton balls with Mocanu, M. (2012). Humanistic meth - tongs and transferring them to muffin Raja, S., Breinlich, A., & Kallas, A. ods in foreign language teaching . tins, were taught. The author reported (2010). Partnerships to promote healthy Euromentor Journal: Studies about positive transfer of the skills to improved eating in school environments: Lessons Education, 3 (3), 71 –79. dining experiences for the four par - from Buffalo, New York . Children, Mocanu reviewed methods used tici pants. Youth & Environments, 20 (2), 175 –189. in foreign language teaching that take Students from the Bennett Park into account the learner as a complex Padilla, R. (2011). Effectiveness of Montessori Center in New York were human being with feelings, emotions, environment-based interventions for the participants in this pilot study to and personal relationships. One method, people with Alzheimer’s disease and determine the effects of a campaign to developed by Caleb Gattegno, was related dementias . AJOT: American encourage healthy eating. Results based on the Montessori principle of Journal of Occupational Therapy, from the pilot study showed that 85 respecting the learner’s autonomy. 65 (5), 514 –522. percent of the student participants This article examined the use of chose fruit or vegetables from a salad Modic, M. B., Sauvey, R., Canfield, environment-based interventions on bar when it was available, prompting C., Kukla, A., Kaser, N., Modic, J., & people with Alzheimer’s from an the food services department to con - Yager, C. (2013). Building a novel occupational therapy perspective. tinue the salad bar following the study. inpatient diabetes management men - Various interventions were studied tor program: A blueprint for success . for efficacy including ambient music, Reid, J. (2013). “The Ayn Rand school The Diabetes Educator , 39 (3), 293 –313. aromatherapy, bright light therapy, for tots”: John Dewey, Maria This article discussed a training visually complex environments, and Montessori, and objectivist educa - program instituted in a Midwestern Montessori-based programming. The tional philosophy during the postwar care facility to train nurses in diabetic author concluded that Montessori- years . Historical Studies in Education/ management care for their patients. based programming was beneficial Revue d’histoire de l’éducation , 25 (1), The program uses Montessori meth - in matching activities to the person’s 73 –94. ods to train nurses who are then given skill level. Objectivism, a libertarian philoso - Montessori-inspired teaching tools to phy established in the 1960s and 1970s, is train their patients’ families as well as Peterson, J. W. (2010). Waldorf and criticized by the author, who claimed its their nursing peers. Montessori combined: A new impulse founder, Ayn Rand, misrepresented the in education . Encounter, 23 (3), 21 –27. teachings of both Dewey and Montessori Moghni, H., Zailani, S., & Fernando, Y. Drawing on his experience with in an attempt to further Rand’s own (2010). Relationship between per - the Montessori and Waldorf models, agenda. This article compared and con - ceived Montessori characteristics and Peterson conceptualized an educa - trasted the teachings of John Dewey and parents’ satisfaction . European Journal tion al system that combined the two Maria Montessori within the context of of Social Science, 16 (3), 371 –391. approaches. He presented his perspec - objectivist philosophy.

38 MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 Rinke, C. R., Gimbel, S. J., & Haskell, S. shop were four classes of high school the functions of education. While the (2013). Opportunities for inquiry sci - students from Montessori Lyceum authors described this as “propaganda,” ence in Montessori classrooms: Amsterdam. they did so in the textbook sense of the Learning from a culture of interest, word and not with any implied nega - communication, and explanation . Rose, S. E., Jolley, R. P., & Charman, tive connotation. Research in Science Education, 43 (4), A. (2012). An investigation of expres - 1517 –1533. sive and representational drawing Schonleber, N. S. (2011). Hawaiian Using ethnographic research meth - development in National Curriculum, culture-based education and the ods , these authors explored the essen - Steiner, and Montessori schools . Montessori approach: Overlapping tial elements of science inquiry in four Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, teaching practices, values, and world - Montessori classrooms. They concluded and the Arts, 6 (1), 83 –95. view . Journal of American Indian that these Montessori classrooms pro - This article described the expres - Education, 50 (3), 5 –25. vided opportunities for students to sive and representational drawing The purpose of this study was to develop lasting interest in science. ability of British National Curriculum, qualitatively examine how and why Steiner, and Montessori students aged the Montessori approach was imple - Roebers, C. M., Rothlisberger, M., 5 to 9. The authors reported that the mented in Hawaiian language immer - Cimeli, P., Michel, E., & art program in Steiner education is sion classrooms (HLIC). The Montessori Neuenshwander, R. (2011). School more conducive to fostering expres - Method has been viewed as culturally enrollment and executive function - sive drawing ability than the art pro - congruent by some Hawaiian language ing: A longitudinal perspective on grams in Montessori and National immersion and culture-based educators, developmental changes, the influ - Curriculum education, and no differ - and this was the first formal investiga - ence of learning context, and the pre - ence was found for representational tion into the overlap between these diction of pre-academic skills . drawing. two educational approaches. European Journal of , 8(5), 526 –540. Ross, S. (2012). The Montessori Shankland, R., França, L. R., This 2-year longitudinal study Method: The development of a healthy Genolini, C. M., Guelfi, J., & Ionescu, concentrated on developmental changes pattern of desire in early childhood . S. (2009). Preliminary study on the in different aspects of executive func - Contagion: Journal of Violence, role of alternative educational path - tioning (EF). There was particular Mimesis & Culture, 19 , 87 –122. ways in promoting the use of problem- interest in issues of developmental Ross examined Montessori’s focused coping strategies . European progression over time, the influence of model of education and its relation - Journal of Psychology of Education , learning context, and the predictive ship with mimetic theory. The author 24 (4), 499 –512. power of executive functions and contended that Montessori’s methods Using several affective invento - school context for emerging academic provide a blueprint for children to ries, these researchers measured the skills. Some schooling had effects on EF have mediated but intense object rela - problem-focused coping styles of sec - development, including Montessori tionships through teachers trained in ondary school students in France. education. The results indicated benign mediation. It is through this prominent improvements in all execu - mediation that children develop healthy tive measures and that inhibition con - patterns of desire. tributed to the prediction of features of academic skills. Rubí, F. C., & García, B. S. (2012). The photography and propaganda of the Roio, D. J. (2011). Re/think re/design . Maria Montessori Method in Spain Technoetic Arts: A Journal of (1911–1931) . Paedagogica Historica, Speculative Research, 9 (2 –3), 197 –208. 48 (4), 571 –587. Roio developed a workshop deal - This article explored the popular - ing with the philosophical and ethical ization of the Montessori Method in background of the hacking culture Spain from 1911 until 1931, using the within a balanced context unrelated to unique method of examining attempts criminality. This report detailed the in popular media of the time to adver - concepts and the outcomes of the tise Montessori and to change the pub - Near North Montessori School workshop. The participants in this work - lic’s perceptions of its schools’ role in

MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 39 Eighty traditional school students and a wide range of mental status levels Thayer-Bacon, B. (2012). Maria 50 alternative school students in Steiner , were able to lead activities, providing Montessori, John Dewey, and Montessori, and NewSchools partici - those leaders the opportunity to par - William H. Kilpatrick . Education and pated in the study. Results indicated ticipate in meaningful social roles. Culture, 28 (1), 3 –20. that the students in the alterna tive This article examined Maria schools scored higher on the coping Sterns, A. A., Sterns, H. L., Sterns, R. Montessori’s initial introduction and strategies measures than the students S., & Lax, G. (2011). Bridging the subsequent warm reception in the in the traditional schools. intergenerational gap in therapeutic United States, providing a basic history activity delivery between younger and examination of the impact of Shankland, R., Genolini, C., França, professional caregivers and older the writings and criticism of William L. R., Guelfi, J., & Ionescu, S. (2010). adults living with dementia . Journal Kilpatrick, a student of John Dewey, Student adjustment to higher educa - of Intergenerational Relationships, upon Montessori’s legacy and contri - tion: The role of alternative educa - 9(2), 161 –175. butions to educational and democratic tional pathways in coping with the The Montessori principles of cue - theory. demands of student life . Higher ing, building on existing skills, provid - Education, 59 (3), 353 –366. ing clear, specific tasks related to the Ultanir, E. (2012). An epistemological In this longitudinal study, the activity, and repetition were used as glance at the constructivist approach: authors examined student adjustment interventions to close the gap between Constructivist learning in Dewey, from high school to higher education. patients with dementia and their Piaget, and Montessori . International Student participants were drawn younger caregivers. The intervention Journal of Instruction, 5 (2), 195 –212. from alternative schools, including participants rated it as positive and Ultanir analyzed constructivism Montessori, as well as from traditional effective for interaction and engagement. through the lens of the educational school systems. Results indicated that philosophies of Dewey, Piaget, and students from alternative schools Swanzen, R., & Marincowitz, L. Montessori. Dewey’s perspective on adjust better to higher education than (2013). Mimetic theory and the use of experience and education, Piaget’s cog - their traditionally schooled peers. daily life events . Relational Child & nitive schema theory, and Montessori’s Youth Care Practice, 26 (2), 57 –63. philosophy on decentering the teacher Sim, W. L. (2011). Montessori & This article discussed the applica - were examined. Suzuki: A comparison . American tion of mimetic theory to education in Suzuki Journal, 39 (3), 31 –33. order to explain why traditional mod - Vallberg R. A., & Månsson, A. (2011). Sim, a Suzuki teacher, described her els are insufficient for a child’s educa - Individual development plans from a experience of teaching in a Montessori tion. The authors explored the practical critical didactic perspective: Focusing preschool classroom. When compar - application of mimetic theory in the on Montessori- and Reggio Emilia- ing the Montessori Method and the Montessori Method. profiled preschools in Sweden . Journal Suzuki philosophy, she found simi - of Early Childhood Research, 9 (3), lar ities such as the practice of using Thayer-Bacon, B. (2011). Nurturing a 247 –261. individual and group lessons. democratic community in the class - Using discussion and content room . Studies in Philosophy and assessments known as a critical didac - Skrajner, M. J., Haberman, J. L., Education, 30 (5), 491 –497 . tic perspective, these authors analyzed Camp, C. J., Tusick, M., Frentiu, C., & In this autobiography, Thayer- the individual development plans for Gorzelle, G. (2012). Training nursing Bacon related how her life experiences preschools in Sweden using Montessori home residents to serve as group shaped her teaching and philosophical and Reggio Emilia approaches. Con- activity leaders: Lessons learned and leanings. Her research on elementary clusions indicated a national move - preliminary results from the RAP education while in university prompted ment toward more school-oriented project . Dementia , 11 (2), 263 –274. her to help develop a Montessori school curriculum models. The authors of this research exam - for her own children, where she became ined the efficacy of Resident-Assisted a teacher. She eventually earned a doc - Van der Ploeg, E. S., Camp, C. J., Programming (RAP) training. RAP torate in Philosophy of Education and Eppingstall, B., Runci, S. J., & training is designed to allow residents began teaching preservice teachers. O’Connor, D. W. (2012). The study to become group leaders and facilita - protocol of a cluster-randomized tors of Montessori-based activities. con trolled trial of family-mediated Results indicated that residents across personalized activities for nursing

40 MONTESSORI LIFE SPRING 2014 home residents with dementia . BMC the authors drew upon to bring it to 69 (10), 2229 –2241. Geriatrics , 12 (1), 2. fruition . In this quasi-experimental study, These authors proposed a study pro - Wu and Lin examined the long-term tocol for Montessori-based activities as Veeranna, K. K., Rajalakshmi, M. S., effects on nutrition and body mass administered by family members to & Suresh, K. P. (2011). Approaches index (BMI) of fixed and individual - dementia patients within a nursing home adopted by preschools to foster literary ized space retrieval combined with environment. The authors theorized that skills among preschoolers . Language Montessori-based activities. Results in addition to the benefits of one-to-one in India, 11 (10), 150 –170. indicated that the effects of depression interactions with dementia patients, This article examined literary could be significantly reduced by hav ing family members provide these skills among preschoolers in the city of using individualized nutritional interactions would make visits more Bangalore , India. Following a survey inter ventions. sat isfying and improve the quality of life of 30 preschools, including nine for both caregivers and recipients. Montessori schools, the authors con - Zuckerman, O. (2010). Designing dig - cluded that the preschools did not ital objects for learning: Lessons from Van der Ploeg, E. S., Eppingstall, B., have adequate library facilities or pro - Froebel and Montessori . Interna- Camp, C. J., Runci, S. J., Taffe, J., & vide adequate literary awareness. tional Journal of Arts and Technology, O’Connor, D. W. (2013). A random - 3(1), 124 –135. ized crossover trial to study the effect Warner, M. (2009). Out of an old toy Zuckerman examined ways in of personalized, one-to-one interaction chest . Journal of Aesthetic Education, which the approaches of Froebel and using Montessori-based activities on 43 (2), 3 –18. Montessori could be applied to digital agitation, affect, and engagement in Using literature classics, Warner learning objects and educational manip - nursing home residents with demen - described the importance of play to a ulatives. The author suggested that as tia . International Psychogeriatrics, child’s thought development. Beginning toys become more interactive, the 25 (4), 565 –575. with Baudelaire’s work in 1853 to the application of Froebel and Montessori This experimental research assessed masterpieces of the Brontë family, the philosophies may allow modern toy the impact of personalized one-to-one author traced the influence of imagi - designers to meet educational objectives. interaction activities based on Montessori nation and creativity in telling stories. principles using measures of agitation, The learning methods of Montessori, affect, and engagement. During the Froebel, and the Bauhaus are described JANET BAGBY, PhD, is a senior lecturer Montessori activities, the participants as beneficial for engaging the senses in the Department of Educational Psychology showed more positive affect and inter - and promoting knowledge. at Baylor University. She is the chair of est and spent twice the amount of time the AMS Research Committee. actively engaged as compared to the control group. The authors concluded KEVIN WELLS is a doctoral student in that customizing activities to the resi - the Department of Educational Psychology at dents’ needs and capabilities might Baylor University. stimulate more positive interactions. KARA EDMONDSON is a psychology Van Rijn, H., Van Hoof, J., & major with a minor in Educational Psy- Stappers, P. J. (2010). Designing chology at Baylor University. leisure prod ucts for people with dementia: Developing “the LANETTE THOMPSON is a doctoral L a

Chitchatters” game . American Journal u student in the Department of Educational r a

R of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other e Psychology at Baylor University. i d Dementias, 25 (1), 74 –89. Trumansburg Montessori School The authors of this study devel - oped a game that would stimulate Wu, H., & Lin, L. (2013). The moderat - social interaction among people with ing effect of nutritional status on dementia by using Montessori-based depressive symptoms in veteran eld - approaches. This article detailed how ers with dementia: A spaced retrieval the game was developed as well as the combined with Montessori-based Montessori-inspired design insights activities . Journal of Advanced Nursing,

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