between the devil & the deep blue sea: an assessment of the large-scale research on montessori...

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