Curricula Appropriateness - Networkdante.udallas.edu/.../Creasman_Gesell_Montessori.pdfArnold Gesell • He developed behavior norms that still today serve as a primary source of information

Curricula Appropriateness

As based on the Theories of Dr. Arnold Gesell and Dr.

Maria Montessori

By Caroline Creasman

The Theorists • 1880-1961 Alma, Wisconsin • Biological maturationist (based on Rousseau) – behavior unfolds according to nature’s inner plan or timetable.

• Ph.D. – Worked as a psychologist • Age 30: Went to medical school to aid his research by increasing his knowledge of physiological processes

Arnold Gesell

• He developed behavior norms that still today serve as a primary source of information for pediatricians and psychologists.

• Developed one of the first tests of infant intelligence.

• Advocated a child-centered approach

• 50 years at the Yale Clinic of Child Development – studied neuromotor development of babies and children.

The Theorists Maria Montessori

• 1870-1952 Ancona, Italy • Encouraged by the hope of her

mother. • Age 26: Became the first woman

physician in Italy • Interest in mental

Retardation and retarded children’s hunger for experience.

• Based her work on that of Pestalozzi, Seguin, and Froebel – theorists who worked in the spirit of Rousseau.

• 1907: Established Casa dei Bambini, where she further developed her ideas.

• Child-centered approach. Teacher as assistant

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Montessori - Sick at 10, told mom: “Don’t worry, Mother, I cannot die; I have too much to do.” We cannot simply begin teaching developmentally delayed children what we think they ought to know – reading and writing. only frustration, for these children are not intellectually ready to learn on this level. We must 1st simply observe the children and take note of their natural tendencies and spontaneous interests. Then we can take adv. Of their own natural inclinations and ways of learning. Seguin – found that dev. Delayed children, like normal children at younger ages, are most interested in objects that stimulate their senses and permit physical activity. M followed Seguin’s approach and when found that it worked, she ventured to also teach more difficult things like reading and writing in this way. Casa dei Bambini – in the slums of San Lorenzo, Rome. For over 50 very poor children – kids of unemployed laborers, beggars, prostitutes, and criminals.

Research Study In a study based on Gesell’s

developmental tests, it was found that five-year-olds are increasingly being asked to do more difficult tasks than they once were, but that they are not actually any more developmentally advanced than the five-year-olds of

Gesell’s time (Pappano, Sept./Oct. 2012). The purpose of this research study,

therefore, is to investigate whether the curricula at two different school settings

(Montessori and Private) are developmentally appropriate for the

children enrolled in a given class, and to see which setting better places

children within their developmental range.

Study Questions • Are the current Common Core Standards for

kindergarten developmentally appropriate for five-year-old children – as determined by Gesell

readiness tasks?

• Is the current curricula – in the Primary and Elementary classrooms - at Castle Montessori

developmentally appropriate for the five-year-old children in those classrooms – as determined by

Gesell readiness tasks?

• Which school setting better places children within their developmental range?

Key Terms • Maturation – the belief that a child is a product of his

or her environment, and that development is directed from within by the action of genes – genes determine the sequence, timing, and form of emerging action-patterns; the belief that there is an inner timetable that determines the readiness to do things.

• Growth gradients – a) define the developmental traits characteristic of childhood in general; b) enable us to determine in an individual child the attained levels of maturity for these traits, the child’s approximate position in various sequences of development.

• Developmental Age (DA) – also called behavioral age, the age (can be greater, less than, or equal to a child’s chronological age) given to a child in an effort to evaluate him/her as a total organism; this is not a measure of physical maturity, but behavioral. It gives a child’s performance level in relation to typical growth patterns (or growth gradients). This, not chronological age, is the best clue for grade placement.

• Sensitive Period - a window in the development of a person; a genetically (not culturally) programmed block of time during which the child is especially eager and able to master certain tasks.

• Play – play is embodied cognition. When playing, a child's mental representations direct his/her actions. In play, children direct their own activities and do things that interest them. Play also has intrinsic rewards and involves a social aspect.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

It is for this reason that Gesell was very much opposed to efforts to teach children things ahead of schedule. 3. In this way, we become acquainted both with the individual and with the group to which he belongs. All gradients are subject to individual variations, with respect to age values, but the sequence of a gradient tends to remain the same for all children in spite of such variations. 4. The sensitive periods do not vary by culture; it is only the use of the period that varies between social groups. Montessori said, “if the child is prevented from enjoying these experiences at the very time when nature has planned for him to do so, the special sensitivity which draws him to them will vanish, with a disturbing effect on development” (Montessori, 1949, pg. 95).

Hypothesis The Common Core Standards are not

developmentally appropriate for five-year-olds based on

Gesell’s profile; the Montessori curriculum will

be more appropriate.

The Montessori school will better place children within their developmental ranges.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

2. I expected to see that the 5 year olds in the primary classrooms would have more “4 yo” marks, while the 5 y.o.’s in the Elementary class would have more “6 yo” marks.

Part I The Study

• Interview

• Printing of Letters and Numbers

• Copy Forms

• Conservation of Pennies

Tests Used

Gesell Examination Instructions

Gesell Record Sheet

Presenter

Presentation Notes

So when I said in the hypothesis that “The Montessori school will better place children within their developmental ranges.” I expected to see that the 5 year olds in the primary classrooms would have more “4 yo” marks, while the 5 y.o.’s in the Elementary class would have more “6 yo” marks.

Study Participants

Five year olds from: • Castle Montessori

– Primary Classroom: no participants – Elementary Classroom: one participant • Holy Family of Nazareth School

– Kindergarten: three participants

Data

Central Star

Pattern

Special Formation

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Very shy. With interview, hard to tell if he didn’t know or just didn’t want to talk to me. Couldn’t give birthday (4). Says yes to all my questions (Is is Mon? Is it Jan? Is it year 1540?). Reversals typical of 5-5.5. Scored mostly at 5’s. 4: picked up pencil w/ non-dominant hand and switched. Circle – little lopsided, little overlapping (4) Square - Horozontal square (6), rounded corner (5-5.5) Central star – 5.5 Couldn’t conserve!! Just quiet for 4 and 13. for 20, all together? Um, 100?

Data

Ladder Formation

Reversals

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Lots of 6 yo qualities! Interview – Could give correct month and day of birthday (6) Groups siblings (4 bros, 2 sis) – age 6 Base line pretty straight – 6 Reversals – 5-5.5 Wrote #s up to 20 – age 6 Circle – Well-proportioned – 6 Apple shaped – 6 Square – Drawn in one continuous line – 6 One oblique angle – 6 A little vertical – 4 Triangle – Drawn in 3 lines – 4-5 Ladder formation!!!! – 4!! Can conserve – ready for addition

Data

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Distracted by pencil and paper, wants to jump right in – 4 Groups siblings – 6 Only one that spelled a word Circle – well-proportioned (6) Little overlapping - 4 Little apple shaped – 6 Square – Continuous line – 5-6 One oblique angle – 6 **Central star – only one who used only four lines in the center – 6! Can conserve

Data

Presenter

Presentation Notes

This is Montessori Elem. Student. student knew me a little bit, very verbal, esp. compared to rest, but partly her personality Could give day of month of bday (5-6) but not month (6) Blames mother: “I think I didn’t ask my mom.” Groups siblings (5-6) Totally random letters (4, 5) picks up pencil first w non-d hand (4) Circle – little apple shaped – 6 Square – one oblique angle – 6 Central star pattern Her age all over the place

Results

v (of 13) ~ (of 77) ~~ (of 38) ^ (of 46) ^^ (of 7) Can conserve? Child 01 3 28 (+7=35) 7 9 (+7=16) 1 N % of each 23% 36% 18% 20% 14% % x of total (48) 6% 58% 15% 19% 2% 100% Child 02 4 30 (+9=39) 9 14 (+9=23) 1 Y % of each 31% 39% 24% 30% 14% % x of total (58) 7% 52% 16% 24% 2% 100% Child 03 4 31 (+11=42) 11 15 (+11=26) 0 Y % of each 31% 40% 29% 33% 0% % x of total (61) 7% 51% 18% 25% 0% 100% Child 04 4 21 7 9 1 Y % of each 31% 27% 18% 20% 14% % x of total (42) 10% 50% 17% 21% 2% 100%

Presenter

Presentation Notes

They all had about 50% 5, and 40% above 5, 10% below 5.

Conclusions Since my study question was based on comparison of Montessori’s Primary and Elementary Classes with HFN’s Kindergarten class, it is difficult to

make any conclusions, as I did not have any Primary Montessori

Participants.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The main thing interesting to note is that these students could do some of the thing Gesell said 5 yo’s couldn’t, esp. triangle which he said comes at 5.5. I don’t know how close any of the students were to 5.5 so this was interesting. Overall, they scored mostly at 5 y.o. level, but I would have been interested to see how the primary and some more elementary Montessori students had done.

Part II Curricula Evaluation

Age-Level Abilities •Conservation – necessary for addition. Five-year-olds can only conserve pennies up to 13. •Triangle – can draw at 5½. Can’t perceive the oblique lines Can’t perceive letters in the alphabet that use these same lines

Presenter

Presentation Notes

It is hard to determine from Gesell’s tests what exactly Kindergarten curriculum should look like, but we can tell by looking at several other factors: the developmental markers for five-year-olds that describe what a five-year-old can or cannot do, what Kindergarten was like in Gesell’s day, and what followers of Gesell, like Dr. Marcy Guddemi, Executive Director of the Gesell Institute of Human Development, say. Since a five-year-old cannot fully conserve, they may memorize 2 + 3 = 5, but don’t realize that 3 + 2 = 5. Without the ability to see and understand the oblique lines of a triangle, children are also unable to recognize some letters in the alphabet that use those same oblique, hard-to-perceive lines, like “A” and “K,” especially when they are written in a different font. However, even from the beginning of Kindergarten, students are asked to write and recognize these letters. They are trained to do so accurately to feign learning in a way that forfeits the true learning.

Common Core Standards

English Language Arts • Based on age – standards determine

what a child should be able to do in Kindergarten (5-6).

• d. Recognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

• 4. Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.

• a. Print many upper- and lowercase letters.

• Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

• a. Capitalize the first word in a sentence and the pronoun I.

• 4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on kindergarten reading and content.

I believe our research supports

what other countries are

doing—waiting until

age 7 to start formal

instruction of reading!

Marci Guddemi

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Marci Guddemi signed petition against Common Core. She advocates play and even mentioned Montessori School! I believe our research support what other countries are doing—waiting until age 7 to start formal instruction of reading! Other countries do a better job at respecting the unique needs of the child under age 8. Marci Gudddemi

• Comparing sets or numerals; and modeling simple joining and separating situations with sets of objects, or eventually with equations such as 5 + 2 = 7 and 7 – 2 = 5. (Kindergarten students should see addition and subtraction equations, and student writing of equations in kindergarten is encouraged, but it is not required.)

• Students should quickly recognize the cardinalities of small sets of objects, counting and producing sets of given sizes, counting the number of objects in combined sets, or counting the number of objects that remain in a set after some are taken away.

• (2) Students identify, name, and describe basic two-dimensional shapes, such as squares, triangles, circles, rectangles, and hexagons, presented in a variety of ways (e.g., with different sizes and orientations)

• b. Understand that the last number name said tells the number of objects counted. The number of objects is the same regardless of their arrangement or the order in which they were counted.

• **Count to answer “how many?” questions about as many as 20 things arranged in a line, a rectangular array, or a circle, or as many as 10 things in a scattered configuration; given a number from 1–20, count out that many objects.

Common Core Standards Mathematics

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Also uses manipulative and does not require writing but still stresses it.

Gesell Developmental Institute Against Common Core

Marci Guddemi signed petition against Common Core. She advocates play and even mentioned Montessori School! The proposed standards conflict with new research about how young children learn, what they need to learn, and how best to teach them in kindergarten and the early grades. Such standards will lead to: • long hours of instruction in literacy and math that push play-based

learning out of K. Young children learn best in active, hands-on ways and in the context of meaningful real-life experiences. Common Core too strict in requiring that every kindergartner be able to “read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.”

• inappropriate standardized testing, which will crowd out other important areas of learning. Young children’s learning must go beyond literacy and math. Overuse of didactic instruction and testing cuts off children’s initiative, curiosity, and imagination. There is little evidence that such standards for young children lead to later success.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Many of the countries with top-performing high-school students do not begin formal schooling until age six or seven. Call to withdraw the proposed standards for children in kindergarten through grade three. call for researchers to develop guidelines

Montessori Curriculum

• Since classes contain mixed age groups, expectations are not listed by age but by classroom level.

• Concepts are introduced when the teacher discerns that the child is ready (after he/she has mastered the prerequisite concept).

• Includes Personal and Social Development and attitude towards work!

• Addition – BUT specifies that it is

done with concrete materials

• Reading: no requirements of full

reading, just small steps (i.e., recognizing certain

types of words)

Montessori Curriculum

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Decodes 3 letter phonetic words Recognizes sight words

Play • Recess studies

• Gelman study found that young children can understand certain skills (above their age level), but only when

engaged in a playful task • Play can also foster social competence

and confidence, self-regulation, and behavior management – all of which are building blocks for school readiness

• Comparison of playful, child-centered approach vs. less playful, more teacher-directed approach shows that children in

the playful, child-centered approaches do better in tests of reading, language, writing,

and mathematics.

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Children who get recess return to their work more attentive. These children also do better in reading and math than the children who did not receive recess. Children are losing play time to make more room for academic learning

Montessori Classroom • “Work is the child’s play.”

• Play is imitation • Practical Life

• Montessori works as substitute for toys. • Though Gesell himself has no writings on play, a presentation by the executive Director of the Gesell Institute suggests that play in school is very much aligned with Gesell’s theory. She even mentioned

Montessori school as a good option!

Presenter

Presentation Notes

structure and content of education should be determined by the child’s needs, not by what society thinks is appropriate for children to know, and this will change through the course of childhood. provide the kind of environment that optimizes each child’s emerging knowledge, and to match instructional tasks to each child’s developmental level. Since kindergarten children are not ready for formal instruction because they generally lack maturity, it is argued that academic instruction should be avoided.

Other Classroom • Very structured

• Often developmentally inappropriate for their

students. • No pillows, centers, or

inviting areas • Children work individually

at desks

• Only visual stimuli is the print and math facts

along the walls. • No place for exploration

and play

Conclusions

Montessori curriculum is much more

developmentally appropriate, based on

Gesell’s theories, involving more play-like activities

and less structured teaching and

testing.

Limitations and Changes

• Did not receive enough parent consent forms

• Time limited number of tests performed

• May have added Incomplete Man Test • Would have tried to have previous

contact with children to limit the effect of shyness on results.

• Interviewed Montessori Teachers

Implications for Education

Curriculums need to be changed or grade-age relationships need to be

redefined.

Nature-Nurture Continuum

Nature Middle Nurture

Montessori

• Grouped peers to help each other • Put control of error in the

environment • Sensitive periods are genetic and

do not vary between cultures • “If the child is prevented from enjoying these experiences at the

very time when nature has planned for him to do so, the

special sensitivity to which draws him to them will vanish, with a

disturbing effect on development.” ~Montessori, 1949 (Crain).

Gesell

• Child is a product of environment

• But MORE fundamentally, child’s development is directed from

within by action of genes • “his rate of progress will always

depend primarily upon the maturity of his nervous system”

(Gesell, Child 5-10, 28) • “The psychology of a child is determined by his maturity and

by his experience. The experiences in turn are determined by his

maturity as well as by the culture in which he lives.” (Gesell, Child

5-10, 61)

Bibliography "Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in

History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects." Corestandards.org. Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf>.

"Common Core State Standards for Mathematics." Corestandards.org. Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012. <http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_Math%20Standards.pdf>.

Crain, William. “Gesell’s Maturational Theory.” Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 20-32. Print.

Crain, William. “Montessori’s Educational Philosophy.” Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 65-85. Print.

Gesell, Arnold, and Frances L. Ilg. The Child from Five to Ten. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1946. Print.

Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy, and Roberta Golinkoff. "Why Play = Learning." Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. 2008. <http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/documents/Hirsh-Pasek-GolinkoffANGxp.pdf>.

Ilg, Frances L., and Louise B. Ames. School Readiness: Behavior Tests Used at the Gesell Institute. New York, Evanston, and London: Harper & Row, 1964. Print.

Pappano, Laura. "Kids Haven't Changed; Kindergarten Has." Harvard Education Letter26 (Sept. 2010): n. pag. Harvard Education Letter. Harvard Education Publishing Group, Sept. 2010. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. <http://www.hepg.org/hel/article/479>.

Documents

Curricula Appropriateness - Networkdante.udallas.edu/.../Creasman_Gesell_Montessori.pdfArnold Gesell • He developed behavior norms that still today serve as a primary source of information