Montessori vs Traditional Daycare
How is the Montessori Method different from traditional teaching methods?
| Montessori Teaching Method | Traditional Teaching Method |
|---|---|
| Emphasis is on cognitive, social and emotional development | Emphasis is on cognitive development |
| Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration | Few materials for sensory development |
| Environment and method encourage self-discipline | The teacher is primary enforcer of discipline |
| Mixed age grouping | Same age grouping |
| Grouping encourages children to teach and help each other | Most teaching is done by the teacher |
| Teacher has a facilitator role in classroom | Teacher is focus of classroom |
| Mainly individual instruction | Mainly group instruction |
| Child chooses own work, with input from teacher | Set curriculum is structured for the child |
| Child can work where he chooses, move around and talk at will without disturbing the work of others | Child usually assigned own chair |
| Child discovers own concepts from self-teaching materials | Child is guided to concepts by the teacher |
| Child may work at own learning pace | Instruction pace is usually set by group norm |
| Child works as long as he needs on a chosen project | Child is generally allotted specific time for work on a specific project or assignment |
| Child reinforces own learning by repetition of work with internal feelings of success, Learning is its own reward | Learning is reinforced externally by repetition and rewards |
| Materials are self-correcting, child spots own errors from feedback material | If work is corrected, errors usually are pointed out by the teacher |
| Organized program for learning care of self and environment in order to develop independence | Less emphasis on self-care instruction |
| Organized program for parents to understand the Montessori philosophy and participate in the learning process | Voluntary parent involvement |