Work Models

1. Flow Model
2. Sequence Model
3. Artifact Model
4. Cultural Model
   • Philosophy of Science
   • Educational Theory
   • Terms
   • Current Practice
5. Physical Model
6. Metaphors

Research

1. Design Problem
2. Literature Review
3. Work Models
4. Design Patterns
5. Design Experiments
6. Lesson Ideas
7. Montessori Computes
8. Thinking About Circles

Related Links

Patterns and Design

• Interaction Design Patterns
• The Pattern Gallery
• InContext
• The Design Based Research Collective

Montessori

• American Montessori Society (AMS)
• Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
• North American Montessori Teacher's Association (NAMTA)
• Montessori Online
• Montessori and Technology
• The Montessori Teachers Collective

Cultural Model

"Cultural context is the mindset that people operate within and that plays a part in everything they do" (Beyer and Holtzblatt, 1998, p. 108).

The cultural context of the Montessori community includes a set of influences from various fields of study, relationships between children, teachers, parents, schools and organizations, and a history that extends back in time before the first Children's House which opened in 1907.

Analysis of this context will begin with a look at the intellectual millieu in which Montessori worked and how that millieu helped shape her efforts.

I'm using some of my web pages to keep track of my reading in this area. I'm looking at influences on Montessori's work in light of their affect on her approach to research, her ideas about education, and the language that developed in the Montessori community to talk about child development and learning.

[It is important to consider that both philosophy of science and educational theory depend on theory of knowledge. Compare Montessori's approach to learners and scientists.]

Aside from discussion of theory, research and practice during this period, attention will be given to the nature of the community that formed around the charismatic Maria Montessori, similar to the groups that followed Freud and Marx.

Further pages will describe influences on the Montessori community since Montessori's death.

[To be added:

At any point in place and time, there are particular ideas and observable phenomena that are most readily available to participants in various kinds of practice. For example, anyone interested in education in Italy at the turn of the century would have heard of Pestalozzi, Herbart, Spencer, Bergson and others [Kuhn's paradigms?].

The relationship between observations, ideas and innovations is complex. One source of innovation comes from relating ideas and observations from different fields. Another comes from conjecture (Newton: If I could propel a cannon ball hard enough, could it travel all the way around the world before falling back to Earth? Could this account for the orbits of moons and planets? Einstein: What would the world look like if I were travelling at the head of a ray of light?).

Ideas are used to anticipate or determine actions, to guide processes, and to explain or justify outcomes. There is no straight line from idea to innovation to application. In all human action, ideas and experience are involved.

"In the nineteenth century, social science was inseparable from policy and reform, their union probably closer than that between science and technology." (Cahan, 2003, p. 254).

Discussion of Popper's idea of falsifiability, looking for disconfirming evidence, remaining open to criticism. When you find data that appears inconsistent with a theory you can (1) discount it (assume it is incorrect or insignificant), (2) look for an explanation with reference to the theory (maybe there is further missing data to explain the inconsistency, or maybe the inconsistent piece is a special case that was overlooked but can still be explained by some minor addition to the existing theory), or (3) shift paradigms. Any of these responses may be appropriate, depending on the situation.

Scientists need to be willing and able to question their assumptions, but it is impossible to make progress if we shift paradigms every time we encounter a new piece of data that doesn't quite fit. On the other hand, we will never make progress if we discount any data that points to problems in our theory. A healthy peer review process helps most scientific communities steer a reasonable path through these extremes. What are the special problems in the educational community in general and the Montessori community in particular that create obstacles to peer review as a vehicle for progress in educational research?

Experience, policy, and teachers' personal values generally count for more than research in the educational community.

The wider educational community seems especially subject to fads. This does not seem to be the case (in the sense of frequent paradigm shifts) in the Montessori community. This is a good thing. It would be a mistake to lightly abandon any of the principles or practices that have been so successful for over a hundred years in all parts of the globe. On the other hand, it is dangerous to consider any scientific theory or educational practice to be flawless or beyond improvement What mechanisms does the Montessori community have for self-criticism, seeking out data inconsistent with theory, peer review, making progress in the development of the Montessori approach to education and educational research?

Current research. Lillard's work helps draw attention to Montessori from wider community. Feez helps advance theory with new lens for observation. Rathunde's work helps us look at principles deeply as we apply Montessori's work to older children.]