Montessori vs. Traditional Education

Montessori School	Traditional School
Three-year age span	all one age
motivated by self-development	teacher motivated
self-correcting materials	teacher corrects errors
children learn by handling objects	teacher lectures
individual learning	group learning
teacher is observer and directress	teacher is focal point & dominant influence
child completes "cycles of activity"	activity cycles determined by set time
few interruptions	frequent interruptions
freedom to move and work	assigned seats & specified class periods
materials used in sequence	materials used with no prior instruction
work for joy and sense of discovery	work because they are expected to
environment provides discipline	teacher provides discipline
encouraged to help each other	seek help from teacher
child chooses materials	teacher sets curriculum
child sets own pace	teacher sets pace
emphasis on concrete	emphasis on abstract
reality-oriented	much role-playing and fantasy
recognition of sensitive periods	all children treated alike
child free to discover alone	teacher guides child
carefully organized environment	materials placed at random
multi-sensory materials to develop specific skills	play materials for nonspecific skills
self-education through self-correcting materials	use of reward and punishment in motivation

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