Montessori vs. Traditional
Traditional
Emphasis on Rote Learning and Social Behavior
Teacher acts as primary enforcer of discipline
Mainly group instruction
Same age groups
Teaching is done by teacher, collaboration is discouraged
Curriculum structured for child
Child is guided to concepts by teacher
Child generally allotted specific time for work
Instruction pace set by group
Errors in child’s work highlighted by teacher
Learning is reinforced externally by repetition, rewards and punishment
Child usually assigned seat; required to participate during group lessons
No organized program for self-care instruction – left primarily up to parents
Montessori
Emphasis on Cognitive and Social Development
Environment and method encourage self-discipline
Mainly individual instruction
Mixed age groups
Grouping encourages children to teach and collaborate
Child chooses own work
Child discovers own concepts from self-teaching materials
Child is allocated time to work on and complete lesson
Child sets own learning pace
Child spots own errors from feedback of material
Child reinforces own learning by repetition of work and internal feelings of success
Child can work where he chooses move about and talk at will (yet not disturb work of others), group work voluntary
Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration organizes program for learning care of self and environment
Book a Tour
We invite prospective parents to come by Baldwin Oaks Academy to tour our facility and meet our staff. We offer tours on Monday – Thursday between the times of 9:00 a.m.-11 a.m. This will give you an opportunity to observe all classrooms actively engaged in the Montessori curriculum, from Toddler to Primary.