Montessori
- Emphasis on cognitive structures and social development
- Teacher has unobtrusive role in classroom activity; child is an active participant in learning
- Environment and method encourage internal self-discipline
- Instruction, both individual and group, adapts to each Student's learning style
- Mixed age grouping
- Children are encouraged to teach, collaborate and help each other
- Child chooses own work from interests and abilities
- Child formulates own concepts from self-teaching materials
- Child works as long as she/he wishes on chosen project
- Child sets own learning pace to internalize information
- Child spots own errors through feedback from the material
- Learning is reinforced internally through the child's own repetition of an activity and internal feelings of success
- Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration
- Organized program for learning care of self and environment (polishing shoes, cleaning the sink, etc.)
- Child can work where she/he is comfortable, moves around and talks at will (yet disturbs not the work of others); group work is voluntary and negotiable
- Organized program for parents to understand the Montessori philosophy and participate in the learning process
Traditional
- Emphasis on role knowledge and social development
- Teacher has dominant, active role in classroom activity; child is a passive participant in learning
- Teacher acts as primary enforcer of external discipline
- Instruction, both individual and group, conforms to the adult's teaching style
- Same age grouping
- Most teaching is done by teacher and collaboration is discouraged
- Curriculum structured for child with little regard for child's interests
- Child is guided to concepts by teacher
- Child generally given specific time limit for work
- Instruction pace usually set by group norm or teacher
- If work is corrected, errors usually pointed out by teacher
- Learning is reinforced externally by role repetition and rewards/discouragement
- Fewer materials for sensory development and concrete manipulation
- Less emphasis on self-care instruction and classroom maintenance
- Child usually assigned own chair; encouraged to site still and listen during group sessions
- Voluntary parent involvement, often only as fundraisers, not participants in understanding the learning process