Richmond Hill Montessori

The goal of both Montessori and traditional education is the same--to provide learning experiences for the child.The most important differences are the learning experiences provided and the methods employed to provide them. Montessori educators believe that these differences are important because they shape the way that a child learns, the child's work habits and her perception of herself and the world.

Montessori	Traditional
Emphasis is on cognitive development.	Emphasis is on social development.
The teacher's role in the classroom is unobtrusive.	The teacher is central in the classroom as "controller"
Instruction is primarily individual.	Instruction is primarily group oriented.
Age groupings are mixed.	Age groupings are uniform.
Children teach and assist each other.	Virtually all teaching is provided by the teacher.
Each child chooses his own work within a curriculum structure.	The curriculum is rigidle structured and presented to the group at the same time.
The child discovers concepts from the activities with materials.	The child is taught concepts by the teacher.
The child chooses the amount of time to work on a project.	The child is allotted a set amount of time to work on a project.
The pace of learning is set by the child.	The instructional pace is set by the group norm.
The design of the materials allows the child to identify errors in her own work.	Errors are pointed out by the teacher, to the extent the teacher has time to identify them.
Learning is internally reinforced through repetitions and self-generated feelings of success.	Learning is externally reinforced through rewards and punishments.
Multi-sensory materials are used for physical exploration.	Few materials are used for sensory development.
The Montessori approach provides an organized program to develop skills for care of one's self and one's environment.	Instruction for self care is not organized and is primarily left to the parents.
Children choose their own work area and are may move around and talk freely, as long as they do not disturb the work of others.	Children are assigned to work areas and are expected to remain quiet and still.
Group work is voluntary.	Group work is mandatory.