Differences of Montessori and Traditional School System

Montessori

Traditional

• Age span of at least three years in a class.

• One age per class.

• Children reinforce their own learning by repetition of work and internal feelings of success.

• Learning is reinforced externally (rewards, stickers etc.).

• Method emphasizes becoming aware of One's abilities and social development.

• Method emphasizes social development.

• Direct contact with multi-sensory materials.

• Much information dispensed by lecture.

• Highly organized sets of graduated materials-mostly three dimensional and "concrete".

• Mostly abstract- books, papers, etc.

• Develops wise use of free choice.

• Very few choices.

• Learns about care of one's self and environment.

• Less emphasis on self-learning instruction.

• Environment and method encourage self-discipline.

• Teacher acts as primary enforcer of discipline.

• Mostly one-on-one instruction.

• Group and individual instruction.