Montessori vs. Traditional Educational Methods Montessori Traditional Emphasis on Cognitive and Social Development Teacher has guiding role 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 Emphasis on Rote Learning and Social Behavior Teacher controls classroom Teacher acts as primary enforcer of discipline Mainly group instruction Same age groups Teaching is done by the teacher; collaboration is discouraged Curriculum structured for child Child is guided to concepts by the teacher Child generally allotted specific time for work Instruction pace set by the group Errors in the child’s work are highlighted by the teacher