Effect of different methods of teaching on children concepts about living and non-living in a public kindergarden and montessori kindergarden

摘要

In this thesis, we wanted to compare methods of teaching preschool children in traditional public institutions and kindergartens working under the program of Maria Montessori. The Montessori educational method is based on observations and discoveries by Dr. Maria Montessori. With the Montessori educational approach we want children to have the best possible conditions for personal development while respecting their dignity, freedom and rights (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26). The emphasis is on learning for life. Children work in an atmosphere of respect, freedom and responsibility. Montessori pedagogy and public kindergarten pedagogy differs in two essential elements. Montessori pedagogy advocates individual learning, while public kindergarten learning takes place mostly frontal. Because the work in the Montessori kindergarten is carried out according to different principles than in public kindergartens, we assume that this also shows in the comprehension of the child. We wanted to determine whether the comprehension about a chosen topic (living Vs non-living) differs between children from a preschool Montessori kindergarten and a public kindergarten. In addition, we wanted to know how effective are the methods used in Montessori and public kindergartens. We taught by two different methods and identify how children's comprehension varies. The empirical part is based on a visual test. The first test was performed immediately to verify the prior knowledge of children. The second test was performed after the lesson; the third test was 5 weeks later.The results showed that pre-school children (3-6 years old) have very good knowledge distinguishing living things from non-living things. They have a clear idea of notions of living and non-living objects. There were no significant differences between the two kindergartens.