4. There are 13 contemporary models for early childhood education, including home-based models, models for children with special needs and center based models. Center based programs fall roughly into 3 categories: the Montessori Model, the Behaviorist Model and the Constructivist Model.
A) The Montessori Model of Early-Childhood Education
i. Montessori believed that children have absorbent minds, unconsciously recording what they see and drawing generalizations based on their experiences.
ii. Teachers should create prepared environments to maximize students' experiences and learning.
iii. If the environment is appropriately organized and activities are appropriately sequenced, children will experience autoeducation, the spontaneous organizing of information into logical patterns.
iv. Because children are believed to copy information (rather than construct it as suggested by Piagetian theory), materials should have clear instructions and be self-correcting.
v. There are four categories of activities:
a) Daily living, relating to physical care of people and surroundings.
b) Sensorial, designed to encourage mental organization of sensation and perception.
c) Academic, designed to teach literacy, mathematics and other facts.
d) Artistic/cultural, designed to develop physical control and fine-art appreciation.
vi. Child choice is critical in this program, as children learn by selecting and completing activities that match their developmental needs. Although activity choice occurs without teacher intervention, materials must be used in approved ways.
vii. Sensitive periods are time frames in which children are particularly interested and capable of mastering particular skills.
viii. The goals of the Montessori program emphasize child characteristics as a person and skills as a learner, rather than specific content or facts. Montessori preschool programs, in particular, de-emphasize specific academic instruction and activities and embed content into engaging activities.
B) Behaviorist Approaches to Early Childhood Education
i. Because most Behaviorist approaches emphasis operant conditioning, the focus is on the environment. Direct Instruction, in which the teacher presents a stimulus or situation and then reinforces correct responses, is the preferred teaching technique. Characteristics of this approach are
a) fast pace
b) narrow focus on task c) emphasis on rote verbal responses d) continual feedback e) heavy demands for attention
ii. This strategy is most successful for shaping behavior. These programs therefore focus on acquisition of specific, discrete facts and skills (rather than developing broad conceptual understanding).
iii. While focusing primarily on intellectual development, the goal of Behaviorist approaches is acquisition of specific facts and skills rather than generalized concepts. Content units are well defined and distinct (as compared with the broad integration seen in the Montessori program).
C) Constructivist Approaches to Early Childhood Education
i. In contrast to both Montessori and Behaviorist approaches, Constructivist techniques emphasize the child's absolute freedom to experiment actively with materials in novel and personally meaningful ways.
ii. Piaget and Vygotsky define knowledge and development differently. Piaget distinguishes between developmental concepts (which are acquired through experience) and sociocultural knowledge such as language (which is acquired from other people). Vygotsky differentiates spontaneous knowledge (which children discover through interaction with the environment) and scientific knowledge (acquired in school), but emphasizes that these two sources interact and can relate to the same underlying concept.
iii. Because these approaches emphasize child autonomy and the match between child skills and the learning environment, instruction occurs primarily in small groups. Child interest plays a prominent role in determining activities.
iv. The goal of Constructivist approaches is to foster conceptual development across all domains.
a) The process of learning, particularly children's active involvement and interest, is more important than the acquisition of specific facts and skills.
b) Autonomy and self-direction are highly valued, particularly in programs based on Piagetian theory.
c) Specific programs have different emphases.