A paper which compares and contrasts the educational theories of John Dewey, Decker F. Walker, and Maria Montessori.
The paper compares and contrasts the theories on education put forward by John Dewey (“Experience and Education”) and Decker F. Walker (“Curriculum and Aims”) and then compares them both to the teaching methods and ideas of Maria Montessori. The writer explores all three ideas and discusses their similarities. The paper shows that while Walker?s book deals with political and societal ramifications of education and Dewey?s theories are more geared to the interaction and life experience of the student, they each promote educational ideas that can be used in multi-age settings easily. It discusses how the Montessori method can also be incorporated with each of the author?s ideas to bring to the classroom a solid educational system that can be used in multi-age settings.
“Dewey’s educational theory is easily applied to multi age teaching because it builds on the environment of each student, which in turn allows them to learn at their level within their own capabilities. To take the theory of multi age learning through these theories one step further one does not even have to divide the projects by age. One can simply present all of the project choices and let the students choose which one they want to tackle individually. This allows all of the students to work at their own comfort level and if they desire they can stretch their horizons by trying to do one of the more difficult projects that are offered.”