The Effects of Self Determination Theory on Montessori Kindergarten Student's Math Knowledge and Attitudes
Year: 2013

This action research examined how fostering student autonomy, competence, and relatedness as described in Self determination Theory (SDT) improved the Montessori kindergarten student's motivation to choose work from the math curriculum? By increasing the kindergarten student's knowledge of the Montessori math curriculum sequence, an attempt was made to increase their autonomy, competence and relatedness as it pertains to choosing math work. The data collection consisted of a student survey and questionaire that was administered before and after the introduction of the action research interventions. Teacher observations were also helpful when determining if students were choosing math works at a higher rate. This research found that introducing kindergarten students to the sequence of Montessori math work improved their knowledge of and attitude towards the Montessori math curiculum. SDT AND MONTESSORI KINDERGARTEN MATH 4 As a Montessori guide, I take notes on the interactions I have with my students during the work period. In my notes I found that I spent a good deal of my time directing kindergarten aged children to check their weekly work contracts for appropriate work choices. The teacher and kindergarten student fill out the kindergarten contract together and the expectation is that the student will finish their contract in a week. The contracts include works from the language, math, art, geography, and science areas of the room. The Kindergarten contract is seen as a link between the children's house classrooms and lower elementary. Weekly work plans are used in the lower elementary classes to track the student's progress. The kindergarten contract is seen as a precursor to the practice of using work plans. The kindergarten students react positively to their contracts at the beginning of the year. Maybe they see this as proof of their maturity and as a prize for being the oldest students in the room. By mid year, it becomes harder to engage the kindergarten students in their contract work. It becomes the job of the teacher to ask the kindergarten students to do something from their contract. Perhaps they do not understand the work on the contract or have not been given a lesson. Either way, it is clear that the students are not intrinsically motivated to do the contract work and do not self choose to complete their contracts in a timely fashion. The school where I am employed as a primary Montessori guide for 3 to 6 yearolds has one toddler class, four primary or Children's House classes, two lower elementary classes, and one upper elementary class. The student enrollment at this time is approximately 113 students. Medicine and higher education are the primary industries SDT AND MONTESSORI KINDERGARTEN MATH 5 in the town where The Montessori Cottage is located. The cost to attend The Montessori Cottage is approximately $10,540 for one school year. Twenty five percent of families receive some form of financial assistance. As a member of a teaching team in a primary classroom, I share classroom responsibilities with three other teachers. We have between 18 and 24 students on average. The teaching team consists of three Montessori early childhood teachers and one assistant. The assistant and one Montessori trained teacher leave at 1:15 p.m. and I arrive to teach between 1:15 and 3:00 p.m. The lead Montessori teacher stays the entire day. The four primary classes are called the Red Room, the Blue Room, the Yellow Room, and the Green Room. The Red Room is the classroom in which we teach, and the location where the action research problem formation took place. The reason why the kindergarten students are not self motivated to choose works from their contracts became the seed of the action research question. To improve kindergarten student motivation across the entire Montessori curriculum seemed too large a task for this research, so the math area of the curriculum was chosen as the focus. Because of the quantitative nature of math, it is supposed that data on successful completion of math works would be easier to gather. A search of the literature on human motivation found several theories of motivation that have been researched over the last several decades. It is necessary that any theory of motivation used is in alignment with Dr. Maria Montessori's (1964, 1967) research on human development. A theoretical framework mentioned often in research devoted to human motivation is Optimal Experience Theory (OES) (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) Optimal experience, or flow, is a term used to describe the feeling of losing oneself in the activity SDT AND MONTESSORI KINDERGARTEN MATH 6 in which you are engaged. Time, effort, and self consciousness drop away and optimal experience takes over. People who experience flow in an activity report a strong sense of well being and this feedback encourages them to experience flow again. Each flow state changes the participant and can only be achieved again by the incremental improvements of knowledge and ability. If ability is much greater than the experience requires the participant may be bored by the activity, and if ability is far less than what is required by the activity then anxiety is produced, and flow is not achieved. Experiences must have the right amount of challenge relative to a participant's skills to induce deep concentration. In these instances flow is achieved. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) proposes that the flow experience is so rewarding that it intrinsically motivates people to engage in activities that provide an optimal experience or flow. This correlates directly with Dr. Montessori's writings on normalization in which she describes how a child's experience of deep concentration on a work changes them and produces expressions of joy, discipline, and sympathy (Montessori, 1967) It is the responsibility of the Montessori teacher to present work that provides a challenge while using the student's previous experiences and knowledge which leads to deep concentration, or flow. Self determination theory (SDT) (Ryan Deci, 2000) builds upon the research of Optimal Experience Theories and proposes that autonomy, competence and relatedness are three innate psychological necessities that when fulfilled boost intrinsic motivation and the sense of well being in humans (Ryan Deci, 2000) SDT uses the term autonomy for the feeling people have that their behavior is self determined and has an internal locus of causality. Competence is bolstered by events external to the person that SDT AND MONTESSORI KINDERGARTEN MATH 7 provide feedback, rewards, contextual support, and experiences of efficacy. These events then amplify feelings of competence and intrinsic motivation. Relatedness becomes significant after you leave the stage of infancy and become a member of a society. A sense of being connected or belonging with others, or relatedness, can instill intrinsic motivation for some actions (Ryan Deci, 2000) School and work are social situations where the rules already exist and are naturally external to your motivation. Relatedness, feelings of competence, and experiences of autonomy can be helpful when trying to internalize or integrate these external regulations and extrinsic motivations. Do theories of motivation like OET and SDT fit into the pedagogy of Dr. Montessori? Lillard (2007) divides Montessori education into eight principles: 1. Movement is integral to learning. 2. Choice and having control of one's life leads to feelings of happiness and improved learning. 3. Having an interest in the subject improves learning. 4. Extrinsic rewards and punishments negatively impacts learning. 5. Collaboration and learning with and from peers improves learning. 6. Providing a context for what is being learned enhances meaning for the learner and improves outcomes. 7. Adults can have positive or negative effects on the learning environment. 8. Beauty and order in the classroom environment greatly benefits the student (p.29) SDT AND MONTESSORI KINDERGARTEN MATH 8 In this list, we see that competence can be enhanced by the ordered environment, contextual learning and self correcting materials; autonomy is derived from choice, positive adult attitudes to self directedness, and the uninterrupted work cycle; and relatedness are fostered by positive adult interactions, mixed age groupings, multiple years in the same class, and collaboration with peers. It is clear that Montessori teachers can use Montessori teaching practices in the context of current theoretical frameworks of motivation. The research discussed in this review has shown ways in which Montessori methodologies are in alignment with recent theories of what motivates humans. Montessori teachers must prepare themselves, and the classroom to provide opportunities in education for autonomy, interest/context, mastery/competence, and relatedness. The teacher has to be an active participant in preparing a caring environment that responds to the student's interest without rewards or punishment while the student achieves autonomy and competence. This is an ongoing cycle that requires continuous observation, assessment, and implementation on the part of the teacher. The question this research will ask is in what ways will improvements in student autonomy, competence, and relatedness as described in Self determination Theory (SDT) motivate Montessori kindergarten students to choose and complete work from the math curriculum? Description of Research Process The first step in the collection of data was discussing the action research theme with the head of school at The Montessori Cottage. Consent was given by the head of school for the research on motivation among kindergarten students in the Red Room. The head of school asked that I submit a document to her detailing the extent of the SDT AND MONTESSORI KINDERGARTEN MATH 9 research. I submitted an Action Research Approval Form to her, and she approved the research. To increase democrati