April 26, 2024— The American Montessori Society offers annual awards for graduate-level work that furthers the understanding of Montessori education. We extend our congratulations to this year’s recipients, and thank them for their contributions to the field.
Annual awards of up to $1,000 are available for graduate-level research that furthers the understanding of Montessori education. Four awards are available each year: Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation (first and second place) and Outstanding Master’s Thesis (first and second place).
Emma Allen-Blevins
Emma Allen-Blevins is a third generation Montessori teacher from St. Louis. While working as a primary Montessori guide she also completed her doctoral research at The University of Kansas. Her experience working in the public Montessori inspired her desire to research the psychological needs of Montessori teachers in the public setting. She has taught for seven years at a public Montessori school in Kansas City. Emma’s favorite thing about teaching in the primary level is observing young childrens’ intrinsic motivation to learn.
Public Montessori Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Psychological Needs Fulfillment
In order to address the growing concern of teacher retention, burnout, and dissatisfaction, this study aimed to provide context to the experiences of public Montessori educators. This qualitative methods study used the Self-Determination Theory framework to guide an analysis of factors that impact the levels of autonomy, relatedness, and competence within a public Montessori school teacher’s work environment. This study gave public Montessori teachers an opportunity to share their stories and contribute to the growing body of research around teacher retention.
Christina Carroll
Christina is currently an Upper Elementary guide at Breakthrough Montessori Public Charter School. She received a BS in Psychology from Michigan State University and a PhD in developmental psychology working with Angeline Lillard at the University of Virginia. She taught middle-school science and social studies on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota for two years through Teach for America. She then attended AMI elementary teacher training at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee. She spent over 10 years in Montessori schools, teaching children ages 6 to 12 years old. Christina’s main research interests lie in understanding the origins and development of teacher beliefs among conventional and Montessori teachers.
Teachers’ Learning Orientation Scale Development and Validation
Teachers possess dynamic belief systems about students and teaching. Most teacher beliefs research is based in conventional pedagogy and must expand to include alternative pedagogies, such as Montessori education, to reflect the current educational landscape. In this dissertation, I developed a new measure, the Teachers’ Learning Orientation Scale (TLOS), to assess student- and teacher-oriented beliefs across conventional and Montessori contexts. During validation testing, the TLOS demonstrated strong internal and test-retest reliability, achieved full scalar measurement invariance across pedagogies, and detected significant differences between teachers based on pedagogy, student age range, school funding, and Montessori teacher certification organization. Overall, the TLOS provides a pedagogy-neutral measure of teacher- and student-oriented beliefs, expanding the study of teacher beliefs beyond conventional education.
Katie Haun
Katie, her husband, and nine children live in rural Verona, WI. She has a master’s degree in Montessori Education from UW-River Falls and a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation Psychology and Psychology from the UW-Madison. Currently, she serves as Head of School at Divine Mercy Academy, a Catholic Montessori school in Madison, WI. Her Montessori journey began in 2015 through formation in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Since then, she has become a certified catechist in all three levels as well as an adult formation leader. She delights in her work for the Madison diocese by guiding and coordinating Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for new parishes, schools, and home atria.
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd: A Survey of Catechists Across Wisconsin
The following research study collected and examined the current practices of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd catechists in Level I (ages 3-6) Atria throughout Wisconsin. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS), founded by Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi, is the religious formation experience of children using the principles of the Montessori method. Around the question of religious formation, we explored literature regarding the Moral Development, Spirituality, and Religious Education of young children. Finding little on the religious formation of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, while also considering the cultural practices and societal norms of local communities, we created a 22-question survey for CGS Level I catechists examining the qualities of the Atrium, catechist, prayer in the Atrium, and community support specific to Wisconsin. Using an online platform and distribution, we gathered surveys from 67 catechists from all five Roman Catholic dioceses in Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, La Crosse, and Superior). Results focused on laying a foundation of baseline data of current practices. Results revealed that the current implementation of CGS is consistent with catechist training recommendations. Also, most dramatically, 100% of catechists regarded the catechesis as somewhat (31%) or strongly (69%) impacting the faith of the young child. Likewise, 89% of catechists also considered the experience strongly impacting their own faith experience. The mutual benefit reported for both adult catechists and children suggests that the effect of CGS in religious formation settings is compelling and worthy of investment and further study.
Anna Lethert
Anna Lethert is a lower elementary teacher at Seward Montessori School in the Minneapolis Public School district in Minnesota. She attended Seward herself from kindergarten through to middle school, laying the foundation for her love and understanding of Montessori education. Anna lived in Ireland for nearly a decade, and while there completed her Montessori Children’s House training at St. Nicholas Montessori College Ireland. After teaching Children’s House there for five years, Anna relocated back to Minneapolis, and completed a Master’s degree in Montessori Elementary Education from the University of River Falls, Wisconsin. She has taught lower elementary at Seward for five years, as well as serving on the Instructional Leadership Team at the school.
The Effects of Handwork on Montessori Elementary Students
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of handwork (defined as sewing, knitting, crocheting, weaving, etc.) on elementary aged children. Working with our hands provides opportunities to develop physical and mental skills and express creativity, and handwork allows us to be creative and productive. This study was conducted with a class of 22 students in first, second and third grade in a public Montessori school. Using qualitative and quantitative research methods, the study found that within a Montessori elementary school setting, handwork can encourage students to expand on life skills, produce something tangible and practice relaxation, and overall has a beneficial effect on students.