A RESEARCH STUDY CONDUCTED BY: SHELBY PARKER & SARAH WILLINGHAM UFC: vs. Rousseau John Locke Jean-Jacques

IS THERE A DOMINANT PHILOSOPHY OF LEARNING AND EDUCATION EMBEDDED IN TODAY’S SCHOOLS? Question

A MONTESSORI SCHOOL WILL REFLECT ROUSSEAU’S PHILOSOPHY OF LEARNING AND EDUCATION. AND A TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL WILL REFLECT A COMBINATION OF LOCKE AND ROUSSEAU’S PHILOSOPHIES. Hypothesis

Objectives  Investigate the ideas of John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau  Identify common themes found between their philosophies  Compare and contrast common themes  Observe children, educators and the environment in a classroom  Analyze the collected information  Determine which theorist’s principles are dominant in contemporary education environments.

John Locke August 29, 1632 – October 28, 1704 A.K.A The Father of Learning Theory Primary Text: Some Thoughts Concerning Education & An Essay Concerning Human Understanding The Empiricist (Physician and Philosopher) At 14, he entered Westminster School. In 1652, he attended Christ Church, in Oxford where he received his B.A and M.A He never married and had no children. Thoughts on knowledge: derives from external world

Jean-Jacques Rousseau June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778 A.K.A The Father of Developmental Psychology Primary Text: Emile The Rationalist (Philosopher) He received no formal education past the age of 13. In 1732, he began to self-educate. He had one son, and possibly 4 other children, but he gave them all away. Thoughts on knowledge: derives from innate ideas and nature’s inner promptings.

Common Themes  Purpose of Education  Role of Child  Role of Educator  Educational Environment  Rewards and Punishments  Curiosity  Innate Ideas

Common ThemesJohn LockeJean-Jacques Rousseau Purpose of EducationSelf Control, Socializing Process, Formation of Character Personal Developmental Process, in accordance with biological timetable Role of ChildA blank slate for the educator to write on. His mind is impressionable. Learns in accordance with biological timetable, result of internal influences Role of EducatorDevelop their pupils’ natural capacities to their limit. Truthful, hands off, does not make any attempt to affect child’s decisions. Educational Environment Social settings where children learn by associations, repetition, and imitation. Here they gain experiences. Removal of child from society, child follows innate curiosity and desire to learn Rewards and Punishments Praise and flattery as rewards and disapproval as punishments. Children experience the natural consequences of his own acts or behavior CuriosityA child’s curiosity should be directed by education. A child’s natural curiosity should guide its educational process. Innate IdeasNo innate ideas, tabula rasa, ideas derive from experiences Knowledge derives from innate reason and ideas

Montessori School Public School The focus is on the child’s making the conscious decision to decide what subject they want to focus on. It is the focus of the child’s decision making and will power to pursue the activities he or she desires. During their math lesson, the students were learning in order to solve problems in everyday life. The lesson plan placed emphasis on connecting the activities to something in reality. Main goal: to be able to solve real life problems. Purpose of Education LOCKEROUSSEAU

Montessori School Public School When a child finished a project, he cleaned it up and chose a new project. The children are allowed to talk freely. The majority of the children work diligently. All extremely eager to answer questions. Use each other as a scaffold to learn. As time went on, interactions between the children became more social. The children were directing each other on how to sit around the carpet, to get into a circle. Children were often told to be quiet. One student was helper of the day. He/she would pass out papers and pencils. The children need some prompting from the teacher to start and complete their work. The children would assist the teacher in answering the warm- up questions. Role of Child LOCKE & ROUSSEAULOCKE

Montessori School Public School Teacher promoted children to work. Teacher called up two children at a time. She appeared to be giving them some sort of skill assessment. When the learning was directed by the teacher the group was much louder, as if they were trying to compete with each other to get to the right answer. Teacher leaves open ended questions yet directs them to the answer through visual tools and carefully stated questions. For the first minutes the teacher didn’t say much to the students, it seemed like they were rather independent. Teacher asked guiding questions. Teacher made sure the students stayed on track. Teacher was the center of focus as she went over the warm-up worksheet with the students. Teacher kept controlled pace of activities. “C’mon lets get started” Role of Educator LOCKE & ROUSSEAULOCKE

Educational Environment: Montessori

Educational Environment: Public School

Montessori School Public School Child centered room there is no front of the room the tables aren’t directed in any certain direction. Child treat environment well. Close doors to bathrooms, turn off lights and wash hands all without any prompting. Five stations some children are at the tables. Some children working on the floor. Everything is child size. The white board was the center, focus of the room. Chairs and desks were child sized. Desks were set up in groups of four. Every wall was covered with visual learning aids. There were lockers in the back of the classroom for students to keep their personal belongings. There was a reading loft and library. Different materials were placed throughout the classroom for the students to use at appropriate times. Educational Environment ROUSSEAU LOCKE

Montessori School Public School One boy said to another, “I like your work area!” He answered enthusiastically: “Thank you!” Teacher: “I’m impressed!” verbal affirmations Students were talking – teacher threated that if they continued to talk, they’d have to get back to work. Teacher made an announcement that everyone must get back to their seats, but the students didn’t listen, so she turned off the light to “warn” them. During a math game, who ever won received a piece of candy. If the children did something they weren’t suppose to, the teacher would put their name on the board. They competed for prizes. If they didn’t complete something, they would have to continue to work on it while others got to move on to more exciting activities. Rewards and Punishments LOCKE

Montessori School Public School The children were initially intrigued by our presences. They occasionally glanced at us but then immediately return to their activities. The teacher did not say anything to the students when they were obviously curious about us. One child asked if “Christopher learned capital letters?” to another child, because he has to learn “those things first” in order to learn his capital letters. One girl made rounds of the room, in order to see what others are doing. The children were curious about us, but the teachers told them to stop paying attention to us. They asked a lot of random questions that the teacher wouldn’t answer if they strayed from the topic. The teacher gave the children math manipulatives and allowed them to do what they wanted with them. Curiosity LOCKE & ROUSSEAUROUSSEAU

Montessori School Public School Winners LOCKE 6 Locke 1 Rousseau ROUSSEAU 5 Rousseau 3 Locke

A MONTESSORI SCHOOL WILL REFLECT ROUSSEAU’S PHILOSOPHY OF LEARNING AND EDUCATION. AND A TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL WILL REFLECT A COMBINATION OF LOCKE AND ROUSSEAU’S PHILOSOPHIES. Hypothesis

Rousseau (Nature) Locke (Nurture) Conclusion Our hypothesis was false. The Montessori school exhibited nearly an even number of Locke and Rousseau principles. Whereas the traditional public school was Locke dominant. Public School Montessori School

HOW DO CHILDREN CONDITIONED TO A CERTAIN ENVIRONMENT ACT IF THEY ARE PLACED IN A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT? IS ONE ENVIRONMENT BETTER THAN THE OTHER? DO PARENTS CHOOSE CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTS FOR THEIR CHILDREN ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS OF THE CHILD OR ACCORDING TO THEIR OWN PREFERENCE OF EDUCATIONAL METHOD? Further Questions to be Explored