Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius

Montessori contains some of the longest-lived and still most-innovative theories about pedagogy in sight, and it is still startling teachers in its efficiency and efficacy. Lillard (psychology, U. of Virginia at Charlottesville) notes she was once a skeptic, but was converted after observing how poorly the two current theories in American (the factory and the student as blank state) have served learners. She finds here that science is just now catching up with Dr. Montessori's notions about how …