Literature Review

  1. Context
  2. Designing Montessori
  3. Influences
  4. Educational Software
  5. Arguments Against
  6. Answers to Objections
  7. A Good Quote
  8. Bibliography
  9. Resources

Research

  1. Design Problem
  2. Literature Review
  3. Work Models
  4. Design Patterns
  5. Design Experiments
  6. Lesson Ideas
  7. Montessori Computes
  8. Thinking About Circles

Related Links

Patterns and Design

Montessori

A Good Quote

"Social science is replete with articles claiming discovery: a new idea has been developed or a new breakthrough made enticing us to dump existing ideas and follow this new one.  All too often we find that the breakthrough is another case of what Anderson et al. (1985) call (after Sorokin) the Christopher Columbus Complex: going to Disneyland and believing one has discovered America  The main causes of this complex are laziness and an inflated ego, making us believe that as part of the contemporary world we have a greater degree of insight and intellectual understanding of society.  As a consequence, the works of now dead, social theorists such as Sorokin go unread or are only understood through derivative sources.  Ideas by predecessors are therefore glibly criticized for what is perceived to be theri weak purchase on current issues or problems of the discipline.  As Anderson et al. point out: 'victims of such a complex tend to overestimate our contemporary achievements because they underestimate those of our predecessors, the tasks they faced and perhaps failed at, largely because victims of the complex have not tackled those tasks themselves' (1985:70)."

(Hart, 2003, p. 99)

Leone Learning Systems, Inc. (LLS) is a North Shore company that provides online courses for kids anywhere and local teaching and tutoring services for students in Chicago and the Northern Suburbs of Chicagoland. LLS also provides a free geometry software package for children age 6 and up, and free resources for teachers and parents. This site includes information about classes taught, availability for tutoring, learning activities for kids, lesson plans, and an ongoing software and curriculum research and development effort.