Connections

The first similarity that I pick up on is between Dewey and Montessori. Montessori believed that children learn best through sensory experiences, I feel this is the same idea that Dewey had in students learning best in real life situations. They also have a similarity in the fact that Montessori believed that real tool work was best for children, Dewey in the same light believed that children learn best through lived experiences. I also saw connections between Dewey and Vygotsky through Vygotsky's thought of the zone of proximal development. The zone of proximal development between the most difficult task a child can do alone and the most difficult task a child can do with help. What the ZPD boils down to is truly challenging children in a learning environment. Dewey states something similar that I take as also challenging students. Dewey states that an experience is only educational if it helps students develop new skills, adds to their understanding of the world, and prepares them to live more fully. In my opinion you cannot have these without truly challenging the student. I found another similarity between Dewey and Montessori, both believe in observing students to really understand them. They believe that this observation assists them in figuring out who their students are and being able to cater their curriculum to their students.