INTERPRETATION OF RESULTS OF THE STUDY

Behavioral Observations. According to the results of the narrative and BOSS time-sample observations, students from the traditional and Montessori classrooms demonstrated fairly consistent patterns of prevalence of on- and off-task behaviors, as evident in Table 4.2 and Figures 4.1, 4.2, and 4.3. In addition, results described in the narrative observations for each student indicated similar patterns of the prevalence of on- and off-task behaviors in both the Montessori and traditional classroom settings as well. Collectively, the observation data indicated that each group, overall, demonstrated more on-task behaviors than off-task behaviors in each observation.

The two groups of students, overall, demonstrate a similar pattern in terms of the prevalence of the on- and off-task behaviors coded according to Pearson’s (2013) BOSS User Guide. On-task behaviors, including both AET and PET, were observed at least 50% of the time in each of the time sample observations, with the exception of one, out of all 70 BOSS time-sample observations. This indicates that the students in both Montessori and traditional classes overall had a higher prevalence of on-task behaviors

40 60 40 0 20 40 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

Montessori Group Traditional Group Not Met Met Target Exceeded Target

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than off-task behaviors. The data indicates that the Montessori group presented a high prevalence of the actively engaged on-task behaviors, which were coded as AET. The data reported for the student observations in the traditional classroom setting, on the other hand, demonstrated a higher prevalence of the passively engaged on-task behaviors, which were coded as PET. These results appear to be consistent with the descriptions the teachers provided regarding the Montessori Method implementing more hands-on

activities and student-centered lessons than the more traditional method of instruction, which implements more teacher-directed and whole group lessons.

In regard to the prevalence of off-task behaviors in the Montessori setting versus the traditional classroom setting, off-task behaviors involving motor movement (OFT-M) were slightly more prevalent than OFT-M behaviors exhibited in the traditional

classroom setting. In addition, off-task behaviors involving verbalizations (OFT-V) were slightly more prevalent in the traditional classroom setting, as indicated in Figures 4.1 and 4.3, than the Montessori setting. No difference was observed in the prevalence of passively off-task behaviors, coded as OFT-P, in the Montessori versus the traditional classroom settings. Similar to the results of the on-task behavioral patterns, these results are consistent with the narrative observations and teacher reports of environmental and instructional differences, as the Montessori setting is described as allowing students more freedom and movement while the traditional setting is more structured, offering fewer opportunities for movement in the classroom aside from doing activities like small-group rotations.

The academic achievement data collected in the areas of reading comprehension, written expression, and math computation indicated higher achievement levels in the

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Montessori group. Overall, the majority of the students in the Montessori group sample met or exceeded grade level expectations in all three academic areas. The data reported for the math computation CBM (M-COMP) indicated that 60% of the students in the Montessori group met the grade level expectations for this set of skills, 20% exceeded the grade level expectations, and 20% did not meet the expectations. In addition, 80% of the students in this group met or exceeded grade level expectations for the reading

comprehension CBM (Maze). The data collected for the CBM measuring basic writing skills (CWS), 80% of the students in the Montessori group met grade level expectations.

In contrast, 60% of the students in the traditional group sample did not meet grade-level expectations in all three academic areas based on the CBM data collected. In the area of math computation, 40% of the students in the traditional classroom sample exceeded the grade level expectations for the skills assessed on the M-COMP CBM. Similarly, 40% of the students also exceeded the grade-level expectations, as

demonstrated by the data reported for the reading comprehension CBM (Maze), while 60% did not meet the grade level expectations. In the area of written expression, 40% of the students in the traditional classroom sample met expectations for basic writing skills. 4.6 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that minimal behavioral differences were prevalent in the Montessori classroom structure as opposed to the traditional classroom structure. All in all, students in each of the classroom structures demonstrated a higher prevalence of on-task behaviors than off-task behaviors across the time sample and narrative observations. The differences revealed by the observational data included that behaviors coded as active engagement (AET) were of the highest

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prevalence for students in the Montessori classroom structure whereas behaviors coded as passive engagement (PET) were of the highest prevalence for students in the traditional classroom structure. Off-task behaviors coded as involving motor activity (OFT-M) were most prevalent in terms of off-task behaviors for the students in the Montessori classroom environment. The most prevalent category of off-task behaviors evident in the behavioral observations of the students in the traditional classroom environment included OFT-V (e.g., unpermitted verbalizations).

In addition, the data collected to examine the potential differences in academic achievement in the traditional classroom structure as opposed to the Montessori classroom structure revealed some variation among the scores in the areas of reading comprehension, math computation, and written expression. The researcher considered factors that may have affected the academic achievement levels. These factors included that three of the five students in the Montessori group had been retained once and were reported as receiving additional academic support (e.g. special education services) at the time of the study as opposed to only one student having been retained in the traditional group. None of the students in the traditional group were reported as receiving additional academic support at the time of the study.

Although the achievement data collected through CBMs indicated that more students in the Montessori classroom structure met or exceeded grade-level expectations in all three academic areas than students in the traditional classroom structure, it is important to note that the mixed methods were used to examine information of potential academic achievement differences. Given the small sample size of the study, data gathered from the quantitative measures were not planned to be generalizable. The

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behavioral and academic achievement data that was collected to answer the research questions regarding potential differences in on- and off-task behaviors in two contrasting classroom structures as well as the examination of potential differences in levels of academic achievement are presented in Table 4.5 below.

Table 4.5

Behavior codes and achievement levels across participants

Student

Prevalence of On- and Off-Task Behavior Codes

Academic Achievement Met/Exceeded Target Receiving Additional Academic Services Classroom Rules Posted in Setting Classroom Behavior Management System Most Prevalent On-Task Most Prevalent Off-Task Writing (Y/N) Math (Y/N) Reading

(Y/N) Y/N Y/N Y/N

Montessori Group

Student A (M) AET OFT-P Y N Y Y Y N

Student B (M) AET OFT-M Y Y Y Y Y N

Student C (M) AET OFT-M Y Y N Y Y N

Student D (M) AET OFT-M N Y N N Y Y

Student E (M) AET OFT-V Y Y Y N Y Y

Traditional Group

Student A (T) AET OFT-V N N N N Y Y

Student B (T) AET OFT-P N Y N N Y Y

Student C (T) AET OFT-M N N Y N Y Y

Student D (T) PET OFT-P Y N N N Y Y

Student E (T) PET OFT-P Y Y Y N Y Y

Note: AET = Active Engaged Time; PET = Passive Engaged Time; OFT-M = Off-Task Motor; OFT-V = Off-Task Verbal; OFT- P = Off-Task Passive. Met/Exceeded Target = 15th_-45th_{> percentile; Y/N = Yes/No}

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CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS