Creating a Scale for Observing Concentration in Classrooms Through a Montessori Perspective

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: Montessori Education SIG Poster Session

Abstract

In a Montessori classroom, teachers evaluate how engaged children are in their work and choose what students to give lessons to by assessing students’ level of concentration. Concentration is thus a critical component of Montessori environments, but little research has looked at how to assess concentration in classrooms empirically. In this paper, we create a seven item scale for assessing concentration and look at the psychometrics of this scale. We use a generalized partial credit model, which analyzes the scale on an item-by-item basis, returning an estimate of what level of concentration each item most accurately assesses. Results indicate the scale fits the model well and that the scale best assesses lower levels of concentration.

Authors

• Ian Becker, University of Virginia

• Angeline S Lillard, University of Virginia