| Emphasis on cognitive structures and social development. |
Emphasis on rote knowledge and social development. |
| Teacher's role is unobtrusive; child actively participates in learning. |
Teacher's role is dominant, active; child is a passive participant. |
| Environment and method encourage internal self-discipline. |
Teacher is primary enforcer of external discipline. |
| Individual and group instruction adapts to each student's learning style. |
Individual and group instruction conforms to the adult's teaching style. |
| Mixed age grouping. |
Same age grouping. |
| Children encouraged to teach, collaborate, and help each other. |
Most teaching done by teacher and collaboration is discouraged. |
| Child chooses work from interests, abilities. |
Curriculum structured with little regard for child's interests. |
| Child works as long as s/he wants on a chosen project. |
Child usually given specific time for work. |
| Child sets own learning pace to internalize information. |
Instruction pace set by group norm or teacher. |
| Child spots own errors through feedback from material. |
Errors corrected by teacher. |
| Learning is reinforced internally through child's own repetition of activity, internal feelings of success. |
Learning is reinforced externally by rewards, discouragement. |
| Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration development. |
Few materials for sensory, concrete manipulation. |
| Organized program for learning care and self-care of environment (shoe polishing, sink washing, etc). |
Little emphasis on instruction or on classroom maintenance. |
