Effectiveness Of Montessori's Materials In Developing The Cognitive Abilities for The Deaf And Hearing Preschoolers

Abstract

This research aimed to study the effect of using Montessori tools on some cognitive abilities of deaf and hard of hearing children, by using an experimental design, with 10 deaf children and 14 normal- hearing children enrolled in a public preschool in the city of Riyadh, between the age of four and five. The battery of cognitive abilities (perception, nonverbal thinking, Tangible relationships, spatial ability, and motor coordination) was used as a pre-post test to assess the children’s cognitive abilities, two experimental groups (one deaf and one normal hearing children), and two control groups (one deaf and one normal hearing children), both experimental groups used Montessori tools one hour daily for 12 weeks. Our results showed an overall better performance for both experimental groups in cognitive abilities, which indicates the positive effect of Montessori tools on cognitive abilities.