Comparing Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Nature-based Pedagogy

Have you ever wondered about the differences between Montessori, Reggio Emilia, and Nature-based pedagogy in early childhood education?

Although I had studied these well-known methods in varying depth, nothing compares to hearing directly from three educators on a panel, weaving the threads and differences between them.

Before we dive in, take a moment to reflect on what you believe about these two questions, as it relates to early childhood:

• Do you think that learning should be more child-led or adult-directed, or something different like "nature-led"?

• How structured versus free-flowering should learning be?

Each of these pedagogical approaches sit on a continuum between these ideas, and where they sit informs the shape and structure of the classroom and learning day.

The Big Idea: Intentional Practice Around Who (Or What) Drives Learning

Montessori: Structured Independence

If you were to walk into a Montessori classroom, the environment appears quiet and focused—often misunderstood as rigid—when in fact it's intentionally designed to support deep, self-guided concentration and honor individual readiness.

Montessori creates a carefully curated environment with clear curricular goals across four main areas: practical life, language, mathematics, and sensorial development.

Children work independently with materials that require teacher introduction, fostering autonomy within a thoughtfully structured framework.

The day follows predictable work cycles where children choose their activities and work uninterrupted for extended periods, flowing between individual work time, group lessons, and practical life activities like preparing snacks or caring for the environment.

What draws me to this pedagogy is how ahead of her time Maria Montessori was. Maria believed deeply in the child's internal capacity for learning—and that allowing the child’s innate love of learning to unfold was of upmost importance.

Reggio Emilia: Emergent Co-Learning

Step into a Reggio Emilia classroom and you'll find an intentionally messy and resource-rich environment that can appear chaotic to the untrained eye.

Children decide when to eat and what to engage with, guided into deeper project-based learning based on their interests.

Teachers act as co-learners and researchers alongside children. ’Provocations’—carefully planned experiences designed to provoke thinking—emerge from children's interests.

The day might begin with a morning meeting, flow into project work, and include extended periods for exploration and documentation.

Like Montessori, Reggio supports autonomy and independence, but with a more flexible and emergent structure that responds to each child's unique developmental trajectory.

Nature-Based Education: Learning Through the Elements

There was a palpable murmur of confusion in the audience when Morgan Crowley from the Boston Outdoor Preschool Network shared that her program operates entirely outdoors, even in harsh Boston winters, with children walking, exploring, and learning in all weather conditions.

There were a barrage of questions: how can four-year-olds be out in the cold and snow all day? What do you do for nap-time? What if it rains?

Her response to all of these was both patient and pointed: “it's can be difficult to understand an outdoor based program for individuals who may be less comfortable in outdoor settings."

She explained that in her classroom, children gather for morning meetings, engage in free exploration, participate in guided nature investigations, and develop resilience through experiencing all types of weather.

Tarps and blankets are used for warmth and dry seating. The teacher pulls a cart around with classroom materials and extra outdoor wear for the kids if needed.

This model, often misunderstood as unsafe or unstructured, actually nurtures joy and a love of the outdoors, comfort with discomfort, and embodied learning through play.

In its first year of operation with 20 students in a unique partnership with the local zoo, I loved learning that this was a public preschool, with a focus on providing equitable access to nature-based education to all children regardless of their ability to pay.

What are common misconceptions of each pedagogy?

Montessori is often perceived as rigid or overly structured, when in reality it provides freedom within carefully prepared boundaries that support deep concentration and self-direction.

Reggio Emilia might seem chaotic or lacking academic rigor, yet its emergent curriculum is deeply intentional, building complex thinking through project-based exploration.

Nature-based education faces perhaps the strongest misconceptions about safety and academic standards. Yet research shows these programs not only meet traditional academic benchmarks but excel in developing resilience, creativity, and environmental stewardship.

My Insights: The Power of Intentional Materials

I am drawn to elements of each of these pedagogical approaches, and I am so curious as to what resonates with you?

Through my studies of Indigenous pedagogy, I've come to understand that nature is a profoundly powerful pedagogical partner.

In Indigenous scholar Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s book “Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back”, she shares a Nishnaabeg (Anishinaabe) story about a young child called Binoojiinh and her learning journey.

In the story, Binoojiinh is collecting firewood, when she notices a bird above her in the branches, tapping and sucking, tapping and sucking, on the trunk of a tree.

So Binoojiinh decides to imitate the bird, and is surprised by a delicious syrupy sweetness. They make a hole in the tree and brings some back to their community.

Their elders—mom, aunties and all—follow them into the woods, and celebrate their sweet discovery! And the community have had maple syrup ever since.

This story is central to Simpson’s concept of “coming to know”—a pedagogical process rooted in land-based learning.

This pedagogy emphasizes the noticing and learning from nature as a reciprocal process, and intergenerational relationships that respect children’s autonomy in their own learning.

It resists the Western model of education where knowledge is transferred from teacher to student in linear, decontextualized ways.

Indigenous pedagogy emphasizes agency, observation, and reciprocity with the land as teacher.

Principles of Practice:

What might we draw from these pedagogical models, that can transfer to a variety of contexts, from classrooms to tech to policy?:

1. Design for Deep Engagement: Montessori's emphasis on concentration teaches us to protect children's focus. This means fewer transitions, longer work periods, and environments that support sustained attention.

2. Document and Reflect Together: All three approaches value making learning visible—through photos, conversations, or displays that help children reflect on their experiences and extend their thinking.

3. Trust the Process: Perhaps most importantly, these pedagogies require faith that children will learn what they need when they're ready. This challenges our adult impulse to rush or force outcomes.

The question isn't which approach is "best," but rather how we can learn from each to create more responsive, joyful, and meaningful learning experiences for all children.

I'm reminded that the most powerful learning happens when we see children not as empty vessels to be filled, but as miraculous beings with wisdom to share.

References

• From a panel held at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Early Childhood Proseminar, with these 3 panelists:

  • Maria Casas, HGSE, Campus Child Care

  • Marion Geiger, Capucine Montessori

  • Morgan Crowley, Lead Teacher, Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

• Maria Montessouri, The Absorbent Mind

• Creative Common’s Version of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s story of Binoojiinh (in this version called ‘Kwezens’)

• Boston Outdoor Preschool Network

Further Exploration

Outdoor classes and ‘forest schools’ gain new prominence amid distance learning struggles

Last Child In The Woods: Saving our children from nature-deficit disorder by Richard Louv

Nature Pedagogy: A common thread connecting nature-based settings worldwide

Montessouri: The Science Behind The Genius, by Angeline Stoll Lillard (openly available as a pdf from Oxford University Press)

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