SiiTE26 presents STEAM-Montessori research

SiiTE26’s STEAM-Montessori presentation adds to a small but growing body of research on how early-years classrooms might combine child-led Montessori practice with STEAM learning in technology-rich settings. The presentation, “The best of both worlds: STEAM+Montesori,” was listed by the ARGET research group as a 2026 contribution by Erica Pamela Köchig in Tarragona, Spain. (edutec.es) SiiTE26 itself was held on February 13, 2026, at Rovira i Virgili University’s Sescelades Campus and was organized by the ARGET Research Group and the interuniversity doctoral program in educational technology. (edulab.es) The available public record does not show a full conference paper or abstract for the SiiTE26 presentation. (edutec.es) But a closely related 2025 systematic review by Köchig, Beatriz Lores-Gómez and Mireia Usart-Rodríguez offers the clearest published account of the research direction behind it. That review examined how STEAM education has been implemented through the Montessori method for children aged 3 to 6. ### What exactly was presented at SiiTE26? ARGEt’s 2026 communications page lists Köchig’s contribution as “The best of both worlds: STEAM+Montesori” at the Seminario Interuniversitario de Investigación en Tecnología Educativa, or SiiTE26, in Tarragona. (arget.recerca.urv.cat) The conference website says SiiTE26 was designed as a forum where doctoral researchers in educational technology could present work in progress and receive expert guidance. The conference program shows that doctoral contributions were presented in expert panels on February 13, 2026, in both in-person and online formats. The event was hosted by Rovira i Virgili University, with participation tied to the interuniversity doctoral program in educational technology that includes Rovira i Virgili University, the University of Lleida, the University of the Balearic Islands and the University of Murcia. (edulab.es) ### What does the published research say about STEAM and Montessori? The 2025 review by Köchig, Lores-Gómez and Usart-Rodríguez analyzed 11 studies published between 2006 and 2023 on STEAM through the Montessori method for children aged 3 to 6. (arget.recerca.urv.cat) The authors said the studies focused on pedagogy, curriculum, activities, teacher training and child development. The review found what the authors called “strong connections” between Montessori pedagogy and STEAM and reported positive effects on children’s learning and teachers’ professional growth. The paper also said future research should examine how Montessori-based training could support educational practice, especially in teachers’ action research and early-education STEAM integration. (edutec.es) ### How would that look inside a classroom? Montessori practice is built around hands-on materials, self-directed activity and the teacher as guide, while STEAM typically emphasizes interdisciplinary problem-solving, experimentation and design. The overlap described in the review suggests a classroom model in which children work through practical tasks and materials while teachers structure the environment and sequence learning challenges. (edulab.es) That is an inference from the published review and the presentation title, rather than a direct quotation from the SiiTE26 session. For early-childhood and primary settings, that could mean short teacher demonstrations followed by guided stations, material-based exploration and observation-led assessment. (edulab.es) The review itself does not prescribe a single classroom formula, but it identifies pedagogy, activities and teacher training as central themes in the existing literature. ### Who is behind the work? The published review identifies Erica Pamela Köchig as a doctoral researcher at Universitat Rovira i Virgili, with Beatriz Lores-Gómez of Universidad Jaume I and Mireia Usart-Rodríguez of Universitat Rovira i Virgili as co-authors. The SiiTE26 scientific committee page also lists Beatriz Lores and Mireia Usart among committee members, linking the presentation to the same academic network in Tarragona. (edulab.es) The conference’s next step, as described on the SiiTE26 site, was expert-panel feedback to doctoral presenters on work in progress. ARGET’s communications listing shows Köchig’s SiiTE26 presentation as part of its 2026 research output, while the published 2025 review remains the main public source setting out the evidence base behind the STEAM-Montessori line of work. (edulab.es) (edutec.es)