The Institute for Educational Studies:
Sampling of Graduate Projects
Through a Cosmos and Gaia lens, the Culminating Project (CP) is a written exploration that integrates all threads developed during an 18-month learning journey. It synthesizes each student’s Great Work or Cosmic Task created through their vision of self-designed emphasis areas. The learning itself is informed by books, documentaries, observations, and creativity exercises occurring during community dialogues.
Our students most often describe the TIES programs as transformative education. The writer’s evolution from their first paper to the final crafting of the CP in itself is a hero’s journey for our adult learners. Within this experience, the essence of Integrative Learning is realized.
A very recent graduate explains, “This program has provided me with the opportunity to deeply understand myself in ways that I could have never imagined. This profound exploration of self and purpose has rippled into every single part of my life, professionally and personally, and my journey has only just begun.”
Here is a sampling of CP titles from the past 25 years.
Featured Culminating Project:
Montessori and Reggio Together: Exploring Possibilities
By Kathryn Ross, TIES Faculty
Acknowledged by The American Montessori Society’s Master’s Thesis
An Ecogenesis for Education: A Context for Learning: Perceiving Systemic Patterns in the Design and Creation of Learning Communities

An Ecogenesis for Education: A Context for Learning: Perceiving Systemic Patterns in the Design and Creation of Learning Communities
Marsha Snow Morgan | New Zealand
Autopoiesis: Understanding The Journey of a Montessori Teacher

Autopoiesis: Understanding The Journey of a Montessori Teacher
Patricia Qureshi | New York, USA
Building Sacred Leadership: Integrating Human Values and Ecology in Education

Building Sacred Leadership: Integrating Human Values and Ecology in Education
Tejendra Pherali | Nepal
Contributing Factors to College Failure: A Review of Executive Dysfunction

Contributing Factors to College Failure: A Review of Executive Dysfunction
Sara Crowther | Vermont, USA
Cosmo-ecological Theology: Science, Faith, Art and Montessori Education

Cosmo-ecological Theology: Science, Faith, Art and Montessori Education
Maria Aguelles | Canada
Cosmological Stories: Montessori Cosmic Education

Cultivating Eco-centric Culture through Montessori Elementary Education

Cultivating Eco-centric Culture through Montessori Elementary Education
April Smith | Vermont, USA
Cycles of Healing: A Personal Journey Integrating Art Therapy in a Montessori Learning Environment

Cycles of Healing: A Personal Journey Integrating Art Therapy in a Montessori Learning Environment
Amy Fujimoto | Washington, USA
Developing Ecological Consciousness in a Boston Public School

Developing Ecological Consciousness in a Boston Public School
Joseph Karr | Massachusetts, USA
Ecological Development in a Small French Village

Ecological Development in a Small French Village
Laurie Valayer | France
Exploring Ways of Integrating Montessori Pedagogy into the Indonesian Education System

Exploring Ways of Integrating Montessori Pedagogy into the Indonesian Education System
Carol Engmann | Indonesia
Familiar Places and Inner Spaces: Integrative Learning in Context

Familiar Places and Inner Spaces: Integrative Learning in Context
Nerys Loveridge | United Arab Emirates
From Hydrogen Atoms to Humans: Connecting the Dots to Adolescents and the Montessori Secondary Classroom

From Hydrogen Atoms to Humans: Connecting the Dots to Adolescents and the Montessori Secondary Classroom
Paula Dean | Florida, USA
Holistic Learning and Evaluation in Multi-Cultural Environments

Holistic Learning and Evaluation in Multi-Cultural Environments
Peter Fowles | Mongolia
In a Mind’s Eye: The Nature of Creativity

Inspiration from Reggio Emilia

Language Immersion in Montessori Education

Language Immersion in Montessori Education
Kiyo Matsumoto | Alaska, USA
Leadership as an Integrated Montessori System: How Montessori Principles and System Thinking can Inform and Strengthen School Leadership

Leadership as an Integrated Montessori System: How Montessori Principles and System Thinking can Inform and Strengthen School Leadership
Pherooz Kerani | Czech Republic
Learning Communities as Living Communities: Leading Through a Natural Model

Learning Communities as Living Communities: Leading Through a Natural Model
Melissa Brooks | Washington, USA
Montessori and Reggio Together: Exploring Possibilities

Montessori and Reggio Together: Exploring Possibilities
Kathryn Ross | Colorado, USA
Montessori: The Significance of Stories on a Journey to Self-Awareness

Montessori: The Significance of Stories on a Journey to Self-Awareness
Suzanne Russell | New Zealand
Musicians as Peacemakers

Musicians as Peacemakers
Luwana Tunnel | South Carolina, USA
Self-Transcendence and the Cosmic Task: An Exploration of the Primal Paradox through the Consilience of Neurophenomenology

Self-Transcendence and the Cosmic Task: An Exploration of the Primal Paradox through the Consilience of Neurophenomenology
Huck Ford | Ohio, USA
Spiritual Ecology: An Exploration of Self interwoven in a Multidimensional Energetic Landscape

Spiritual Ecology: An Exploration of Self interwoven in a Multidimensional Energetic Landscape
Jennifer Mathews | Maine, USA
Stories and Unconditioning: A Milieu for Spiritual Preparation of the Child and the Educator

Stories and Unconditioning: A Milieu for Spiritual Preparation of the Child and the Educator
Aarthi Nandakumar | Indonesia
The Joyous Observer: Montessori, Parent Education, and Human Development

The Joyous Observer: Montessori, Parent Education, and Human Development
Mary Caroline Parker | Texas, USA
The New Science, Ecology, and Montessori Elementary Education

The New Science, Ecology, and Montessori Elementary Education
Cornelia Holten | New Zealand
The Wild Cosmic Dance: Explorations in Spirituality, Creativity and Intimacy

The Wild Cosmic Dance: Explorations in Spirituality, Creativity and Intimacy
Sarah Denae | Oregon, USA
Transformation and the Environmental Crisis: A Case for a Holistic/Transformative Approach

Transformation and the Environmental Crisis: A Case for a Holistic/ Transformative Approach
David Ketter | Washignton, USA