Dr. Maria Montessori was was the first woman in Italy to receive a medical degree. She worked in the fields of psychiatry, education and anthropology. She was deeply interested in child development and educational theory. She based her theories of child education on many years of close observation of children. The first Montessori classroom opened nearly a century ago. Since then, Montessori education has become well established throughout the world. The Montessori Method fosters independent, self-motivated and goal-directed children with a life-long love of learning. It is based on strong respect for the child and Maria Montessori is regarded as one of the pioneers of early childhood education.
Montessori education is a balanced program that addresses all aspects of a child’s development: intellectual, social, moral, physical and aesthetic. Montessori education is highly individualised, which is why it works so well for such a wide variety of children; from typical or gifted learners, through to children with learning disabilities.
SOME KEY STATEMENTS THAT COULD BE SAID OF A MONTESSORI CLASSROOM
The teacher-pupil ratio is about 1 to 10.
The teacher has an unobtrusive role in the classroom.
The environment and method encourage self-discipline.
The instruction is mainly individual one-to-one.
There is a mixed-age grouping which encourages children to teach and help each other.
The children choose their own work and set their own learning pace.
The child discovers concepts from self-teaching materials and is allowed to work as long as she/he wishes on a chosen project.
The child discovers errors from the materials, which are self-correcting.
The teacher recognises each child’s “sensitive” periods. (see below for further information)
The child can work where she/he chooses, move around and talk at will, yet is shown how to also respect others working and not disturb them.
Multi-sensory materials for physical exploration are available.
The child reinforces his/her own learning by repetition of work and internal feelings of success, following logical progression of skills so as to nurture a love of learning.
The Montessori materials are key to the Montessori approach to education. They are different from traditional “teaching aids” because their purpose is to give the child the chance to discover and learn for him-or herself (rather than being told what he/she should know). The materials are “self-correcting” which means that the child can use them and learn from them without constantly checking back in with the teacher to see if they “got it right”. Exploring the materials (learning how to learn) is as important as “getting the answer right”.
The materials are designed so that children can learn academic subjects (like math, for example, or geography or writing) in a concrete or physical way, before progressing to an abstract understanding. This has many benefits:
1) Children can grasp concepts concretely before they could get them abstractly, so they progress more quickly;
2) Children enjoy working with the materials, so they associate learning with pleasure;
3) When children are ready to move onto more abstract thinking, they have a solid base of understanding on which to build. Experiencing things in a physical sense prior to abstract prevents children simply memorising and reciting without true understanding.
It is because the Montessori materials are self-correcting that the children can progress at their own rate. No child is held back while the whole class learns something that that one child already understands. And no child suffers through a group lesson that is way above their head. Children are excited, motivated, interested. Self-esteem is high.
In a true Montessori school you will find independent children who are encouraged not only to do things for themselves but also to think for themselves. You will find children who have learnt how to explore and solve problems for themselves. Most importantly you will see small children who are often perceived as only being aware of their own needs helping each other and who, without being asked to, will put things away and perform acts of kindness purely to benefit the group as a whole. No rewards such as sticker charts or merit certificates are required (in fact they are actively avoided) motivation is intrinsic.
Competitions that involve individuals winning or losing are not encouraged; instead the focus is co-operation and teamwork. Turn taking fairly of communal equipment is promoted from a young age using a range of egg timers.
Maria Montessori observed that children under six absorb limitlessly and effortlessly from the world around them and in so doing lay down all the foundations for later life - they become adults with all the characteristics and language of the culture into which they have been born simply by living. In this huge task, however, they have some help. They have a special kind of mind that she called an absorbent mind - a strong desire to explore everything around them using their senses and a drive to become independent. She identified certain windows of opportunity for the child that she called ’sensitive periods’ during which the child is irresistibly drawn to the things he needs to help him develop his full human potential.
Everything in the classroom is designed to support these windows of opportunity. The Montessori ‘nursery school’ is called the Children’s House because everything in it is designed to allow the child to become independent - the materials are child sized and the equipment is laid out in an orderly fashion on low shelves that are easily accessible for the children.
The equipment is aesthetically pleasing and is meticulously cared for (and handled with respect) which encourages the children to take care of it too. Children between the ages of 3 and 6 are grouped together in their own mini society. The younger children learn from watching the older children and the older ones benefit by helping the younger children. The mixed age group allows the children to develop socially, intellectually and emotionally - it is an essential part of any Montessori school.
Within this mini society everyone is responsible for maintaining the environment, not just adults. Mealtimes are like a family gathering and everyone works together to lay tables, wash plates, wipe up etc including those as young as 18 months. Adults sit with the children to eat and role model appropriate table manners; food is passed round for the children to serve themselves. Similarly if a child wishes to paint for example, they will take a cover to protect the table and when finished wipe up any mess, wash the brushes and return the equipment ready for the next person to use.
A snack table is always open for the children to use when there is an appropriate break in their work (rather than a fixed “snack time” when children have to join regardless of what they are doing). The children replenish supplies and wash their plate/glass after use before retuning it to the table ready for the next child.
Practical life
Gives the children the opportunity to practise the skills of everyday and also helps them to develop concentration and develop co-ordination of mind and body. Such activities include pouring, sweeping, polishing, brushing and tying, as well as grace and courtesy. Children and directors role play social situations, and play games that practice appropriate language (eg excuse me, please could you pass the…)
Sensorial
Sensorial materials capitalise on the fact that children use their senses to learn. They are encouraged to order and classify the physical properties of the world they live in. specific materials that help the child refine his or her experience of sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. In addition, the materials of this section are modeled on scientifically-based concepts, such as metric system dimensions or algebraic formulas. Sensory experience with materials such as these are the child’s first step toward understanding the abstract concepts they represent.
Mathematics
Specialised materials enable children to learn and really understand mathematical concepts because they are presented using concrete materials. Mathematics in the Montessori classroom can be separated into a few major categories: beginning counting, advanced counting, the decimal system, rational numbers (fractions), and the operations of addition, multiplication, subtraction and division. Concepts are presented in a very concrete way so that children 3-6 are not only able to count, but skip count, square numbers and work with numbers in the thousands. Only once the child has a firm foundation in the operations of addition, multiplication, subtraction and division, is memorisation of facts is introduced.
Language
Montessori language curriculum is an integrated approach that combines phonetics and whole language. The child is first introduced to letters and sounds. After several sounds are mastered, he can begin to encode (spell) and decode (read) words by linking these sounds together. Words that do not follow the patterns or rules of the English language are presented as sight words. the child is guided through a series of excercises that develop the skills required for reading and writing; such as finger strength and knowledge of phonetic alphabet. Initially letters are formed in sand or the air until adequate control has developed to write.
Geography, history, culture, biology, botany, zoology, art and music also are covered with a hands-on approach that is based on the fact that children learn most effectively from their own experiences.
Many Montessoris will include nature tables, plants, animals (children are taught how to care for them to encourage development of a sense of responsibility) as well as cooking and baking sessions (which incorporate fractions, measurements, weighing etc)
In a Montessori school you will see children choosing their activities independently and moving from one activity to the next - always returning things to the shelf after they have used them. You will experience an atmosphere of natural calm and see young children concentrating for surprising periods of time - not because they are forced to, but because they choose to. Children work individually, in a group or with a friend. The morning should last for a minimum of three hours - three hours in which there is no fixed ‘timetable’. Groups arise spontaneously rather than at a fixed time every day - if some want to bake they can do so, whilst others can choose to play out whilst another group can select other activities. Maria Montessori observed that this unfettered period of time was essential for the children to develop the kind of concentration that you see when a child becomes involved with something that is essential for his development. There are no time limits for the child - he may work with whatever he chooses for as long as he likes and as his workspace is defined he can be sure nobody will disturb his work/remove the materials. As part of grace and courtesy, children are shown how to respect the work of others. They are shown how to ask if they can watch or join in - so the original child can choose whether they wish to work alone or share, and be confident if he declines his work will not be disturbed.
Unlike mainstream schools, there are no set “playing out times”. Instead children are taken out either in smaller or larger groups when a break occurs naturally within their work cycle (or when some are ready to burn off some physical energy!) whilst others still working are free to continue.
Generally those attending Montessori spend longer periods outdoors than their mainstream peers - as everyone takes responsibility for their surroundings; children are involved with maintaining school gardens, planting and growing flowers and often fruit/veg. Some Montessori’s have a nature trail to allow exploration of wildlife first hand.
In a Montessori school the child is guided by a trained adult who will show him how to do the things that he is ready for (by demonstrating), after which he can work with them independently. The adult observes the child and will not interfere so long as the child is working with the material productively.
When a difficulty arises she is able to step in and give help but is always careful never to give more help than is needed. Each child’s individual needs are assessed through observation so that he is shown new things when he is developmentally ready and new knowledge is always built on what he already knows.
The ‘directress’ is not teaching the child she is putting him in charge of his own learning through his own exploration. This may seem a subtle distinction but it is a key part of the Montessori approach. He/she constantly role models the behaviour they would like the children to demonstrate, from how to handle equipment to speaking/socialising with others.
Some people believe that because Montessori nurtures life skills and emotional/psychological development as well as academic development, “academic results” must suffer compared to mainstream/Independent education. In fact the converse is true; OFSTED themselves state Montessori leads to better outcome and research supports this claim.
One example was a study undertaken by Virginia University psychology professor Dr Angline LiIlard and former Wisconsin University graduate student Dr Nicole Else-Quest. They compared the outcomes of children at a public inner-city Montessori school with children at traditional schools and found Montessori educated children had better social and academic skills.
“We found significant advantages for the Montessori students in these tests for both age groups,”
Lillard said.
“Particularly remarkable are the positive social effects of Montessori education. Typically the home environment overwhelms all other influences in that area.”
Among the 5-year-olds, Montessori students proved to be significantly better prepared for primary school in reading and maths skills than the non-Montessori children. They also tested better on “executive function”, the ability to adapt to changing and more complex problems; an indicator of future school and life success.
Montessori children also displayed better abilities on the social and behavioural tests, demonstrating a greater sense of justice and fairness. And on the playground they were much more likely to engage in emotionally positive play with peers, and less likely to engage in rough play.
Among the 12-year-olds from both groups, the Montessori children, in cognitive and academic measures, produced essays that were rated as “significantly more creative” and using “significantly more sophisticated sentence structures”. The Montessori and non-Montessori students scored similarly on spelling, punctuation and grammar. This parity occurred despite the Montessori children not being regularly tested and graded.
There are now moves within the UK to adopt more Montessori techniques into mainstream education. A pilot scheme within several deprived inner city London schools has demonstrated startling results, improving behaviour and academic outcome; regardless of social background. In Essex one School which has implemented Montessori philosophies had a dramatic effect on the behaviour of pupils within a very short space of time.
(http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article1290561.ece)
Emotional and social development is nurtured as part of the Montessori curriculum. Montessori establishments do not support “punishment practice” such as naughty steps/corners or “time outs”. An example of a standard Montessori discipline policy is outlined below (always ask to see the individual policy of each school)
Inappropriate behaviour is defined as:
Aggression (physical)
e.g:- pushing and shoving of other children biting and pinching or pulling hair etc.
Aggression (verbal)
e.g:- name calling, shouting and screaming at others and generally saying unkind or scary things.
Disruption
Continuous disruption of the class by interruption of work, snatching things from others.
1. Comfort and talk to all children concerned, both instigators and recipients of disruption whatever it may be. Work towards solution by discussing the inappropriate nature of such behaviour and highlighting awareness of how his/her actions affect others and promoting consideration. For many situations this is all that is required.
Consideration is given to the whole situation, ie was there provocation or was the child poorly or upset due to such things as a house move, a new baby, problems at home etc
2. For a more persistently disruptive child; a directress may find something different and particularly interesting for the child to do at a table on his/her own - so that positive constructive activities help to calm and focus the child (who will be feeling bad about his/her behaviour) This special work alone is not in a separate place, the child is still within the normal class group doing something interesting by his/her self until ready and able to join in with the other children in the usual way.
The child is told clearly that he/she may come back and work with the rest of the group as soon as he/she feels able to obey the simple rules of courtesy and consideration of others, not hurting anyone and not interrupting anyone’s work or disrupting by being destructive. Staff will discuss with parents any actions taken and keep written observations on a day by day basis so that both parties can work together towards a solution
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May 3rd, 2008
