The Montessori method is a child-centered, alternative educational method based on the child development theories originated by Italian educator Maria Montessori (1870–1952) in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Primarily applied in preschool and primary (elementary) school settings (and occasionally in infant, toddler, middle school, and high school), its method of education is characterised by emphasising self-directed activity on the part of the child, and clinical observation on the part of the teacher (often called a director , directress , guide ) — to stress the importance of adapting the child’s learning environment to his or her development level, and the role of physical activity in the child’s absorbing abstract concepts and learning practical skills. Auto-didactic (self-correcting) equipment is used for introducing and learning concepts, and reading is taught via phonics and whole language, the comparative benefits of which are presently being recognised.
The Montessori name is famous, but not a trademark, and it is associated with more than one organization. There are schools “influenced by Montessori” bearing little resemblance, and which have received substantive criticism from schools with a closer lineage to Montessori’s work. This article is about Dr. Maria Montessori’s work, that of her colleagues and successors.
History
Dr. Maria Montessori developed what came to be called the Montessori Method as an outgrowth of her post-graduate research into the intellectual development of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Building on the work of French physicians Jean Itard and Edouard Seguin, she developed an environment for the scientific study of children with physical and mental disabilities. After succeeding in treating these children, she began to study the application of her techniques to the education of children without intellectual or developmental disabilities.
By 1906, Montessori was well enough known that she was asked to head a day-care center in Rome’s poor San Lorenzo district. She used the opportunity to observe the children's interactions with sensorial materials (developed to appeal to the senses), refining them, and developing new materials with which the children could work. This self-directed, interactive, materials-centered approach, where the teacher mainly observes while the children select objects specifically designed to impart conceptual frameworks and skills, is a hallmark of Montessori method education. The book "The Montessori Way" by Tim Seldin and Paul Eppstein describes this idea as follows:
Montessori teachers observe children's exploratory patterns of behavior with an implication of trust and respect. Teachers trust that a child will "know" and pursue what she or he most needs in order to become an adult.
Her initial work focused upon children of pre-school age. After observing developmental changes in children commencing elementary school, and recognizing that children’s cognitive (thought) processes are inherently different from those of adults, Montessori and her son, Mario, began a new course of research to adapt her approach to elementary-school children.
Philosophy
Introduction: the methodology in practice
With the 1907 opening of Dr. Montessori’s first school in Rome, her surname — Montessori — became associated with schools applying her educational approach and educational materials in schooling tailored to children’s developmental needs. World-wide, many schools implement the Montessori method for educating students in a wide range of ages, about which Dr. Maria Montessori stated:
One distinguishing feature of the Montessori method, at the pre-school age, is that children direct their own learning, choosing among the sections of a well-structured and stocked classroom, the curriculum including Practical Life (materials that help with practical and often daily activities, which include the refinement of fine and gross motor skills), Sensorial (senses and brain), Language , Mathematics , Geography , Science , and Art . The teacher’s role is to introduce children to materials, and then remain a “silent presence” in the classroom. Montessori schools pride themselves on seeing and meeting the student’s personality and intellectual needs, rather than viewing them as part of a classroom process. The students are encouraged to teach and to help each other.
Concepts
The Montessori educational philosophy is built upon the idea that children develop and think differently from adults; that they are not merely “adults in small bodies”. Dr. Montessori advocated children's rights, children working to develop themselves into adults, and that these developments would lead to world peace.
The Montessori method discourages many of the traditional measurements of achievement (grades, tests). The method instead focuses on sparking a child's interest in learning through presenting materials to students that will catch their interest. The Montessori Method does measure feedback and qualitative analysis of a child’s schooling performance. The analysis does not come from grades, but from careful observation of the child. According to Lillard:
Montessori teachers do evaluate children's progress: when giving lessons, through ongoing observations in the classroom, by examining the products of their work, and by going over the Work Journal. It is simply not often obvious to children that they are being evaluated, since they are not given grades, praise, or other tokens of evaluation.
There are many ways to present these observations to parents and there is no standard way to do it. It is often recorded as a list of skills , activities , and critical points , and sometimes including a narrative explanation of the child’s educational achievements, strengths, and weaknesses — with the emphasis upon the improvement of said weaknesses.
Premises
The premises of a Montessori approach to teaching and learning include the following:
- That children are capable of self-directed learning.
- That it is critically important for the teacher to be an "observer" of the child instead of a lecturer. This observation of the child interacting with his or her environment is the basis for the continuing presentation of new material and avenues of learning. Presentation of subsequent exercises for skill development and information accumulation are based on the teacher's observation that the child has mastered the current exercise(s).
- That there are numerous "sensitive periods" of development (periods of a few weeks or even months), during which a child's mind is particularly open to learning specific skills or knowledge such as crawling, sitting, walking, talking, reading, counting, and various levels of social interaction. These skills are learned effortlessly and joyfully. Learning one of these skills outside of its corresponding sensitive period is certainly possible, but can be difficult and frustrating.
- That children have an "absorbent mind" from birth to around age 6, possessing limitless motivation to achieve competence within their environment and to perfect skills and understandings. This phenomenon is characterized by the young child's capacity for repetition of activities within sensitive period categories, such as exhaustive babbling as language practice leading to language competence.
- That children are masters of their school room environment, which has been specifically prepared for them to be academic, comfortable, and to encourage independence by giving them the tools and responsibility to manage its upkeep.
- That children learn through discovery, so didactic materials with a control for error are used. Through the use of these materials, which are specific to Montessori schools (sets of letters, blocks and science experiments) children learn to correct their own mistakes instead of relying on a teacher to give them the correct answer.
- That children most often learn alone during periods of intense concentration. During these self-chosen and spontaneous periods, the child is not to be interrupted by the teacher.
- That the hand is intimately connected to the developing brain in children. Children must actually touch the shapes, letters, temperatures, etc. they are learning about—not just watch a teacher or TV screen tell them about these discoveries.
Implementation
Montessori is a hands-on approach to learning. It encourages children to develop their observation skills by doing many types of activities. These activities include use of the five senses, kinetic movement, spatial refinement, small and gross motor skill coordination, and concrete knowledge that leads to later abstraction.
Classrooms
Montessori classrooms provide an atmosphere that is pleasant and attractive, to allow children to learn at their own pace and interact with others in a natural and peaceful environment. In the ideal classroom, children would have unfettered access to the outdoors, but this frequently is impossible, given modern-day limited space and cost considerations. In response, Montessori teachers stock their classrooms with nature shelves, living plants, and
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