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What
is Montessori?
Montessori is an educational
philosophy developed by Dr. Maria Montessori. It was her belief
that all children have a natural desire to learn. Their abilities
to absorb information at certain sensitive periods of learning
are enhanced when a child is exposed to a variety of Montessori
learning materials. The opportunity for each child to grow and
develop as individuals is the main focus of a Montessori program.
Who
is Dr. Montessori?
"Our aim is not merely to make children understand,
and still less to force them to memorize, but so to touch their
imaginations as to enthuse them to their innermost core."
-
Dr. Maria Montessori
Dr. Maria Montessori, the
creator of what is called "The Montessori Method of
education", based this new education on her scientific
observations of young children's behaviour. As the first woman
physician to graduate from the University of Rome, Maria
Montessori became involved with education as a doctor treating
children labelled as mentally challenged. Then in 1907 she was
invited to open a care centre for the children of desperately
poor families in the San Lorenzo slums of Rome.
She called it a "Children's
House" and based the program on her observations that young
children learn best in a nurturing environment, filled with
developmentally appropriate materials that provide experiences
contributing to the growth of self-motivated, independent
learners.
Montessori's dynamic theories included such
revolutionary premises as:
Children are to
be respected as different from adults and as individuals who are
different from one another.
Children create
themselves through purposeful activity.
The most
important years for learning are from birth to age six.
Children possess unusual sensitivity and
mental powers for absorbing and learning from their environment,
which includes people as well as materials.
Why
Montessori?
The primary goal of a
Montessori program is to help each child reach full potential in
all areas of life. Activities promote the development of social
skills, emotional growth, and physical coordination as well as
cognitive preparation. The holistic curriculum, under the
direction of a specially prepared teacher, allows the child to
experience the joy of learning, time to enjoy the process and
ensure the development of self-esteem, and provide the
experiences from which children create their knowledge.
In order for self-directed
learning to take place, the whole learning environment - room,
materials, and social climate - must be supportive of the
learner. The teacher provides necessary resources, including
opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive
climate. The teacher thus gains the children's trust, which
enables them to try new things and build self-confidence.
Dr. Montessori's observations
of the kinds of things which children enjoy and go back to
repeatedly led her to design a number of multisensory,
sequential, and self-correcting materials which facilitate the
learning skills and lead to learning of abstract ideas by the
construction of knowledge.
Originally called a
"Directress", the Montessori teacher functions as
designer of the environment, resource person, role model,
demonstrator, record keeper, and meticulous observer of each
child's behaviour and growth. The teacher acts as a facilitator
of learning.
What
is the Montessori System?
Each Montessori class, from
toddlers through elementary, operates on the principle of freedom
within limits. Every program has its set of ground rules which
differ from age to age, but is always based on core Montessori
beliefs - respect for each other and for the environment.
Children are free to work at
their own pace with materials they have chosen, either alone or
with others. The teacher relies on his or her observations of the
children to determine which new activities and materials may be
introduced to an individual child or to a small or large group.
The aim is to encourage active, self-directed learning and to
strike a balance of individual mastery with small group
collaboration within the whole group community.
The multi-age grouping in each
class provides a family-like grouping where learning can take
place naturally. More experienced children share what they have
learned while reinforcing their own learning. Because this peer
group learning is intrinsic to Montessori, there is often more
conversation - language experiences - in the Montessori classroom
than in conventional early education settings.
How
is Learning Stimulated?
Creativity flourishes in an
atmosphere of acceptance and trust. Montessorians recognize that
children, from toddlers to teenagers, learn and express
themselves in a very individual way.
Music, art, storytelling,
movement, and drama are part of every Montessori program. But
there are other things particular to the Montessori environment
which encourages creative development: many materials which
stimulate interest and involvement; an emphasis on the sensory
aspect of experience; and the opportunity for both verbal and
nonverbal modes of learning.
How
to Differentiate?
Since Montessori is a word in the public domain,
it is possible for any individual or institution to claim to be
Montessori. An authentic Montessori classroom must have the
following basic characteristics at all levels:
Teachers educated
in the Montessori philosophy and the methodology for the age
level they are teaching, who have the ability and dedication to
put the key concepts into practice.
A partnership
established with the family. The family is considered an
integral part of the individual's total development.
A multi-aged,
multi-graded heterogeneous grouping of students.
A diverse set of
Montessori materials, activities, and experiences which are
designed to foster physical, intellectual, creative, social, and
personal independence.
A schedule which
allows large blocks of time to problem-solve, to see connections
in knowledge and to create new ideas.
A classroom atmosphere which encourages
social interaction for cooperative learning, peer teaching, and
emotional development.
What
is the Montessori Legacy?
Montessori children are
usually adaptive. They have learned to work independently and in
groups. Since they've been encouraged to make decisions from an
early age, these children are problem-solvers who can make
choices and manage their time well.
They have also been encouraged
to exchange ideas and to discuss their work freely with others,
and good communication skills ease the way in new settings.
Research has shown that the
best predictor of future success is a sense of self-esteem.
Montessori programs, based on self-directed, non-competitive
activities, help children develop good self-images and the
confidence to face challenges and change with optimism.
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