Maria Montessori Education

History of Montessori

Montessori schools were developed in Europe by Italian physician and educator Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) and they still hold her name until this day.

Maria Montessori was the first woman in Italy to graduate in medicine from the University of Rome in 1896, it was here that she was chosen to be the assistant doctor at the psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome. In working with children who were intellectually disabled she observed that they responded well to sensory rich environments and learned best when engaged in purposeful activities.

It was in 1907 that Maria Montessori opened the first preschool Casa dei Bambini (“Children’s House”) for children aged three to six of “normal” intelligence located in the slum district of San Lorenzo, Rome.  Her new methods of teaching, such as using materials designed to appeal to the senses and the creating of learning games and activities.

It was in 1914, that she published a book on her teaching methods and philosophies that communicated her strategies to “guide children in learning rather than lecture them from a book.” Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Montessori-schools This was the beginning for the Montessori method of education, “the freedom of movement and choice for students.”.

Currently, the influence of Montessori schools is seen all over the world, both in public and private school systems with the greatest influence being in early childhood education.

The Montessori educational system, which still bears her name, is based on the” belief in the creative potential of children, their drive to learn, and the right each child to be treated as an individual. “Retrieved fromhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Montessori-schools

Philosophy

Her focus of education was on independence and respect for the child. In her observation of children, she noticed their ability for repetition of activities that matched their development and interests.  “She saw that children needed hands -on learning in a carefully planned environment.” (Miller. 2016. p. 28)

“Montessori’s ideas about the importance of the young child’s absorbent mind, internal motivation, respectful teacher role, and sensitive periods for learning have been profoundly influential to mainstream early childhood education.” (Miller, 2016. p.8)

Key Features

• Respect for the child – it allows children choices thus preparing them to become independent learners. Children discover the world around them through hands on approach rather than having information being given to them from “above” promoting an enthusiasm and curiosity for learning.
• The Absorbent Mind – every day in a child’s life they are naturally active in the process of constant learning. What the child learns greatly depends on the information and experiences the child encounters. The Montessori Method allows “free exploration and learning in uninterrupted blocks of time, in order to get the most out of their learning experiences.”
• Sensitive periods – children become ready to learn different types of skills at specific points in their development. As each sensitive period varies from one child to another, the teacher is mindful of the appropriate time to introduce new ideas to each child.
• The prepared environment – a major feature of the Montessori classroom is that it is well organized, and the learning materials are easily available to the children. The room is aesthetically pleasing and is supplied with items that the teacher wants the child to experience. The materials in the environment cater to children from different ages, characteristics and interests to engage in.

The Montessori classroom is prepared in such ways as to “best facilitate and encourage learning” as follows:

• Minimising things that may over-stimulate and distract. Walls are painted in neutral shades, minimal objects and artworks are displayed.
• The classroom is quiet, calm, uncluttered
• Artwork is carefully chosen and displayed at children’s eye level
• Resources that appeal to all five senses (sight, touch, smell, taste and hearing) are used
• The classroom is separated into different learning areas, with a place for everything
• Use of natural and real-life (rather than pretend) materials and activities
• Has sufficient space for children to move around without disturbing others
• Provides sufficient storage for children to store personal items and project work in an orderly manner
• Living plants

Retrieved from http://www.montessoribc.com/program/parental-involvement/

• Auto education – the goal of this method is that children should educate themselves in developing necessary life skills. This learning is made available through the teacher in having prepared an appropriate classroom that provides choices. Due to the multi-age groups the children are able to assist one another in their learning processes.

Quality Indicators

“Quality in early learning is a process that “unfolds”-and had to be proactively developed-in at least five dimensions.” (Dietze, & Kashin. 2016. p. 139)

As indicated in Table. 6.1. “the five dimensions of quality” (Dietze, & Kashin. 2016. p. 139)

are as follows:

 

Dimension	Example
1.     Experiences of and outcomes for children	Experiences of belonging, engagement, well-being, mean making, and achievement.
2.     Experience of families and professionals	Experiences of belonging, engagement, well-being, and mean-making.
3.     Interactions	Interactions between all those who belong in the early learning environment.
4.     Structural conditions	Ratios, group size, space, environment, play materials as well as “non-contact” time, continuous professional learning, support research, and critical reflective practice.
5.     Systems of evaluation, monitoring, and quality improvement	Ways of systemically including the views and perspectives of those in the community.

I believe that that the Maria Montessori Program meets the following 5 Dimensions of Quality for the following reasons:

• The role of the educator is to guide children in their learning without interjecting themselves too much into the child’s learning process. The teacher facilitates children’s learning by encouraging the child to learn through their experience with the appropriate materials provided. The teacher’s role is providing appropriate materials after carefully observing the child in the “specially” prepared learning environment. The Montessori teacher demonstrates and models the learning activity at the same time allowing the freedom of the child to learn in their own way. When managing classroom behaviours, they engage in modeling respect for the child and their “work” through observation, using “sensitive periods”, planning activities that are of interest to the child and their abilities and redirecting inappropriate behaviour to meaningful tasks.
• The Montessori classroom is one that rejects the notion that all children of the same age develop and progress at the same time – each child is unique, hence the multi-age classroom. The feature of the multi-age classroom is that it enables children to work skillfully at their natural pace.
• Involvement of parents in the Montessori program is considered crucial in respect to the children’s learning. According to Maria Montessori, “children learn from their environment.” Teachers and parents encourage the learning process by serving as the dynamic link between the environment and the child. The learning process is not seen as the simple passing of information from the teacher to the student but as the process “through which the child gains insight about life from daily experiences, whether at school or elsewhere.” Therefore, the “teaching” is a partnership of the “school and the family.”

The Scene

Comox Valley Montessori Society

2345 Mission Rd, Courtenay, BC V9N 9H1

Phone: (250) 334-4089

 

Inner Smile Montessori Courtenay 

571 16th Street, Courtenay, V9N 1X4

Phone: (250) 898-1035

 

Inner Smile Montessori Comox

2710B Comox Road, Courtenay, BC V9N 9C7

Vancouver Island Montessori Association – Facebook Page:

@VancouverIslandMontessoriAssociation ·Education

https://www.facebook.com/VancouverIslandMontessoriAssociation/

 

 

 

Reference

David L, “Montessori Method (Montessori),” in Learning Theories, February 1, 2016, https://www.learning-theories.com/montessori-method-montessori.html

 

Dietze, B., & Kashin, D. (2016) Empowering pedagogy for early childhood education. Toronto, Ontario. Pearson Canada Inc.

http://www.montessoribc.com/program/parental-involvement/

https://www.supplydesk.co.uk/resource/pedagogy-profile-montessori-method/

Miller, F, D. (2016). Positive child guidance (8^th ed.). Boston. MA: Cengage Learning.