This video is a perfect demonstration of
the magic of Montessori:
- Mixed age classrooms, with
classrooms for children ages 2½ or 3 to 6 years old by far the most
common
- Student choice of activity
from within a prescribed range of options
- Uninterrupted blocks of work
time, ideally three hours
- A constructivist or
"discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working
with materials, rather than by direct instruction
- Specialized educational
materials developed by Montessori and her collaborators
- Freedom of movement within
the classroom
- A trained Montessori teacher
Montessori
method:
Montessori had many
accomplishments with one being the Montessori method which is a method of educating
young children that stresses development of a child's own initiative and
natural abilities, especially through practical play. This method allowed
children to develop at their own pace and provided educators with a better
understanding of child development. In Maria's book, The Montessori Method, she goes into
further detail about the method. Educators in the field set up special
environments to meet the needs of the students in three age groups: two and a half
years, two and a half to six years, and six and a half to twelve years. The students
learn through activities that involve exploration, manipulations, order,
repetition, abstraction, and communication. The teacher is to encourage children in the first two age groups to use
their senses to explore and manipulate materials in their immediate
environment. Children in the last age group deal with abstract concepts based
on their newly developed powers of reasoning, imagination, and creativity.
Montessori observed four distinct periods, or "planes", in human
development, extending from birth to six years, from six to 12, from 12 to 18,
and from 18 to 24. She saw different characteristics, learning modes, and
developmental imperatives active in each of these planes, and called for
educational approaches specific to each period.
The first plane extends from birth to around six years of age. During this
period, Montessori observed that the child undergoes striking physical and
psychological development. The first plane child is seen as a concrete,
sensorial explorer and learner engaged in the developmental work of
psychological self-construction and building functional independence.
Montessori introduced several concepts to explain this work, including the absorbent
mind, sensitive periods, and normalization...
Absorbent mind: Montessori
described the young child's behavior of effortlessly assimilating the sensorial
stimuli of his or her environment, including information from the senses,
language, culture, and the development of concepts with the term
"absorbent mind". She believed that this is a power unique to the
first plane, and that it fades as the child approached age six.
Sensitive periods: Montessori
also observed and discovered periods of special sensitivity to particular
stimuli during this time which she called the "sensitive periods". In
Montessori education, the classroom environment responds to these periods by
making appropriate materials and activities available while the periods are
active in the each individual young child. She identified the following periods
and their durations:
- Acquisition of language—from
birth to around 6 years old
- Interest in small
objects—from around 18 months to 3 years old
- Order—from around 1 to 3
years old
- Sensory refinement—from
birth to around 4 years old
- Social behavior—from around
2½ to 4 years old
Normalization: Finally,
Montessori observed in children from three to six years old a psychological
state she termed "normalization". Normalization arises from concentration
and focus on activity which serves the child’s developmental needs, and is
characterized by the ability to concentrate as well as "spontaneous
discipline, continuous and happy work, social sentiments of help and sympathy
for others."
The second plane of development extends from around six
years to twelve years old. During this period, Montessori observed
physical and psychological changes in children, and developed a classroom
environment, lessons, and materials, to respond to these new characteristics.
Physically, she observed the loss of baby teeth and the lengthening of the legs
and torso at the beginning of the plane, and a period of uniform growth
following. Psychologically, she observed the "herd instinct", or the
tendency to work and socialize in groups, as well as the powers of reason and
imagination. Developmentally, she believed the work of the second plane child
is the formation of intellectual independence, of moral sense, and of social
organization.
The third plane of development extends from around twelve years to around
eighteen years of age, encompassing the period of adolescence. Montessori characterized the
third plane by the physical changes of puberty and
adolescence, but also psychological changes. She emphasized the psychological instability
and difficulties in concentration of this age, as well as the creative
tendencies and the development of "a sense of justice and a sense of
personal dignity." She used the term "valorization" to describe
the adolescents' drive for an externally derived evaluation of their worth.
Developmentally, Montessori believed that the work of the third plane child is
the construction of the adult self in society.
The fourth plane
of development extends from around eighteen
years to around twenty-four years old. Montessori wrote
comparatively little about this period and did not develop an educational
program for the age. She envisioned young adults prepared by their experiences
in Montessori education at the lower levels ready to fully embrace the study of
culture and the sciences in order to influence and lead civilization. She
believed that economic independence in the form of work for money was critical
for this age, and felt that an arbitrary limit to the number of years in
university level study was unnecessary, as the study of culture could go on
throughout a person's life.
Montessori
education practices:
Infant and Toddler Programs: Montessori
classrooms for children under three fall into several categories, with a number
of terms being used. A "Nido", Italian for "nest", serves a
small number of children from around two months to around fourteen months, or when
the child is confidently walking. A "Young Child Community" serves a
larger number of children from around one year to 2½ or 3 years old. Both
environments emphasize materials and activities scaled to the children's size
and abilities, opportunities to develop movement, and activities to develop
independence. Development of independence in toileting is typically emphasized
as well. Some schools also offer "Parent-Infant" classes, in which
parents participate with their very young children.
Preschool and
kindergarten: Montessori classrooms for
children from 2½ or 3 to 6 years old are often called Children’s Houses, after
Montessori's first school, the Casa dei Bambini in Rome in 1906. This level is
also called "Primary". A typical classroom serves 20 to 30 children
in mixed-age groups, staffed by one trained teacher and an assistant.
Classrooms are usually outfitted with child-sized tables and chairs arranged
singly or in small clusters, with classroom materials on child-height shelves
throughout the room. Activities are for the most part initially presented by
the teacher, after which they may be chosen more or less freely by the children
as interest dictates. Classroom materials usually include activities for
engaging in practical skills such as pouring and spooning, materials for the
development of the senses, math materials, language materials, music and art
materials, and more.
Elementary
Classrooms: Classrooms for this age are
usually referred to as "Elementary", and can range in size from very
small up to 30 or more children, typically staffed by a trained teacher and one
or more assistants. Classes usually serve mixed-age 6- to 9-year-old and 9- to
12-year-old groupings, although 6- to 12-year-old groups are also used. Lessons
are typically presented to small groups of children, who are then free to
follow up with independent work of their own as interest and personal
responsibility dictate. The scope of lessons and work in the Elementary
classroom is quite broad. Montessori used the term "cosmic education"
to indicate both the universal scope of lessons to be presented, and the idea
that education in the second plane should help the child realize the human role
in the interdependent functioning of the universe. Classroom materials and
lessons include work in language, mathematics, history, the sciences, the arts,
and much more. Student directed explorations of resources outside the
classroom, known as "going out" in Montessori, are an integral
element of the Elementary work.
Middle and High School: Montessori education for this level is less well-developed than programs
for younger children. Montessori did not establish a teacher training program
or a detailed plan of education for adolescents during her lifetime. However, a
number of schools have extended their programs for younger children to the
middle school and high school levels. In addition, several Montessori
organizations have developed teacher training or orientation courses and a
loose consensus on the plan of study is emerging.
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