The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that encourages children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills, such as problem solving and helping and teaching each other. It emphasizes independence and it views children as naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a sufficiently supportive and well-prepared learning environment. It also discourages some conventional methods of measuring achievement, such as grades and tests.
The method was started in the 20th century by Italian physician Maria Montessori, who developed her theories through scientific experimentation with children in many different situations. The method has since been used in many parts of the world, in public and private schools.
A range of practices, schools, and materials exists under the name "Montessori", which is not trademarked. Popular elements include mixed-age classrooms, student autonomy (including their choice of learning topics), long blocks of uninterrupted work time, specially trained teachers, and a prepared environment. Scientific studies regarding the Montessori method report generally favorable outcomes for students.
History
Maria Montessori initially resisted a career in teaching, one of only a few professions open to women in that time period. She became one of the first women to become a medical doctor in Italy in the 19th century, and specialized in psychiatry and pediatrics. Maria Montessori began developing her educational philosophy and methods in 1897, attending courses in pedagogy at the University of Rome and learning educational theory. While visiting Rome's mental asylums during her schooling with a teacher, Montessori observed that confined children were in need of more stimulation from their environment. In 1907, she opened her first classroom, the Casa dei Bambini, or Children's House, in a tenement building in the San Lorenzo district of Rome. From the beginning, Montessori based her work on her observations of children and experimentation with the environment, materials, and lessons available to them. The Children's House was established to serve underprivileged children who many thought were unable to learn. She frequently referred to her work as "scientific pedagogy."
In 1901, Maria Montessori met the prominent education reformers Alice and Leopoldo Franchetti. Maria Montessori was invited to hold her first course for teachers and to set up a "Casa dei Bambini" at Villa Montesca, the home of the Franchettis in Città di Castello. Montessori lived with the Franchettis for two years and refined her methodology together with Alice Franchetti. In 1909, she documented her theories in Il metodo della pedagogia scientifica (later translated into English as The Montessori Method in 1912).
Montessori education had spread to the United States by 1912 and became widely known in educational and popular publications. In 1913 Narcissa Cox Vanderlip and Frank A. Vanderlip founded the Scarborough School, the first Montessori school in the U.S. However, conflict arose between Montessori and the American educational establishment. The 1914 critical booklet The Montessori System Examined by influential education teacher William Heard Kilpatrick limited the spread of Montessori's ideas, and they languished after 1914. "Montessori" schools and teacher training centers proliferated and, because of a desire to reach more children, became less and less like the successful examples. Montessori education returned to the United States in 1960 and has since spread to thousands of schools there. Montessori continued to extend her work during her lifetime, developing a comprehensive model of psychological development from birth to age 24, as well as educational approaches for children ages 0 to 3, 3 to 6, and 6 to 12.
Montessori education also spread throughout the world, including Southeast Asia and India, where Maria Montessori was interned during World War II. In October 1931, Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi met with Maria Montessori in London. At the time, Gandhi was very interested in the role the Montessori method might play in helping to build an independent nation. Thus, initially, Montessori education in India was connected to the Indian independence movement. Later, elite, private Montessori schools also arose, and in the 1950s, some Montessori schools opened to serve children from lower-socioeconomic families, a trend that continues today with foundation and government-funded schools.
Methods
Montessori education is based on a model of human development. This educational style operates abiding by two beliefs: that psychological self-construction in children and developing adults occurs through environmental interactions, and that children (especially under the age of six) have an innate path of psychological development. Based on her observations, Montessori believed that children who are at liberty to choose and act freely within an environment prepared according to her model would act spontaneously for optimal development.
Although a range of practices exists under the "Montessori" name, the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential:
Mixed-age classrooms: classrooms for children ages or 3 to 6 years old are by far the most common, but 0–3, 3–6, 6–12 (sometimes 6–9, and 9–12), 12–18 (sometimes 12–15, and 15–18) Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of optional choices Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally a minimum of three hours long once a day A constructivist or "discovery" model, in which students learn concepts from working with materials rather than by direct instruction Specialized educational materials are often made out of natural, aesthetic materials such as wood, rather than plastic A thoughtfully prepared environment where materials are organized by subject area, is accessible to children, and is appropriately sized Freedom, within reasonable (but expanded) limits for children A trained teacher experienced in observing a child's characteristics, tendencies, innate talents, and abilities No external rewards, such as grades or stickers, are given to inspire children to learn material or behave well and also to self educate themselves that it is not a competition.
Montessori education involves free activity within a "prepared environment", meaning an educational environment tailored to basic human characteristics, to the specific characteristics of children at different ages, and to the individual personalities of each child. The function of the environment is to help and allow the child to develop independence in all areas according to their inner psychological directives. In addition to offering access to the Montessori materials appropriate to the age of the children, the environment should exhibit the following characteristics:
Montessori education does not necessarily reflect Maria Montessori's views; Montessori schools are under no obligation to follow her philosophy. Her main objective was avoiding "racial degeneration".
Education practices
Infant and toddler programs Montessori classrooms for children under three fall into several categories, with a number of terms being used. A , Italian for "nest", serves a small number of children from around two months to around 14 months, or when the child is confidently walking. A "Young Child Community" serves a larger number of children from around one year to 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. The 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 or 3 to 6 years old are often called Children's Houses, after Montessori's first school, the Casa dei Bambini in Rome in 1907. A typical classroom serves 20 to 30 children in mixed-age groups, staffed by a fully trained lead teacher and assistants. 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. A teacher's role within a Montessori classroom is to guide and consult students individually by letting each child create their own learning pathway. Classroom materials usually include activities for engaging in practical skills such as pouring and spooning, washing up, scrubbing tables and sweeping. Also materials for the development of the senses, mathematical materials, language materials, music, art and cultural materials, including more science-based activities like 'sink and float', Magnetic and Non magnetic and candle and air.
Activities in Children's Houses use hands-on materials to introduce concepts. Sandpaper letters are letter forms mounted on cards; children trace them while learning the corresponding sounds. In mathematics, the Golden Bead material represents the base-10 system with a single bead for one unit, a bar of 10 beads, a square of 100 beads, and a cube of 1,000 beads. It is used in early childhood to introduce quantity, numerals, the decimal system, and arithmetic operations.
One of the most important benefits of a Montessori school experience is that each child is understood as an individual learner who will naturally seek to excel when their strengths, weaknesses, and interests are understood and taken into account.
Elementary classrooms
Elementary classrooms typically serve mixed-age groups of children aged 6–12, sometimes divided into 6–9 and 9–12 age groups. The First Great Lessons, which introduce the broader curriculum, are presented during the first weeks of the school year. Subsequent lessons may be given individually or in groups according to students' interests and needs, while independent work forms a central part of the classroom approach. The curriculum emphasizes interconnected and interdisciplinary exploration of subjects such as biology, history, cultures, migration, and the arts, which are introduced throughout the school term and provide a basis for further learning.Guide to Montessori Education .
Student-directed explorations of resources outside the classroom are integral to education. Montessori used the term "cosmic education" to indicate both the universal scope of lessons to be presented and the idea that education should help children realize how everything, all subjects, are interconnected, and to begin to think about their own the present and future role in the interdependent functioning of the universe.