Montessori pedagogy
Montessori pedagogy
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- Montessori pedagogy
Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was Italy’s first female doctor. In her work, she came into contact with mentally handicapped children at an early stage and soon became convinced that their problems were educational rather than medical. Their condition could be improved with intellectual stimulation.
She gradually developed pedagogical methods to help the children and she succeeded beyond expectations. The children’s intellectual and emotional development was astonishing. She then asked herself whether her ideas could not be applied equally well to perfectly healthy children. The pedagogy is based on careful observation of children’s development. The methods developed in response to children’s own needs and interests. It is also based on a philosophy of the interconnectedness of everything on earth and the importance of every individual.
Children's sensitive periods
Maria Montessori knew what every parent knows – that all children are curious, full of discovery and eager to try and learn new things. Like parents everywhere, she noticed that children’s interests vary with age and maturity.
In addition, she observed that changes in interests follow a given pattern, which is the same in all children. From the very earliest interests in eating by themselves, learning to walk, talk, etc., to the interest in reading, math and space, etc.
She found that children at different stages of maturity are particularly receptive to different kinds of knowledge. She recognized the value of taking advantage of the periods of interest, which she called sensitive periods.
Freedom to choose
Maria Montessori discovered:
-learning that is adapted to the child’s stage of development is easier.
-that children’s spontaneous enthusiasm for work is best harnessed by allowing their own interest to motivate them to seek knowledge.
-children have an enviable ability to concentrate on an interesting task.
-that children, wanting to learn something new, repeat the exercise over and over again. With her knowledge of the early human maturation process, she created the conditions for children to develop into harmonious and independent adults.
Freedom to choose the activity and the possibility to work undisturbed at your own pace.
Montessori materials as a good learning aid.
In order to meet children’s needs for activity and motor skills, Maria Montessori developed materials for different stages of maturity and interests. The materials are not the most important part of the pedagogy, but they are helpful.
In a Montessori classroom, there are materials for practical, intellectual and sensory exercises. Everything from shoe polish and cleaning rags to sensory materials that train logical and mathematical thinking. Materials that practice writing skills, language awareness and grammar. But also materials that allow children to practice sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
Maria Montessori’s idea of learning is about moving from the concrete to the abstract. The mathematics materials, for example, give children a sense of numbers and clear concepts of counting operations. Once a child has understood a step, it is time to leave the material and solve tasks in the abstract. Almost all materials serve multiple purposes. Often young children work with it sensorially, then older children use the same material for intellectual understanding. Most materials are self-correcting. Children experience the satisfaction of seeing for themselves that they have succeeded in a task and a good help in education. All materials are of good quality and only exist in one copy. All materials have a specific place in the room. The person who has used a material is responsible for putting it back in its place in a neat and tidy manner. The children learn to respect each other. If a certain material is taken, they have to wait for their turn or agree to work together.
Help me to do it myself
This idea is based on the fact that no one can teach anyone else anything. One may need help in order to learn, but the learning itself must be done by each individual. In a Montessori group, therefore, the teacher’s task is not primarily to impart knowledge, but rather to observe the children and be attentive to each child’s needs. To provide the stimulation that corresponds to each child’s maturity and interest. The teacher tells, describes, stimulates discussion and new questions. The teacher shows where knowledge can be found and how the material should be used to provide meaningful training. Then it is up to the child to work independently on their task. Any unnecessary help is an obstacle to the child’s development.
Montessori preschool, an exciting and stimulating environment
If you visit a Montessori preschool, you can’t help but be fascinated by the level of activity.
Here you will find children aged 1 to 6 baking, polishing shoes, setting the table or engaging in other practical activities. You’ll also meet children who are learning the basics of mathematics with the help of slide rules or beads. You may be surprised to see a 3-year-old working on a puzzle with the continents with great concentration, or a 4-year-old practicing writing with great enthusiasm. Maybe you think it’s a bit strange that a 5-year-old talks about circles and different kinds of triangles?
Free creativity gives children an outlet for their imagination. By not helping children from time to time, but instead allowing them to freely experiment, try out and practice in different areas, the obstacles that we adults normally place in the way of children’s natural development have been removed. So what you see in Montessori preschools is simply a testament to what happens when, in the right environment and with the right stimulation, children’s inherent resources are harnessed. You see evidence that children both want and can do much more than we adults think.
Freedom, responsibility, consideration and self-confidence
If you visit a Montessori class in a primary school, you will find an environment without a lectern and traditional desks. Instead, you will find students working alone or in groups at tables or on the floor. There are plenty of work materials on shelves along the walls.
As in pre-school, each pupil chooses his or her own occupation. The freedom to act independently means that pupils spend as long as they wish on their tasks. They can concentrate on one subject for a whole day. This freedom also requires children to share the responsibility of covering all the subjects on the semester’s syllabus. It requires planning and evaluation.
Freedom also requires children to be respectful of their peers.
Source: Montessori magazine no. 5-95
