Key Montessori Concepts
Montessori is a method of education that has gained world wide attention for its effectiveness in helping young children become life long learners. This article
describes the key concepts of a Montessori education for preschool and elementary age children.
- The aim of Montessori education is to foster competent, responsible, lifelong learners and problem solvers.
- Learning occurs in an inquiring, cooperative, nurturing atmosphere. Students increase their own knowledge through self-and teacher-initiated experiences.
- Learning takes place through the senses. Students learn through manipulating materials and interacting with others. These meaningful experiences are precursors to the abstract understanding of ideas.
- The individual is considered as a whole. The physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs and interests are inseparable and equally important.
- Respect for oneself, others, and the environment is necessary to develop a caring attitude toward all people and the planet.
Montessori teachers are specially educated in these areas:
- Human growth and development
- Observational skills in order to match your child’s developmental needs with materials and activities. These skills are also used in creating your child’s individual plan of learning.
- An open-ended array of learning materials and activities which empowers our teachers to design a developmentally responsive, culturally relevant learning environment.
- Teaching strategies that support and facilitate the unique and total growth of each individual.
- Classroom leadership skills that foster a nurturing environment that is physically and psychologically supportive of learning.
Montessori classrooms have these basic characteristics at all levels:
- A partnership established with the family. The family is considered an integral part of the individual's total development.
- A multi-aged, heterogeneous group of students.
- A diverse set of Montessori materials, activities, and experiences which are designed to encourage physical, intellectual, creative, and social independence.
- A schedule that allows large blocks of uninterrupted time to problem solve, to see the interdisciplinary connections of knowledge, and to create new ideas.
- A classroom atmosphere that encourages social interaction for cooperative learning, peer teaching, and emotional development.