The Montessori education method is a particular educational approach or philosophy of education that emphasize on the independence, freedom within limits, and respect for the child's natural psychological development and technological advancements within society in general. The Montessori educational approach was developed by Italian educator and physician Maria Montessori. The Montessori educational approach and its practices are applicable for the age levels of: zero to three years old covering infant and toddler, and preschool and kindergarten; six to 12 years old covering the primary or elementary school age children; and 12 to 18 years old covering the middle and proper secondary school levels.
However, the Montessori education is commonly used for the educational levels of preschool, kindergarten, and primary school levels. If you are a parent who is considering in getting the Montessori educational approach as the primary method for educating your child, and planning to enroll him in a Montessori school, you should first read and study about the advantages or benefits of the method. Information and materials about the Montessori educational approach is available in the local library, in various Internet websites that provide free information about the Montessori method, and in the printed materials distributed by the various non-profit organisations that are dedicated to promoting the Montessori approach.
Reading and studying about the benefits of the Montessori education would help you in making an informed and wise choice of determining and deciding if the Montessori method is the best approach for educating your child. The main benefits of the Montessori approach includes letting children on learning on their own because a Montessori classroom is equipped with self-correcting materials that would help a child to learn through the trial and error, which would result in the child in learning to make correct decisions. Moreover, the Montessori classroom has an environment that provides a natural sense of discipline for the child.
Benefits of Getting a Montessori Education For Your Child
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The Benefits of Montessori Education for Children
The system being adapted by Montessori education has its focus more in the personal development of students rather than assessment through examinations. It is believed by proponents of Montessori education that this approach will result to more mature, creative and socially adept students. This schooling system was conceptualized by Maria Montessori in the early 20th century as a means of educating poor children in Italy. The Montessori method does not use traditional competitive assessors of achievement such as giving individual grades and assignments to students. Instead, it will turn its focus towards the individual progress and development for each child.
Montessori education has the following characteristics:
- classrooms where students from different ages converge
- a special set of educational materials
- students can choose their own work given in long time blocks
- student mentors that foster a collaborative environment
- no grading and testing system
- instruction of individuals and small groups alike
- instruction of both academic and social skills
In a study that appeared on the September 29, 2006 issue of the journal Science wherein children from a public Montessori school were compared with children who were students of traditional schools, it was found that in general, children who underwent Montessori education have better social and academic skills than children who were educated in the traditional way. Below are a summary of the findings from among the five-year-old age group:
- Montessori students are significantly better prepared for elementary school by having more knowledge in reading and maths than their non-Montessori counterparts.
- Montessori educated children also performed better on social and behavioral tests, in particular demonstrating a better sense of justice and fairness.
- Outside of the classroom Montessori children were also more likely to engage in emotionally positive play with other kids and have a lesser tendency to engage in rough play.
- Montessori education also tends to increase the children's executive function, or their ability to adapt to changing and more complex problems.
How to Become a Montessori Education Teacher
In my own experience, obtaining the necessary training to become a certified Montessori education teacher could be challenging because the Montessori educational approach is specialized for education practices that are based according to the age group of the students. The Montessori approach has the unique characteristics of emphasis on student independence, freedom with limitations, recognizing a child's natural psychological development, and using technological advancements in society that could be applied in the approach.
I became a Montessori education teacher by following several requirements. The requirements include:
- A bachelor's degree in education majoring in primary or high school education, English, mathematics, science, and communication arts. Then, you should select the age group of the children that you want to teach. The age groups of the students are: infant to toddler class (from zero to two years old); primary class (from three to six years old); lower elementary class (ages six to nine years old); upper elementary class (nine to 12 years old); and secondary level class (from 12 to 15 years old and 15 to 18 years old).
- Obtaining training and certification to become a certified Montessori education teacher is the most important part. Just like what I did, I searched the Internet for training centers or professional organizations that offered accredited teacher training programs. It is important that you select a program that is accredited by a recognized accreditation body or organization to ensure that the certification and training you obtained would be recognized by educational institutions. In the United States, the three leading accreditation bodies are the American Montessori Society, the Association Montessori Internationale, and the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teach Education Commission.
- Availing of distance learning training programs offered by various training centers if you are currently working as a non-Montessori teacher and your work schedule would not allow you to attend formal classes. Just make sure that their programs are accredited by any of the three accreditation bodies.
History of Montessori Education
Montessori education traces its roots back in 1897 when Maria Montessori started developing her educational philosophy and methods. Montessori attended pedagogy courses at the University of Rome and read educational theory of the preceeding 200 years.
- Early Roots – Montessori opened her first classroom in 1907 which she called Casa dei Bambini which means children's house which is located in a tenement building in Rome. Right from the start, she based her work on what she observed in children and her experiments involving materials, environment and lessons available to pupils. To her, her work was “scientific pedagogy.”
- Reach to the United States – Montessori education reached the United States of America in 1911 and became popular in the academe and the media. After three years, however, the spread of Montessori's ideas was away because of conflict between Montessori and the American educational establishment, more specifically the publication of a critical booklet titled The Montessori System Examined which was written by William Heard Kilpatrick who was an influential education teacher. The Montessori system re-emerged in the US in 1960; since then, it has spread to thousands of US schools.
- Comprehensive Model – During her lifetime, Montessori continued to develop and extend her calling and advocacy which is now the fully developed Montessori education system. She developed an encompassing model of psychological development which pertains to the ages of birth to 24 years. The model also involves educational approaches for children ages 0-3, 3-6 and 6-12. Montessori taught teachers about teaching young people aged 12 to 18 and older learners beyond age 18. However, these programs were developed after her lifetime.
The word “Montessori” is already in the public domain and, thus, any person can use the term with or without citing the work of Maria Montessori. At present, the Montessori system is used in approximately 20,000 schools around the world.
Montesorri Education Practices and Model
Montessori education is a teaching approach which was developed by Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator. This approach in education emphasises on independence, freedom within scopes and respect for a child's natural psychological development. Its development is traced back to 1897 when Montessori started developing her philosophy and methods. Today, there are at least 20,000 schools around the globe who use the approach in educating children as early as birth to 18 years old.
- Practices – The Montessori education emphases mentioned are practice using the essential elements of mixed age classrooms, student choice of activity, uninterrupted work time, learning theory of constructivism and specialised educational materials. The most common mixed age classroom involve children aged 2 ½ or 3 to 6 years old. As far as the activity choice is concerned, the choices come within a prescribe range. Uninterrupted work time comes in blocked times. In constructivism, students learn concepts by working with materials as opposed to listening to lectures. The Montessori approach also uses specialised educational materials which was developed by Montessori herself and her collaborators. Lots of Montessori schools design their own programs basing on Montessori model of human development which is found in her published works. These schools also use lessons, pedagogy and materials based on materials introduced in teaching courses conducted by Montessori.
- Model – Montessori education is basically based on the model of human development; it is also a model of human development itself. Two basic elements is featured in the model. They are (1) children and developing adults are involved in psychological self-construction through interaction within their environments and (2) children, especially under six years old, have an innate path of psychological development. Montessori believed, based on her observations, that children can act spontaneously towards best development if they have the freedom to choose and act freely within an environment which is prepared for them using the development model developed by her.
The Advantages Of Montessori Education
Montessori education is named after the work of Maria Montessori, Italian educator. Montessori education supports the systematic and scientific approach to teaching combined with a love relationship, the mother with the students. This system allows for customized training programs for students with special needs. Montessori education focuses on personal development, instead of a continuous assessment of skills tests. Recently, interest has focused on the Montessori education after the study, psychologists in the United States, it was found that children are allowed to Montessori education outperformed their peers who received traditional instruction. Variables in the study had been involved in mental performance, academic ability and social and behavioral skills. Here are some important differences emerge in this study:
As for social skills and behaviours that occur in children under Montessori education has a better understanding of concepts such as justice and equity, have interacted emotionally positive, and were less likely to engage in play hard during breaks. Older children who undergo Montessori training was seen as likely to choose an MRE of positive assertive face unpleasant situations social.
Regarding academic performance, was five years, Montessori children turns out to be better prepared for reading and math than their counterparts trained in the traditional way. In addition, twelve, students Montessori wrote, "more creative" experiment with more sophisticated sentence structures.
Montessori education credits its success to its unique method of discouraging the traditional ways of measuring the achievement of competition among students. Instead of giving the tests and evaluate the performance of children on the basis of a scoring system, Montessori education focuses more on individual progress and development of a student. In contrast to traditional education, where children are separated by age group, children in Montessori education at different ages may be in the same class. They are also encouraged to collaborate and help each other finish tasks.
Benefits of Montessori Education
Montessori education draws its name from the work of Maria Montessori, an Italian educator. Montessori education advocates a systematic, scientific approach to teaching combined with a loving, maternal relationship with the students. This system allows tailor-made programs of education to the specific needs of students. Montessori education focuses on personal development rather than continuous assessment of knowledge through exams. Recently, interest has been focused on Montessori education after a study by psychologists in the US found that children given Montessori education outperformed their peers who were given a traditional education. Variables of the study included mental performance, academic abilities, and social and behavioral skills. Below are some of the significant differences highlighted in this study:
- In terms of social skills and behavior, children under Montessori education displayed a greater understanding of the concepts of justice and fairness, interacted in an emotionally positive way, and were less likely to engage in rough play during break times. Older children undergoing Montessori education were found to be mre likely to choose positive assertive responses when faced with unpleasant social situations.
- With respect to academic performance, five-year-old Montessori children were found to be better prepared for reading and maths than their counterparts schooled in the traditional way. In addition, twelve-year-old Montessori pupils also wrote “significantly more creative” essays with more sophisticated sentence structures.
Montessori education credits its success to its unique method of discouraging traditional ways of measuring achievement through competition between students. Instead of giving exams and evaluating the child's performance based on a grading system, Montessori education focuses more on the individual progress and development of a student. In contrast with traditional education where children are segregated by age groups, in Montessori education children of different ages can be in the same class. They are also encouraged to collaborate and help each other finish tasks.
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