Montessori Method - Help me to do it Myself
PhilosophyThe Basic Principles of the Montessori Method
The Prepared Environment
The Role of the Adult in the Montessori Method
The Montessori method is a philosophy and method of education for kindergarten and schools introduced by Maria Montessori in 1906. The Montessori method is based on open teaching as opposed to closed methods, such as frontal teaching. The core principle of the Montessori method is usually summed up in the motto “Help me to do it myself “.
Philosophy
State-recognised Montessori schools follow the state curriculums and learning targets for each year and generally have higher success rates than schools using conventional methods. The reason for this success lies in the different nature of the learning method.
The Montessori Method is centred on the child as an individual. The basic principle is that children should be free to learn without hindrance or criticism. Montessori sees reward or punishment as harmful to the inner attitude of a person and instead believes that children are naturally motivated to learn because it is in their nature to want to take part in (adult) life.
In educational terms, the Montessori method concentrates on the needs, talents and abilities of each individual child. Montessori teachers and educators believe that children learn best at their own pace and in their own way. Children are encouraged to take control of the pace, the subject and repetition of lessons themselves.
The guiding principle of the method is the nurturing of the child´s natural joy in learning. According to Montessori, this joy in learning is a core element of each child´s being. When supported and guided with respect and esteem, this leads to the development of a self-confident and balanced personality.
Children who learn at their own pace and following their own interests experience self-confidence and independence and are best able to assimilate what they have learned.
The Basic Principles of the Montessori Method
According to Montessori, the process of a child´s development is comprised of three stages: the first stage of childhood (0 to 6 years), the second stage of childhood (6 to 12 years) and youth (12 to 18 years), each of which represents a new, clear-cut stage of development.
The first phase of childhood (0-6 years) is, according to Montessori, the most important time in a child´s life, as the personality and abilities of the child are formed at this time. Montessori sees the first six years of a child´s life as a second embryonic phase of growth during which the mind and psyche of the chid develop. Whilst an adult is able to filter out certain stimuli from their environment, a child absorbs his/her environment, which becomes part of the personality of the child.
The second phase (6-12 years) is referred to as an unstable phase.
During his/her development the child goes through “sensitive” periods. During such phases the child is particularly susceptible to certain kinds of stimulation from his/her environment, for example in connection with movement, language or social aspects. If, during a sensitive phase, the child discovers an activity which precisely meets his/her needs, then the child is capable of intense concentration. In such phases of deep concentration the child will not allow his/her attention to be diverted by other stimuli – his/her experiences a process of recognition which not only has a positive influence on his/her thinking but, according to Montessori, on the entire development of its personality. Montessori coined the term "Normalisation" for this process.
A decisive factor in the development of Montessori´s educational method and learning material is the observation that one of the most important sensitive phases for each child is that of the “refinement of the senses”. Each child has a natural urge to touch everything, to smell and taste. From these observations Montessori deduces that access to the thought processes of children is not via an abstract route but fundamentally through the actual senses of the child. Grasping, in both senses of the word, becomes one single unit in the learning process.
Taking this realization as basis, Montessori developed her teaching materials, which always appeal to the child´s senses as a fundamental principle. For example, her materials for mathematics allow the child to gain a sensory impression of the mathematical units of 1 or 1000 by touching and holding beads or blocks of 1000 beads, long before the child develops any abstract understanding of numbers in this magnitude.
The Prepared Environment
The prepared environment is an important component of the Montessori method. Without this the Montessori method cannot function. The prepared environment should give the child the opportunity to become more and more detached from adults, to become independent. Therefore the environment of the child must be suitable. Thus the furnishings of a Montessori kindergarten or school are in proportion to the size of the children. Chairs and tables can be carried by the children themselves. The children can choose the place where they wish to work themselves. Because moving chairs initially makes a noise, Montessori uses this to train the children´s motor skills. They learn to move objects as quietly as possible in order to avoid disturbing other children who are working. The environment is attractive and elegant, fragile porcelain is used in the kindergarten. The child learns manual dexterity and to value objects. The material is freely accessible, on shelves within reach of the children. It presents a challenge. Each material is only available once. This encourages the children to develop social behaviour by learning to have consideration for other children. The children take care of the environment themselves. In doing so, they become increasingly independent of adults.
The role of the Adult in the Montessori Method
From the moment of birth, a child aspires to freedom and independence from adults. Montessori describes this process as a biological principle of human life. Just as a child´s body develops its abilities, giving the child the freedom to move, so the mind of the child is driven by a hunger for learning and mental autonomy.
Within this process, the adult can become an ally of the child, preparing an environment for the child which meets the child´s needs and hunger for learning. The role of the adult in the Montessori method is that of a helper, smoothing the way to independence for the child, in accordance with Montessori´s motto “Help me to do it myself”. The process of learning and recognition takes place within the child, the child is his/her own teacher. The adult has to learn to guide the child towards learning, and then withdraw, accompanying the child´s process of realization simply as an observer.
Since every child progresses through the sensitive phase individually, the syllabus of a Montessori school is based on the individual child. The teacher is trained to recognise the sensitive phases of the child and guide the child towards activities which are intended to awaken the child´s interest. However, the child is fundamentally free to select their work for themselves within the framework of the curriculum.
News | Archive |
Neu: Online-Formular, RSS Feed, Fotogalerie
Neu auf den Seiten der Europa-Schule Kairo:Busmitteilung als Online Formular, RSS Feed mit den letzten Aktualisierungen und Bilder vom Sportfest in der Grundschule
[mehr..]
Informationen zum 09.02.2012
Die für heute geplante Lehrerkonferenz wird auf nächsten Donnerstag, den 9.02. verschoben. Ihre Kinder haben dann nach der 6.Stunde Schulschluss, also um 13 Uhr.[mehr..]
Neuer Elternbrief
Elternbrief 5 und die Gebühren im Schuljahr 2012/2013 für die Europa-Schule Kairo veröffentlicht.[mehr..]
RSS Feed
Kontakt + Impressum
Links