Historical Overview of Montessori Method
ALPNA KUMAR
Section 1, Part 1, Lesson 1 August 8, 2012
Lesson 1: Historical Overview of Montessori Method
Write a chronological overview (time line) of Maria Montessori’s life and work. Indicate the life events you feel were most significant in her development of the Montessori Method of education. Describe how Montessori developed her approach. Include the factors occurring at that time in the world that contributed to the method’s popular acceptance. Education being a necessary part of our lives, there has been several ways to teach a child and thus creating a teacher dominant learning. But, it was about a century ago when a revolutionary thought “teacher within” came to existence. It was the one woman who changed the world with her new innovative method of teaching and would break the stereotype in teaching method. This was Maria Montessori who developed Montessori Method of teaching with a firm belief in the motto "Within the child lies the fate of future". Montessori Method focuses on the idea that children learn best when they are placed in an environment full of learning activities and given the freedom to work on their own. Montessori model believed that children at liberty to choose and act freely within an environment prepared accordingly would act spontaneously for optimal development. Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential [1, 2]: Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 3 to 6 years old by far the most common, student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options, a "constructivism" or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials,
Section 1, Part 1, Lesson 1 August 8, 2012
Lesson 1: Historical Overview of Montessori Method
Write a chronological overview (time line) of Maria Montessori’s life and work. Indicate the life events you feel were most significant in her development of the Montessori Method of education. Describe how Montessori developed her approach. Include the factors occurring at that time in the world that contributed to the method’s popular acceptance. Education being a necessary part of our lives, there has been several ways to teach a child and thus creating a teacher dominant learning. But, it was about a century ago when a revolutionary thought “teacher within” came to existence. It was the one woman who changed the world with her new innovative method of teaching and would break the stereotype in teaching method. This was Maria Montessori who developed Montessori Method of teaching with a firm belief in the motto "Within the child lies the fate of future". Montessori Method focuses on the idea that children learn best when they are placed in an environment full of learning activities and given the freedom to work on their own. Montessori model believed that children at liberty to choose and act freely within an environment prepared accordingly would act spontaneously for optimal development. Montessori education is characterized by an emphasis on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological development, as well as technological advancements in society. Although a range of practices exists under the name "Montessori", the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and the American Montessori Society (AMS) cite these elements as essential [1, 2]: Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children aged 3 to 6 years old by far the most common, student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options, a "constructivism" or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials,
Bibliography: .... [1] "AMI School Standards". Association Montessori Internationale-USA (AMI-USA). [2] "Introduction to Montessori". American Montessori Society (AMS). [3] http://www.biography.com/people/maria-montessori-9412528. [4] Kramer, R. – Maria Montessori: A Biography – New York: Putnam, 1976. [5] Barbara O 'Connor, Sara Campitelli - Mammolina: A Story about Maria Montessori - Carolrhoda Books, 1993.