Dr. Maria Montessori and Her Influence On Education

1. Dr. Maria Montessori and Her Influence On Education Presented by: Katarina Schilling

2. Maria Montessori1870 - 1952 • Born in Italy • Descended from a noble family • Medical degree in 1896 • First female Doctor of Medicine in Italy • Studied the methods of Jean Itard and Edouard Seguin • Taught reading and mathematics to the “unteachable” children • Died in Holland

3. Montessori Approach to Teaching/Learning • Started over a century ago in Rome, Italy • Method of education named after its inventor, Dr. Maria Montessori • Montessori schools were established in many parts of the world • The Montessori Method caused many changes in the field of education

4. Child-centered Environment • The environment is carefully prepared for the needs of the child • Teacher is not the centre of attention • The child himself/herself is the center of education • There is no prescribed curriculum • There is freedom in education • Each child works on his or her own project • Projects are carefully designed to fit the needs of the child

5. Prepared Environment • Desks, chairs and other furniture are small to fit the child • Small centres for individual work are set up; such as: a table with a chair, or a small rug on the floor • Low cupboards all along the walls • A place for everything and everything in its place • Playgrounds and gardens outdoors

6. Freedom In Education Means: • Removal of all obstacles which might hinder the child’s “normal” development • Liberty or the child to move and act in a prepared environment • Having adults encouraging self-development • An environment where there can be found constructive activities for the child’s development

7. Freedom in Education Also means a freedom for the child to: • Choose an activity within a prepared environment • Choose a place where to perform the work • Be able to work on the activity until its completion regardless of the time it takes • Repeat the activity as many times as the child finds it necessary • Freely walk around and get a new activity when he/she so desires, and • Observe another child and learn by observing

8. Teach by Doing • Individual or group • Do not explain first • Demonstrate • Let child observe • Let child/children do • Practice

9. Order and Cleanliness • Observing where things are • Putting things away • Washing dishes • Washing hands • Cleaning shoes

10. Montessori Didactic Materials • Dr. Montessori designed a variety of didactic materials for the children to work with and get themselves prepared for writing and arithmetic. • All the Montessori tools were self-correcting making learning quite simple and straight forward.

11. Examples of Didactic Materials Dr. Montessori Used In Teaching • Reading and writing - letters of the alphabet made of wood • Mathematics – beads and rods • Geometry - rectangles and cylinders of differentiate sizes • Music - bells

12. Sensory Education and Music • Montessori believed that all senses should be trained and utilized. • e.g. 1. – She had the children touch a variety of materials such as linen, cotton, velvet, and silk, and have them recognize the type of material with their eyes closed • e.g. 2. – She lined up one set of bells in order according to the musical scale and another set in a mixed up order. The children would pick up each bell from the first set, ring it and listen carefully. Then, they would have tried to match up the second set to the first one.

13. Intellectual Education • Montessori taught little children to write by first touching the letters made of wood. • Mathematics teaching was done by using beads for counting numbers like 1, 2, 3 ... and rods of 10 cm and multiples of 10. • Geometry was learned by recognizing geometric shapes and objects such as a rectangle and a cylinder, and also by differentiating among the sizes of a rectangle or a cylinder.

14. Self-correctingGeometry exercise • Children organized cylinders according to width size when the height was the same. They lined up cylinders and placed them in their proper place in the holes of a long wooden board. Each cylinder would fit into one particular hole on the board.

15. In Our Schools Today How could we use the Montessori method of teaching/learning to help our students be more interested in learning: • In the inner city? • On the reserves? • In rural areas?

16. Montessori Literature • Montessori, M. (1972). Education and Peace. Chicago: Henry Regnery Company. • Montessori, M. (1966). The Discovery of the Child. Adyar, India: Kalakshetra Publications. • Montessori, M. (1966). The Secret of Childhood. New York: Ballantine Books. • Montessori, M. (1912). The Montessori Method. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company. • Orem, R. C. (1965). A Montessori Handbook. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. • Scheerenberger, R.C. (1983). A History of Mental Retardation. Baltimore/London: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. • Ward, F. L. (1913). The Montessori Method and The American School. New York: The Macmillan Company.