The Montessori pedagogy is based on human development and a deep understanding of how children learn.
Montessori education is a scientific, research-based approach to teaching and learning developed by Maria Montessori - an Italian scientist and doctor.
Montessori methods are consistently backed by current research in education and human development continuing to benefit children and families around the world for over a century.
What is Montessori?
Agency
The foundation principle of the Montessori approach is that children learn best through their own freely chosen activities.
Dr. Montessori believed children thrive in an organised but nurturing environment that offers a high degree of choice, control, and self-direction, and free from extrinsic rewards or punishments.
Children who learn in this way become self-confident, self-reliant and self-disciplined, with a life-long love of learning, and the desire and capacity to contribute to the wellbeing of their social group. They cultivate coordination with precision, mastering tasks independently with concentration, creativity and perseverance.
Child-centred learning
“Help me to help myself” is a foundation to learning in Montessori classrooms.
The Montessori Method places the student at the centre of learning, as opposed to the historical industrial model with a teacher transmitting information to students.
Decision making is fundamental to the work of children in Montessori classrooms. Being active participants in daily decision making means children learn to engage their will, follow their interests, and develop their own strategies to solve problems and implement solutions.
Competition, grading and ability grouping are not utilised as an incentive. Instead, children observe, teach and inspire one another through their interactions. Individuality is celebrated, with equal emphasis placed on each child’s psychological, emotional and intellectual growth.
Education for life
Montessori education provides children with experiences in learning how to learn and instills a love of learning.
Starting in Early Childhood, a Montessori child learns through discovery, using hands-on materials designed to teach specific concepts. As well as learning the concept, this instils within the child a faith in their own ability to learn and find out for themselves.
For example, in mathematics, the child engages with materials to answer the question: What is the pattern that I can discover with this operation? Will this pattern be the same with all numbers?
While learning about history, the child is introduced to the concept of fundamental needs common to all humans. Through this lens, the child can research human groups in any time or place.
Once the child knows the right questions to ask, they only require the teacher’s guidance and the support of the environment to affirm that they are on track. Learning how to learn is a lifelong skill far more powerful than regurgitating facts that may be forgotten after a test.
Montessori in practice
In a Montessori classroom, children are encouraged to be self-directed learners and to take an active role in their own education. The teacher serves as a guide and facilitator and provides a supportive and inclusive environment that fosters creativity, independence, and a love of learning.
Teacher as a guide
In a Montessori classroom, the teacher’s role differs significantly from that of a traditional teacher. Montessori educators are often referred to as ‘directors’ or ‘guides’ to emphasise this distinction.
The Montessori teacher’s main role is not just to impart knowledge, but to nurture development and facilitate connections between children and different materials, which allow for the next step in learning. Their primary task is to be an observer, unobtrusively monitoring each child’s development, recognising and interpreting each child’s needs.
Children work at tables or on floor mats of their choosing, where they can spread out their materials. The teacher circulates throughout the room, giving lessons, answering questions and guiding students through the day.
Montessori educators provide the link between the child and the prepared environment, introducing the child to each piece of equipment when they are ready, in a clear and enticing manner. They also serve as the bridge between the classroom and the parent, with regular meetings to discuss the child’s progress.
Immersive work cycles
A Montessori work cycle is an uninterrupted block of time. Classes typically have a three-hour morning work period most mornings.
During this time, children are able to explore the prepared environment and engage with materials of their own choosing.
Work cycles provide an opportunity for children to enter a deep state of concentration or ‘flow’ (a mental state in which a person is completely immersed in a single task or activity).
Work sessions flow without fixed breaks, allowing children to follow their own natural rhythm of activity and rest without unnecessary interruptions. This approach fosters self-regulation, executive function, and real-world skill development, as children can take a morning tea break, have a drink of water, or use the toilet when the child wants to.
The goals of a work cycle are:
- Exercise choice and control over their work
- Become more independent
- Strengthen their ability to focus and experience a flow state of mind
- Find joy with the materials
- Feel deep satisfaction with their work
