Międzynarodowe Centrum Edukacji Montessori
The Montessori method

Maria Montessori (August 31, 1870 – May 6, 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for the philosophy of education that bears her name, and her writing on scientific pedagogy. At an early age, Montessori broke gender barriers and expectations when she enrolled in classes at an all-boys technical school, with hopes of becoming an engineer. She soon had a change of heart and began medical school at the Sapienza University of Rome, where she graduated – with honors – in 1896. Her educational method is still in use today in many public and private schools throughout the world.

Early influences
Montessori’s theory and philosophy of education were initially heavily influenced by the work of Jean Marc Gaspard Itard, Édouard Séguin, Friedrich Fröbel, and Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, all of whom emphasized sensory exploration and manipulatives. Montessori’s first work with mentally disabled children, at the Orthophrenic School in 1900–1901, used the methods of Itard and Séguin, training children in physical activities such as walking and the use of a spoon, training their senses by exposure to sights, smells, and tactile experiences, and introducing letters in tactile form. These activities developed into the Montessori „Sensorial” materials.

Scientific pedagogy
Montessori considered her work in the Orthophrenic School and her subsequent psychological studies and research work in elementary schools as „scientific pedagogy”, a concept current in the study of education at the time. She called for not just observation and measurement of students, but for the development of new methods which would transform them. „Scientific education, therefore, was that which, while based on science, modified and improved the individual.” Further, education itself should be transformed by science: „The new methods if they were run on scientific lines, ought to change completely both the school and its methods, ought to give rise to a new form of education.”

Casa dei Bambini
Working with non-disabled children in the Casa dei Bambini in 1907, Montessori began to develop her own pedagogy. The essential elements of her educational theory emerged from this work, described in The Montessori Method in 1912 and in The Discovery of the Child in 1948. Her method was founded on the observation of children at liberty to act freely in an environment prepared to meet their needs.[97] Montessori came to the conclusion that the children’s spontaneous activity in this environment revealed an internal program of development, and that the appropriate role of the educator was to remove obstacles to this natural development and provide opportunities for it to proceed and flourish.

Accordingly, the schoolroom was equipped with child-sized furnishings, „practical life” activities such as sweeping and washing tables, and teaching material that Montessori had developed herself. Children were given freedom to choose and carry out their own activities, at their own paces and following their own inclinations. In these conditions, Montessori made a number of observations which became the foundation of her work. First, she observed great concentration in the children and spontaneous repetition of chosen activities. She also observed a strong tendency in the children to order their own environment, straightening tables and shelves and ordering materials. As children chose some activities over others, Montessori refined the materials she offered to them. Over time, the children began to exhibit what she called „spontaneous discipline”.

Further development and Montessori education today
Montessori continued to develop her pedagogy and her model of human development as she expanded her work and extended it to older children. She saw human behavior as guided by universal, innate characteristics in human psychology which her son and collaborator Mario Montessori identified as „human tendencies” in 1957. In addition, she observed four distinct periods, or „planes”, in human development, extending from birth to six years, from six to twelve, from twelve to eighteen, and from eighteen to twenty-four. She saw different characteristics, learning modes, and developmental imperatives active in each of these planes, and called for educational approaches specific to each period. Over the course of her lifetime, Montessori developed pedagogical methods and materials for the first two planes, from birth to age twelve, and wrote and lectured about the third and fourth planes. Maria created over 4,000 Montessori classrooms across the world and her books were translated into many different languages for the training of new educators. Her methods are installed in hundreds of public and private schools across the United States.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Montessori

The Montessori method – a special educational system created for preschool and school children, which was developed by the Italian doctor Maria Montessori. It helps in the child’s comprehensive development and education.

A holistic approach to the child

The main goal of the Montessori program is to help the child reach their full potential in all spheres of life. Classes are conducive to developing social skills, emotional growth, and increasing physical coordination as well as cognitive preparation for future intellectual academic effort. Under the guidance of a specially prepared teacher, a comprehensive curriculum allows the child to experience the joy of learning, take pleasure in the process of acquiring this knowledge and ensures the development of a sense of his worth. It provides experiences from which children create their knowledge.

Prepared environment

For self-learning to take place, the entire educational environment – class, educational materials and atmosphere – must support the child. The teacher provides the necessary resources, including all possibilities for children to function in a safe and positive environment. The teacher and the child create a relationship based on trust and respect, which gives the student confidence and readiness to try new things.

Montessori educational materials

Dr Montessori’s observations of the types of objects that give children pleasure and to which they return repeatedly led to the design of many sequential, stimulating different senses and allowing them to auto correct educational aids.

Teacher

The teacher according to the Montessori Method functions as the creator of the environment, a person responsible for resources, an example to follow, a person demonstrating, keeping records and observing in detail the behavior and development of each child. The teacher enables learning. Each Montessori teacher has higher pedagogical education, Montessori pedagogy courses and a year of student practice under supervision – directed at the age group with which the teacher will work.

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