Examination of Current Institutional/Classroom Practices

I wrote this short essay for an assignment in class: ED 611-Theories of Teaching and Learning. Within this paper I analyze some current teaching practices while focusing primarily on Maria Montessori's Method of teaching and education.

Examination of Current Institutional/Classroom Practices Christine Knutson Western Oregon University

And so we discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being....The teacher’s task is not to talk, but to prepare and arrange a series of motives for cultural activity in a special environment made for the child. ­­ Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, p. 8

Take one step into any public elementary school room and you’ll likely see evidence of the Montessori Method whether you realize it or not. Child­size chairs, student cubbies and a homelike setting are just some of the features that Maria Montessori brought to the world of Education (Klein, n.d.). Maria Montessori was born in Italy in 1870 and passed away eighty­two years later but not without legacy. She pioneered her way through school becoming the first woman in Italy to earn a medical degree (Morrison, 2009). From there, she studied children with disabilities and had this to say, “I differed from my colleagues in that I instinctively felt that mental deficiency was more of an educational than medical problem” (Montessori, 1967, p.21). Montessori’s way of thinking revolutionized the people’s perspectives of child development, learning and the structure of teaching.

More so, in Montessori’s book The Absorbent Mind she quickly set the mood describing the awesome potential and capabilities that newly born humans possess (Montessori, 1949/1995). Montessori referred to a baby’s “soul” and how it must be revered with the same respectful capacity given a grown adult (Montessori, 1949/1995). She stated that it is the young learner who teaches the adult and it is the young learner whom will ultimately alter humankind (Montessori, 1949/1995). “The child is endowed with unknown powers, which can guide us to a radiant future” she postulated (Montessori, 1949/1995, p.4). Her goal for the education of children was big­picture: create a means for a peaceful society and less­impoverished world (Montessori,1949/1995).

Interestingly, Montessori called the child’s ability to learn an absorbent mind which means

that young minds are open to learning and unconsciously soak up information from their environment (Morrison, 2009). Not to be confused with Behaviorism; Montessori did not ascertain that children are conditioned by their environment like B. F. Skinner theorized. Maria Montessori believed that children’s minds are highly cognizant of their surroundings, therefore an aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian classroom would best serve as the learning environment (Morrison, 2009).

Additionally, Maria Montessori theorized that children were capable of teaching themselves­­when using the appropriate materials­­called autoeducation (Morrison, 2009). The materials, still in use today, are called “sensory materials”; they are didactic and natural (Klein). Once the teacher has modeled how to use a set of materials (which is done silently) the student can then choose when and how often to utilize those materials (Morrison, 2009).

Furthermore, Montessori believed that a child grows through “planes of development” (Cossentino, 200). Similar to Jean Piaget’s theory of intellectual development stages, Montessori’s planes of development are birth to 6, 6­12, 12­18 and 18­24 (Cossentino, 2006). Also similar to Piaget was Montessori’s belief that children learn by doing and by discovery (Montessori, 1949/1995). In this sense, Montessori’s theories link her to other great thinkers like John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky. Montessori had sensory materials, Vygotsky had his tools (Vygotsky, 1978). Dewey was against rote learning and teacher­directed methods (Berliner, 1993). Montessori felt that the role of the teacher was, physically, be in the periphery; encourage students to learn by giving them autonomy; prepare the learning environment; and, observe children to introduce appropriate sensory materials (Morrison, 2009).

Speaking of Vygotsky, Dewey and Piaget, they are credited for their ideas that have been formed into a theory called Constructivism (Morrison, 2009). Constructivism is defined as “a cognitive theory that emphasizes the active role of children in developing their understanding and learning” (Morrison, 2009). Although we don’t cite Maria Montessori’s ideas as co­creating the theory of constructivism, her Method most closely resembles the Constructivist principles (M. Wenzel, e­mail, November, 19, 2013).

Overall, I feel that Maria Montessori had profound insight to child development and she made extraordinary discoveries. Unfortunately, her ideas have been criticized to the point that expanding this way of teaching is far from popular (Cossetino, 2006). However, there are some Montessori schools currently functioning in the United States and in other places around the World. In fact, some say that Montessori’s strategies are best suited for children with special needs, such as those students identified as “with­disabilities” and/or those students identified with giftedness (Morrison, 2009).

Furthermore, with the influx of students identified as living with Aspergers and Autism, Maria Montessori’s gentle­teacher approach coupled with self­correcting (Klein) sensory materials, may be exactly what we need in our public school system. On that same note, I think that public school classrooms could benefit by employing Montessori’s approach to a respectful and tranquil learning­atmosphere. Then possibly bullying would be less of an issue.

In conclusion, I’ve been in classrooms that have Montessori­esque characteristics to them. I’ve observed other teachers use Montessori­like strategies. And, I’ve participated as a guest observer in a couple of Montessori classrooms, myself. All around me in this educational world I see evidence of Maria Montessori’s unique attributes to learning but I don’t see her getting the scholarly credit I feel she deserves. In my opinion, it would be worthwhile for all educators to analyze Montessori’s assertions and sincerely consider her approach. For ultimately, Maria Montessori hoped that education would be a means to Peace.

References

Berliner, D.C. (1993). The 100year­journey of Educational Psychology: From interest, to disdain,

to respect for practice. In T.K. Fagan and G.R. VandenBos (Eds.) Exploring applied psychology: Origins and critical analyses. Master lectures in psychology, (pp. 3738).Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.

Cossentino, J. M. (2006). Big work: Goodness, vocation, and engagement in the Montessori method. Curriculum Inquiry, (36)1, 63­92. Retrieved from http://www .jstor.org/stable/3698520

Klein, A. S. (n.d.). Different approaches to teaching: comparing three preschool programs. Earlychildhood NEWS. Retrieved from http://www .earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view .aspx?ArticleID=367

Montessori, M. (1967). The discovery of the child. (M. J. Costelloe, Trans.). New York, NY: Fides Publishers, Inc.

Montessori, M. (1995). The absorbent mind. (C. Claremont, Trans.). New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. (Reprinted from The absorbent mind by M. Montessori, 1949, New York, NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston)

Morrison, G. S. (2009). Early childhood education today. (11th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. In M. Cole and M. Gauvain (Eds.), Readings on the development of children (pp. 29­36). New York, NY: W. H. Freeman and Company.