How Montessori Principles Promote Independent Learners | Articles ...

Educating the senses is the core principle of Montessori teaching. An Italian educator named Maria Montessori is the founder of this universal principle in teaching children. During her lifetime, she successfully formulated this once revolutionary way of teaching after careful study of children and their natural learning patterns.

One of the most important Montessori principles is a prepared environment because it plays a crucial role in the learning process of the student. The reason behind this principle is that knowledge takes place naturally in a child when the entire atmosphere is suitable for learning and discovery. Encouraging children to learn therefore would not require much pushing from teachers.

Hence, in a Montessori school you see a perfectly designed, age appropriate environment whose key purpose is the natural development of your child. Parents will also see a scaled down environment for various grade levels that encourages independence from Montessori students. You will see dedicated teachers who support, observe, and assess than spoon-feed lessons and mark grades on school activities like homeworks, test papers and projects.

Aside from environment, other equally important premises include the discovery model vs. direct instruction, work as purposeful activity, and the importance of a mixed age class.

The Montessori method of teaching involves the use of special materials commonly known as the Montessori sensorial materials. Maria Montessori herself was known to design these educational materials. Such special educational materials promote learning using the five senses. In this method of teaching, it is crucial that these materials are made accessible to the student, that the student determines which activity to engage for the day, and that he is given up to three hours of uninterrupted work on the material of his choice.

Some examples of these sensorial materials include the cylinder blocks, the geometric cabinet, the broad or brown stair, the knob-less or colored cylinders, the red rods, the 26 bells, the binomial and trinomial cubes, and the pink tower. All of these sensory materials have provisions for independent error checking. This reinforces independence in the child as it does away with too much dependence on teachers and other grown-ups.

The Montessori sensorial materials are designed to develop the child?s learning perception. This learning approach is applied from preschool to higher grade levels to educate the senses. (7060)

Source: http://articlescentury.com/reference-education/how-montessori-principles-promote-independent-learners?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-montessori-principles-promote-independent-learners

wcc hugh jackman theme steiner ranch prn winnipeg jets corsica