Montessori Method
Origin
Discovered and developed by Dr Maria Montessori around 1907 as she was working with a group of children who had developmental challenges. She found out that using materials that stimulate the sensory perception her students were able to perform at the same level as normal students. Following this observation she developed a philosophy, materials, techniques and a very powerful replicable method to provide early childhood education.
History
Dr Maria Montessori was appointed as the director of the Orthophrenic school, a model school for training teachers for children with developmental disabilities. For two years she experimented with the materials to enhance the senses of the children she worked with . Eventually she succeeded in fostering the development of some these children in such a way that they were able to perform at the same levels as normal children at state exams.
First Montessori School
The first Montessori school, known as ' Casa dei bambini' (the children's house), was started on Jan 6th in Rome with a group of children who were 2-6 years old who were vandalizing the property when their parents were at work. Soon the Montessori method of education gained recognition and in association with her son Mario, Dr Montessori formed the Assocaition Montessori Internationale (AMI) .
Montessori and Traditional School
Montessori
Traditional School
- Help natural development of the human being.
- Children learn at their own pace following their own interests.
- Children teach themselves using materials prepared for that purpose.
- Understanding comes from the children’s own experiences and explorations felt by themselves.
- Fundamental idea behind the education method is the fact that physical exploration and cognition are linked.
- Curriculum based.
- A set curriculum and a time frame to reach mile stones, the same for every child.
- Taught by a teacher. Involvement of materials is very limited or none.
- Learning is based on the subject and what is given by the teachers.
- Children sit at s desk and follow instructions on a white board or work sheets.