ASSIGNMENT # 1 RAEESA SHOAIB ROLL # D-17230

Question1: Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she referred to

as a lady much ahead of her time?

Answer: Dr. Maria Montessori is the pioneer of Montessori and the teaching methods that

are compiled in those methods of teaching. She was a very irrepressible and poised woman of her

time as during those times working woman were rare to be seen.

She was born on 31st August 1870 in a middle class family which was very educated, her father

serving in military and her mother was an open-minded person who encouraged Montessori’s

education while her father was old-fashioned individual.

EDUCATION:

Montessori took her early education from Florence and then Rome. When she turned thirteen years

old she pursed her secondary level education from technical school. She passed her examination

with high degree grades which was followed by her medical degree from a medical school in

Rome. In the history of Italy she was the first ever lady doctor. She maintained her excellence in

academics throughout her honors degree while she topped in her class.

WORK WITH PERCEPTUAL CHILDREN:

She was known for her contributions in education that included her work followed as a medical

director of the deficient and insane children in University of Rome who were believed to be mental

patients kept in extreme horrific environment. When she took over she started working with these

mentally challenged children. While working with them she made observations that concluded that

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she needed meaningful activities to do with these children in order to put them on a normal footing

and she was quite successful in this domain.

INSPIRATION FROM ITARD AND SEGUIN:

Maria’s focal aspiration was driven by two most famous French doctors back from earlier times.

These two have done some major research work on mentally challenged individuals. They were

Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard (1775-1838) and Edouard Seguin (1812-1880) who attempted basic

skills in their work for instance reading, writing or alternate activities which are facilitating for

children. She with immense focus studied these methods and thought to utilize them with the

special children just like the normal ones. It took her awhile to get everything in place but the

outcomes were brilliant and she started working with normal children as well.

CASA DEI BAMBINI:

In 1907 Montessori started her first school with normal children named Casa dei Bambini (the

house of children). When she took over the school, the conditions were appalling as only untrained

teachers were available with fifty students. She observed that handing over activities of practical

living made children more independent and efficient. These include c leaning, dressing, gardening,

taking out activities items from cupboards on their own and placing them back etc. She observed

that the job of a teacher is not to spoon feed the children but to assist them in various activities and

tasks as it is universal mechanism that children have the ability to perform these activities

themselves. Only within a short time period the children of Casa dei Bambini showed remarkable

progress in both academics as well as practical work at school. Everyone initially did not hold a

positive opinion about such a setting of schooling as they believed in those orthodox schooling

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style however this changed the overall dynamics of public schools and people started sending their

children to Casa dei Bambini.

WORLDWIDE RESPONSE:

The school gained popularity around the globe in a very short time frame which was a tremendous

success which led to her generating other schools. People from all over the world started visiting

her to appreciate her work and respected her work and her discoveries. Her methods of teaching

were adopted by everyone around the world meanwhile.

HIGHEST RECOGNITION AND AWARDS:

Maria Montessori followed by massive fame and success was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

thrice. She was even pictured on the Italian 200 lire coins and through 1990s pictured on the 1000

lire bills.

DEATH:

Montessori died on 1952 in the Netherlands. Due to her countless work and contribution in the

capacity of education her name would always be blooming.

LADY AHEAD OF HER TIME:

She is known to be ahead of her times because of her findings that were practiced and valued all

over the world. She is memorable through her approaches which are still being practiced and will

continue being practiced in coming years as well. She lived in old days but was unquestionably a

woman ahead of her times.

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Question 2: Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a House of Children?

How do you implement them?

Answer: Montessori is a place where children can do as they please that accomplish their

essentials and securities. Therefore it is important to consider few significant features while

starting a house of children. It is a challenging duty to initiate it but there are serval requirements

that cannot be overlooked.

1. The classroom is among the most essential space where children have to spend their whole

day doing various activities, therefore bearing in mind the design of the classroom is the

main key. Montessori educational apparatus, tables, chairs, shelves and other applicable

activity equipment should be appropriate in size so children can approach them easily and

they should be serval in number so everyone has the chance to benefit from them.

2. The total number of strength of the students must not exceed from 30.

3. The size of a classroom should sanction minimum of 20 square feet as per students at early

level, 30 square feet for the elementary level and 40 square feet for secondary level.

4. To let a child enjoy and feel connected to his school the Montessori house should be child-

sized. A child sized kitchen, science lab, an art’s studio, bath rooms, hobby workshop

should be designed in accordance to the size of children so they do not feel out of place.

5. Montessori house should be designed in a way that the child could experience outdoor

environment. There must be windows through which children could feel sunlight at

daytime that would be a source of natural air circulation.

6. To help children be more close to a natural environment there must be gardens where

children can grow vegetables and fruits of their liking.

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 7. There should be limitation on things or activities for children that are not even allowed for

them at home.

8. Children should be allowed to do work for themselves in Montessori house which they are

usually not allowed to do themselves at home. Allowing this will create sense of

responsibility and independence.

These are some essentials that should be considered while opening a house of children.

HOW TO IMPLEMENT:

To consider requirements is vital but implementing is the actual work as the aftermath is based

upon this. Following are main essentials that require consideration:

 Respect for children

 Prepared environment

 Polite behavior of teachers

 Parent-teacher meeting

RESPECT FOR THE CHILDREN:

Respect is the one of the fundamentals that everyone deserves. Every child should be respected.

Parents tend to force children to follow certain things without keeping in mind the needs and

interest of children. Therefore we need to consider respecting children before anything else.

FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL CHILD: Every person in this world varies from another.

Similarly every child is different from another child therefore it is the role of a teacher to identify

and focus on child’s learning progress, growth and understanding.

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THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT:

Already established environment is important as it gives the child an opportunity to easily have

access of the materials without someone having to tell them. This builds interest in them to do

things according to their curiosity.

POLITE BEHAVIOR OF THE TEACHER:

Teachers are a role model for the students and teacher’s personality will depict student’s

personality. Besides a mother, a teacher is also responsible for the upbringing of children and they

learn a lot from them. Therefore a teacher must be civil and polite in her attitude.

PARENT-TEACHER MEETING:

There should be parent-teacher meetings that will give a chance to discuss students’ progress and

development. This will assist them in assessing children’s nature and deal with them accordingly.

CONCLUSION:

The house of children is a place where children can meet their longings and comfort them, so to

consider these requirements while opening up a school is essential.

Question 3: What are the main discoveries made by Dr Maria Montessori?

Answer: Dr. Maria Montessori’s, educational approach is based on observation and

experimentation. She used a scientific approach. She worked determinedly witnessing children,

examining results and developing new materials activity. In the beginning she worked with

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mentally incapacitated children and achieved astonishing results. After that she thought to work

with normal children.

She believed the ‘secret of childhood’ that every child has some potential and it’s the obligation

of adults to help them and flourish potential that resides in them. Montessori was the revolutionary

who created her method from observation, not just from old theories.

Here are some of her observations that have the most startling results for early learning activities:

 Dr. Maria carefully observed the inclination of child’s interest and developed the

materials/activities accordingly.

 She also observed that child whose concentration on graded wooden cylinders was so

strong that efforts to distract him were useless. And when the child had finished he seemed

rested and happy. The child’s ability for deep concentration and love towards the work was

unbelievable.

 She also observed the child’s need for repetition which satisfied a child’s need. She then

decided to give children the freedom to be able to accomplish their work.

 Maria Montessori also observed that children have a great sense of order. Children put

things back to where it belonged. She respected this and allowed them to do it by placing

the materials in an open cupboard rather than locked cupboards as it was initially done.

This paved way for a sense of freedom of choice for the child to choose their work. She

observed that real discipline comes through freedom.

 When Montessori gave a lesson on blowing the nose she received great cheer from the

children. Children are always being skillful about keeping their nose clean but no one has

calmly taught them how to do it. This made her realize that even small children had a sense

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 on personal self-esteem. Montessori always emphasized the respect for even the youngest

child.

 Dr. Maria observed that her children have more interest in academic activities instead of

toys. She noticed that children preferred work over play, especially during school timings.

 She observed that young children are highly energetic activity powerhouses, always

seeking out experiences that will help them grow and develop. She observed that children

have the ability to select their own work/activity. They do not work for any incentives or

rewards. Their inner motivation is fair enough to motivate them for a particular work.

 She observed that a child can learn almost everything in early childhood, as it was

previously thought, that many things are too complex for children.

 She observed and believed that real obedience comes through love, respect and faith.

Elders/ teachers should be polite and sharp enough to understand the child’s behavior.

 She believed that a child’s behavior depends on the environment. A child can be

disobedient, stubborn etc. or a child can be disciplined, happy and healthy. It depends on

the environment. If proper, healthy and interactive environment provided to children and

their rightful needs fulfilled, they behave normal otherwise not. The second condition is

called deviation.

 She noticed that children are willing to do their work by their own. They feel happy and

satisfied while doing daily household activities. Like cleaning, washing etc. She concluded

that children want to learn “Help me do it myself” strategy.

 Through amicable continuous research and observation she came to know the traffic

patterns of the room arrangements for children. Room should not be clogged and over

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 loaded. Children love to sit on the floor during many activities so there should be rugs or

floor mats for them.

 She noticed that children are more comfortable with their sized furniture and things. So

whole building and rooms are designed according to children interest and comfort ability.

The furniture, washrooms etc. are designed and sized for children. Windows low to the

ground and low shelves used so that children can have the outside view and used things

from shelves.

 Dr. Maria discovered that for building complete personality in children, they need to do

activities regarding sensorial concepts, physical activities, languages, math, art, culture and

many more.

After all these observation and changes first “Casa dei Bambini” (House of Children) became

active. The fame of Maria Montessori, her House of Children and method rapidly spread all over

the world.

Question 4: What does PILES stand for when we talk of human development? Discuss the

physical, lingual and intellectual development taking place during 3 to 6 years of age.

Answer: When we talk of human development “PILES” it stands for:

P = Physical, I = Intellectual, L = Language, E = Emotional and S = Social

Development in 3 to 6 years is a sub-phase of a first stage of development of children. In this

phase child bring his learned, perceived and examined activities into practical format. He wants

freedom to practice them all by himself. Adults/teachers over helping or preventing children

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 are a great hindrance for child’s development at this time of age. Research shows that at the

age of 6 years child’s personality is completely developed at the end.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING 3 TO 6 YEARS OF AGE:

At this stage child is very active, energetic and imaginative. The value of physical development

and the role they play in a child's entire life is very important. A young child's physical growth

first one begins as muscles gain strength with use and children gradually develop coordination.

The development of muscular control is the first step in this process. It also involves activities

such as:

 running around outside

 hopping on the bed

 clutching a parent's finger

 Sense of balance on one foot for sometime

 rinses and dries hand with assistance

 able to use spoon without spattering

 Can torn pages in a book one by one

 Kick, bounce and throw ball

 Can put on and take off coat

 Jump from low steps

 Pedal and steer a tricycle

 Walk and run forward

 Walk on tiptoe

 Move large toys easily

 Go upstairs like adults, but still placed both feet on coming down

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  Able to sit crossed legs

 Dance on music

 Touch toes while legs straight

 Full of energy

 Love for outdoor games

LINGUAL DEVELOPMENT DURING 3 TO 6 YEARS OF AGE:

Language skills also continue to improve during early childhood. Language is an outgrowth of

a child's ability to use symbols. The more words a child uses in sentences, the more

sophisticated the child's language development. Language develops in sequential form, phrases

with inflections, simple sentences, and complex sentences. Children learn many new words all

the time. Parents, siblings, peers, teachers, and the media provide opportunities for children to

increase their vocabulary. Parents are children's very first teachers and when it comes to

language development, parents who actively engage their babies and children in conversation

can have a great impact on the child's ability to communicate verbally. Talking to babies is a

wonderful way for them to begin understanding the rhythm of speech, laying the groundwork

for later verbalization. Reading to babies and children, as well as enjoying music with them

are other ways that young kids can internalize speech patterns, tone, and inflection, paving the

way for them to become expert speakers. Most important lingual skills learn at this stage are:

 Tell name, age, address and sex

 Love sing rhymes and songs

 Reading stories again and again

 Sentence structure improved rapidly

 Grammar also improves continuously

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  Happy to engage in conversations

 Understand nouns and plurals

 Inquisitive mode

 Able to start counting, and know the alphabets, numbers, shapes and colors

 Feel joyful after listening humorous stories

 Have some difficulty in pronunciation of v, r or th.

 Increase in vocabulary

 Speak native language correctly, sometime more than one languages

INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT DURING 3 TO 6 YEARS OF AGE:

Children change more quickly than elder’s. It seems that you can blink your eyes and your

child has grown and developed. At one moment they are throwing balls in the box the next

moment they are flipping the pages of a story book. Then they start reading of their own choices

story books. Different activities and games can enhance their intellectual development.

 May blow bubbles in drinks

 Know colors and different shapes

 Use children’s scissors

 Interested in playing with peers, understand rules and roles

 Count objects and recognize them

 Matches shapes, colors, alphabets and numbers

 Solve puzzles

 Hold pencil properly

 Draw shape (circle etc), alphabets and features (head, face, legs, arms) very luminously

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  Liking towards paint and colors

 can build a high brick tower and bridges

 Knowing primary color

Question 5: Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori classroom?

Answer: A Montessori teacher is considered to be a monitor, facilitator or a directress. The

role in teaching Montessori students is very divergent and substantial. In order to have a better

understanding of role of a teacher we have two types of art of teaching.

1. Productive Art

2. Cooperative Art

PRODUCTIVE ART:

It refers to an art in which the activity of an artist is the principle and the only cause of production

i.e. if the teacher will not polish the children and enhance their skills then they will not be

productive or they will have no utility. For example a piece of cloth will always remain a cloth

until a tailor stiches it into a dress for a person to wear it.

COOPERATIVE ART:

In this type of art, the final product is not predefined. There are three cooperative arts which are:

farming, healing and teaching. Montessori’s teacher’s main concern is with teaching under this art.

ROLE OF A TEACHER IN MONTESSORI CLASS:

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There are several roles of a teacher in the Montessori classroom. She has to be a role model for

children as the children replicate the action of their teachers. The essential roles of a teacher in a

classroom are as follow:

PROVIDE APPROPRIATE MATERIALS:

A Montessori directress should provide suitable material that encounters the needs of the

Montessori students to advance their interest in different arenas of education and applied life.

PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENT:

A Montessori mentor should prepare the best learning environment where a child could easily

select his own work that is according to their interest. It should be put on low shelves where the

child easily explore and place in order.

OBSERVING THE CHILDREN:

A directress should notice all children individually. She should deal with them according to their

interest and provide materials or activities but there must be dynamic link between children and

the prepared environment. The teacher should observe her student profoundly in order to deduce

the children’s need.

GIVING LESSONS:

Montessori teacher’s lesson should be brief and interesting therefore so that they are precise and

does not divert attention from the main lesson. The teacher should provide simple and necessary

information to the child to do the work on their own pace.

EVALUATE A STUDENT:

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A directress should evaluate the students in such a way that should be able to know about the

requirements and effectiveness of her student. She should evaluate her children performance

discretely.

A GOOD COMMUNICATOR:

As we know that a teacher is a role model for students, the teacher should be a very good

communicator and help the children to learn how to be a good communicators and communicate

their thoughts to adults.

MORAL SENSE DEVELOPER:

The role of the Montessori guider is to cultivate moral sense in children also to develop a sense of

courtesy, tranquility, tolerance and respect.

DIAGNOSTICIAN:

Diagnostician means concerned with psycho-educational assessment. A Montessori teacher is a

diagnostician as she can figure out the growth, development and behavior of the children and also

guide the parents about their child’s habits.

PROTECT STUDENT’S INDEPENDENCE:

A directress should give space to students and allow them to work in accordance to their own

desires. Regarding and shielding the freedom of children is vital. Directress should demonstrate

stimulating and relevant lesson and then let them work on their own to breed new ideas that will

meet their personal needs.

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SUPPORTIVE:

The teacher should be supportive, offering warmth, security, stability and should have non-critical

acceptance towards each child. Be compassionate of children in establishing new ideas and allow

them to work self-sufficiently.

The Montessori directress is more than a teacher, her ultimate goal is to facilitate Montessori

children. She works as a guide and mentor in order to retain inquisitiveness, inspiration and

brainpower in students.

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