NAME SOFIA SABA

ROLL NUMBER D17166

MODULE NUMBER 1

INTRODUCTION TO MONTESSORI

PAKISTAN MONTESSORI COUNCIL (PMC)

Q1. Write a biographical note on Dr. Maria Montessori in your own words.

Answer:

Birth and early childhood

Maria Montessori was born to Alessandro Montessori and Renilde Stoppani in a town of Chiaraville, in
the province of Ancona in Italy in the year 1870. Her father, Alessandro Montessori, was a soldier who
later on became a civil servant. Maria's mother, Renilde Stoppani, was a very well-educated lady, which
was very incredible given that women in the Italy of those days would hardly know how to write their
names.

Right from her younger days, Maria was self-confident and always optimistic. She was greatly interested
in things that changed. Maria was a brilliant student and had the ability to learn and grasp things easily.
She always did exceptionally well in her examinations. Both Alessandro and Renilde often had trouble
deciding  on what was best for their talented daughter.

Maria was not only a bright in academics but also good at games and sports. She would often be the
leader in the games in which she participated.

Maria - The first lady doctor of Italy.

The University of Rome did not allow her to enroll in the medical course because she was a woman.
Maria decided to study physics, mathematics and natural sciences. In 1892, she passed her examinations
and received the Diploma de Licenza that made her eligible to study medicine.

In the year 1896 Maria presented her thesis to a Board which consisted of ten men. The Board was
highly impressed with her work and granted her the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thus, Maria became
the first woman to graduate from a Medical School in Italy.

Casa dei Bambini - The first Montessori House of Children.

At the Casa dei Bambini, the children revealed their true nature. Many of them were unbelievable and
not what was widely understood as child nature.. Maria developed her system of education through
scientific observation of the children's almost effortless ability to absorb knowledge from their
surroundings, as well as their tireless interest in manipulating materials. Every piece of equipment, every
exercise, every method Maria developed was based on what she observed children were doing
"naturally" by themselves, unassisted by adults.

Children teach themselves. This simple but profound truth inspired Maria Montessori’s lifelong pursuit
of educational methodology, Child Psychology, Teacher's training, all based on her dedication to
furthering the self-creating process of the child.

The first Montessori teacher's training course

Based on her observations and research in Scuola Ortrofrencia and Casa dei Bambini, Maria Montessori
was able to put together a new method of teaching. In the year 1909, Dr. Montessori conducted her first
Montessori Course to teachers from around the world. She published the 'Scientific Pedagogy as Applied
to Child Education' for Children's houses.

Maria Montessori in the United States of America.

In the year 1913, on the invitation of Margaret Wilson, daughter of the President of USA, Maria
Montessori visited the US. In fact, it was in the same year that Alexander Graham Bell and his wife
Mabel had set up the Montessori Educational Association at their home in Washington, DC Thomas Alva
Edison and Helen Keller were also strong advocates of Maria and her methods of education. Noted
novelist and philosopher, Ayn Rand, was very appreciative of the Montessori method of teaching. Ayn
Rand considered Montessori's methods a more individualistic and reason-based alternative to what she
saw as the shortcomings of progressive education.

On her second visit to the US, in 1915, Maria Montessori was invited to set up a classroom at the
Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, where spectators watched twenty-one children, all new to
this Montessori method. The only two gold medals awarded for education went to this class. This
experiment drew world-wide attention and thus the field of education was never the same again.

Maria conducted a teacher training course in the US.

Maria Montessori in Europe.

The Spanish government invited Maria to set up a research institute. It was done in 1917. She also
conducted a series of teacher-training courses in London in the year 1919.

In 1922, Benito Mussolini took over the government of Italy. Mussolini being a politician wanted Maria
to follow his ideals. So, initially he encouraged and fully supported the Montessori movement in Italy.
The government of Italy funded the Montessori schools and also helped Maria establish a training
centre for teachers.

Mr.Mussolini was nurturing colonial ambitions. In 1934 he was planning an attack on the African state of
Abyssinia. To carry out his designs he needed the people of Italy, especially the youth, to get interested
in war. Mr.Mussolini insisted that all children should enroll into this organisation. This included the
children from the Montessori schools. Maria disagreed on this and did not comply with his wishes.
Mussolini immediately ordered the closure of all Montessori schools, and Maria was exiled from Italy.

She moved to Spain and lived there until 1936. This did not prove to be good for her. A civil war broke
out in Spain. General Franco another fascist took over the government of Spain. She was rescued by a
British cruiser and she came to the Netherlands. Maria opted to stay in the Netherlands for some time.
In 1938, she opened the Montessori Training Center in Laren. She continued with her work in the
country till 1939.

Maria Montessori travels to India.

In the year 1939, the Theosophical Society of India extended an invitation to the 69-year-old Maria. She
accepted the invitation and reached India the same year. She was full of energy and keen to start work
in India.
She made Adayar, Chennai her home and lived there along with her son, Mario. Rukmini Devi, a Bharat
Natyam dancer was the founder of the world famous centre for music, dance, and other fine arts –
Kalakshetra. Her husband George Sidney Arundale, was the president of the Theosophical Society of
India. Dr. Montessori became a good friend of the couple.
The outbreak of the World War II made Maria extend her stay in India. In 1940, when India entered the
war, she and her son were interned as enemy aliens, but Maria was allowed to conduct her training
courses. She  stayed in India after the war till 1946 . She returned to Europe for a brief period. In 1947,
she founded the Montessori Center in London. Maria returned to India for a second time the same year.
Between 1939 and 1949, Maria Montessori  conducted sixteen Indian Montessori Training Courses, with
the help of her son Mario. This laid a very sound foundation for the Montessori movement in India. She
travelled to Pakistan in 1949 and went back to Europe.

The last days of Maria Montessori

Maria was nominated for the Nobel Peace for three consecutive years, 1949, 1950, 1951. But regrettably
the Nobel Prize eluded her on all three occasions.

In 1951, Maria Montessori went to Holland from India. She made Noordwijk aan Zee, a coastal town, her
home. The last few days of Montessori's life were characterized by the same activity and zeal she had
shown throughout her career. Her long and self-sacrificing labours on behalf of the child came to a
sudden end on the 6th of May, 1952. Maria was 82 years when she passed away. Her work lives on till
today through the thousands of Montessorians all over the world who are continuing with her good
work.

By then the whole world was admiring her work. She could say” I point my finger at the child. But why
are you admiring my finger?” Those were almost her last words.

‘‘Education is a natural process carried out by the human individual and is acquired not by listening to
words, but by experiences in the environment.

- Dr. Maria Montessori”

Q2. Write a note on the first Casa dei Bambini. Also explain how did Montessori method develop
there.

Answer:

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) devised a method of early childhood education, whose approach has
been refined in countless schools throughout the world. She developed the principle that was also to
inform her general educational program: first the education of the senses, then the education of the
intellect.

Maria Montessori rapidly became well known. She began to accept speaking engagements throughout
Europe on behalf of the women’s movement, peace efforts, and child labor law reform. In 1904 she
became a professor, and occupied the chair of Anthropology and the Chair of Hygiene at the Magistero
Femminile in Rome, one of the women’s colleges in Italy.
The Ministry of Education invited her to give a series of lectures at Rome University on the education of
exceptional children. In these lectures, she set down the foundations of scientific pedagogy and was
subsequently asked by the state to found and head a school for exceptional children. Montessori’s
curriculum included three major types of activity and experience: practical, sensory, and formal skills
and studies. She designed the special materials and scientifically-prepared environment she deemed
essential for her pupils.
In the Casa Dei Bambini, the students came from the slums of Rome and were generally described as
disadvantaged. This Children’s House and those that followed were designed to provide a stimulating
environment for children to live and learn, and take responsibility for themselves. An emphasis was
placed on self-determination and self-realization. This entailed developing a concern for others and
discipline and to do this children engaged in exercises in daily living. These and other exercises were to
function like a ladder – allowing the child to pick up the challenge and to judge their progress. ‘The
essential thing is for the task to arouse such an interest that it engages the child’s whole personality’
(Maria Montessori – The Absorbent Mind).

While the children were unruly at first, they soon showed great interest in working with puzzles,
learning to prepare meals and clean their environment, and engaging in hands-on learning experiences.
Dr. Montessori observed that before long, the children exhibited calm, peaceful behavior, periods of
deep concentration, and a sense of order in caring for their environment. She saw that the children
absorbed knowledge from their surroundings, essentially teaching themselves.

In the Casa dei Bambini, the educator served as a director of activities rather than as a teacher in the
conventional sense. Montessori argued that the educator’s job is to serve the child; determining what
each one needs to make the greatest progress, to facilitate the natural process of learning. The teacher
was the ‘keeper’ of the environment. He or she was to be a trained observer of children. The activities of
the director are geared to each child rather than to group-centered teaching and learning (here there
are a number of parallels with Dewey). The success of her method then caused her to ask questions of
‘normal’ education. She believed she could apply her revolutionary ideas to the education of the normal
child, and to this end she embarked on a program of intensive studies at Rome University. Dr.
Montessori succeeded brilliantly and received world acclaim.

Many elements of modern education have been adapted from Montessori’s theories. She is credited
with the development of the open classroom, individualized education, manipulative learning materials,
teaching toys, and programmed instruction. In the last thirty-five years educators in Europe and North
America begun to recognize the consistency between the Montessori approach with what we have
learned from research into child development.
Since 1907, Montessori Schools have been established in over fifty countries. After her death in 1952,
her works have achieved greater popularity than ever before, and the growth of Montessori schools in
North America is reaching phenomenal proportions. Ottawa Montessori Schools have retained the
purity of Dr. Montessori’s principles of education. More and more, psychological research is confirming
Montessori’s observations about the unfolding of learning in the child. Her method of instruction was a
carefully organized one that followed her discovery of the patterns of human growth and development.
Between 1912 and the end of her life, she put her ideas into twenty-five books and pamphlets on
various aspects of her educational theory and practice. Of particular note are Dr. Montessori’s writings
on Education for Peace that led to her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1948.
It was Dr. Montessori’s belief that if worldwide peace and harmony were ever to occur, we must start
with the young child. One has only to observe a Montessori class of mixed religions and ethnic
backgrounds all working and socializing in harmony to know this is true. Today there is a growing
consensus among psychologists and developmental educators that many of her ideas were decades
ahead of their time.
Dr. Montessori died and was buried in her adopted country, Holland, in 1952, at the age of eighty-two.
Holland embraced a love of freedom and concern for education which she particularly valued. Dr.
Montessori had a son, Mario Montessori Sr.
Q no: 3 Elaborate the discoveries made by Dr Maria Montessori by observing the child.

Answer:

Dr Maria discovered the true nature of the child and developed an educational system that correlates
with it. She made some amazing discoveries during her creative work with the children.

1) Children prefer academic materials over toys Montessori discovered that children showed more
interest in academic materials rather than toys because of attractive academic materials. She also found
that children prefer work over play during the school time.

2) Inner need for freedom and constructive work. She has found that children love to do constructive
work, provided it suited the developmental age of the child. She observed that children repeatedly work
that activity with great interest which led them into state of concentration.

3) Ability to select activities Dr Montessori further recognized that the children could select their own
work once when she was out of class. The children meanwhile took the material themselves from the
cupboard and started their work. This activity of children lead to realize Dr Montessori that they have
ability to select activities.

4) Naturally motivated and do not need rewards She discovered children love to work purposefully. If it
corresponded with the inner developmental needs, they get naturally motivated without the need for
any reward.

5) Children need order She founded that children needed ordered for their development. They put
things back at their proper place after using it. She said that the child need order and consistency
around him in everything. He needs to have things at their proper places. She believed that too much
disorder may create a wrap in child’s personality.

6) True learning happens with concentration Dr Montessori found that the children revealed that they
could work with concentration when they need to learn something. Also, inner construction takes place
when they are concentrating on the task.

7) Purposeful activities lead to normalization Dr Montessori says that during early childhood it is possible
to rectify any developmental errors and bring the child back to normality. The children need to do such
purposeful activities for any rectification and it requires reasonable time period.

8) Children need activities in multiple areas to develop fully She found that the child needs a wide range
of activities and experiences from multiple areas in order to develop him fully and prepare himself for
life. They need such activities that help him to develop more so that he can do anything for himself.

9) Children are naturally well behaving Dr Montessori discovered that the children are often percieved
to behave in a certain manner for example destructive, disorderly, stubborn, disobedient etc. But in
naturally environment they show orderly, caring and loving behaviour. She found that if suitable
conditions are missing then the children behave destructive or disobedient etc.but if they have naturally
prepared environment then they behave well.

10) All efforts to grow are efforts to be independent Dr Montessori discover that children need to do
things on their own. She found it hindrance to their development if parents provide too much
unnecessary help. She emphasized that all efforts to grow are efforts to be independent. She said that
adult help should be limited only to help them to do things by themselves.

11) Environmental engineering She discovered that the environment is important in child learning
process. She said that the class room should be engineered according to the need of children.all setup
should be according to the needs of children.

12) Children need respectful treatment She acknowledged that the children showed her how to teach
them. She said that children should be treated with respect in every manner. Because they observe the
behaviour of their elders. And id they treated with respect they also show respect towards their elders.

13) Real obedience it is based on love, respect,and faith. When obedience lead to inner satisfaction of
the child, it becomes real obedience.

14) True discipline comes through freedom Dr Montessori found that discipline in children comes when
we give them freedom. Any form of discipline imposed by adults in an unsuitable environment vanishes
as soon as adults goes missing. She believed that true discipline comes when the children can move
around freely and engage in purposeful activities.

15) Children are under estimated Dr Montessori discovered that exploring different things are important
in child’s development rather than only being academic subjects to be learned. Children showed that
they could assimilate the knowledge normally considered too complex for the child, if it is presented in
right way.

Q no 4: Explain sensitive periods and write short notes of the following

Answer:

Montessori sensitive periods refer to a period of time when a child's interests are focused on developing
a particular skill or knowledge area. During what Maria Montessori describes as the child's absorbent
mind, birth to age 6, is when most sensitive periods occur.

Sensitive periods are developmental windows of opportunity during which the child can learn specific
concepts more easily and naturally than at any other time in their lives. A child in the midst of a sensitive
period will show an especially strong interest or inclination toward certain activities or lessons.

a) Sensitive period for language

The sensitive period for spoken language is from 7 months to 3 years of age. It begins when the
child first creates sounds by mimicking mouth movements, and progresses over time, as they learn
to form words and simple sentences. The sensitive period for learning to write is from 3.5 to 4.5
years of age.The prenatal influence on language development is important. By age three the child is
ideally speaking 2-3 word sentences.
The environment we prepare for this child is speaking to them in clear language, reading to them
and allowing them to speak their needs and not anticipating their needs too much that there is no
need for the child to try to communicate verbally. This can be a common occurrence that adults are
often not aware as we try to be helpful at all times to the needs of children.
b) Sensitive period for mathematics
 In the Montessori learning environment, the children not only sees and learns the symbol for a
number, they hold the quantity in their hand. For most children, the sensitive development period
for learning mathematical concepts is between the age of four and six years.
c) Sensitive period for movement
From 2.5 to 4.5 years of age, children enter the sensitive period for refinement and coordination of
movement. This is when the child begins to hold items using both hands, develop the pincer grip,
and control and coordinate movement.
The sensitive period for movement can be divided into different classifications. For acquisition of
gross and fine motor (walking and the use of the hands) is from 0-2.5 years of age. The environment
we prepare for this is the opportunities for the child to crawl, pull up, encourage to walk with or
without assistance and not just left to sit by themselves. A child is also given toys/materials that
allow their hands to hook, bat, touch, turn, insert and grasp small items within their abilities. We
have to give them toys or materials that improve the movement of the hand, and improve
eye/hand coordination. These opportunities given to them need to be repeated in order for these
skills to be refined.

Q no.5 Write short notes on the following concepts of Montessori education;

i) Mixed age group

Keeping children of verrying ages together in one room has been a unique characteristic of
Montessori system for more than 100 years. There is no segregation of children into grades
such as playgroup, nursery, prep etc. Montessori grouping are based on developmental
stages of childhood. There are seven Montessori mixed age classroom levels;

Level 1: infants (birth- 1/1/2 years)

Level 2: toddlers (1/1/2 - 3 years)

Level 3: early childhood (3 - 6 years)

Level 4: lower elementary (6-9 years)

Level 5: upper elementary (9-12 years)

Level 6: middle school (12-15 years)

Level 7: secondary (15-18 years)

ii) Spiritual embryo

Maria Montessori describes the baby born as a spiritual embryo after completing its
development in the womb. The period between 0-3 years is the stage of spiritual embryos.
Physically, he/she needs someone else, he/she can't move on his own, he/she can't stand or
eat. It is the most significant phase in the intellectual, psychological and spiritual life of a
child.
iii) Absorbent mind
The absorbent mind is one of the most important ideas in early childhood education. Maria
Montessori presented this fundamental concept to the world more than a hundred years
 ago from her initial observations of children. The absorbent mind makes our adult lives
possible.
The absorbent mind is the sponge-like capacity to absorb from the environment what is
necessary to create an individual from his or her specific culture. It is the quality of the
child’s mind up to the age of about six, when there is a transition to the reasoning mind we
have as adults.
If the child is in an environment where she hears the language, she will speak it. As the child
absorbs words and their meaning along with the context and the emotions behind the
words, she begins to construct the ability to communicate.
Children absorb not only their language, but the traits of their families and communities.
They learn how and what we eat, and how to behave in certain situations. Some of it is
consciously taught, but a great deal of it is simply absorbed through this powerful child
mind. Children absorb through a process Montessori called “mental chemistry,” and actually
build themselves and their identity through what they absorb.
iv) Prepared environment
The “prepared environment” is Maria Montessori's concept that the environment can be
designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child. ...
Montessori classrooms are designed to offer lessons, activities, and tools that match the
developmental needs and interests of each individual child. The prepared environment is
more like a home.
One of the main goals of a Montessori prepared environment is freedom of choice. This is
achieved through giving the child freedom to exploration, freedom of movement, freedom
to interact socially, and freedom of interference from others.so that the children can
explore things according to their needs.

V) Focus on individual progress

Montessori’s aim is to focus on every individual’s progress so that each individual can grow
and become independent. Montessori gave a scientific approach to education and laid
emphasis on observation and experimentation. Montessori held that individual attention
should be paid to each child. Opportunities should be provided to each child to develop in
his own way. Within a Montessori program, children progress at the own pace, moving on to
the next step in each area of learning as they are ready. While the child lives within a larger
community of children, each student is viewed as an individual.