Montessori

ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
College of Education and Behavioral Studies
Center for Early Childhood Care and Education
Power point 2 for the course :
Advanced Theories in Child Care and Development - ECDE 701
By: Dereje Dakamo Tomora
Advisor: Girma Lemma (PhD)

General Introduction to
Maria Montessori (1870 - 1952)
4/6/2022 DEREJE DAKAMO GSR/2154/14 2

PROFILE
 Full Name: Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori
 Born in 1870, in Chiaravalle (province of Ancona).
 Attended all boy’s technical institute when she was 14.
 Graduated from Rome University medical school in 1896 though
interested in engineering.
 The first female doctor in Italy.
 Focused on pediatrics and psychiatry pioneering theories in early
childhood education.
 She opened the first Montessori school in Rome on January 6, 1907.
 Finally, died of Cerebral Hemorrhage in Noordwijk, Netherlands in 1952.

MONTESSORI’S ASSUMPTIONS
Children learn best when all their sense organs are together at work.
Children should be placed in a mixed age group for the sake of social
interaction.
Their work must be respected & should not be interrupted when
concentration has begun.
Concentration improves children’s focus and comprehension.
Learning environment should provide; uninterrupted work periods,
calm and quite, hands-on activities, independent work and choice
between activities.

CONT.…
- Children learn through multi-sensory experiences in the environment.
- Children should move about in order to learn.
Movement is important to;
-Facilitate gross motor skills development.
-Initiate thinking and observing.
-Care of the environment.
-The development of self-regulation and control.
-Create awareness and respect for other’s work and space.

CONT.…
•Children need to be placed in an enriched environment with specially
designed materials and highly trained teachers.
•She discovered how to help children learn about self-care, math, language,
cultural studies and size, shape, colors, etc.
•Every child has an innate potential and an ability to develop in an environment of
love and freedom.
•The role of teacher in here is observer, model, facilitator and directress.

KEY LEARNING CENTERS
 Practical and daily life
 Sensorial life
 Language
 Mathematics
 Science
 Art and Culture

SAMPLE MONTESSORI CLASSROOM

LESSON DELIVERY MODE
This is……
Show me…….
What is this?
Montessori was influenced by the work of Froebel, Piaget, Edouard,

KEY PRINCIPLES OF MONTESSORI APPROACH
1. Children deserve respect
- Giving children freedom to go at their own pace and develop a good sense of
autonomy.
2. Kids have absorbent mind
- By exploring the world, the child absorbs knowledge directly into his psychic life,
simply by continuing to live.
3. Kids learn best in a prepared environment
- Classroom is set up in a way that optimize leaning and encourages children to
pursue activities and materials of their choice.
4. Kids can teach themselves through auto education
-Teachers and parents need to encourage children learn independently.

CONT’D…
5. Sensitive period is critical for learning
The first 6 years involve children’s interest being concentrated on developing a specific skill.
Stages of sensitive period;
- Order stage (covers birth to age five in which children start to develop reasoning skill,
organizational skill and the ability to understand their environment).
- Language stage (sensitivity to spoken language starts at 7 months and lasts until three
years, writing takes place around age 3 half to 4 half and reading from 4 half to 5 half).
- Movement stage (begins at birth (crawl, pull up and walk) then at age 2 (grasp and hold
things in both hands).
- Social skills stage (begins at age 2 – children direct their skill and interests towards groups
of people).

PROS
o Gives emphasis on hands-on and independent learning.
o Blend the ideas of the playroom and the workshop to create a fun,
engaging area for kids to grow in.
o Encourages students to be creative and inventive and helps them to
develop an entrepreneurial skillset.
o Instills a love of learning in them because learning has been made
to be fun and engaging.
o It is inclusive of all needs, including special needs.

CONS
• Her materials are unaffordable and too much expensive.
• The curriculum is too loose and not structured enough.
• It ignores collaboration. If children exercise too much independence they
may not learn the importance of collaboration and working in teams later
in life

SUMMARY
Key elements of Montessori approach are;
• Mixed-age classrooms: 0–3, 6–9, 9–12, 12–15, and 15–18-year-old classrooms
exist
• Children’s choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options.
• Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours long that promotes
freedom, within limits.
• A constructivist or "discovery" model, in which children learn concepts from
working with materials.
• Specialized educational materials often made out of natural, aesthetic materials
such as wood, rather than plastic
• A thoughtfully prepared environment where child sized materials are organized
by subject area.
• A trained teacher experienced in observing a child's characteristics, tendencies,
innate talents, and abilities.

REFERENCE
 Eissler.T. (2009) Montessori Madness. Georgetown: Sevenoff LLC
 Montessori, Maria, 1870-1952. (2004). The Montessori method :
the origins of an educational innovation : including an abridged
and annotated edition of Maria Montessori's The Montessori
method. Lanham, MD :Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Thank you very much!

Montessori

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