Some Specific Details of the Montessori Method
The schedule - The three-hour work period
Under the age of six, there are one or two 3-hour, uninterrupted, work periods each day, not broken up by required group lessons. Teachers in upper levels schedule meetings or study groups with small groups of students. Adults and children respect concentration and do not interrupt someone who is busy at a task. Groups often form spontaneously or are arranged ahead by special appointment. Note: For more information on the "three-hour work period" see the chapter "My Contribution to Experimental Science" from The Advanced Montessori Method, Volume I, by Dr. Maria Montessori, or contact the Michael Olaf Montessori Company at michaelola@aol.com for reprint GB850.
Multi-age grouping
Children are grouped in mixed ages and abilities in three to six year spans: 0-3, 3-6, 6-12 (sometimes temporarily 6-9 and 9-12), 12-15, 15-18. There is constant interaction, problem solving, child to child teaching, and socialization. Children are challenged according to their ability and never bored. The Montessori middle and high school teacher ideally has taken all three training courses plus graduate work in an academic area or areas.
Work centers
The environment is arranged according to subject area, and children are always free to move around the room instead of staying at desks. There is no limit to how long a child can work with a piece of material. At any one time in a day all subjects -- math, language, science, history, geography, art, music, etc., will be being studied, at all levels. Children are given a lesson regarding a given work in the prepared environment before they take on that work independently.
Teaching method - "Teach by teaching, not by correcting"
The teacher, through extensive observation and record-keeping, plans individual projects to enable each child to learn what he needs in order to improve.
Teaching Ratio:
Except for infant/toddler groups (ratio dictated by local social service regulations), the teaching ratio is one trained Montessori teacher and one non-teaching aide to 22-24 children. Rather than lecturing to large or small groups of children, the teacher is trained to teach one child at a time, and to oversee thirty or more children working on a broad array of tasks. She is facile in the basic lessons of math, language, the arts and sciences, and in guiding a child's research and exploration, capitalizing on his interest in and excitement about a subject. The teacher does not make assignments or dictate what to study or read, nor does she set a limit as to how far a child follows an interest.
Basic lessons
The Montessori teacher spends a lot of time during teacher training practicing the many lessons with materials in all areas. She must pass a written and oral exam on these lessons in order to be certified. She is trained to recognize a child's readiness according to age, ability, and interest in a specific lesson, and is prepared to guide individual progress.
Areas of study
All subjects are interwoven, not taught in isolation, the teacher modeling a "Renaissance" person of broad interests for the children. A child can work on any material he understands at any time.
Class size
Except for infant/toddler groups, the most successful classes are of 22-24 children to one teacher (who is very well trained for the level she is teaching), with one non-teaching assistant. This is possible because the children stay in the same group for three years and much of the teaching comes from the children and the environment.
Learning styles
All kinds of intelligences and styles of learning are nurtured: musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, intuitive, and the
traditional linguistic and logical-mathematical (reading, writing, and math). This particular model is backed up by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences.
Assessment
There are no grades until Middle School, or other forms of reward or punishment, subtle or overt. Assessment is by portfolio and the teacher's observation and record keeping. Standardized national tests begin in the 4th grade and continue every year for the duration of the years at Montessori. However, as previously stated, they are not the “end all and be all” of accountability. The test of whether or not the system is working lies in the accomplishment and behavior of the children, their happiness, maturity, kindness, and love of learning and level of work.
Character education:
Education of character is considered equally with academic education, children learning to take care of themselves, their environment, each other - cooking, cleaning, building, gardening, moving gracefully, speaking politely, being considerate and helpful, doing social work in the community, etc.