The Montessori method is a innovative method of teaching which is “child-centered.” That is, this method emphasizes a child participating in self-directed activities, with the teacher observing and acting as a guide. (The teacher is often referred to as “director” or “guide.”). Montessori attempts to alter the child’s learning environment to that child’s particular learning level, and making a more prominent role of physical activity in learning the various academic subjects and practical skills. Montessori also emphasizes self-correction.

Central to the the Montessori philosophy is that children develop and think differently from adults. To this end, Montessori places emphasis on children’s rights, self-directed development, and a movement away from grading and testing. Indeed, Montessori advocates feel that testing and grading can actually hinder a child’s development with the negative reinforcement of failing grades and the inability to pass tests. There is, however, a formal system of feedback to measure a child’s progress. This feedback is given as a list of skills, activities, and “critical points.” Sometimes a teacher will give a student a narrative of that student’s successes, strengths, and weaknesses. The teacher will then focus on how the student can improve those weaknesses.

The foundation of the Montessori Method is based on the following premises:

Children can direct themselves.

Teachers should act as observers rather lectures.

Children undergo many “sensitive periods” of developments when a child is open to learning new skills.

From birth to about the age of six, children enjoy an “absorbent” mind and have an almost limitless capacity and eagerness to learn new skills.

Children must control their learning environment so they prepare themselves to be independent.

Learning is achieved through discovery, and children must learn to correct their own mistakes rather than always relying on the teacher to give them the right answer.

The child must often be left alone to engage in periods of intense concentration.

A child’s hand is an important part of learning. Children must actually touch the things they are learning about.

Montessori was created by Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an Italian doctor and teacher. She was the first woman to graduate from the University of Rome La Sapienza Medical School and became the first female doctor in Italy. While she worked at the University’s Psychiatric Clinic, she was fascinated with the education of the children who had been labeled “mentally retarded” and “uneducable.” She developed programs to educate the disabled, and her methods proved successful when some of her “mentally deficient” students passed the State examinations with above average results. Montessori wanted to extend her methods to students who were not disabled.

In 1907, Montesorri stared the “Casa dei Bambini” or Children’s House. At this school, she created programs where children could learn at their own pace, a method that Montessori called “spontaneous self-development.” Montessori’s methods enabled children to learn to read and write much faster. The school’s success led to a worldwide interest in her techniques.