The Montessori Method is an educational approach developed by Dr. Maria Montessori, an Italian physician and educator, in the early 20th century. It’s based on the principle that children are naturally curious, eager to learn, and possess an innate desire to explore and discover the world around them. The Montessori Method emphasizes a child-centered educational environment that fosters independence, freedom within limits, and a holistic approach to learning.
In my last post, I wrote about the Reggio Emilia Approach and how it influences my classroom and teaching. Today, I will explain some of the principles of the Montessori Method and how I implement them in my classroom.
The Classroom Environment
A Prepared Environment: The classroom is carefully prepared to facilitate learning and exploration. It’s designed to be orderly, aesthetically pleasing, and filled with developmentally appropriate materials and activities that cater to the child’s interests and abilities.
In my classroom, it’s challenging to keep things as uncluttered as I would normally. I have a large area designated for sensory / movement, and a couple spaces, each designated for one student and their one-to-one assistant. I try not to dictate the aesthetics of those two spaces. Honestly though, it stresses me out, so I am trying to ‘let it go” and focus on the rest of the classroom. Even though I’ve added quite a bit of storage, it always seems like there is never enough! I still struggle with where to store curriculum. TeachTown is amazing and I love it. But, it comes with nearly 20 boxes of books and materials!
Hands-On Materials: Montessori classrooms are equipped with a variety of hands-on learning materials that are specifically designed to engage the senses and facilitate learning through manipulation and exploration. These materials are carefully designed to isolate specific concepts and skills, allowing children to develop a deep understanding through concrete experiences.
Hands-on materials like math manipulatives help my students to visually explore algebraic concepts. We use movable letters and numbers in activities. We use loose parts in different activities to help support understanding. In fact, we recently used little wooden disks to show the process of mitosis. I also incorporate hand-on materials into our morning meeting.
Mixed-Age Groups: Children of different ages (usually spanning a three-year age range) share the same classroom. This arrangement allows for peer learning, collaboration, and socialization. Older children often serve as role models and mentors for younger ones.
Mine is a high-school self-contained classroom for autistic students with extensive support needs. I have students in 9th through 12th. grades.
‘Best-Practice’ Isn’t the Only Option
Freedom and Independence: Montessori classrooms provide children with freedom within limits. They’re encouraged to choose their activities and work at their own pace. This autonomy fosters a sense of responsibility, self-discipline, and intrinsic motivation.
I started out with a more conventional, ‘best practice for an autism-focus classroom’ approach. I limited the amount of materials available and made sure that all the materials promoted functional academic skills development. I tried to keep the schedule and routines as structured as I could.
Early on, art sessions faced challenges as staff insisted on guiding students towards a predetermined outcome or even completing the tasks for them. It took months to shift this mindset, allowing students to express themselves freely. Not all of my students enjoy art, and the ones that do, have preferences for different mediums and materials. Now, I simply make the materials available throughout the day, allowing students the autonomy to create as they wish..
During breaks from formal lessons, students are encouraged to choose activities they enjoy. However, I limit access to laptops in the mornings because my students would choose to watch YouTube all day if I allowed them to.
I’m slowly moving away from many of the “best-practice” recommendations in my classroom environment. I have added many loose parts and natural materials into the classroom and we use hands- on materials in most of our lessons. I’m working on making my classroom calm and ‘homey’. This is not easy in a large public high school classroom. So far, my students have responded to these changes in very positive ways.
How We Learn
Self-Directed Learning: Children are given the freedom to select activities from a range of options. These activities are designed to be self-correcting, allowing children to learn through exploration, experimentation, and repetition. The teacher serves as a guide, observing the child’s interests and progress and providing support when needed.
We use TeachTown as our curriculum, which allows my students access to the same content as the general ed students. I encourage exploration and experimentation with the loose parts and art materials in the classroom.
Individualized Instruction: The Montessori Method recognizes that each child is unique and learns at their own pace. Teachers tailor instruction to meet the individual needs and interests of each child, providing personalized guidance and support.
By definition, a self-contained classroom allows for individualized curriculum, and sometimes schedules. I’m constantly observing students’ progress, how they interact with the materials, and what supports they need, or no longer need, to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Above All, Presume Competence
Respect for the Child: Central to the Montessori Method is a deep respect for the child as an individual with their own strengths, interests, and capabilities. Teachers strive to create a nurturing and supportive environment where children feel valued, respected, and empowered to take ownership of their learning.
Most of my students are non-verbal. But that doesn’t mean they don’t understand what we say. I want my students to feel like they are respected, valued, and that we have high expectations for them. I also try to create an environment where the students can see that we, the teachers, work in partnership with their families, not separately, or worse, against them.
Overall, the Montessori Method aims to cultivate independent, confident, and lifelong learners who are well-equipped to thrive in an ever-changing world. It emphasizes the holistic development of the child—cognitive, social, emotional, and physical—while nurturing a love of learning and a sense of responsibility towards oneself, others, and the environment.
I know that in many classrooms like mine, learning functional life skills are considered to be most important. I agree that this is important. But, I also believe that my students have the capacity to learn new concepts and that they deserve to be surrounded by beautiful things. I sometimes hear, “When are these students ever going to use algebra, or need to know about cell division?” To me, that’s not the point. The point for me is that they have a right to learn these things, and when presented at their level, in multiple modalities, they CAN learn these things.
