The Role of the Adult - Resources
Nursery Attachments and the Key Person Role PDF
A Froebel Trust early childhood research highlight, by Dr Peter Elfer.
Angeline Lillard and Virginia McHugh define authentic Montessori education as described in Montessori’s lectures and writings at the end of her life, serving as a benchmark for researchers and practitioners. Written in two parts, with Part I focused on The Environment.
Part II: The Teacher and the Child PDF
The teacher’s role is to prepare the environment, set children free, observe without interfering, and give captivating presentations after undergoing rigorous training that includes lectures, practice, observation, and personal transformation. An appendix summarizes all authentic elements from both parts.
Montessori Educational Programs International
MEPI have an assortment of practical forms for program directors, which their teacher trainees use during their practice observations/teaching.
A document to record all presentations given by the intern in all areas of the class, categorised as either Presented, Practiced or Mastered.
The National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector
NCMPS are an excellent source of practical and well thought-out documentation for Montessori primary classrooms. The following documents are observation and reflection tools for guides, derived from the Developmental Environment Rating Scale (DERS).
This form enables observers to track or reflect on detailed behaviors of adults. As each behavior is linked to outcomes in Executive Functions, Cultural and Linguistic Fluency, and Social Fluency and Emotional Flexibility, observers may use this to pinpoint areas in need of attention and/or intervention. Items marked with an * are behaviors we look to diminish while the others are those we look to increase.
‘This form enables observers to track detailed behaviors of a single child in the classroom during the course of a single work period. As each behavior is linked to outcomes in Executive Functions, Cultural and Linguistic Fluency, and Social Fluency and Emotional Flexibility, observers may use this to pinpoint areas in need of attention and/or intervention. Items marked with an * are behaviors we look to diminish while the others are those we look to increase.’
This form enables observers to track or reflect on detailed behaviors of all children in a classroom. As each behavior is linked to outcomes in Executive Functions, Cultural and Linguistic Fluency, and Social Fluency and Emotional Flexibility, observers may use this to pinpoint areas in need of attention and/or intervention. Items marked with an * are behaviors we look to diminish while the others are those we look to increase.
Daily Preparation Routines for the Montessori Teacher
The Montessori Teacher and Her Role
NAMC‘s Montessori Teacher Training blog provides the latest information and developments in Montessori education techniques and the Maria Montessori method. NAMC strives to produce content that will support and inform students enrolled in diploma programs, as well as Montessori educators worldwide.
South African Montessori Association
The SAMA National Newsletter of February 2016 includes an article on The Stages of Development in Teachers, a thought-provoking examination of the way the adult develops in parallel with the children over the course of the three years. (Pages 10 – 14)
Bertrand Russell’s “10 Commandments of Teaching” is a concise 1951 manifesto advocating intellectual humility, honesty, and courage in education, his principles forming a secular, Socratic guide to fostering genuine learning and intellectual freedom.
College of Early Childhood Educators
You can use this resource to help you learn about:
- Your professional role and responsibilities related to your pedagogical practice
- The relationship between pedagogy and curriculum
- The significance of inquiry and play-based learning, collaborative relationships and critical reflection
- Strategies to guide pedagogical observation, documentation, planning, implementation, assessment and adaptation
- Ways to use professional judgment and demonstrate leadership in pedagogical practice
It also provides practical examples, scenarios and reflection questions to help you think about your practice, discuss ideas, test theories and share learning with others in the community.In your daily practice with children, families and colleagues – the learning community – you create pedagogical experiences that foster the joy of learning.
A Survival Guide: How to Start a Montessori Class
Karen Pearce, Director of Pedagogy at The Montessori Place in Brighton, UK, has some useful advice on a wide range of topics in her aptly-named seminar.
An action research report that highlights teacher agency and identifies over 100 practical strategies Montessori teachers can use to reduce stress and prevent burnout, focusing on systematic delegation to assistants, setting firm professional boundaries, and maintaining daily inspiration as the most effective ways to ensure career longevity.
Written by Heidi Larson, chair of the Teachers Section of the AMS Board of Directors: “I thought it would be interesting to take a closer look at the thoughts of children in a Montessori classroom. What would children who range in age from 3 to 15 say are the most important qualities of a Montessori teacher? So, I asked them.”
A Montessori Teacher’s Daily Routine: What to Expect
By Montessori Mantra Teacher’s Training College, part of their Teacher Training blog
Public Montessori in Action International
PMAI have some practical Free Tools for Montessori Practitioners, including a Montessori Educator Self-Reflection Tool. PDF
‘This form enables observers to track detailed behaviors of a single child in the classroom during the course of a single work period. As each behavior is linked to outcomes in Executive Functions, Cultural and Linguistic Fluency, and Social Fluency and Emotional Flexibility, observers may use this to pinpoint areas in need of attention and/or intervention. Items marked with an * are behaviors we look to diminish while the others are those we look to increase.’
Abstract: Interpreting Albert Bandura’s term “self-efficacy” as the individual’s belief in his own abilities to succeed in spite of the given circumstances, the purpose of this study was to identify influences leading to self-efficacy in beginning Montessori teachers. In order to evaluate perceptions of self-efficacy, 35 pre-service teachers in the United States were surveyed prior to beginning their Montessori teaching and again during the internship stage of their training. The research indicates that Montessori teachers with high levels of self-efficacy have strong mastery experiences that support their attitudes and desired professional goals. The quantitative results also show that an emotional state associated with past experiences is the second best contributor to self-efficacy. Considering that self-efficacy may be most malleable during the early stages of learning, the results of this study serve to enhance the teacher-training experience though the analysis of early obstacles.
About Author: Dr. Punum Bhatia is the Executive Director of Montessori Casa International, an Early Childhood Teacher Training institution and laboratory school.
Montessori Basics: Following the Child, by Meagan Ledendecker
By Kitty Bravo, Director of Education with the ‘Center for Guided Montessori Studies’
What Did Montessori Mean by “Follow the Needs of the Child”? by Montessori Professional Training Canada
By Parker J. Palmer
Advice for teachers in traditional settings from the UK Gov’t, but equally applicable to Montessori Guides:
“Look at how children in your setting are using the learning environment and adapt it in response to your observations to ensure the environment is supporting the unique needs of the children.”
Albert Max Joosten (1914–1980) was a prominent Dutch Montessori educator, practitioner, and translator who played a foundational role in popularizing the Montessori method on the Indian subcontinent. One of Maria Montessori’s earliest students, Joosten spent much of his career as a Director of Training in India, translating key works of Montessori such as The Formation of Man, and he wrote extensively about the practical implementation of the method in essays, such as those regarding the Exercises of Practical Life, Helping the Child in the Conquest of the Written Language, and this one. As a disciple of Montessori, Joosten seems to have adopted her flowery, turgid style, so a lot of this essay is waffle. What follows are the sections I found useful, as they reiterate a point that seems to be forgotten in many AMI training centres: sometimes the children benefit from being corrected. Radical idea!
Any intervention on our part, whether it is to correct, or for some other purpose, should be determined in relation to the child’s development, that means largely in relation to the child’s interest. So before deciding whether or not to correct mistakes the child may make, and when and how to correct them, we must examine the effect our intervention is likely to have on the child’s interest in the activity he is performing. If it is likely to diminish it we do not correct, because interest is the life breath of development. Our first concern should be to see that the child conserve and increase his interest.
This does not mean that we should let mistakes pass unnoticed. We must observe them, understand their nature, and with their help understand the child who makes them. Only thereafter can we start considering whether we should correct or not. If our conclusion is that we should, then we must examine when to correct, immediately or at a later moment. Then we should start examining how to correct. If we conclude that we should not correct, it may be because there is no need for us or anyone else to correct. It does not, however, mean that there will be no correction. It may be that the material itself will compel the child to see and correct his mistake. It may be that the child himself will eventually notice his mistake and rectify it. It may even be that other children will do the needful.
We may take it that correction of an imperfection in achievement which is due to the lack of ability or mastery is never a help at the beginning of an activity. On the other hand, a mistake in the way an object is handled, thus preventing any future constructive activity with that object, must be delicately corrected then and there. That would be a help. Misuse of an object which can never lead to any constructive activity is another type of mistake, which we must correct immediately and firmly, but positively, and without anger.
If we observe a child who is performing a spontaneous constructive activity with great interest, yet committing mistakes due to imperfect mastery, we should never interfere. Our primary concern is not that the child learns to do something without mistakes. Our real concern is that the child does what he needs, with interest. We must learn to respect the child who is absorbed in a constructive activity even when he makes a mistake, because correcting then would break his interest as it is impossible to pay interest in two directions. We must wait. Waiting is the practical way of showing respect to the child’s interest. Our guiding principle should be not to interrupt constructive work that is being done with interest. Activities done with real interest are always those that help the child in his development just as activities, apparently spontaneous, which are not done with interest are usually those that do not help development.
Our scrupulous respect towards spontaneous activities done with interest should not create the misunderstanding that we foster mistakes. On the one hand, we do not say we should never correct mistakes, but we only say that we should not correct them under all circumstances, but first consider the purpose of the activity and the level at which it is performed. […] we must remember to make certain points very clear to him while presenting any material. First, we have to show 1) how to hand the material and then 2) what we do with it, and 3) what we examine in order to judge the perfection of our own activity, i.e., the control of error.
When we observe a child committing a mistake and not noticing it, we must examine the mistake without interfering in any way, and consider whether we would be justified in correcting it; if so, when and how to make the correction. By not correcting a mistake that should be corrected, we would be exposing the child to distractions which he is not yet strong enough to resist, disorienting him before he can find his bearings. It would amount to abandonment. It is understood that we do not interfere when there is an orderly activity.
If there be disorder, owing to some inner or outer disturbance, we would be failing in our duty if we did not intervene, firmly, without hesitation and without any emotional display. We must not limit our intervention to putting a stop to something negative. We must set in motion something positive which will help the child to move in order. This duty is often overlooked. If we see a child misusing an object, we intervene and stop it immediately. So far so good-but it is not enough. We must then show him how to handle it properly or encourage him to take something else he can handle and is ready to handle properly. Prohibiting what is bad and destructive is not enough. It can only serve as a preparation to start something which is good and constructive. It is certainly stupid to stop misuse in anger. Our anger creates greater disorder in the child. We must be kind, yet firm. We may tell him that it is handled in a particular way or not at all. We must show him how it is to be used or, if he is not ready for it, we may take it back and carefully choose something for which he is ready. In this manner we will be initiating an activity which will remove his inner disorder.
Reprinted from ‘Around the Child 1’, the inaugural volume of the Indian Montessori journal, pp. 32-39. (1956)
The NAMTA Journal • Vol. 41, No. 3 • Summer 2016
For a different/orthodox perspective on Joosten, see Correcting the Children’s Work by Greg MacDonald.
Or read pretty much any website / blog / article devoted to Montessori.