WHAT IS THE MONTESSORI
PEDAGOGY?
Montessori & Primary
WHAT IS THE
MONTESSORI PEDAGOGY?
The Montessori pedagogy, which was developed at the beginning of the 20th century to be put into practice with children and pre-adolescents, stresses the need to favor the natural development of students’ aptitudes through self-management, exploration, discovery, practice, collaboration, play, deep concentration, imagination or communication.
This pedagogic philosophy moves clearly away from traditional educational methods as it is based on spontaneity and on students’ choices, instead of rigid systems based on compliance with specific criteria of academic evaluation.
For Montessori, respect and promotion of children’s independence is a key factor.
RESPECT FOR ALL BOYS
AND GIRLS
We believe it is essential that all boys and girls learn to respect each other and their working environment in order to be respected themselves.
We seek to consolidate their feeling of belonging to a community. To do so, we aim to:
Speak to children with kindness, understanding their desires and needs, without intervening in their achievement and without judgment.
Answer their questions and requirements from respect, regardless of whether we agree with their arguments or not.
Always validate their emotions, guiding them towards gradual control of their moods.
Resolve conflicts in respectfully and coherently. We are committed to conscious, reflexive accompaniment, where children can learn from the natural consequences of their actions.
LEARNING BY DISCOVERY
Montessori’s educational philosophy is markedly constructivist in nature. At Bond, we understand that people learn better by means of direct contact, practice and discovery than through direct instruction. Lifelong learning is much richer for everyone and, during infancy and childhood, is basically essential. Manipulative materials are so important for connecting both cerebral hemispheres that we should never substitute them or hardly ever, for screens.
Our educational work is based on providing multisensory learning. Children have a need to contact with nature and with the real world, so we consider it important to let them discover, handle, experience… the environment that surrounds them.
Through learning by discovery, children are able to become aware of their own difficulties and abilities, and of the complexity involved in a specific job.
Only by means of repetition, perseverance and patience will they be able to automate an action and, therefore, consolidate, significantly, a lesson.
INDEPENDENCE
By this we refer to an adult’s capacity to “let free”, without ties, a child so they can experience for themselves and act autonomously.
It is important to note that by independence we do not mean the child’s isolation regarding their family core but to each adult’s capacity to stand back.
AUTONOMY
At Bond, we understand the concept of “autonomy” as the will to do something by ourselves and to carry it out.
Autonomy does not mean abandonment, but accompaniment, aware of its prime requirements.
Our educational goal is to offer and guarantee activities that promote the capacity in children to feel useful, valuable and capable without the need for direct intervention by adults.
USE OF SPECIFIC MATERIAL
These stand as one of the most valuable tools in implementing the school’s educational project.
They help children understand what they learn by association of abstract concepts with a specific sensory experience, really learning and not just memorizing.
The teacher uses the materials in programming activities by relating them closely with the goals sought to achieve, the level of autonomy expected of the children, level of socialization or of sensory-motor development, their importance in the knowledge-gaining process, values, attitudes, capacities and habits, etc.
STUDENTS' PERSONAL CHOICE
Although the environment prepared involves limitations in the range of activities that students can access, it is still greater than any traditional educational system and for most of class time, students are free to choose any material or educational content from among those available in the field.
Montessori spoke of “self education” in reference to students’ active participation in their own learning.
In this respect, the role of teachers is more related with preparation, supervision and assistance.
ENVIRONMENTS BY AGE GROUPS
A very relevant aspect is the recommendation that environments take in children of different ages, dividing spaces by groups, keeping in mind both their physical and cognitive development in every period.
This is due to the fact that both Educational Neuroscience and Montessori defend that there exist sensitive periods where children have a greater faculty to acquire certain types of capacities and knowledge.
TEACHER AS GUIDE AND
SUPERVISOR
In the Montessori pedagogy, the teacher guides students’ learning by not blocking their self-education process.
Their roles are related with preparing the academic environment, observing the children to promote individualized learning, introduction of new educational materials or providing information.