Assignment Module 1

ID – 4010 – YASMEEN AKHTER Montessori Teaching

1. Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she
referred to as a lady much ahead of her time?
2. Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of
Children?
How do you implement them?

3. What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing the
child?

4. What does “PILES” stand for when we talk of human development?

Discuss the physical, lingual and intellectual development taking place

during 3 to 6 years of age.

5. Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori

classroom.
Question No. 1

Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she referred to
as a lady much ahead of her time?
The life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori.

Dr. Maria Montessori was an Italian physician and educator best known for the
philosophy of education that bears her name , and her writing on
scientific pedagogy. Her educational method is in use today
in some public and private schools throughout the world.
Her father’s frequently transfer gave to her a chance to have

education in big cities throughout Italy. In those days whole of

Europeans was very conservative in its attitude for women.

Montessori pursued medical and scientific education. Many

years of opposition from her father, Teachers, and male fellow

students, she graduated with highest honors from the Medical

School of the University of Rome.
Her work with Special Children

Due to her unwilling to enter education as a career as it was one of the

three traditional roles open to women at that time. Working with
Children, Homemaking or the convent. The ironical her approach was
more scientific, rather than the familiar philosophical approach followed
by many of the educational innovators who came before and after her.
In 1900, after her degree in medicine, Montessori was appointed director of the

new Orthophrenic School attached to the University of Rome, formerly a

municipal asylum for the deficient and “insane” (Special) children of the city,

most of whom would be diagnosed in the twenty-first century as autistic* or

mentally disabled. Montessori took the idea of a scientific approach to

education, based on observation and experimentation. She belongs to the child study

school of thought. She continued her work with the careful practice and objectivity like

that of a biologist studying the natural behavior of an animal in the forest.

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Montessori set out to teach as many as possible of the less-disturbed children to
care for themselves and their fellow inmates.
Why is she referred to as a lady much ahead of her time?
Maria Montessori was considered a lady ahead of her time because of his
significant work in the following aspects:
Working with mentally disable children
Public advocacy
Working in the Orthophrenic School
At that time as a lady it was almost impossible to work on such scale. As

mentioned earlier that she has faced a lot of problems during her studies when

she was in the medical university as she was the only girl in her class and was

strongly discouraged but she never lose her heart and carry on and succeeded.

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Question No. 2

Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of Children?

How do you implement them?

Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a house of children?
The main requirements to be considered to start a House of Children are:
In adult’s world (Home) child feel himself like an alien.
Our Homes are designed according to adults. Children cannot access
anything freely and comfortably.
Children used to listened word “No” many times in a day. “Prohibition is
prohibition, either sweet or bitter.”
Adults try to teach children by their orders or by their words, they usually
not practice themselves.
Adults are sometime so busy that they have no proper time for children.
Providing over and extra help to children, ignoring that they want many of
work done by their own selves.
Children are usually not allowed to “Let me do it myself” strategy.

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How do you implement them?

Implementation
In House of Children we will prefer to implement following thing:
Respect for the Children:
By helping her improve her critical thinking skills and empathy by discussing other people's
perspectives on the same issues. By respecting who she is, and the integrity of her body. By
starting with the child, and moving forward from there. You don't show respect when you agree
with everything she says or by letting her make all her own choices or decisions. Look, kids
don't always know what's right for them. They're kids, after all.
You show respect for your child when you:
respect her feelings;

respect her opinions;

respect her privacy;

respect her temperament; and

respect her body and personal space.

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  Everything should be children
sized. Absorbent Mind.
 Sensitive periods.
 Prepared Environment.
 Focus on the Individual Mind.
 Polite and Reasonable behavior of the
Teacher. Parents and Teacher Meetings.

Question No. 3

What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing the child?

Dr. Montessori to discover several aspects of the child and childhood some of
the discoveries she had made during work.
Inner need for Freedom and Constructive

work Ability to select Activities

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Discoveries by Dr. Maria Montessori

 Children love to work

 The inner drive is satisfactory
 When something that answers the inner needs meets the child’s eyes
natural INTEREST in sparked.
 Normality depends on all the human powers working in unity, in collaboration. She
discovered that real discipline comes through freedom.
 Real obedience is based on love, respect and faith.
 Most of the activities presented to the children in Montessori houses of
children are results of observing the child,
 Montessori discovered that the environment itself was all-important in
obtaining the results that she had observed.
 Montessori further studied the traffic pattern of the rooms.
 Montessori carried this environmental engineering throughout the entire

school building and outside environment.

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Dr. Montessori method has been and is very popular around the world with early
childhood professionals and parents. The Montessori approach is designed to support
the natural development of children in a well -prepared environment. She was a keen
observer of children. She studied them scientifically. If she saw some unusual behavior
in a child, she would say, “I won’t believe it now I shall, if it happens again”. When she
found that children acted in a certain manner under certain circumstances without any
interference from the adults, she could accept that it was the child’s true nature.

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Question No 4. What do PILES stand for when we talk of human

development?
In terms of human growth and development, PILES is an anagram for
1. Physical
2. Intellectual
3. Lingual
4. Emotional
5. Social Development
Physical Development taking place during 3 to 6 years of Age
At this stage child is very active, energetic and imaginative. The value of physical development
and the role they play in a child's entire life is very important. A young child's physical growth
first begins as muscles gain strength with use and children gradually develop coordination. The
development of muscular control is the first step in this process. Later he becomes more skilled at
exploiting his actions. He may go into a direction to be able to run quickly or exploit many of his
skills at a time. He uses smaller actions that he needs when he writes, draw or join together a jigsaw
puzzle. These actions develop his fine manipulative skills. When his fine manipulative skills are
well developed he:
o Washes and dries hand with assistance
o Is able to use spoon without spilling
o Can torn pages in a book one by one
o Holds crayon and may draw a face
o Jump from low steps
o Pedal and steer a tricycle
o Walk and run forward
o Walk on tiptoe
o Throw a large ball.
Lingual Development taking place during 3 to 6 years of Age
Language skills also continue to improve during early childhood. Language is an outgrowth of a
child's ability to use symbols. The more words a child uses in sentences, the more sophisticated
the child's language development. Language develops in sequential form, phrases with inflections,
simple sentences, and complex sentences. Children learn many new words all the time. Parents,

siblings, peers, teachers, and the media provide opportunities for children to
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As his vocabulary. Parents are children's very first teachers and when it comes to language development,
parents who actively engage their babies and children in conversation can have a great impact on
the child's ability to communicate verbally. Talking to babies is a wonderful way for them to begin
understanding the rhythm of speech, laying the groundwork for later verbalization. Reading to
babies and children, as well as enjoying music with them are other ways that young kids can
internalize speech patterns, tone, and inflection, paving the way for them to become expert
speakers. As his vocabulary grows and becomes more fluent he's ready for longer books with a
simple story. He's beginning to enjoy and repeat rhymes and songs. He
o Uses personal pronouns and plurals correctly and can give his own name and sex, and age
sometimes
o Carry on simple conversations and able to describe briefly present activities and past
experiences
o Talks to himself when playing
o Enjoy listening to and making music
o Counts up to ten or more by repetition
Intellectual Development taking place during 3 to 6 years of Age
Children change more quickly than elder’s. It seems that you can blink your eyes and your child
has grown and developed. At one moment they are throwing balls in the box the next moment they
are flipping the pages of a story book. Then they start reading of their own choices story books.
Different activities and games can enhance their intellectual development. Cognitive or intellectual
development is about how children learn, think and develop ideas. This is one of the areas of
development that is strongly influenced by the experiences a child has. Learning the names of
animals is only possible if a child has been told them. This applies to almost any knowledge or
skill
o May blow bubbles in drinks
o Know colors and different shapes
o Use children’s scissors

o Interested in playing with peers, understand rules and roles

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Question No 5. Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori

classroom?
The Montessori Method is based Dr. Maria Montessori's understanding of children's natural
learning tendencies. Children in Montessori classrooms are encouraged to work at their own
optimum levels. There is an emphasis on beauty and orderliness in the Montessori
environment. The Montessori Method provokes a spontaneous love of learning since the
child is given the freedom to make many of her own choices. Ultimately, Montessori teachers
must eliminate obstacles that inhibit the child's natural development.

Observer
Montessori teachers are called upon to be passive observers. A Montessori teacher must

continually observe children to see what motivates each one individually. He must examine each

child in order to understand his learning style. The Montessori teacher must also observe how

each child interacts with others, works in his environment and manipulates each activity. He must

find specific interests in each child so that he can cultivate those interests.

Record Keeper
A Montessori teacher keeps track of observations of children using a variety of methods. He keeps

records using objective narratives and anecdotes about situations that occur in the classroom. He may

also use a checklist or a flow chart, which helps record a child's progress through the Montessori

program. In order to complete a truly comprehensive representation of the child's progress, the

Montessori teacher makes use of a combination of record keeping methods.

Director
Another role of the Montessori teacher is that of director or facilitator. He guides the students

toward experiences with practical learning materials and activities that foster sensory

investigation. He must allow the child to learn from his errors and to intervene only when the

child asks for help. The Montessori teacher is responsible for nurturing motivation, self-

discipline and confidence in students. The Montessori teacher facilitates communication

among the children and assists students in learning how to communicate with adults.

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The Montessori teacher must evaluate patterns of growth, development and behavior in his students.

He evaluates a child's strengths and weaknesses in order to establish how best to nurture the child.

The Montessori teacher evaluates the areas in which the child is proficient so that he can advance the

child to the next lesson and present activities based upon the child's requirements. He also evaluates

in order to provide necessary referrals and suggestions to parents.

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