Research Paper On Maria Montessori

MONTESSORI’S research shows that children learn through movement and should have environments that are specifically tailored to meet their needs. Montessori schools provide a foundation for learning that is centred on care for the environment, care for the self as individual and

The Montessori system of education was developed during the first half of the 1900’s by Dr. Maria Montessori as a result of her extensive research observations and experimental testing (Lillard, 2005, pp. 16-18). Dr. Montessori was of the belief that children contain an innate desire to learn and her research showed that, when given the

Maria Montessori founded an education system which is called Montessori and still bares her name, her system is based on belief in the child’s creative potential, (Douglas, n.d.). Her first Casa Dei Bambini (Children’s house), where Maria was using her approach of teaching was opened in 1907 in Rome. She was great educator who believed that children are learning through their personal experience at their right time and their own pace. (Ridgway, 2007). Children rather than learning largely from what the teachers and the textbooks say, learn from “doing”,(Douglas, n.d.). To provide for children an effective, independent learning process, and that they become a competent and confident learner, Teacher had to provide for children a healthy, clean, well-prepared and well organised environment in which children could develop. Maria Montessori came up with idea that if children have to work and play independently, they have to be comfortable and need appropriately sized tools and items that fit their small hands (Mooney, 2000). Montessori believed that children learn through sensory experiences. Teacher has a responsibility to provide wonderful sights, textures, sounds, and smells for children. Sensory

Education is very important especially in this day and age. What school one attends and how they perceive school to be is a huge factor in one’s life success. There has been research done in the past few years proving that students who receive a Montessori education will prosper academically more so than those who receive a traditional education (Ryniker and Shoho, 2001). Traditional schools typically follow teacher based philosophies and the Montessori education is student centered. On average, children enjoy student based philosophy classrooms. Therefore, they are much more in tuned to what they are learning and that benefits their educational career. Having fun while learning is the key to keeping children engaged.

Inspired by the work of Itard and Seguin, two almost forgotten French doctors, Maria Montessori took the idea of scientific approach to develop her theories, principles and beliefs in early childhood education, which through observation and experimentation. All the learning activities and teaching materials are purposeful and aimed to stimulate senses, mind, and provide self-esteem and achievement.

The Montessori method began in the early 1900's by the first female doctor in Italy, Dr. Mary Montessori, as a way of educating mentally disabled children. Her ideas were so successful with these children that she began to apply her understanding of learning to study the potential of normally functioning children (Oalf, 2001). Dr. Montessori's approach to education stresses the importance of learning styles, independence and responsibility.

The success of the Montessori method depends on how the environment us set up, it is essential that it is prepared and simplified for the students’ understanding.

Maria herself quoted in one of her books “The teacher, when she begins to work in our schools, must have a kind of faith that the child will reveal himself through work. She must free herself from all preconceived ideas concerning the levels at which the children may be. The many different types of children...must not worry her...The teacher must believe that this child before her will show his true nature when he finds a piece of work that attracts him. So what must she look out for? That one child or another will begin to concentrate.”

Watching a small child discover how to operate his or her favorite plaything is awe inspiring. The look of wonder at the item as it's carefully chosen from amongst their belongings and studied ever so carefully for each and every nuance. How that little face lights up with each new discovery no matter how large or small. The sounds of delight an even dismay at an unwanted result are beautiful. Consider an educational system that would continue to utilize a child’s natural curiosity, unyielding ingenuity and thirst for knowledge. Montessori education creates that environment for children by allowing them the freedom to not only gain knowledge in a natural progression, but also provide a basis on which to continue to grow no matter where

Maria Montessori was considered ahead of her time. She was born in Chiaravalle, in the province of Ancona, Italy in 1870 to an educated but not wealthy family. Despite her father's wishes and society's conservative ways at the time, she studied science. She was the first female physician in Italy when she graduated medical school in 1896. She worked mostly with the poor because she saw vast potential in them. She was an unselfish person and she traveled Italy speaking of women's rights and child labor law reforms. Not too long after graduating she was chosen to represent Italy in two different women's conferences. They were at Berlin in 1896 and also in London in 1900. Maria was appointed a professor of anthropology at the University of

Dr. Maria Montessori is the creator for the Montessori Education Method for a new world who devoted her life to improve children’s education excellence. Her educational method is widely used in schools or at home for children 3 t0 6 years old. Maria Montessori lived through one of the traumatic time eras of the world history, which changed everybody’s lives including children. It was the time of anxiety, cruelty, death, family separation and children facing starvation. Maria Montessori felt the best solution to overcome endless, war, violence and poverty is education. Therefore, Maria Montessori believed educating the next generation will improve children’s live and future of the

The ability to imagine is a unique human experience and deserves to be nurtured and encouraged. Dr. Maria Montessori believed that the development of the child’s imagination and creativity are inborn powers within the child that develops as his mental capacities are established through his interaction with the environment. The cultural activities in a Montessori prepared environment helps to foster imaginative skills in the early years which make significant difference in a child’s future development. The children while being educated are encouraged to imagine. This freedom

Montessori realized the connection between science, psychology, and the education world and began to speak out at conferences about the subject. She also studied the needs of special education children and began to establish strategies of teaching the so called ‘degenerate’ children in society (Povell, 2007). Furthermore, she was a major impact on the woman’s movement in Italy, and believed in the fact of the “new woman”, so she pushed women to take leading roles in instructional reform. In addition to being an example of the “new woman”, she used that distinction to encourage the woman to struggle for their rights and win the distinction as an equal gender. (Hainstock, 1997) Despite her success, Musilini banished her from Italy because she didn’t teach the traditional Italian way, so she went to Spain and then the Netherlands where she died in 1952, after she was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize. However, her name and philosophy are still alive in many schools around the world. (Povell, 2007) With respect to education, Maria Montessori was influenced by the works of the physicians

Dr. Maria Montessori was a keen observer of children. She used her observational and experimental proclivities from her medical background to develop, what we might today call, a Constructivist understanding of the process of learning. 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”. She studied the conditions in which the children would perform those actions.

Maria Montessori was the originator and founder of the Montessori Method. She was the first female to graduate as a doctor from her university in Italy. After graduation, Montessori's work with so called “idiot children” led to an interest in child development. (M. Beaver et al, 2001, p.379) After researching Montessori was convinced there was a need for special schools catering to children who presented learning disabilities.