ASSIGNMENT #1

MODULE#1

SUBMITTED BY: MS.SAADIA KHAN

ROLL NO: D-7171

SUBMITTED TO: [email protected]

Q: 1 Describe the life and work of Dr.Maria Montessori and why is she name
as lady much ahead of time?
Ans: Dr. Maria Montessori was one of the strongest women in the world of modern education.

EARLY LIFE:

Maria Montessori was born on 31st August1870 to an educated family in Ancona, Italy.
She was the only child of her parents. Her, father Alessendro was a conservative military man.
Her mother, Renidle was a liberal lady and supported Maria’s educational pursuit.

EDUCATION:

She was a confident and strong-minded lady who excelled in school by the role of leader
in different games and conversations. At the age of thirteen she got admission in a technical
school, a thing considered off-limits to females at that time. She scored high marks that when she
graduated, in 1886; she was able to enter in the Regio Istituto Tecnico Leonardo da Vinci. Here
she studied math, natural sciences, and languages, again excelling beyond all expectations. It was
here too that she became fascinated with the biological sciences, and began to dream of pursuing
a career in medicine. Despite her gender, she was allowed to study medicine. When she
presented her thesis in 1896, her absolute brilliance so impressed the all-male board of review
that they awarded her a medical degree, making her Italy's first woman doctor. After this
accomplishment she was promoted to surgical assistant at Santo Spirito, where she had worked
previously as medical assistant. As a physician, Montessori specialized in pediatrics and the new
field of psychiatry. She continued research at the University of Rome, joining the university staff
in 1897. She became interested in psychology and human behavior, and in 1904 accepted a
professorship in anthropology at the University of Rome.

WORKED WITH INSANE (SPECIAL) CHILDREN:

In Rome during this time, children who were considered mentally deficient were sending
in asylums. Montessori’s early observations of these asylum children formed a crucial element of
her theory that would later influence many people. She observed children who use to crawl on
the floor to grab crumbs of bread after mealtime and realized that “not all children developed
through phases of life in the same way." Her initial focus was to rehabilitate mentally retarded
children, with behavioral problems, orphans, and the desperately poor. Montessori's early efforts
were so surprisingly successful that she soon had a large following, not only of parents desperate
for her help, but of teachers desperate to learn her methods.

INSPIRATION BY THE ITARD & SEGUIN (FRENCH DOCTORS):

Montessori was much influenced by the earlier work on child development and
psychology, in particular research conducted by Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard and Edouard Seguin.
Both worked with children who had some physical or mental disability. However, both
attempted to teach basic skills, such as reading and writing, using alternative methods from those
being employed in the formal school settings. Seguin invented “Teens and Tens board” that is
used in Montessori classes. These experiments were a source of inspiration for Montessori who
believed that "mental deficiency presented chiefly a pedagogical, rather than mainly a medical
problem”. Satisfied with the fact that so-called "mentally deficient" children could learn the same
things as normal children, sometimes at a faster pace or by attaining a higher mastery level,
Montessori began to focus on working directly with normal children in the field of education.

LEGACY:
FIRST DAY CARE CENTER (CASA DEI BAMBINI (HOUSE OF CHILDREN) :

The so-called Montessori Method got its start with the opening of the original Casa Dei
Bambini in the slum district of Rome known as San Lorenzo. Montessori took fifty hopelessly
deprived ghetto children and awakened them to life's excitement and possibilities. Given them
furniture, equipment, and supplies that they could access and work all by themselves, they feel
self-motivated to explore, experiment, and reach new understandings. She found self-correcting,
puzzles and other equipment to be an essential component of independent learning in a child-
friendly environment. As Montessori herself wrote, "I merely wanted to study the children’s
reactions. I asked not to interfere with them in any way as otherwise I would not be able to
observe them." Montessori surprised when she saw children’s lack of interest in the toys or the
drawing materials and their keen interest in the educational materials. Each educational material
had some carefully planned objective that was pre-determined by Montessori. “Liberty of the
pupil" was fundamental method according to her .Within month’s people came from near and far
to see her in action and to learn her strategies. She founded the Association Montessori
International in 1929 so that her teachings and educational philosophy would flourish in
perpetuity.

METHODOLOGY:

Maria Montessori wrote over a dozen books. The most well known are the “Montessori
Method” (1916) and “The Absorbent Mind “(1949). Dr. Montessori taught that placing children
in a stimulating environment, e.g., the Children's House, will encourage learning. She saw the
traditional teacher as a 'keeper of the environment' who was there mainly to facilitate the
children's self-conducted learning process. She did not permit any form of corporal punishment
or demeaning behavior in her class rooms.

HER WORK FAMOUS IN WHOLE WORLD:

Montessori’s “Casa dei Bambini” was such a success and soon it became famous in
whole world. People, who visit this school, were surprised and amazed that how little kids do
their work on their own. Montessori started her second, third school and this process goes on.
She visited America on the request of Alexander Graham Bell. Her model center (House of
Children) was copied everywhere. Many political leaders and educationist found that this is the
right way to change old fashioned school in Europe. Her students became hard worker, peace
lover and disciplined.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION:

Montessori truly deserved and referred to as a lady much ahead of her time. She was a
true pioneer of a modern education system. Her methods were not derived from any existent
pedagogical wisdom. She had in fact sidestepped the more traditional education path for women,
teacher’s training. As a smart scientist and quick-minded observer, she had soon discovered
some important and, for the period, revolutionary principles about children and the process of
learning. She was honored by many countries with royal, civic and academic awards and was
nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, 1950 and 1951. Regarding her work
and efforts in educational sector her picture was on Italian 200 lire coin and in 1990 on the 1000
lire bill.

MONTESSORI’S DEATH:

Maria Montessori died in the Netherlands on May 6, 1952 aged 81.Her name always lives
through the method of teaching that she introduced.
Q: 2 Which are the main requirements to be considered to start a House of
children? How do you implement them?

Ans: Requirements to be considered to start a House of Children:

Following are the main requirements to start a “House of Children”:

 The children can’t have the best experiences at home as every home is designed
according to adults needs, and the adults have to stop children quite a lot from doing what
their natural urges want them to do for reaching maximum development.
 Children used to listened word “No” many times in a day. Whether “Prohibition is sweet
or bitter prohibition is prohibition.”
 Providing over and extra help to children, ignoring that they want many of work done by
their own selves as child needs to be independent. And a common slogan which is
enchanted frequently is “HELP ME DO IT MYSELF”.
 Adults try to teach children by their orders or by their words, they usually not practice
themselves.

These are some basic problems which every child faced in their homes. So children need a
proper place which has been designed for them…………… A Montessori House of children.

How Do I implement:

In House of Children I will prefer to implement following thing:

1) Love of activity
2) Independence
3) Prepared Environment
4) Everything is child sized
5) Focus on individual Progress and development
6) A Family Setting
7) Sensitive Period
8) Polite and reasonable behavior of teachers
9) Parents – Teachers meeting
10) Absorbent mind

1) LOVE OF ACTIVITY:
In Montessori classrooms, children not only select their own work most of the time,
but also continue to work with tasks, returning to continue their work over many weeks or
months, until finally the work is “so easy for them” that they can teach it to younger children.
2) INDEPENDENCE:
A matter of vital importance to individuality is that the child should be able to
function by itself. In order to grow and to develop, the child needs to acquire independence.
By helping the child to do things himself you are helping the child become independent.
We can help the child by giving him objects which he can handle himself and he can learn to
master. It is by helping the child to help himself that we make him independent.
Whole purpose of education is t give the child necessary help, excluding any unnecessary help to
develop himself. Self –activity becomes the basic education.
3) THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT:
Environment is extremely important at any level of the development of child.
Children learn best in a prepared environment, a place in which children can do things for
themselves. It makes learning materials and experiences available to children in an
orderly format and they can easily access them. Freedom is the essential characteristic of
the prepared environment. Since children within the environment are free to explore
materials of their own choosing, they absorb what they find there.
4) EVERYTHING SHOULD BE CHILD SIZED:
Furniture, equipment, and supplies that children could access/used should be child
sized so that they can work all by themselves, they were self-motivated to explore,
experiment, and reach new understandings.
5) FOCUS ON INDIVIDUAL PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT:
Teachers should focus on individual child as each child is a unique entity. Each
child’s learning progress, growth, understanding, achieving a mastery of particular skill and
requirements are different.
6) A FAMILY SETTING:
Montessori classrooms are communities of children and adults. As children grow
older and more capable, they assume a great role in helping to care for environment and meet
the needs of younger children in the class. The focus is lesson teachers and more on the entire
community of children adults, as a real family.
7) SENSITIVE PERIODS:
Sensitive periods vary from children to children some children are more susceptible
to certain behaviors and can learn specific skills more easily others may not. Although all
children experience the same sensitive periods (e.g., a sensitive period for reading), the
sequence and timing vary for each child. One role of the teacher is to use observation to
detect times of sensitivity and provide the setting for best result.
8) POLITE AND REASONABLE BEHAVIOR OF TEACHERS:
Children learn a lot firstly from their mother’s then from their teachers. The behavior
and attitude of the teacher should be polite, reasonable and helpful towards children.
9) PARENTS – TEACHER MEETINGS:
There should be a close interaction between parents and teachers. Parents should
know the progress, work and activities of a child so that they can practice same in homes as
well if they want.
10) THE ABSORBENT MIND:
Children are born to learn, and they have remarkable learning systems. Children learn
because they are thinking beings. But what they learn depends greatly on their teachers,
experiences, and environments. We need to understand that children can’t help learning,
simply by living, children learn from their environment.
Q:3 What are the discoveries made by Dr.Maria Montessori by observing the child?
Ans: 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.
She thought education always involved three elements: The learner, the Prepared Environment,
and the Trained Adult.
The basic areas in which she gave importance was freedom, independence, respect and
responsibility. She believed that the child constructs knowledge from experiencing the world.
Learning, she said, was not something that needed to be forced or motivated. Instead, learning is
something that humans do naturally. The early years especially are ones of great mental growth.
Throughout the early years of life, the child absorbs impressions from the world around him. Not
with his mind, but with his life.
She recognized that children go through certain phases during which they learn more easily than
at any other time in their lives. This innate potential to learn is dependent upon a loving
environment that encourages the active pursuit of knowledge. The child should be given the
freedom to do his work and must be given the respect for the child as an individual.
Dr. Montessori's developmentally-appropriate approach to learning is designed to fit each child
instead of making each child fit into a preset program. She believed that learning should take
place in multi-aged classrooms where children who are at various stages of development can
learn from and with each other. She observed that young children are highly energetic activity
powerhouses, always seeking out experiences that will help them grow and develop. She
observed that children have the ability to select their own work/activity. They are not work for
any incentives or rewards. Their inner motivation is fair enough to motivate them for a particular
work.

 She observed that a child can learn almost everything in early childhood, as it was
previously thought, that many things are too complex for children.
 She observed and believed that real obedience comes through love, respect and faith.
Elders/ teachers should be polite and sharp enough to understand the child’s behavior.
 She believed that the child’s behavior depends on the environment. A child can be
disobedient, stubborn etc. or a child can be disciplined, happy and healthy. It depends on
the environment. If proper, healthy and interactive environment provided to children and
their rightful needs fulfilled, they behave normal otherwise not. The second condition is
called deviation.
 She noticed that children are willing to do their work by their own. They feel happy and
satisfied while doing daily household activities. Like cleaning, washing etc. She
concluded that children want to learn “Help me do it myself” strategy.
 After continues research and observation she came to know the traffic patterns of the
room arrangements for children. Room should not be congested and over loaded.
Children love to sit on floor during many activities so there should be rugs or floor mats
for them.
 She noticed that children are more comfortable with their sized furniture and things. So
whole building and rooms are designed according to children interest and comfort ability.
The furniture, washrooms etc. are designed and sized for children. Windows low to the
 ground and low shelves used so that children can have the outside view and used things
from shelves.
 She discovered that for building child’s complete personality, they need to do activities
regarding sensorial concepts, physical activities, languages, math, art, culture and many
more.

After all these observation and changes first “Casa dei Bambini” (House of Children) came out.
The fame of Maria Montessori, her House of Children and method quickly spread all over the
world. Now in 21st centaury their method is adopted and using in every Montessori system.
Q: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.
Ans: PILES stands for Physical,intellectual,language,emotional and social development.

Physical

Intellectual

PILES Lingual

Emotional

Social

3 to 6 years – the stage of ‘self awareness and imagination’

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
- 3 - 6 year olds grow more slowly than before, but sill at a fast pace
- they make more progress in muscle development and coordination
- 3 year olds lose their 'baby fat' and become more slender and athletic
- The head is still relatively large, but other parts of the body 'catch up.'
- boys are slightly taller and heavier than girls
- typically boys and girls grow 2 to 3 inches a year, gain 4 to 6 pounds per year
- cartilage turns to bone at a faster rate, bones become harder
- increased capacity of the respiratory and circulatory systems
- developing immune system
- 3 year olds have all primary teeth in place; 6 year olds start to develop permanent teeth
SOCIAL & INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT:

 additional dress-up outfits,

 bathing and feeding doll,
 puppets and theatres,
 store-keeping toys,
 toy phone and toy clock,
 playhouses,
 housekeeping toys,
 toy soldiers,
 dolls for dressing and undressing,
 large puzzles,
 outdoor play equipment,
 board games

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

 The 3-year-old uses:

o Pronouns and prepositions appropriately
o Three-word sentences
o Plural words
 The 4-year-old begins to:
o Understand size relationships
o Follow a three-step command
o Count to four
o Name four colors
o Enjoy rhymes and word play
 The 5-year-old:
o Shows early understanding of time concepts
o Counts to 10
o Knows telephone number
o Responds to "why questions”
 The 6-year-old:
o be confident using the telephone (around age eight)
o know the different tenses (past, present and future) and be able to use them
appropriately in sentences
o like to tell jokes and riddles
o Enjoy reading a book on her own.

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

Emotional Expressiveness
 Strategies for regulating emotion develop, particularly as language improves
Begin to conform to social rules by displaying a positive emotion even if it is not felt.

Emotional Understanding:

Improvement in understanding of causes, consequences, and behavioral signs of emotion

Empathy becomes more reflective as language develops.

Q:Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori classroom:

Ans: ROLE OF TEACHER IN A MONTESSORI CLASSROOM:

Working as a guide and facilitator, the Montessori teacher creates a well-prepared

Montessori environment and an atmosphere of learning and inquisitiveness designed to move
students from one activity and level to the next. A Montessori teacher often steps back while the
children are working, allowing them to learn from their own discoveries and draw their own
conclusions. Rather than supplying children with answers, the Montessori teacher asks them how
they would solve the problem, actively engaging children in the learning process and enhancing
critical thinking skills. In most cases, children learn directly from the environment and other
children, rather than the teacher.

Dr. Montessori believed that the teacher should focus on the child as a person rather than on the
daily lesson plans. Although the Montessori teacher plans daily lessons for each child, she must
be alert to changes in the child’s interest, progress, mood, and behavior.

Subjects are interwoven and the Montessori teacher must be facile at presenting and
understanding history, art, music, math, astronomy, botany, zoology, chemistry, physical
geography, language, physics, geometry, and practical life works. The Montessori teacher is
trained to give one-on-one or small group lessons and spend little time giving large group
lessons. Lessons are brief and precise, meant to intrigue the minds of children so that they come
back to learn more on their own. Montessori lessons center around the most basic information
necessary for the children to do the work: the name of the materials, where it can be found in the
classroom and on the shelf, how to use the materials, and what can be done with them.

Montessori teachers are scientific observers of children. They avoid using rewards and
punishments for good or poor work. Montessori teachers never criticize or interfere in a child’s
work. It is only in a trusting atmosphere that a child’s personality has room to grow. Children
must have the freedom to choose their own activities and learn to behave without restriction. Dr.
Montessori thought this was real work and that the child would reveal his/her true nature once
he/she found work that commanded his/her full attention.
In The Absorbent Mind (pp. 277-81), Maria Montessori offered some general principles of
behavior for teachers in the Montessori classroom.

 "The teacher becomes the keeper and custodian of the environment. She attends to this
instead of being distracted by the children's restlessness. . . . All the apparatus is to be
kept meticulously in order, beautiful and shining, in perfect condition. . . . This means
that the teacher also must be. . . tidy and clean, calm and dignified. . . . The teacher's first
duty is therefore to watch over the environment, and this takes precedence over all the
rest. Its influence is indirect, but unless it be well done there will be no effective and
permanent results of any kind, physical, intellectual or spiritual."
 "The teacher must. . . entice the children. . . . The teacher, in this first period, before
concentration has shown itself, must be like the flame, which heartens all by its warmth,
enlivens and invites. There is no need to fear that she will interrupt some important
psychic process, since these have not yet begun. Before concentration occurs, the
[Montessori teacher] may do more or less what she thinks best; she can interfere with the
children's activities as she deems necessary. . . . She can tell stories, have some games
and singing, use nursery rhymes and poetry. The teacher who has a gift for charming the
children can have them do various exercises, which, even if they have no great value
educationally, are useful in calming them. Everyone knows that a lively teacher attracts
more than a dull one, and we can all be lively if we try. . . . If at this stage there is some
child who persistently annoys the others, the most practical thing to do is interrupt
him . . . to break the flow of disturbing activity. The interruption may take the form of
any kind of exclamation, or in showing a special and affectionate interest in the
troublesome child."
 "Finally the time comes in which the children begin to take an interest in something:
usually, in the exercises of Practical Life, for experience shows that it is useless and
harmful to give the children Sensorial and Cultural apparatus before they are ready to
benefit from it. Before introducing this kind of material, one must wait until the children
have acquired the power to concentrate on something, and usually . . . this occurs with the
exercises of Practical Life. When the child begins to show interest in one of these, the
teacher must not interrupt, because this interest corresponds with natural laws and opens
up a whole cycle of new activities. . . . The teacher, now, must be most careful. Not to
interfere means not to interfere in any way. This is the moment at which the teacher most
often goes wrong. The child, who up to that moment has been very difficult, finally
concentrates on a piece of work. . . . Praise, help, or even a look, may be enough to
interrupt him, or destroy the activity. It seems a strange thing to say, but this can happen
even if the child merely becomes aware of being watched. . . . The great principle that
brings success to the teacher is this: as soon as concentration has begun, act as if the child
does not exist. . . . The duty of the teacher is only to present new things when she knows
that a child has exhausted all the possibilities of those he was using before."

Anne Burke Neubert, in A Way of Learning (1973), listed the following elements in the special
role of the Montessori teacher:

 Montessori teachers are the dynamic link between children and the Prepared
Environment.
  They systematically observe their students and interpret their needs.
 They are constantly experimenting, modifying the environment to meet their
perceptions of each child's needs and interests, and objectively noting the result.
 They prepare an environment meant to facilitate children’s independence and ability to
freely select work that they find appealing, selecting activities that will appeal to their
interests and keeping the environment in perfect condition, adding to it and removing
materials as needed.
 They carefully evaluate the effectiveness of their work and the design of the
environment every day.
 They observe and evaluate each child’s individual progress.
 They respect and protect their students' independence. They must know when to step in
and set limits or lend a helping hand, and when it is in a child's best interests for them to
step back and not interfere.
 They are supportive, offering warmth, security, stability, and non-judgmental
acceptance to each child.
 They facilitate communication among the children and help the children to learn how to
communicate their thoughts to adults.
 They interpret the children's progress and their work in the classroom to parents, the
school staff, and the community.
 They present clear, interesting and relevant lessons to the children. They attempt to
engage the child’s interest and focus on the lessons and activities in the environment.
 They model desirable behavior for the children, following the ground-rules of the class,
exhibiting a sense of calm, consistency, grace and courtesy, and demonstrating respect
for every child.
 They are peace educators, consistently working to teach courteous behaviors and
conflict.
 They are diagnosticians who can interpret patterns of growth, development, and
behavior in order to better understand the children and make necessary referrals and
suggestions to parents.

REFRENCESS:

 http://farsiriss.blogspot.com/2012/08/main-discoveries-made-by-maria.html
 http://www.studymode.com/essays/Discoveries-Of-Maria-Montessori-825808.html
 http://montessoridiscoverycenterschool.com/about_maria_montessori
 http://montessoriphilosophy.org/discoveries-by-maria-montessori
 http://farsiriss.blogspot.com/2012/08/requirements-to-be-considered-to-start.html
 http://www.studymode.com/subjects/what-are-the-main-requirements-to-start-a-house-
of-children-page4.html
 http://www.wikihow.com/Homeschool-Your-Children
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002013.htm
 http://www.conursing.uobaghdad.edu.iq/uploads/Media/pdf/Physical,%20cognitive
%20and%20psychosocial%20development%20in%20early%20childhood.pdf
 http://children.webmd.com/guide/speech-and-language-development-age-3-to-5-years
 http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Cognitive_End_3_4_5/
 http://montessoritraining.blogspot.com/2007/09/montessori-teacher-and-her-
role.html#.UYF_Asp_m3M
 http://montessoritraining.blogspot.com/2007/09/montessori-teacher-and-her-role.html