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CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 3

2 HISTORY OF MONTESSORI EDUCATION 3

3 MONTESSORI 4

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MONTESSORI METHOD AND

4 15
TRADITIONAL METHOD OF TEACHING

5 CONCLUSION 18

6 REFERENCES 19

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INTRODUCTION
Pre-primary education is the education meant for children between the ages of three to six
years. That is to say that early education is a special kind of education provided in an institution
for children, Prior to their entering the primary school (Omozeghian, 1995).

A little over 100 years ago, an Italian doctor named Maria Montessori changed education
forever when she proposed a revolutionary child-centered education model. Unlike the
traditional teacher-centered education, the Montessori education is focused on inspiring
children to drive their own learning. The Montessori method views the child as one who is
naturally eager for knowledge and capable of initiating learning in a supportive, thoughtfully
prepared learning environment. It attempts to develop children physically, socially, emotionally
and cognitively. Teachers guide the students and provide help, while encouraging students to
choose their tasks and decide how to best approach each challenge. Children who attend
Montessori schools learn to value cooperation, stay within the framework of rules and think
about how their actions affect others. Students retain their creativity and push themselves to
excel due to their love of learning and their own natural curiosity. Above and beyond standard
school subjects, Montessori students are taught how to fit a larger worldview into their thinking
and encouraged to be curious and creative students.

Montessori education is often considered a form of playful learning, Maria Montessori herself
spoke negatively about a major component of playful learning pretend play, or fantasy for
young children. In this essay, the author discusses this apparent contradiction: how and why
Montessori education includes elements of playful learning while simultaneously eschewing
fantasy. She concludes with a discussion of research on the outcomes of Montessori education
and on pretend-play research, clarifying how Montessori education relates to playful learning.
The principles that the Montessori philosophy rests upon are as follows:

 Self-confidence and self-esteem

 A sense of achievement and self-worth
 A sense of responsibility for themselves and their actions
 Independence and adaptability
 Cooperation with others and a sense of community
 Respect for the rights and a sense of community
 Initiative and self-motivation
 Concentration and persistence in completing a task

HISTORY OF MONTESSORI EDUCATION

Dr. Maria Montessori, Italy's first female doctor, began to develop her educational philosophy
and methods in 1897, attending courses in pedagogy at the University of Rome and reading the

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educational theory of the previous two hundred years. While visiting an asylum, during her
schooling with a teacher, she used her observations of mistreatment of the kids there,
especially those with autism, to create her new form of education and in 1907 she opened the
“Casa dei Bambini” (Children's House) to provide education to low-income children in Rome.
Instead of using traditional teaching methods, Maria Montessori began testing her own child-
centered educational theories in the classroom. From the beginning, Montessori based her
work on her observations of children and experimentation with the environment, materials,
and lessons available to them. She frequently referred to her work as "scientific pedagogy".

In 1901, Maria Montessori met Alice and Leopoldo Franchetti (Baroness & Baron) of Città di
Castello. They found many matching points between their work. Maria Montessori was invited
to hold her first course for teachers and to set up a "Casa dei Bambini" at Villa Montesca, the
home of the Franchettis in Città di Castello. Maria Montessori decided to move to Città di
Castello where she lived for 2 years and where she refined her methodology together with Alice
Franchetti. In that period, she published her book in Città di Castello. The Franchetti Barons
financed the publication of the book and the methodology had the name "Method Franchetti-
Montessori". Alice Franchetti died in 1911 at the age of 37 years old.

Montessori education had spread to the United States by 1912 and became widely known in
educational and popular publications. However, conflict arose between Montessori and the
American educational establishment. The 1914 critical booklet The Montessori System
Examined, by influential education teacher William Heard Kilpatrick, limited the spread of her
ideas, and they languished after 1914. Montessori education returned to the United States in
1960 and has since spread to thousands of schools there. Montessori continued to extend her
work during her lifetime, developing a comprehensive model of psychological development
from birth to age 24, as well as educational approaches for children ages 0 to 3, 3 to 6, and 6 to
12. Montessori education also spread throughout the world, including Southeast Asia and India,
where Maria Montessori was interned during World War II.

MONTESSORI METHOD
Montessori education is fundamentally a model of human development, and an educational
approach based on that model. The model has two basic principles. First, children and
developing adults engage in psychological self-construction by means of interaction with their
environments. Second, children, especially under the age of six, have an innate path of
psychological development. Based on her observations, Montessori believed that children who
are at liberty to choose and act freely within an environment prepared according to her model
would act spontaneously for optimal development.

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 Montessori saw universal, innate characteristics in human psychology which her son and
collaborator Mario Montessori identified as "human tendencies" in 1957. There is some debate
about the exact list, but the following are clearly identified:[5]

 Abstraction  Order
 Activity  Orientation
 Communication  Repetition
 Exactness  Self-Perfection
 Exploration  Work (also described as "purposeful
 Manipulation (of the environment) activity")
In the Montessori approach, these human tendencies are seen as driving behavior in every
stage of development, and education should respond to and facilitate their expression.

Montessori education involves free activity within a "prepared environment", meaning an

educational environment tailored to basic human characteristics, to the specific characteristics
of children at different ages, and to the individual personalities of each child.[6] The function of
the environment is to help and allow the child to develop independence in all areas according
to his or her inner psychological directives. In addition to offering access to the Montessori
materials appropriate to the age of the children, the environment should exhibit the following
characteristics:

 An arrangement that facilitates movement and activity

 Beauty and harmony, cleanliness of environment
 Construction in proportion to the child and her/his needs
 Limitation of materials, so that only material that supports the child's development is
included
 Order
 Nature in the classroom and outside of the classroom

Planes of development
Montessori observed four distinct periods, or "planes", in human development, extending from
birth to 6 years, from 6 to 12, from 12 to 18, and from 18 to 24. She saw different
characteristics, learning modes, and developmental imperatives active in each of these planes,
and called for educational approaches specific to each period.[8][9]

The first plane extends from birth to around six years of age. During this period, Montessori
observed that the child undergoes striking physical and psychological development. The first-
plane child is seen as a concrete, sensorial explorer and learner engaged in the developmental
work of psychological self-construction and building functional independence. Montessori

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introduced several concepts to explain this work, including the absorbent mind, sensitive
periods, and normalization.

Montessori described the young child's behavior of effortlessly assimilating the sensorial stimuli
of his or her environment, including information from the senses, language, culture, and the
development of concepts with the term "absorbent mind". She believed that this is a power
unique to the first plane, and that it fades as the child approached age six.[10] Montessori also
observed and discovered periods of special sensitivity to particular stimuli during this time
which she called the "sensitive periods". In Montessori education, the classroom environment
responds to these periods by making appropriate materials and activities available while the
periods are active in each individual young child. She identified the following periods and their
durations:

 Acquisition of language—from birth to around 6 years old

 Interest in small objects—from around 18 months to 3 years old
 Order—from around 1 to 3 years old
 Sensory refinement—from birth to around 4 years old
 Social behavior—from around 2½ to 4 years old
Finally, Montessori observed in children from three to six years old a psychological state she
termed "normalization".[11] Normalization arises from concentration and focus on activity
which serves the child's developmental needs, and is characterized by the ability to concentrate
as well as "spontaneous discipline, continuous and happy work, social sentiments of help and
sympathy for others."[10]:207

The second plane of development extends from around six years to twelve years old. During
this period, Montessori observed physical and psychological changes in children, and developed
a classroom environment, lessons, and materials, to respond to these new characteristics.
Physically, she observed the loss of baby teeth and the lengthening of the legs and torso at the
beginning of the plane, and a period of uniform growth following. Psychologically, she observed
the "herd instinct", or the tendency to work and socialize in groups, as well as the powers of
reason and imagination. Developmentally, she believed the work of the second plane child is
the formation of intellectual independence, of moral sense, and of social organization.[12]:7–16

The third plane of development extends from around twelve years to around eighteen years of
age, encompassing the period of adolescence. Montessori characterized the third plane by the
physical changes of puberty and adolescence, but also psychological changes. She emphasized
the psychological instability and difficulties in concentration of this age, as well as the creative
tendencies and the development of "a sense of justice and a sense of personal dignity." She
used the term "valorization" to describe the adolescents' drive for an externally derived
evaluation of their worth. Developmentally, Montessori believed that the work of the third
plane child is the construction of the adult self in society.

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The fourth plane of development extends from around eighteen years to around twenty-four
years old. Montessori wrote comparatively little about this period and did not develop an
educational program for the age. She envisioned young adults prepared by their experiences in
Montessori education at the lower levels ready to fully embrace the study of culture and the
sciences in order to influence and lead civilization. She believed that economic independence in
the form of work for money was critical for this age, and felt that an arbitrary limit to the
number of years in university level study was unnecessary, as the study of culture could go on
throughout a person's life.[12]:82–93

In short, four core aspects of Montessori school include, practical life, sensorial, math, and
language arts. Some smaller aspects that could be integrated into Montessori schools include
geography, art, and gardening.

“The Montessori Method is a spontaneous, expansive educational system designed to afford

the child liberty to move and act in a prepared environment encouraging self-development”
(Orem, 1965, p. 13). Orem’s statement sums up the essence of the Montessori Method of
teaching/learning. In her Method, Dr. Montessori does not have the teacher as the centre of
attention, nor does she have a prescribed curriculum, rather according to her beliefs the child
himself/herself must be the center of education.

Dr. Montessori (1972) stated that in order for the child to develop two factors must be present.
One factor is a prepared environment that looks after the child’s physical health as well as the
spiritual life. The second factor is the ability of the child to move freely in his/her environment
where there can be found constructive activities for the child’s development. These two factors
allow the child to learn and enjoy more fully such things as: movement in education, sensory
education and music, and intellectual education. She also stated that the child needs an adult
who is to give him/her guidance with his/her work and who will take into account the child’s
needs. Dr. Montessori further stated that in such an environment the child works very hard, is
observant and is not destructive.

Prepared Environment
Human beings are continuously reshaping the environment they live in, in order to make their
surroundings more practical for their work, or better suited for relaxation. In other words, the
environment is changed in order to look after specific physical or spiritual needs that humans
have. But is the same environment equally good for all human beings? Dr. Maria Montessori
(1966) stated that “[a]n adult environment is not a suitable environment for children” (p. 109).
She believed that little children should not have to live in an adult environment, instead, there
should be an environment specially prepared for them. Montessori (1912) stated that in order
for children to develop properly it is necessary to reduce all obstacles around them to a
minimum. This included creating the right environment for children indoors and outdoors.

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In order to get a clearer understanding of what Dr. Montessori meant by a prepared
environment, we need to examine the schoolhouse or “Children’s House” which she taught in.
For example, the office sized furniture pieces originally placed in the schoolhouse were too big
and too heavy for the little children. The children could not reach the high shelves nor could
they move the large chairs. Dr. Montessori designed and had manufactured little furniture such
as chairs, tables, washstands and cupboards that preschool children could use easily. Hooks on
the walls were placed low so that children could reach them without any assistance from
adults. The small chairs were light enough for a child to lift and carry to another location. Today,
we can find these small pieces of furniture in all preschools and in many homes where little
children live.

In the Montessori environment Orem (1965) stated, the furniture fits the child because it is
small just like the child. The educational décor is simple yet attractive. In Montessori
schoolhouses simple pictures hang on the walls above the shelves where the learning tools are
placed. Dr. Montessori kept the objects in the “Children’s House” organized; there was a place
for everything. Everything was marked (a simple outline of the object was drawn directly under
the object) so the children could easily put away every tool they used. In the “Children’s House”
there were different types of workspaces such as: a chair by a small table or a carpeted floor.
Everything was designed so it would be the best for the child.

The outdoors of the “Children’s House” was also carefully designed. For the outdoors Dr.
Montessori designed playgrounds and gardens with varieties of trees and flowers. There were
pathways for children to take walks, small benches to sit on, and objects such as hoops to play
with. Originally a medical doctor, Maria Montessori, took great considerations for the child’s
physical as well as mental development. Children still benefit from these ideas today.

Dr. Montessori advocated that children need to spend a lot of time outdoors. She believed that
children need to learn to be in harmony with nature because ultimately, human beings rely on
nature. She wanted children to learn to respect the environment, both natural and man-made.
This sense of dependence between man and the environment is further stressed by her
statement, “There is a constant interaction between the individual and his surroundings. The
use of things shapes man, and man shapes things. This reciprocal shaping is a manifestation of
man’s love for his surroundings” (Montessori, 1972, p. 67).

Freedom in Education
Freedom to Maria Montessori (1966) does not mean that we leave a child on his/her own to do
whatever he/she wishes to do: rather it means that we need to remove all obstacles which
might hinder the child’s “normal” development. In a Montessori environment the adult does
not dictate to the child what activity he/she should do but freedom means that the child is free
to choose an activity within a prepared environment. It also means that the child is free to
choose a place where to perform the work within that prepared environment. When children
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worked in the “Children’s House” they had a choice as to sit for example, on a chair by a small
table or use carpeted floor for their work space. The adult in the Montessori environment does
not schedule changes in activities for the child but gives freedom to the child to be able to work
on the activity until its completion regardless of the time it takes, as well to repeat the activity
as many times as the child finds it necessary. Freedom in a Montessori environment also means
for a child to freely walk around and get a new activity when he/she so desires, and “greatest”
of all, it means freedom to observe another child and learn by observing.

Freedom in education for Montessori was very important since the child needed to develop
into a fully grown human and be able to take his/her place in society. As she so eloquently
wrote, “Education must foster both the development of individuality and that of society.
Society cannot develop unless the individual develops, as we learn from observing. Most of our
actions would have no reason for being if there were no other people around us, and we do
most of the things we do because we live in association with others” (Montessori, 1972, p. 65).

Movement in Education
Movement in education was important for Dr. Montessori. It was to be done indoors as well as
outdoors. Indoors, Dr. Montessori taught children to walk gracefully without bumping into any
objects. She taught them to walk and march. For one of the indoor activities Maria Montessori
constructed out of paper a set of circular tracks. She had the children walk in a circle trying not
to step outside of the tracks.

Dr. Montessori believed that children should play outdoors so that they could be kept healthy
and grow. She wrote that children need to be active so that their bones and muscles develop.
For example, she recommended free games where children would play “with balls, hoops, bean
bags and kites” (Montessori, 1966, p.144). She also recommended other educational
gymnastics which included gardening and taking “care of plants and animals (watering and
pruning the plants, carrying the grain to the chickens, etc.)” (p. 144). Dr. Montessori believed
that exercise was important not only for children but everyone. She stated that “[e]very
individual should take sufficient exercise to keep his muscles in a healthy state” (Montessori,
1966, p. 97).

The children in the Montessori schools also learned to look after themselves and thus be more
independent of adults. For example, little children learned to undress and dress themselves.
They hung their outdoor garments on hooks which were placed on the wall within their reach.
The small washstands were also within the children’s reach so they could wash their hands, and
comb their hair.

Dr Montessori believed that hands are of special importance to human beings. Since a child
“develops himself through his movements, through the work of his hands, he has need of
objects with which he can work that provide motivation for his activity” (1966, p.82). Maria

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Montessori did not make use of toys for teaching purposes; learning in the Children’s House
was with genuine utensils. She believed that using genuine utensils and objects purposefully
designed for learning was the child’s work through which he/she developed into an adult.

Dr. Montessori developed many educational activities and tools for the little children to use. For
example she had fabric with buttons fastened on one side and button holes on the other side so
that the little children could practice buttoning. All the teaching was done through action, not
words. She also designed a variety of didactic materials for the children to work with and get
themselves prepared for writing and arithmetic.

Sensory Education and Music

Dr. Montessori believed that all senses should be trained and utilized. She designed a variety of
activities for each of the senses. In order to develop fine sensitivity in their fingertips she had
the children touch a variety of materials such as linen, cotton, velvet, and silk. Then, she would
have them recognize the type of material with their eyes closed, or blind folded.

Using another activity Dr. Montessori was teaching the children train their eyes to recognize
not only the basic colors but a variety of shades of each color. For example, she would have two
identical sets of cloth. She would place 5 shades of red cloth side by side from darkest to
lightest. Later, she would mix up the second set of cloth and ask a child to match the shades to
the first set.

In order to teach the little children to distinguish between silence and sound (or noise), Maria
Montessori taught the children to recognize silence. In order to achieve this, she had the
children sit all facing the same direction and she sat behind them. Then, she asked the children
to listen very carefully so they could recognize their name being called. When all the children
were listening attentively, Dr. Montessori quietly whispered a child’s name. When the child
heard his/her name being called, he/she turned around.

For teaching music Dr. Montessori wanted the children to listen to the sounds. She had two
sets of bells one lined up in order according to the musical scale, the other set was in a mixed
up order. The children would pick up each bell from the first set, ring it and listen carefully.
They would have then tried to match up the second set to the first one. Once the children were
able to line up the bells in order, Dr. Montessori would teach the children to read music. She
would place a large paper with the musical scale above the bells, and have the name of each
musical note written right under it.

Ward (1913) wrote that Montessori believed that the senses needed to be exercised in
childhood because “if this period is allowed to slip by without such experiences, later life is
impoverished” (p.56).

Intellectual Education
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Dr. Montessori (1966) described teaching little children to write by first letting them touch the
letters made of wood with their index finger of the right hand, then with two fingers (index and
the middle finger, and on the third occasion having them touch the letters “with a wooden rod
held like a pen in writing” (p.250). This muscular exercise was a preparation for writing but
through it they also learned to recognize the letters of the alphabet and eventually would learn
to read.

In Geography for example, children learned to recognize the shape and name of each continent
by placing shapes of continents set into wooden boards. The name of each continent was
written on each shape as well as on the board under the shape.

Mathematics teaching was done by rods and beads. The shortest rod was 10 cm and the others
were multiples of 10, such as 20 cm, 30 cm and so on up to 100 cm which is one meter. Beads
were counting numbers like 1, 2, 3 and so on. Children used the rods and beads to learn basic
addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Geometry was an important part of the little children’s learning. They learned for example not
only to recognize geometric objects such as a rectangle and a cylinder, but also to differentiate
among the sizes of a rectangle or a cylinder. One of the exercises was to organize cylinders
according to width size when the height was the same. The cylinders would be lined up and
placed in their proper place in the holes of a long wooden board. Each cylinder would fit into
one particular hole on the board. This was a self-correcting exercise so the children would
rejoice when they got all the cylinders in their correct places. All the Montessori didactic tools
were self-correcting making learning quite simple and straight forward.

Putting It Into Context

Education of children has gone through many changes prior to Dr. Maria Montessori’s careful
observations of little children in the “Children’s House” in Rome, Italy, at the start of the 20th
century. Her method of teaching/learning has since caused many more changes in the
Education System in many countries around the world.

World Issues
“Men have achieved so much and could be so rich, and yet they are poor and unhappy. At this
very moment everyone is asking how he can go on living. Everything is evolving, everything is
changing, mankind is producing so much – indeed, too much – and it is this very excess that
sometimes makes us want desperately to return to the past” (Montessori, 1972, p. 51).
Although, written in the early 1970’s, this is still very relevant today.

In our modern, highly technological age, in many parts of the world the prevailing issues are
hunger, disease, and war. Over the course of history humans tried to solve these issues. One
way humans tried to solve these issues was by fighting against the oppressors and causing
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uprising of the masses or revolution against the existing governments, as for example were the
many revolts of the slaves against the Roman Empire almost two thousand years ago, the
French revolution in 1789, and the Russian revolution in 1917. A second way humans tried to
solve these issues was by peaceful overthrow, or change of existing governing bodies, such as
are the elections of new governments every few years in the democratic countries in the world
including Canada and the USA. A third way humans tried solving these major and other perhaps
not so major issues was by passing laws.

All of the above mentioned ways did achieve some improvements of the human world
condition but none of them completely eradicated (if it is at all possible to do) hunger, disease,
and war. To make matters worse, crimes caused by hunger, disease, and war such as theft and
murder are on the increase. Reports on these crimes can be read in the newspapers and heard
on the radio and television news daily. Why is it that after thousands of years of human
evolution, humanity still did not resolve these very significant issues? Why is there still hunger,
disease, and war in many parts of the World? Why are these not conquered when humanity is
at the stage of conquering outer space?

In my opinion, one major reason for the inability to conquer hunger, disease, and war is that
humanity throughout history tried solving issues by trying to control forces outside of
themselves. To this day, humans are eager to point a gun or at least a finger at someone or pass
a law in order to control other humans’ actions. An individual human is not very eager to
develop self discipline; in fact many carry it to the extreme, when they mistakenly believe that
lack of self discipline means freedom. As Maria Montessori pointed out true freedom comes
when a human has total control of not only his muscles but all of his senses (Montessori, 1912).
This implies that none of us are completely free until we master our own selves. Dr. Montessori
calls our attention to observe a little child in order to witness the love of freedom manifested in
a big smile which comes as a result of a lot of work and mastery of control of his/her own self
(muscles and senses). A good example is a big smile on a toddler’s face when after many days
or perhaps weeks of trying, he/she finally succeeds in standing up even if for a very short time.
Nature itself teaches a human to develop from an infant into an adult. If nature requires a child
to work and master his senses, and if work and mastery of the senses gives such pleasure to a
small child, why is it that adult humans prefer idleness over work and lack of control over their
senses?

I believe that our education (formal and informal) shapes us into the adult human beings we
are. There is no manual given to parents at the birth of their child outlining in detail what is
necessary for bringing up a child so he/she develops into a “normal” adult who will be capable,
willing and happy to live in harmony with other human beings and nature. As Dr. Montessori
stated in her writings, adults must learn by observing small children; they will teach us to teach
them. The reader might state: “Yes, but most adults did not learn to observe children. No one
has taught us the technique.” Perhaps, it is time to teach all humans to observe little children.

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“Society must recognize the importance of the child as the builder of humanity and come to
have profound appreciation of the psychic roots determining whether the mature adult will
seek positive or negative goals” (Montessori, 1972, p. 42).

General Educational Issues

The task confronting education according to Montessori (1972) “is above all the task of
mending breaches, filling in gaps that are vast and serious. Its primary goal must be the
realization of the values of the human personality and the development of mankind” (p. 63).
Our educational system incorporates many ideas formed by Maria Montessori. Small chairs,
tables and other furniture are used in kindergartens and the primary grade classrooms. Child
centered approach is generally accepted in the schools. Our teachers continuously strive to fill
in gaps in the students’ knowledge base. Children are sent out for recess twice a day and have
outdoor time following the lunch break. Movement education or Physical Education is a
required part of the child’s schooling. Indoors, the primary and elementary classrooms have
carpet areas for reading. The learning environment is prepared for the students. As stated in
the Manitoba curriculum framework of outcomes:

“The learning environment should value and respect all students’ experiences and ways of
thinking, so that learners are comfortable taking intellectual risks, asking questions, and posing
conjectures”( Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth, 2008. p. 3).

Although our educational system has gone through many changes, it still lacks in many areas.
For example, some students do not know how to learn and are unable to seek help. Socializing
among students requires more work, and discipline is still an issue of concern. Perhaps, we may
take a look at the Montessori Method of teaching/learning to offer us some help. In any case,
more changes are needed to be brought about if we are to improve our educational system and
through it our society. Our children are our future which everyone must recognize. As Dr.
Montessori so beautifully stated,

“Intelligence, a balanced personality and the unity of all mankind as a single organism are man’s
wealth. What is therefore needed today is an education that will lead the human personality to
recognize man’s grandeur” (Montessori, 1972, p. 118).

Special Education Context

Dr. Montessori became interested in teaching children through her exposure to the
“unteachable” children. Her method of teaching/learning was designed for and tested on these
children and only later tried on “normal” children. Using her method of teaching/learning, Dr.
Montessori proved that all children are capable of learning. Today special education is
fortunate to be able to use the objects designed by Maria Montessori as well as some of her
ideas used in her method of teaching/learning. Individualized Educational Programs for special

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education children are quite common today. Lessons and curriculums are adapted to the
special education children’s needs. Students in these programs have special Teacher’s Aids who
help them better fit into the class and cope with the educational requirements. Schools have
special resource rooms where special education students can get more help from a specialized
Resource Teacher. This room can also serve as a place for them when they need to work
outside of the regular classroom. School divisions as well as some schools also employ other
special needs specialists such as a Nurse, a Guidance Councillor, and a School Psychologist.
Today, special needs students are being observed by specialists occasionally. This is a good
start. Now, we need to expand on this by putting in place the two factors Dr. Montessori talked
about; we need to provide for these students a prepared environment and the freedom to
explore learning in that prepared environment. We need to provide them with a room filled
with numerous carefully designed activities to help them learn and the freedom to choose
which activity they wish to work on, when they wish to work on each activity and how long they
wish to work on each activity.

Dr Montessori’s work not only benefited young children in the past hundred years but it also
impacted the lives of the special needs of adults and the elderly. For example a Montessori-
based Dementia Program is being researched as an innovative program for helping the elderly
cope with dementia (Malone and Camp, 2007).

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DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MONTESSORI METHOD AND TRADITIONAL
METHOD OF TEACHING
A Montessori education is based on well-researched principles of child development and
utilizes a curriculum centered around hands-on materials and activities that help a child
develop a strong self-image, high levels of academic and social competence, and the confidence
to face challenges. A traditional education is deeply ingrained in a mass-production notion of
uniform learning. This traditional belief stipulates that everyone should learn the same things at
the same time; however, one of the great advantages of Montessori education is differentiation
and customization.

Encouraged to explore and evaluate from an early age, Montessori-educated children are
problem-solvers and independent thinkers who manage their time and work well with others.
They exchange ideas and discuss work freely. Children in a traditional daycare, preschool, or
kindergarten setting are generally expected to progress through a group-paced curriculum in a
teacher-centered environment with little or no opportunity to guide their own learning
according to their strengths, interests, or abilities. Guided by highly trained and specialized
teachers, students in Montessori classrooms have opportunities to delve deeply into subjects
and topics of particular interest while continuing to meet the high academic standards of a
Montessori curriculum.

Montessori Method Traditional Method

Based on helping the natural development of

Based on the transfer of a national curriculum.
the human being.

Children learn at their own pace and follow Children learn from a set curriculum according
their own individual interests. to a time frame that is the same for everyone.

Children teach themselves using materials

specially prepared for that purpose.
Understanding comes through the child’s own
experiences via the materials and the
promotion of children’s ability to find things
out for themselves.
Emphasis on cognitive skills and individual
social development
Teacher has an inconspicuous role in
classroom activity; child is an active participant activity; child is a passive participant in
in learning
Children are taught by the teacher.
Learning is based on subjects and is limited to
what is given.
Emphasis on rote knowledge and child’s social
development in group settings
Teacher has a dominant role in classroom
learning

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 Teacher is primary enforcer of external
Classroom environment and teaching method
discipline, often through
encourage internal self-discipline
rewards/discouragements
Teaching style adapts to each child’s learning Teacher often uses same teaching style for all
style; teaching is generally individual children; teaching is generally in a large group
Most teaching is done by the teacher and
Children are encouraged to teach others, work
there are few opportunities for peer
together, and to help each other
collaboration
Set curriculum for whole class with little
Child chooses own lessons and activities based
regard to
on interests and abilities
individual child’s interests and abilities
Child works as long as she/he needs to or Set teaching schedule creates time restrictions
wants to on chosen project for child’s work
Child sets own learning pace to internalize Teaching pace is generally set by the class
information in a natural way norm or by the teacher
Child reinforces own learning through
Teacher externally reinforces learning through
repetition of activities and feelings of self-
instructed repetition of lessons and activities
motivated success
Classroom set-up and activities naturally
encourage child to take care of self and Little emphasis on taking care of self and
environment (washing dishes, trimming environment
plants, wiping spills etc.)
Views the child in terms of competence, skill
Views the child holistically, valuing cognitive,
level, and achievement with an emphasis on
psychological, social, and spiritual
core curriculum standards and social
development
development
Child is an active participant in learning;
Child is a more passive participant in learning;
allowed to move about and respectfully
teacher has a more dominant, central role in
explore the classroom environment; teacher is
classroom activity
an instructional facilitator and guide
A carefully prepared learning environment and
Teacher acts as primary enforcer of external
method encourages development of internal
discipline promoting extrinsic motivation
self-discipline and intrinsic motivation
Instruction, both individual and group, adapts
Instruction, both individual and group, adapts
to students’ learning styles and development
to core curriculum benchmarks
levels
Three-year span of age grouping, three-year
Same-age and/or skill level grouping; one-year
cycles allow teacher, students and parents to
cycles can limit development of strong
develop supportive, collaborative, and trusting
teacher, student, and parent collaboration
relationships
Grace and courtesy, and conflict resolution are Conflict resolution is usually taught separately
integral elements of a Montessori classroom. from daily classroom activity.

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Values concentration and depth of experience;
Values completion of assignments; time is
supplies uninterrupted time for focused work-
tightly scheduled
cycle to develop
Instructional pace usually set by core-
Child’s learning pace is internally determined curriculum standard expectations, group
norm, or teacher
Child allowed to spot own errors through
Work is usually corrected by the teacher;
feedback from the materials; errors are
errors are viewed as mistakes
viewed as part of the learning process
Learning is reinforced through repetition – the Learning is reinforced externally by test scores
key to mastery and rewards, competition, and grades
Care of self and environment are emphasized Less emphasis on self-care, spatial awareness,
as integral to the learning experience and care of the environment
Child’s daily work flow includes independent
Child is usually assigned to a specific work
study as well as group activity that is highly
space; talking among peers is discouraged
collaborative among a multi-age setting
Curriculum areas usually taught as separate
Multi-disciplinary, interwoven curriculum
topics
Child learns to share leadership; egalitarian Hierarchical classroom structure is more
interaction is encouraged prominent
Progress and assessment is ongoing and
Progress is usually reported through
reported through multiple formats including:
conferences, report cards/grades, and test
conferences, narrative reports, teacher
scores
observations, checklists, and portfolios
Most teaching is done by teacher and
Children are encouraged to teach, collaborate,
collaboration is an alternative teaching
and help each other
strategy
Child is provided opportunities to choose own
Curriculum is organized and structured based
work from interest and abilities, concepts
on core curriculum standards
taught within context of interests

Goal is to foster a love of learning. Goal is to master core curriculum objectives.

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CONCLUSION
Montessori Method as described above has the potential to bring about some positive changes
not only to our education system but to society at large. The question then remains, if the
Montessori Method offers such a potential for success why is it not used in every school across
the world? One very simple answer is that not every educator is familiar with the Montessori
Method. Those educators who are familiar with it try to use it or at least some aspects of it. As
noted earlier though, there are many private schools all over the world that use Montessori
Method to teach young children and adolescents. There are many other schools, institutions,
and research institutes that use the Montessori-based programming for education, therapy,
and research. The use of small chairs and other small furniture in kindergarten and the primary
grades is widely accepted, and the child centered approach of teaching is adopted by our
educational system in Canada and in most of the countries in the world. The educational
materials developed by Maria Montessori are used in schools and can be found in many homes
where there are children. Our educational system is greatly influenced by Dr. Montessori’s
Method of education. It is true that more changes are required, but changes do not come easily
even if the change is supposed to be for the better. In order for our educational system to
accept and follow the Montessori Method of teaching and learning, two major issues need to
be resolved:

(1) It is necessary that all educators who intending to use the Montessori Method, understand
it thoroughly and not just in part.

(2) It is necessary that all policy makers, and not just educators, put in the work, time, and
effort it requires to implement it correctly, as it was meant by its inventor, Dr. Maria
Montessori, and not as each individual wishes to interpret it. Because of these two great issues
the Montessori Method, although a great educational system, will take a long time to get
implemented in its entirety.

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REFERENCES
Angeline S. Lillard, Published on 2013. Playful Learning and Montessori Education. Retrieved from
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1003949.pdf

Montessori Australia, content name. Differences between Montessori and Traditional Education.
Retrieved from https://montessori.org.au/differences-between-montessori-and-traditional-education

Oak Meadow School, Published on 3 Oct 2017. Montessori vs. Traditional. Retrieved from
https://oakmeadow.org/montessori-vs-traditional/

Our Kids, content on Montessori and preschool - what's the difference?. Retrieved from
http://www.ourkids.net/preschool-vs-montessori.php

S A R A H M E A D , Published on 3 Oct 2017. The History of the Montessori Education. Retrieved from
https://www.whitbyschool.org/passionforlearning/the-history-of-the-montessori-education

Wikipedia, material name. Montessori education. Retrieved from

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

AMI-USA, Publication name. Montessori vs. Mainstream. Retrieved from

https://amiusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ami-usa-montessori-vs.-mainstream2.pdf

http://www.radiant-montessori.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Montessori-v-traditional.pdf

Katarina Schilling, Published on 4 Mar 2013. Montessori Approach to Teaching/Learning and Use of
Didactic Materials. Retrieved from
http://umanitoba.ca/faculties/education/media/Schilling-11.pdf

Lillard, P. P., Published on 1996. Montessori Today. Print

Lillard, P. P., Published on 1996. Montessori in the Classroom- A Teacher’s Account of How Children
Really Learn. Print

Maria Montessori, Published on 1965. The Advanced Montessori Method. Print

NAMC, Published on 2009. Classroom Guide. Print

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