Part B

Comparison of Montessori Approach and Reggio Emilia approach.

The 1st stage of pre schooling of a child is a worrisome period for parents. Because a child is
not mature enough to have new experience. They will feel strange, helpless without their
parents when they get to school. So, parents have no chance to get close and share what they
have with their kids. The great pioneers of education have found a good curriculum to
overcome these strategies.

Montessori approach and Reggio Emilia approach are globally recognized and highly
respected group of philosophies. The founder of Montessori method is Maria Montessori and
Reggio Emilia method were founded by Loris Malaguzzi who are the great pioneers in Italy.
They decided their lives to undertake the development of feature generation’s educational
backgrounds. When the Maria Montessori aimed to build an independent self-reliant and
motivated child who share a love for learn. Malaguzzi wanted to focuses on collaborative
group of children who is learning with the support of others.

Montessori curriculum is a child centered educational philosophy while child learns under the
guide serves from the teacher for progress of their education. In Montessori curriculum
children are exposed to learn at their own pace. Teachers are only the facilitators who is
assisting the children by guiding materials and kids in any level. Dr. Montessori created the
materials after she realized students seems to understand complex concepts better when they
engaged all their senses. Dr, Montessori observed that children showed episodes of deep
concentration and multiple repetitions of the same activity. Soon after Montessori approach
spread all over the world to inspired progressive thinkers and educators from all over. The
inventers like Alexander Grahambell, Thomas Alwa Edison etc. become early advocated.
Today the term Montessori stands more for method than school itself.

Comparison to Maria Montessori method, the Reggio Emilia approach is project-based

approach which teacher framed approach to education instead of fixed curriculum. So that
each child develops a love for a discovery, form a personality of their own and learned to
respect others, land money, food and skills of the 1st pre school were provided by the
community. The Reggio Emila approach based on the philosophy of an image of a child. All
children are viewed full of potential, with an innate sense of curiosity and endless
imagination. They are creative capable of constructing their own learning and they have a
natural interest to explore while they follow their own interest. They also connected with
others. Adults nature their learning by providing a rich environment and support. Bellow, we
compare Montessori to Reggio Emilia education. This will help to us to understand the
difference between these two approaches.

When we compared the teaching and learning environment of Montessori curriculum and
Reggio Emilia curriculum, Montessori classroom is a real child centered classroom with
creative and beautiful neat environment. Teachers should provide children with real materials
that needs to their lessons. The things should be organized and it should be accessible to the
children according to their needs. For example, when the child wants scissors, he/she should
able to find and take the objects and keep it the proper place. The teacher’s role of Reggio
Emilia Approach is complex. The teacher should be a learner along side the children. the
teacher is a researcher teacher search the learning materials and guide as he/she supply
knowledge to children. Example: when the teacher tells the child red and yellow make
orange, teacher must discover and have confidence and child to answer their questions.

In the student’s observations the Montessori teachers are like scientists they teach a little and
observe a lot. And carefully recording the work and progress of the child. These observations
are helps to lead the teacher for preparing the next lessons or materials. Montessori teachers
keep these records as private. For an example, when a child who is in poor concentration, the
teacher can make the next lesson by putting interesting lesson materials to improve the
child’s concentration skills. However, in Reggio Emilia curriculum the student observations
are take place in recording not only the work but also the voice of the child. Learning
becomes visible in photographs, drawings or sculptures, ideas, quotes, and transcripts of
conversations are put on the walls. The children, parents can revisit their achievements. The
record of documentation is not private it is carefully displayed for community view. As
example, in a project exhibition like art and craft exhibitions parents and students can observe
their progress.

Teachers in Montessori curriculum, are linked between the environment and the child. They
have created particular concepts for teaching materials designed. Example: for teaching math,
they have designed specific tools like stack wooden shapes, for teaching English Alphabet
made from wooden or plastic items etc. that will be easy to understand these materials have
no other meaning apart from the learning curriculum of the child. In Reggio Emilia
curriculum materials are self-defining and have experimental meaning. Normally Reggio
materials are taken from natural sources and recycled materials like clay, plastic bottles,
bulbs etc. when teacher wants to introduce shape circle teacher could use lid of a bottle and
also when letter writing, drawing children could use charcoal, wooden sticks, dry leaves for
decorating their pictures.

Malaguzzi, Reggio Emilia curriculum believed that children should deeply touch in a
particular culture and every context should influence families and teachers. That means the
teaching method is different to country to country and class to class what works on
geographic area will not work with another geographic area. The teacher must teach their
philosophy to the culture in which they find from themselves. But Montessori wanted to
children around the world should learn the same way. She trained her teachers to implement
her method regardless of child’s geographical locations. For an example when we travel to
Australia by learning according to the Montessori method the child should be capable
learning as the same that he/she does in their country.

In Reggio Emilia philosophy development of the child personality lend with the social
context. It was based on communication and relationships. The learning become social with
endless ways to solve specific problems. The conflicts that can follow nature their social
skills. Because conflicts teach children to speak, to listen to argue and discuss. They will
learn to accept different opinions and respect others for who they are. They learn the values
of team work. Never the less Montessori concluded that working independently children
seems to reach new level of autonomy and become self-motivated learners.

Montessori curriculum based of mixed aged classes (0-3,3-6 or 6-12) they van have
experience from each other. It observes in order to find out what happens and what comes
next. But in Reggio Emilia curriculum the mixed aged classrooms are not accepted. They
teach to small group of children with same aged who is studying with strong emphasis on
listening by the teacher order to learn what happens.

The environment of the Montessori curriculum should be with beauty, harmony and
cleanliness, constructions suits to the child’s needs. The arrangements should facilitate the
movements and activities. Limitation of materials that child could support the development of
them. But in Reggio curriculum attention is given to the look and feel the environment.
Teacher creates space for small and large group projects and small intimate spaces for one or
two children.

Montessori believe that it is essential to develop relationship between parents should be

positive in order to ease fears and to collaborate competence. Reggio Emilia believes that
parents as partners collaborators and advocate for children. teachers let the parents to involve
in every aspect of the curriculum and respect as each child’s first teacher.

In Montessori approach there’s curriculum with academic subjects such as math, science,
language, geography etc. but in Reggio Emilia approach have not defined curriculum.