About Montessori
The goal of Montessori is to empower students with the skills and confidence to meet their full potential. Core aspects of the Montessori philosophy such as student-centered classrooms, hands-on learning, differentiated curriculum, and providing students with authentic meaningful experiences, are strongly supported by contemporary research as essential components of an effective 21st century education.
Montessori Videos
Watch these videos to learn more about the fundamental concepts behind a Montessori education.
Montessori Bookshelf
Delve a little deeper into the pedagogical models and philosophy behind the Montessori method by browsing through the brochures and handbooks below!
Montessori
in a Nutshell
Montessori
Handbook
Developmental
Outcomes
Pedagogy
of Place
Cosmic
Education
Unique Features of a Montessori Program
Parents exploring the Montessori method frequently want to learn more about the main differences between Montessori and traditional public schools. Here is a brief summary!
Montessori Schools |
Traditional Schools |
---|---|
Views the child holistically with focus on intellectual, social, and emotional development | Views the child in terms of narrow performance goals |
Child is an active participant in learning | Child is a more passive participant in learning |
Encourages development of internal self-discipline and intrinsic motivation | Teacher acts as a primary enforcer of external discipline promoting extrinsic motivation |
Differentiated and individualized instruction | Whole class, standardized instruction |
Mixed age groupings | Single age groupings |
Learning is based on connection between physical exploration and cognition | Children primarily rely on worksheets, texts, and teacher |
Uninterrupted work cycles | Blocked time or period lessons |
Children are free to move about the classroom | Children primarily rely on worksheets, texts, and teacher |
Mastery learning: child allowed to spot own errors through feedback from the materials | Work is usually corrected by the teacher; errors are viewed as mistakes |
Learning is reinforced internally through the child’s own repetition of an activity and internal feelings of success | Learning is reinforced externally by test scores, rewards, competition, and grades |
The teacher works in collaboration with the child | The class is led by the teacher with little student input |
Interdisciplinary and authentic tasks and projects | Topics and subject fragmented and taught in isolation |
Multi-disciplinary, interwoven curriculum | Curriculum areas usually taught as separate topics |
Child learns to share leadership and gain confidence in decision making and self-regulatory skills | Hierarchical classroom structure is more prominent |
Assessments are summative and formative with emphasis on improvement, effort, and level of challenge | Assessments typically reflected by test scores and grades |