Assignment Module 01

Name: Isbah bint Javed Roll no: D-13721

Q.no.01- Discuss the life and works of Dr. Maria Montessori and why is she referred to
as a lady much ahead of her time?

Answer: In world of modern education, Dr. Maria Montessori is considered one of the strongest
women. She is the founder of the Montessori system of education and laid the basis of development in
modern early childhood education.

Familial and Educational Background:

Dr. Maria Montessori was born on 31st August 1870 to an educated
middle class family in Ancona, Italy. Her father, Alessandro Montessori, was a conservative military
man and her mother, Renidle Montessori, was a liberal lady who supported the educational pursuits of
her only child. Maria, despite the conservative attitude of then society pursued medical and scientific
education. She was a confident and strong minded lady and at the age of thirteen she succeeded in
getting herself enrolled into a technical school, a thing considered off-limits to females at that time. She
excelled at school and when she graduated in 1886, she was able to enter in the Regio Istituto Tecnico
Leonardo da Vinci. There she studied math, natural sciences and languages; again excelling beyond all
expectations. It was there too that she became fascinated with the biological sciences, and began to
dream of pursuing a career in medicine. When she presented her thesis in 1896, the all-male board of
review was so impressed by her absolute brilliance that they awarded her a medical degree, making her
Italy's first woman doctor. She was promoted to surgical assistant at Santo Spirito soon after, where she
had worked previously as medical assistant. As a physician, Montessori specialized in pediatrics and the
new field of psychiatry.

Professional Life:
Dr. Maria 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. Despite her unwillingness to enter education
as a career, Montessori became best known for her contributions in education. During those times,
children who were considered mentally deficient were sent to 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 crawling 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 went to
rehabilitate mentally retarded children, 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 from French Doctors:

Montessori was much inspired by the work on child development and psychology, in particular, by the
works of two almost forgotten French doctors of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: Jean-Marc-
Gaspard Itard and Edouard Seguin. Both of them worked with children having some physical or mental
disabilities. However, both attempted to teach basic skills, such as reading and writing, using alternative
methods from those being utilized in the formal school settings. 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.

Casa dei Bambini (House of Children):

Eager to implement her new discoveries on normal children, Maria started to find a chance to work with
normal children. But the Italian Ministry of Education was not happy with Maria’s ideas and she was
denied access to school-aged kids. Later in 1907, Maria was offered a job as a medical director for a
daycare center called Casa dei Bambini or House of Children in 1907. It was set up in a ground-floor
room of a low-cost apartment building in a slum area of Rome. Its purpose was to provide a space for
pre-school age children who were damaging and destroying the houses while their parents were at work.
Montessori believed in taking the time to learn from the children, as she herself learned through her
observations of the children in the asylums. She found that children of all ages flourished when they
were given the opportunity to experience mastery of real life skills and knowledge that was appropriate
to their age and stage. If given 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 was 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. According to her, “liberty of the
pupil" was the fundamental method.
Worldwide Fame:
Montessori’s first Casa dei Bambini soon became famous worldwide. How little
kids could do their work on their own, surprised and amazed people who visited that school. This
enabled Montessori to start her second and third schools and the progress went on. She also visited
America on the request of Alexander Graham Bell. Her model center (House of Children) was copied
everywhere. Many political leaders and educationists found that this was the right way to change old
fashioned school system in Europe. Her students turned out more hard working, peace loving and
disciplined.

Dr. Maria Montessori also wrote a lot of books like, “The Absorbent Mind”, “The Discovery of
the Child” and many more.

Awards and Recognition:

Montessori was referred to as “A Woman much ahead of her time”. She
was a true pioneer of modern education system. Her methods were not derived from any existent
pedagogical wisdom. She had in fact sidestepped the more traditional educational path for women;
teacher’s training. As a smart scientist and quick-minded observer, she had soon discovered some
important and 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.

Demise:
Maria Montessori died in the Netherlands on May 6, 1952 aged 81. She will always be
remembered through her work, which has and will continue to help children become better humans.
Q.no.02 - What are the main requirements to be considered to start a House of
Children? How do you implement them?

Answer: Before looking into the requirements to take under consideration to start a House of Children,
let’s consider the problems faced by a child when introduced to a new environment:

 A child considers himself an alien in an adult’s world where everything is three times bigger than
his size.
 Children cannot access most things freely and comfortably because, in most cases, our houses
are designed according to adult needs.
 A child is not allowed to touch almost anything in the adult environment.
 Children get desperate as their inner needs are not fulfilled.
 Children get desperate when they are told NO many times. There is no suitable occupation for
them. Prohibition is prohibition, whether sweet or bitter.
 Adults try to teach children by their orders or by their words, they usually not show them by
actions.
 Sometimes the adults are too busy to give proper attention to their child.
 Adults tend to provide extra help to the child which is, in fact, hindrance in child’s learning
process.
 A child’s need of helping him help himself is ignored.
Keeping in mind these problems we need to consider the role of a Montessori teacher.

My implementation of Montessori requirements:

Teaching is my passion, and I plan to take it

professionally on special needs kids. My goal for applying to this institute was to train myself to a
level where I am able to handle any challenge I am met with. But I also understand the huge
responsibility that lies on a teacher’s shoulders. Children start the process of learning from the day
they are born and for their better growth, development and education; it’s our responsibility as a
teacher to provide them healthy, effective and fruitful environment. When the environment meets all
of the needs of children, they become, without any guidance by the adult, physically healthy,
mentally and psychologically fulfilled, extremely well-educated, and filled with joy and kindness
towards each other. Children who have better experiences at proper time develop more effectively as
compared to others who have less opportunities and experience.

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

1. Respecting the child

2. Arranging child sized equipment

3. Focusing on the child’s absorbent mind

4. Observation and utilization of sensitive periods

5. Creating a prepared environment

6. Focusing on individual child

7. Polite and reasonable attitude of teachers

8. Providing a family setting

9. Creating an environment of Cooperation rather than Competition

10. Frequent Parents – Teachers interaction

1. Respecting the Child:

Respect for the child is the keystone on which all other Montessori
principles are based. As Montessori said, “As a rule, however, we do not respect children. We try to
force them to follow us without regard to their special needs. We are overbearing with them, and
above all, rude; and then we expect them to be submissive and well-behaved, knowing all the time
how strong is their instinct of imitation and how touching their faith in and admiration of us.”

Teachers show respect for children when they help them do things and learn for themselves. When
children have choices, they are able to develop the skills and abilities necessary for effective learning
independence, and positive self-esteem.

2. Arranging Child Sized Equipment:

Furniture, equipment, and supplies which are in use of

children should be child sized so that they can work all by themselves. This will lead the children to
be self-motivated to explore, experiment, and reach new understandings.

3. Focusing on the Child’s 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 environment.

4. Observation and Utilization of Sensitive Periods:

Sensitive periods vary from child to child. Some

children are more susceptible to certain behaviors and can learn specific skills more easily than
others. 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.
5. Creating a 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.

6. Focusing on Individual Child:

Teachers should focus on every child individually as each child is a

unique entity. Every child’s learning progress, growth, understanding, achieving a mastery of
particular skill and requirements are different.

7. Polite and Reasonable Attitude of Teacher:

Children learns a lot firstly from their mothers and

then from their teachers. The behavior and attitude of the teacher should be polite, reasonable and
helpful towards children.

8. Providing a Family Setting:

Montessori classrooms should be communities of children and adults.

As children grow older and more capable, they assume a great role in helping to care for the
environment and meet the needs of younger children in the class. The focus is less on the teachers
and more on the entire community of children and adults, much like in a real family.

9. Creating an Environment of Cooperation rather than Competition:

Children should be
encouraged to teach other with kindness and respect since the earliest of stages of childhood. It has
been found that children, who care for one another and who are free from any interpersonal
competition for attention tend to turning up much better behavior wise than others, because every
child learns at his own pace. This fact is very important for teachers to keep in mind to refrain from
comparing one student to another.

10. Frequent Parent and Teacher Interactions:

There should be close interaction between parents and teachers.

Parents should know the progress, work and activities of their child so that they can practice same in
homes as well if they want.
Q.no.03- What are the discoveries made by Dr. Maria Montessori by observing the
child?

Answer: Dr. Maria Montessori’s educational approach was based on observation and experimentation.
She used a scientific approach. She worked tirelessly observing children, analyzing results and
developing new materials. Only when she found that children acted in a certain manner under certain
circumstances without any interference from adults, she could accept that it was the child’s true nature.
She believed the ‘secret of childhood’ that every child has a potential and it’s the responsibility of adults
to help them and flourish this potential. Montessori was a revolutionary, who created her method from
observation, not just from old theories. After nearly twenty-two years of such observations and
experimentations Dr. Montessori could say that she had found a method of helping children in their
educational pursuits.

Following are some of her observations that have the most importance for early learning activities:

1. Children love to work purposefully. Unlike adults, who work for incentives, children are goal
oriented. Children work until the point that they achieve their objective. They work out of a
characteristic drive, which makes them select and focus on errands which are fitting for
advancement.

2. The inner drive is sufficient. Children follow a purposeful inner impulse, so the adults only
need to provide the necessary environment and conditions. Therefore, Montessori teachers are
discouraged to give reward to children lest the children start working for rewards and ignore
their inner urge to do work.

3. Interest is sparked when a child discovers something that answers the inner needs. A child
learning takes place only with true concentration, which they can found in right conditions.
Concentration is built through the spontaneous repetition of an activity, though we must keep in
mind that concentration is not the end result but only the beginning.

4. Very young children need order for their development. The children need order not only with
things but also with values, functions and other human activities. The adults need to show these
values in their everyday life so that the child doesn’t get confused. Contrary instructions about
behavior may confuse the child as he need consistency in everything in his environment.

5. Normality depends on all the human powers working in collaberation. Sometimes the
children don’t have access to the conditions necessary for their development. During the early
childhood it is possible to resolve any developmental errors which then bring the child back to
normality. For this activity is very important.
6. Activities involving sensorial concepts, language, arithmetic, art, culture were found to be
necessary for the child’s education. One of the contributions of Dr. Montessori was
introducing the everyday activities as developmental factors. Children need to perform these
activities because it helps them develop the intelligence, will and voluntary movements of the
child.

7. Children assured that they can integrate the knowledge, normally considered to be too
complex, if it is presented in rightful conditions. In Casa dei Bambini Dr. Montessori taught
several topics which were considered too complex for the children aged 3 to 5. But she found out
that these subjects are necessary for their total development.

8. Real discipline comes through freedom. In the House of Children, children were allowed to
manage their own lives. It was observed that the children were well behaved, orderly, assured
remarkable work attitude, strive for perfection and were disciplined. By giving children
independence she learned that discipline did not have to be enforced. Discipline must come from
within.

9. Real obedience is based on love, respect and faith. A child needs to learn that when he is
obedient he will get inner satisfaction which will lead to real development.

10. Children are often seen to behave in a certain manner. According to Dr. Montessori a child’s
development depends on the right conditions. A child is stubborn and disobedient when suitable
conditions are missing which is called deviation. However when right conditions are present
children behave quite the opposite, which is called normality.

11. Activities presented to the children are results of observing the child. Dr. Montessori based
most of the activities while observing the children. So we may call her teachings as discoveries.

12. “Help Me Do It Myself”. A teacher’s help should be offered so that the child may become
independent in his individual and social life.

13. Environment is very important in Montessori settings. Dr. Montessori discovered that a little
child become frustrated in adult-sized world. So she designs her schools around the size of the
children. The children learned to control their movements, disliking the way the calm
atmosphere was disturbed when they knocked into the furniture.

14. Montessori’s steps for the pattern of the schools. Montessori believed that a classroom setting
should be arranged to minimize tripping and cramming.
 15. Bringing the outer environment outside the classroom. Everything should be child size. There
should be large windows and a garden attached to help children encourage being outdoors.

We might conclude by saying that Dr. Montessori calls upon every human being to develop the
humanity to learn from the child in order to create a healthy human being.
Q.no.04- 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.

Answer: There are five key areas of development in a child’s life, which can be remembered by saying
PILES. The word PILES is an acronym which stands for:

 P: physical
 I: intellectual
 L: language
 E: emotional
 S: social

By looking at an individual in terms of these areas, it becomes easier to observe and understand
behaviors. Development in 3 to 6 years is a second sub-phase of a first stage of development of children.
In this stage, the child brings his unconscious knowledge to the conscious level, which is achieved
through movement and exploration of the surroundings. In this phase the child brings his learned,
observed and watched activities into practical format. He wants a freedom to practice them all by
himself. He uses his hands to explore his surroundings. Any interference by an adult may hinder the
learning process. Research shows that at the end of 6 years child’s personality completely developed.

Physical Development during 3 to 6 years of age:

At this stage a child is very active, energetic and

imaginative. The value of physical development and the role they play in a child's entire life is very
important. A young child's physical growth first begins as muscles gain strength with use and he
gradually develops coordination. The development of muscular control is the first step in this process. It
also involves activities such as:

 Running around outside

 Jumping on the bed
 Grasping a parent's finger
 Balance on one foot for sometime
 Washing and drying hands with assistance
 Is able to use spoon without spilling
 Can torn pages in a book one by one
 Kick, bounce and throw ball
 Can put on and take off coat
 Jump from low steps
 Pedal and steer a tricycle
 Walk and run forward
  Walk on tiptoe
 Move large toys easily
 Go upstairs like adults, but still puts both feet on each step when coming down
 Able to sit crossed legs
 Dance on music
 Touch toes while legs straight
 Full of energy
 Love outdoor games
Lingual Development during 3 to 6 years of age:

Language skills also continue to improve during

early childhood. Language is an outgrowth of a child's ability to use symbols. The more words a
child uses in sentences, the more sophisticated the child's language development. Language develops
in sequential form, phrases with inflections, simple sentences, and complex sentences. Children learn
many new words all the time. Parents, siblings, peers, teachers, and the media provide opportunities
for children to increase their vocabulary. Most important lingual skills learn at this stage are:

 Tell name, age, address and sex

 Love singing rhymes and songs
 Reading stories again and again
 Sentence structure improves rapidly
 Grammar also improves continuously
 Happy to engage in conversations
 Understand nouns and plurals
 Always in a questioning mode
 Able to start counting, and know the alphabets, numbers, shapes and colors
 Feeling happy after listening to humorous stories
 Have some difficulty in pronunciation of v, r or th.
 Vocabulary increases
 Speak native language correctly, sometime speaks more than one languages
Intellectual Development during 3 to 6 years of age:

Children changes more quickly than adults. It

seems that you blink your eyes and your child has grown and developed. At one moment they are
throwing balls in the box, the next they are flipping the pages of a story book. Then they start reading
story books of their own choice. Different activities and games can enhance their intellectual
development.

Some activities that a child can perform during this time are:

 May blow bubbles in drinks

 Know colors and different shapes
 Use children scissors
 Interested in playing with peers, understand rules and roles
 Count objects and recognize them
 Matches shapes, colors, alphabets and numbers
 Solve puzzles
 Hold pencil properly
 Draw shapes (circle etc.), alphabets and features (head, face, legs, arms )
 Likes to paint and color
 Can build a high brick tower and bridges
 Knows primary colors
Q.no.05- Write a comprehensive note on the role of teacher in a Montessori classroom.

Answer: Dr. Montessori was of the opinion that “it is necessary for the teacher to guide the child
without letting him feel her presence too much, so that she may be always ready to supply the desired
help, but may never be the obstacle between the child and his experience.”

A Montessori teacher is like a guide/ helper to the children. She does not consider herself to be the
primary cause of learning that occurs in her students. For better understanding a role of a teacher, it
should be known that there are two types of the art of teaching:

a) Productive
b) Cooperative

a) Productive Arts:

These can be defined as “arts in which activity of the artist is the principal and the only
cause of production”. For example, a log of wood will always remain to be a log of wood unless a
carpenter makes a piece of furniture out of it. Similarly, a piece of cloth cannot automatically become or
tend to become a shirt unless there is involvement of a tailor’s activity.

b) Cooperative Arts:

In such arts the activity of the artist is neither the principal, nor the only cause of
production. This art is further elaborated in three common forms:

 Farming: the art of raising plants and animals.

 Healing: the art of curing, e.g. doctors, nurses, physicians, surgeons etc.
 Teaching: the art of transferring the well of knowledge to others.

Things are different in the case of all cooperative arts from the productive arts in which the removal of
the artist’s activity leads to no activity at all. They are helper to the given environment.

The Teacher’s Role:

There are numerous roles of a teacher in the Montessori classroom. She has to be a
role model for children as they imitate her actions. The main roles of a teacher in Montessori classroom
are:

 Making children the center of learning: The Montessori teacher should not be the center of
attraction for children nor should she give large group lessons. Instead, she should make individual
children the center of learning.
 Giving new lesson: The new lesson should be comprehensive but brief. The lesson should not be 1-
2 hour continuous lecture like those delivered in conventional school system.

 Demonstrating a procedure for using a material: A teacher needs to demonstrate in an easy way
every new activity to perform or every new material to be used. Rest is left to the children to
experience themselves and learn with freedom.

 Being good helpers and guides: A teacher’s responsibility is to wait and observe if a child needs
any help or guidance. They can help them by asking children’s permission.

 Encouraging children to learn by themselves: This can happen if freedom of choice is given to
children and also giving them a proper prepared environment.

 Observing the child’s behavior: In Montessori classroom, teacher is working with one or two
children at a time. Their responsibility is to properly observe each child’s behavioral pattern. They
need to provide them with proper material/ activity, proper instructions/ advise and give new lessons.
Teacher needs to be polite and should know that each child has a different sensitive period.

 Preparing the learning environment: This needs to be done by best possible learning environment.
By providing learning materials in low shelves and placed orderly.

 Evaluating the children and environment: The teacher carefully observes each child and evaluates
their progress as well as the environment every day.

 Showing respect towards children: A Montessori teacher needs to be polite and friendly towards
children. They should know that each child has different time span to learn. So there is no need to
rush or enforce things on children, instead they should be given respect and appropriate time to learn
and grasp everything by their own.

 Being supportive and non-judgmental: It is necessary for a teacher to be supportive and friendly
towards children so that they can ask questions easily. Teacher should not be judgmental or biased.

 Being a good communicator: A Montessori teacher should be a good communicator among

children and help children to learn how to communicate with elders.

 Discussing children’s achievements: Teachers should discuss children’s achievements and success
with their parents and with other teachers or staff. Children’s work should be properly displayed in
classrooms so that they feel proud and happy.
 Being a proper role model: As children learn a lot from their mothers and then from their teachers,
so the teachers should practice all progressive and positive behaviors themselves so that children can
learn positive things. Teachers should practice clam, consistency and respect in the class.

 Being peace educators: Teachers should project a peaceful environment. They need to be polite,
courteous and helpful.

 Diagnosticians: Teachers play a role of a diagnostician, as they keep a watch on children informally
to get clues about each child. They have the ability to diagnose and assess the learning problems of
children. They identify the strength and weaknesses of each child.