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Module 1 Assignment

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www.usraahad
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Biographical note on Dr.

Maria Montessori
Maria Montessori was born on 31 August 1870 to an educated middle class family in Chiaravalle,
Ancona, Italy.
Doctor Maria pioneered the early childhood education system and gave the world its first school for
toddlers i.e. Casa dei Bambini (the house of children) on January 06, 1907.
She always rebelled against her father in the matter of education; first by attending a male populated
technical secondary school, then later pursuing medical career instead of a more conventional career path
chosen for women.
She was the first woman to enter a medical university in Italy, and by 1896 became the first lady doctor in
Italy with the highest distinction.
As a doctor she specialized in paediatrics and psychiatry.
Journey to an educationist
It was after Dr Maria started visiting asylums that she became interested in developing materials and
activities for special needs children to keep them busy and help them stimulate their minds and senses.
Her work got her immense approval and was invited to address different congresses.
This was the start of her journey into the world of education.
She adopted a scientific approach to work with special needs children by following these steps:
1. observe them
2. hypothesize about their developmental and cognitive needs
3. experiment with different materials and techniques to help

Following doctors and researchers who worked with special needs children inspired her to follow this
approach:

 Jacob Rodriguez Periera


 Jean Marc Gaspard Itard
 Edouard Seguin
Due to her achievements with children Doctor Maria was appointed as the assistant director at the newly
started orthophrenic school which was an educational institute for special needs children along with a
training institute for institute. Through this she got the opportunity to work more formally with the
children on her experiments and develop more appropriate materials and activities.
This lead to the children learning more effectively. They not only learned how to read and write but also
how to perform some basic daily chores. These children were even able to pass standard public
examinations along with the typical children.
Montessori travelled all over the world to establish her discovered method in order to help children
achieve their milestones on time.
Achievements:
She was consecutively nominated for noble prize three times in 1949, 1950, and 1951.
Received medal of honour, honorary citizenships of Perugia, Milan, and Chiaravalle.
Standing ovation at a UNESCO conference
Honorary doctorate degree from University of Amsterdam
Rank of officer from the Queen of Denmark
Pictured on Italian 200 lire coin and 1000 lire bill until Italy adopted the Euro
Demise:
She died in Noordwijk aan Zee, a village near Hague, Netherlands on May 6, 1952, at the age of 81.
2. Write a note on Casa dei Bambini. Also explain how did Montessori method develop there.
Casa dei Bambini:
The house of children. Dr. Montessori was got a chance to implement her experiments on children with
no special needs when she was offered the role of medical officer at a day-care for working class children
who were too young to attend school.
She brought a few materials from her orthophrenic school and worked with the kids on it with one co
worker in a large classroom.
Montessori method
Maria Montessori brought a few materials she developed from her orthophrenic school for the children at
daycare to try those purposeful activities.
There were fifty to sixty children from extremely underprivileged families kept in one room with one
untrained teachers. Most of then were malnourished and rowdy. It was amid such circumstances that she
started her journey of the discovery of the child.
Through this experiment she learned that given the right environment, children thrive and grow at an
unexpected pace. This gave her an idea of engineering a favourable environment for children so she
developed more and more materials and became known worldwide for her method of teaching.
3. Elaborate the discoveries made by Dr. Maria by observing the child.
Children prefer academic materials over Toys
Children like to do purposeful activities where they see a result which is what Montessori observed when
they were gifted expensive Toys but after a few days of playing they switched back to their material.
Inner need for freedom and constructive work
Children prefer to repeatedly work with the materials suited for their age for as long as they want until it
satisfies their inner urge.
Ability to select activities
After Montessori noticed that children prefer to select their own activities, she had low shelf cabinets built
to put in materials which encouraged children to play more enthusiastically.
Children need order
A child’s mind is focused on the development and inner construction of his intellectual and physical
faculties that’s why he needs order in the environment and anything disorderly disrupts the natural focus
of the young mind.
True learning happens with concentration
Interest us developed when some thing catches the child’s eye
Repetition occurs when the child gets the right environment to work on the interest
Concentration is seen when an activity is done repeatedly
Purposeful activities lead to normalisation
Children should be given space and time to work in unison and collaboration wi4h
Children need activities in multiple areas to develop filly
Children are naturally well behaving
All efforts to grow are efforts to be independent
Environmental engineering
Children need respectful treatment
Real obedience comes through love respect and faith
True discipline comes through freedom
Children are underestimated

4. explain sensitive periods and write short notes on sensitive period of language, mathematics,
movement
Sensitive periods refer to specific periods in a child’s development when they have an intense urge to
learn and acquire certain skills. These periods are characterized by a heightened sensitivity to certain
stimuli, which makes the child more receptive to learning and acquiring new skills.

What is the sensitive period for language?


The sensitive period for spoken language is from 7 months to 3 years of age. It begins when the child first
creates sounds by mimicking mouth movements, and progresses over time, as they learn to form words
and simple sentences.

What is the sensitive period of movement?


The sensitive period for movement occurs from birth to around age 4.5-5. During this time, children are
growing so much physically and mentally. The sensitive period for movement spans the development of
all movement up to the refinement of fine motor skills.

What is sensitive period for mathematics?

In the Montessori learning environment, the children not only sees and learns the symbol for a number,
they hold the quantity in their hand. For most children, the sensitive development period for learning
mathematical concepts is between the age of four and six years.

5. Short notes on following:

The spiritual embryo spans from birth to around three; this is a period when, according to Montessori,
the child’s physical and psychological capacities unfold. Finally, during the social embryonic stage the
social being emerges.

Maria Montessori coined the term “Absorbent Mind” to describe the remarkable capacity of children
from birth to age six to absorb information and experiences from their environment effortlessly

Montessori classrooms are divided into mixed-age groupings based on each child’s stage of
development. Students stay with one class for an entire three-year cycle. This three-year grouping starts
with the Children’s House, designed for ages 3-6, and continues on through Elementary for ages 6-9 and
9-12

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