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MARIA
MONTESSORI
(1870 - 1952)
Life Sketch
Dr. Maria Montessori(1870-1952) was an Italian Doctor.
She prepared a scheme for the education for the feebleminded children.
She was appointed as a director of special schools.
She establish a school for children named ‘casa de Bombini’
or children’s house on January 6, 1907.
She discovered the training of senses and muscles.
She wrote a book which was very famous named ‘Discovery
of the child’.
In 1939, she visited India and stayed till 1951.
Principles of Montessori system of education
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Respect for the child
The absorbent mind
Sensitive periods
The prepared environment
Auto-education
Planes of Development
First plane (0 – 6 Years)
Acquisition of language, from birth to around six years old
Order - from around one to three years old
Sensory reinforcement- from birth to around four years old
Interest in small objects- from around eighteen months to
three years old
Social behavior- from around two and a half to four years old
Normalization: finally, Montessori observed in children from
three to six years old a psychological states she termed
normalization
Second Plane (6-12 Years)
Physical (loss of baby teeth) and
psychological (tendency to work and socialize)
Third Plane (12 to 18 Years)
She emphasized the difficulties in
concentration
She believed the work of this plane is that the
child is the construction of the adult self in
society.
Fourth Plane (18 to 24 years)
Maria did not quite work on a program for this
level.
Difference between Montessori and
Kindergarten Method.
Froebel’s kindergarten method is entirely based on play
tendency in children.
He supported the child’s natural instinct by letting him
move and play in natural surroundings.
 Froebel considered it necessary that children should be
taught everything through play.
 His method was based on the principles of learning by
doing.
Play songs and movements are its chief characteristics.
Children are provided with a variety of toys to gain ideas of
weight, size, number, colour and shape by playing with
them.
Montessori Way
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The Teaching Unit.
The Prepared Environment:
Play or Work
The question of Fairy Tales.
Reality or Make Belief.
Two Forms of Intelligence.
Work and Play.
Freedom to Work – A New Thing.
Didactic
Apparatus
What is Didactic Apparatus?
Didactic apparatus" is synonymous with
"auto-regulative." It is a method used to teach
young children between the ages of 3 and 6
created by Dr. Maria Montessori.
The concept of Montessori's theory is AutoEducation with Didactic Material. According to
Montessori, the child builds itself through
experiences on the environment
• Gross motor skills are involved in
movement and coordination of the
arms, legs, and other large body parts
and movements. They participate in
actions such as running, crawling,
swimming, etc.
• Fine motor skills are involved in smaller
movements that occur in the wrists,
hands, fingers, and the feet and toes.
Montessori Materials
Montessori
Materials
"All the apparatus must be
meticulously in order,
beautiful and shiny, in
perfect condition. Nothing
must be missing, so that to
the child it always seems
new, complete and ready
for use.“
– Maria Montessori
• Everything has a
purpose
• Self-correcting
• Made of materials such
as wood, wicker, fabric,
or metal
Practical Life
Materials
Practical Life
Caring for self, others, and the
environment
Learn every day skills such as
pouring, scooping, cleaning, or tying
Increase self-esteem and
independence
Fine motor skill development
Learning through trial and
error
Sensorial
Materials
Geometric solids
Sensorial
Explore world through their
senses
Explore size, texture, color,
weight, sound, and smell.
Allows for individual work
and repetition
Prepare for later math and
language
Language Materials
Language
• 1. phonics 2. letter recognition
3. book reading
• Learn the shape and order of
letters through exploration
• Learn vocabulary for their
environment
• Learn to hold a writing
instrument as well as the art
of writing
Mathematics
• Understanding of numbers and
number relations
• Abstract concepts
• Every material is one concept
that prepares for the next
• Practical life and sensorial
materials prepare for math
Why sensory training?
For perception of size.
For perception of forms.
For discrimination in weight.
For touch.
For sense of temperature.
For auditory acuity.
For the colour sense.
Tactual activity.
Individual characteristic
• She believed that every child is peculiar and unique.
• Every child progress at his own speed and rate.
• So each child should be treated as a separate individual.
• Collective method of teaching crush the individuality of the
child.
Functions of a Teacher
1. Teacher as a gardener.
2. The directress and not the Teacher.
3. Doctor-cum-scientist-cum-missionary.
4. Faith in personality of the child.
5. Moral qualities.
Principle of no Material Rewards
& Punishments
• According to her rewards and punishments are unnatural
incentive or forced effort.
• The development that comes with their help will also be
unnatural.
Strengths of Montessori method
1. Freedom for children:
The children are provided with self-directed activities.
2. Sense Training:
She aims at educating children through sense training.
3. Reverence for small children:
She considered her school as the temple & the child as a God.
4. Individual Attention:
Against collective method, stresses individual method of
teaching.
5. Learning through living:
Practical exercises are provided to enable the children to learn
good habits like cleanliness, order & self-help
Limitations of Montessori method
1. Mechanical & artificial nature of Didactic method:
Too much importance has been given to didactic apparatus. It will hand-cuff
both the teacher and the student.
2. Imagination is neglected:
Since there is no place for fairy tales, there is less scope for the imagination.
3. Lack of suitable teachers:
Successful working of the this method depends on teachers who posses
extensive knowledge of child psychology.
4. Very expensive:
it is very expensive to set up a school on the lines suggested by Montessori.
5. There is little scope for project:
In Montessori method there is little scope for utilizing projects.