Introduction to Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the social science that studies teaching and learning methods in order to optimize these processes.
Its evolution has allowed for the development of new ways of educating that are more consistent with personality development and the capacity to learn. This is how Montessori Pedagogy emerged.
Likewise, a conviction of the uniqueness of students, respect for their individuality, and the belief in the power of collective knowledge construction.
Pedagogy is a long-duration career, five years, in which one obtains a bachelor’s degree in pedagogy. The educational program is centered on subjects such as history, sociology, public policies, contemporaneity, teaching and evaluation methods, and professional ethics.
Pedagogy as a discipline differs from education due to its systematic and intentional nature, which today focuses on the design of public policies and the educational curriculum.
Characteristics of Montessori Pedagogy
The Montessori Method was created amidst the fascist context (19th century) by researcher Maria Montessori, a physician and educator who advocated for childhood as the most important period of life. Its objective is to help the child reach their maximum potential and enjoy the learning process, away from the political correctness of Prussian education. The method proposes an environment adjusted to the interests and particularities of students, allowing for movement and choice, under a supervised setting.
Prepared Environment
The design of the classroom and the school are intended for self-directed learning, allowing the child to gain curiosity, initiative, and independence. The classroom is an open, spacious, orderly, aesthetic, simple space that provides comfort and allows the child to move without major obstacles, under an assumption of freedom and choice (conditioned) by teachers or guides.
In this environment, the furniture and all its constituent elements are designed to suit the children and their developmental level, as well as their interests.
The classroom is divided into thematic areas where bibliography and support materials are displayed, which the child can access at any time, with the commitment to return them to their place to maintain order and foster self-discipline. Individual and group work is respected, honoring each student’s pace and style.
The Montessori classroom brings together children of different ages, fostering integration, social and emotional skills, mutual support and respect, and the incorporation of knowledge through the practice of teaching others what has been learned.
Well-Directed Learning
This learning is based on exploration, stimulating curiosity and creativity in children, and the premise that they should advance in their educational process themselves. The child learns at the very moment of selecting their own educational material according to their interest. This approach promotes self-education and self-control.
Educational materials are divided into:
- Analytical material: Aimed at developing the child’s senses, it focuses on a quality of the object and its form.
- Self-correcting material: Which seeks to educate the child to correct their own errors without the guide’s intervention.
- Child-attractive material: Following the principle that the Montessori educational model must be child-centered, the materials presented for exploration must be attractive to the child, easy to use, and created to draw the child into the activity.
Integral Approach
This method not only promotes the teaching of educational material and scientific knowledge but also seeks the full development of the child in all areas of life. Sports, social, emotional, and cognitive activities are equally important and are therefore established in the curriculum.
The aim is for the child to experience the joy of learning and enjoy proper self-esteem development. A radical approach considering the restrictive and unifying stance of traditional education.
It is during the early childhood stage (0 to 6 years) that the so-called “absorbent mind” is fully active, a time when children have the greatest facility to learn. It is at this stage that, through the implementation of the Montessori method, the desired full development is achieved.
The Teacher in the Montessori School
The Montessori teacher is called and seen as a guide who directs and outlines the learning path the child should follow, under self-learning conditions.
They also have a scientific and clinical responsibility to observe each child and their development, taking into account their interests, needs, and abilities, and providing models adjusted to these individual aspects.
The teacher’s task in the Montessori school is to provide opportunities for learning and intelligent work with a clear objective and under the premises of self-care and care for the small community that is the Montessori classroom.
The guide always seeks autonomy and for this reason provides content and activities that allow the child to develop internal motivation, independent thinking, confidence, and inner discipline.
In this educational model, there is no reinforcement of positive behaviors in the form of rewards nor condemnation of negative behaviors in the form of punishment, but rather the pursuit of internal satisfaction and self-realization in the child’s daily work and the achievement of their small goals.
At advanced ages, the guide outlines the weekly activity program with the child, reinforcing self-discipline and autonomy once again in this exchange, values of the modern school.
The Montessori School
The Montessori school proposes educational immersion in an adapted environment where classes are not dictated, but rather educational experiences are lived that aim at the development of skills in emotional, mental, spiritual, and social areas.
The approach is project-based learning and the transversality and interdisciplinarity of the school curriculum.
Montessori education, undoubtedly adopted more than two decades ago, predominates as an educational model that enhances children’s abilities, especially in their initial formation.
Montessori schools, in addition to providing an environment of educational immersion and practical life experience for students, allow teachers to develop and implement a modern and democratic educational proposal.
In the postgraduate area of Education, ISEP University offers a series of postgraduate training programs that consider the Montessori model as a transversal axis of teacher training.