Montessori:
Child Psychology - Educational Psychology (psychology
of learning and teaching) - Methodology - Moral Formation
- Social and Practical Life Activities - Music and Art
Education (if and when possible).
Geology - Chemistry
- Physics - Geography - Biology - History: all developed
in relation to one another and within the context of a
cosmic vision. Development of Language - Development of
the "Mathematical Mind": Arithmetic - Geometry
- Algebra.
The
Course Director reserves the right to modify the schedule,
syllabus, and facilities according to the circumstances
or the needs of the course.
Language:
Lectures are either given directly in English or in Italian
with translation into English. Meetings are held in English
only.
Schedule:
The schedule for the whole academic year is handed out
at the beginning of the course.
The
Course first emphasizes the psychological reality of language
in the child's mind and reviews the typical phases of
learning through which the child constructs his linguistic
intelligence. According to Dr. Montessori, the evolution
of language begins with the infant's unique capacity for
absorbing intact fragments of language, fragments which
will serve as a basis for development. The conquest of
language then continues by means of an orderly, unconscious
process of assimilation and abstraction. The child first
discovers that sounds have meaning, and then he isolates
nouns, articles, adjectives, and verbs; and, finally,
at 2 years of age he grasps the use of sentences. The
constant and orderly assimilation of language is manifested
in the sudden expansion of vocabulary at the age of 22
months and, after 2 years of age, in the appearance of
the ability to speak syntactically and to express thoughts.
The significance of this psychological study is to make
evident the child's natural, albeit unconscious, will
to learn and to show that the child engages in an unconscious
analysis of language, learning first the simplest parts
and then passing by definite stages to an understanding
of syntax.
Always in relation to the natural evolution of language,
the course then takes up the methodology for written language.
The child learns the written language through the same
general pattern of analytic development.
The child begins with the materials which prepare him
for writing (through his sense of touch he learns to make
the movements of writing and to recognize the letters
of the alphabet) and with the development of vocabulary
through story telling, conversation and classified pictures.
At about four years of age he discovers that he knows
how to write and spontaneously makes use of his knowledge.
The experience of writing shows the child that thought
can be conveyed by the use of symbols, and this understanding
opens the way to the full development of language skills
-"total reading". Techniques of conscious analysis
serve to order and clarify the child's task of learning
the written language. He perceives the functions of the
parts of speech and perfects his reading ability through
exercises in interpretive reading; the writing of compositions
and the logical and structural analysis of grammatical units
leads the child to recognize and appreciate style in works
of literature. This part of the language course is identified
by Maria Montessori as "psycho-grammar".
In examining the practical means given to the child to
become conscious of the structure of his own language,
the student must be aware of the universal value of the
relevant sensitive period, which is the reason why the
Montessori principles and approach apply to any language.
The student must combine the principles and the approach
with a feeling for and a knowledge of his own language,
in order to prepare what is suitable for his own country.
In other words, the guides given in language methodology
are keys which must be used creatively by the student
himself. The actual language course given deals with the
structure of the English language.
Maria Montessori writes in “The Absorbent Mind"
that as "occasions are lacking for the spontaneous
development of the 'mathematical mind' in early childhood
(since mathematical objects are not spread out in the
environment like trees, flowers, and animals)", it
becomes necessary to outline a plan for the development
of this 'mathematical mind'. According to Dr. Montessori,
this 'esprit de géométrie' - to use Pascal's
expression - constitutes one of the attributes of the
human mind and an undeniable right of the human being.
And thus the Montessori approach to mathematics
is based on the needs of the child. Montessori's psycho-mathematics
is a plan or method for a comprehensive mathematical education
by means of psychological keys, and, to take a specific
area, includes the relationship between the understanding
of the structure of arithmetic and the psychology of the
child.
The materials for teaching mathematics must serve first
to establish the basic mathematical concepts in the child's
mind and then to illuminate and elaborate those concepts.
Concrete materials, which consist for the most part of
representations of the geometrical aspect of number structure,
permit the child to obtain a clear understanding of abstract
mathematical concepts (in themselves - as sensorial representations
- the materials have no value). Having in mind a clear
conceptual understanding, the child may proceed rationally
and easily to the particular processes of calculation,
and these very processes become interesting when the child
can understand their full significance. Dr. Montessori
transformed the customary series of routine operations
into a "rational arithmetic".
The child proceeds from an understanding of the structure
of the decimal system to calculation with whole and decimal
numbers, and from the concept of division to fractions,
ratios, proportion, and square and cube roots.
Much of the methodology which today forms the basis of
"new math" was first expressed in the volume
L'Autoeducazione nelle scuole
elementari published in 1916 (The Advanced
Montessori Method: Spontaneous Activity in Education &
The Montessori Elementary Material).
We can say that, generally speaking, the Montessori approach
to mathematics anticipates the developments of "new
math". During the course we will examine several
of the main elements of "new math", such as
the structure of the different number systems and the
consideration of numeration in terms of powers.
The increasingly abstract work with numbers leads to algebra
and its methodology: from the concept of negative numbers
to algebraic notation and the powers of polynomials, and
from linear to quadratic equations.
The Montessori approach to geometry
is based on the education of the visual sense, and the
study of geometry starts indirectly with the exploration
and recognition of shapes through sight and movement.
We then pass to the classified nomenclature which, through
sensorial experiences, gives the proper terms of geometry
as keys for further conscious exploration of the environment.
From the concept of congruency as the intersection of
similarity and equivalence, we emphasize how equivalence
is essential for calculating the surface area of each
plane figure. From the concept of space we pass to the
exploration of geometric solids and the calculation of
their volume, finishing with basic ideas on topology.
This comprehensive programme, in which the subjects of
arithmetic, algebra and geometry are integrated so as
to be mutually illuminating, Dr. Montessori called "psycho-mathematics".
She developed and adjusted the methodology with respect
to the changing interests and capacities of the child's
growing mind. By introducing the child to a larger view
of mathematics, the Montessori Method enables the child
to appreciate mathematics as a pure science.
As new psychological characteristics appear in the child
and enlarge the scope of his interests, he passes from
the methodology which illustrates the origin and formation
of the Earth (laboratory experiments in chemistry
and physics) to the study of geology and physical geography.
Geological evolution provides the basis for the exploration
of physical, biological and political geography, which
are then followed by the investigation of the related
economic facts. All of the geography is regularly linked
up with Man's spiritual and material needs. The study
of Man's work of modification and transformation of his
environment leads to a consideration of the multiple economic
problems which that work continually creates. In Dr. Montessori
view, the science of economics provides an important key
with which to understand Man's history.
The goal is always that of enlarging the scope of the
child's ideas and of synthesizing his understanding. The
subject matter of physics
- including the properties of matter; mechanics; the nature
of heat, sound and light; electricity and magnetism -
is presented to the child so that he may extend his understanding
beyond the world of his senses and form an estimate of
the vast phenomena of the universe by means of his imagination.
To satisfy the natural interests of children we introduce
them to the environment of plants and that of animals,
emphasizing their interdependence. The child who is aware
of the system of interdependence (ecology) and who actually
explores and observes Nature will find the techniques
of classification valuable aids to his understanding.
The biological sciences,
however, are not taught simply for their own sake but
with the intention of giving the child a sense of respect
for the life around him, so that he may be capable of
assuming a collaborative rather than a destructive ecological
role.
From the study of the Earth in its inorganic aspects,
the child, very often unaided, recognizes the plausibility
of the appearance and evolution of life. This recognition
gives him a basis for understanding the analogous evolution
of human society, from pre-history to the present atomic
age. In the history
programme then the child studies the evolution of civilizations.
Just as mankind has aspired spiritually to discover a
supreme being, the child who conceives of the idea of
a divine order will be attracted towards God. Spiritual
education can also help to form the child's
conscience. Especially during this period of his development
the child will take an interest in ethical values, for
he is suddenly growing aware of social relationships and
beginning to concern himself with the moral significance
of his actions.
Exercises in coordinated movement indirectly prepare the
child for musical education,
which extends from the study of the diatonic and chromatic
scales to interpretive marching and the analysis of melody.
The knowledge of the length of the notes - taught first
through physical movements, and then with illustrative
materials - leads to musical notation. From the knowledge
of the various tonalities and their progression the child
learns transposition and modulation. The course in "psycho-music"
concludes with the analytic study of rhythm.
The exercises in practical
life continue from the pre-school and
are now extended in accordance with the broadening experience
and new interests of the child. In his work with science
experiments, art, scouting, handicraft, building, etc.,
he is growing nearer to adult work.
As a conclusion, we can say that the starting point to
be provided is a general vision of the world and showing
that from this is derived any science or subject as well
as any detail thereof. The exploration of any detail,
identified by Montessori as "a fragment of nature",
must be nothing other than a link for connection with
the whole.
So, to discuss culture in terms of a cosmic
vision means to illustrate the intimate
relationship between things, living nature and Man with
all of his exploration of the environment, as well as
to understand the cosmic
task of each of the forces working in
this game, including human society.
Therefore, in order to achieve a cosmic
education, it is important to understand
that any distinction between subject matter must be brought
back to a vision of unity, in the same way that all the
different forces acting in the world in which we live,
constitute a unity.
