Introduction

The inquiry process began with the premise that a group of Montessori Students could do complementary inquiries – if we each provided some insight into our future practice in a different field, but did it in a coordinated way, then the collection of inquiries would be useful to us all.  This worked reasonably well, but in my case, I found myself drifting from my original choice – music – towards Computing.  The reasons for this drift were twofold.  Firstly, my practicum school has a music specialist, and so my opportunity to teach music is limited, and therefore my ability to achieve praxis in my inquiry was also limited.  Secondly, I have been deeply engaged in the Computing Science curriculum.  This stems both from my work in higher ed, and particularly with the Faculty of Applied Sciences at SFU, and also from the fact that I’ve been working on building Teacher Candidate competency in learning to teach coding at UBC, in concert with Yvonne Dawydiak, one of the Cohort Coordinators in the TeacherEd Program.

Montessori and Computing

Something I’ve noticed is that there is a healthy skepticism about the use of technology in Montessori.  In the Montessori system, we have the amazing gift of the Montessori Materials, developed with meticulous observation and iteration by Montessori and her contemporaries.  The focus, especially in early years, is on tactile learning, and strongly on moving from the concrete to the abstract.  So, in a device that is, in essence a vehicle for abstraction, how do you stay aligned to Montessori’s philosophy?

Computing isn’t just about using computers

The puzzle presented to Montessori educators, therefore is whether there are physical materials that can support learning about computing that follow a more familiar Montessori approach.  The fact is, there are many.  Computer coding, at its core is the confluence of mathematics and the philosophy of logic.  Logical thinking and algorithms sit at the core of how you understand the core concepts a programmer needs to master.  Through my inquiry, I realized that it is entirely possible to reconcile Montessori’s 8 principles and modern approaches to teaching coding to elementary learners. In particular, I used the work of Montessori scholar Angeline Lillard and her tremendous book that draws connections between modern neuroscience and the central tenets of the Montessori Method.

In essence, one of the keys to being a computer programmer is understanding how computers want you to think.  You can do this by learning formal logic.  As you can see in the presentation linked below, we can start with concrete forms like coding cards and build students formal logic skills first and then build slowly towards the abstract, first through scaffolded tools like code.org and eventually, perhaps, into programming directly in python or another ‘real’ language.

Check out the presentation and let me know what you think!  How are you implementing technology education in your Montessori classroom?