Montessori Terms

Posted by in absorbent mind, Blog, deviation, freedom, liberty, Maria montessori, montessori glossary, Montessori terms, normalization, prepared environment

Deviation: Deviations, or detours, are misbehaviours that stray from normalization. Deviations are created when development cannot occur normally. If not corrected, deviations can become worse over time and may impact the child as an adult. Montessori described two types of deviations; deliberate and non-deliberate. Deliberate are behaviours fostered by adults, such as insatiability of attention or laziness. Non-deliberate behaviours are those not fostered by adults include behaviours like disobedience or quarrelling.

Normalization: Normalization is what occurs when children are given meaningful work to do within the prepared Montessori environment. Normalization is an anthropological word that Montessori used to distinguish this process, which allows children to grow into contributing members of society. Normalization is characterized by four things occurring in the child; 1. Love of Work, 2. Concentration, 3. Self-discipline and 4. Sociability. Normalization is achieved through the repetition of a three-step process including, preparation for an activity, engaging in an activity that engrosses the child, and then a period of rest that is characterized by a feeling of well-being.

Prepared Environment: The prepared environment is aimed at fostering the growth and independence of the child. The calm and orderly environment allows for free flowing movement where children can choose the materials they want to work on, at their own pace. The six principals that characterize the Montessori prepared environment are Freedom, Structure and Order, Beauty, Nature and Reality, Social environment and Intellectual environment. The child’s natural desire to learn is encouraged in the prepared environment because it gives them the opportunity to engage in spontaneous, purposeful activities.

Freedom: Montessori believed that freedom was the most important factor in helping children develop naturally and spontaneously. Freedom, in the Montessori environment, is initially a structured freedom, one which entails responsibility. There are clear guidelines for acceptable behaviour in the classroom and for the use of the materials. The children’s freedom is then met with the notion that they are responsible for maintaining order in the classroom. Montessori recognized the child’s need to have choice in order to gain self-confidence and educate themselves in more meaningful ways.

Pedagogy: Montessori education is a sensory-based pedagogy, based on the belief that children learn at their own pace, through the manipulation of objects. Montessori developed a system of education that takes a self-directed approach where children can correct themselves and become intrinsically motivated and therefore, happily engross themselves in their work. Montessori pedagogy is based on close observation of the child at different stages of development and serves to meet the academic, personal and social needs of the child throughout these different stages.

Three Period Lesson: The three period lesson is meant to introduce a new concept or lesson to lead the child towards understanding and mastery of the activity. The three period lesson can also assist the teacher in better understanding the children’s level of comprehension and whether or not the activity should be re-introduced at a later time. The first period in the lesson is the naming period. If the teacher is presenting a series of objects, she should first give the names of each object during this period. The second period is for recognition and association. In this period the teacher might say, “Please show me the dog.” The last period is to assess the child’s recall. Contrary to the second period where the name of the object is given, in the third period the teacher will point to an object and ask the child, “what is this?” If the child is unable to give the names of the objects, the teacher may simply repeat the names and casually end the lesson without making the child feel as though he has made a mistake. The lesson can then be re-introduced at a later date.

Social Cohesion: The mixed age groups found in a Montessori classroom are more representative of society than single age classrooms and therefore children begin to treat the classroom as a small community themselves. All of the children contribute to the community and because of this responsibility they feel a sense of belonging to the group. This sense of belonging further strengthens the community. Children will begin to spontaneously help one another and solve problems within the group. Montessori called this spontaneous activity, “Cohesion of the Social Unit.”

Didactic: Montessori’s didactic materials are designed to teach the senses and allow the child to self-construct learning and psychic development. Montessori designed her didactic materials from the view of the child to satisfy their needs at various stages of development in the areas of language, mathematics, practical life, and the senses. The materials are carefully crafted to isolate the difficulty in the activity, provide control of error, and proceed from simple to complex and concrete to abstract. The materials have specific points of interest to capture the child’s attention and work to both directly and indirectly prepare them for further activities.

Sensitive Periods: Sensitive periods refer to the time in a child’s life where they are particularly sensitive or receptive to acquiring a skills or ability such as language, order, sensory refinement, refinement of motor skills and social behaviours. During these sensitive periods, it is easy for the child to acquire these abilities. Once the sensitive period has passed the child can still be taught these skills or abilities, however, the development of the brain is passed the point where information can simply be absorbed, and the child must expend significantly more energy to refine these skills.

Direct Aim: All Montessori materials were created for a purpose, or with a direct aim in mind. For example, the aim of the practical life activities are to develop coordination, concentration, control of movement and independence. The materials isolate a concept and allow for repetitive practice because the child develops a sense of satisfaction through their mastery of the task. The practical life materials also directly prepare the child to perform the work of an adult for enjoyment, rather than as a chore.

Indirect Aim: Montessori materials have both a direct aim and indirect aim. The indirect aim seeks to prepare the child for further learning. In many of the sensorial and practical life activities, the children are asked to perform a task, such as clean a table or spoon beans from one jar to another with a direct aim in mind. However, the indirect aim of many of these activities prepares the children for left to right movement, preparation for writing, coordination and gentleness.

Indirect Preparation: Indirect preparation is woven through all of Montessori’s materials. It lays the muscular and neural pathways that children require for developing a skill or activity further along in their development. With language, for example, children have become familiar with the act of writing through various sensorial activities. They have performed enjoyable and specific activities in such a way that their muscles have been primed, and their movements refined for the spontaneous act of writing to occur. Activities such as the sandpaper letters, metal insets and almost all of the practical life activities refine the muscles, fine and gross motor movements and recognition required for the writing the child will do later on.

Point of Interest: Montessori suggested that points of interest must be dispersed through each activity to guide the child towards the repetition of it. These points of interest stimulate the child towards repetition by offering immediate feedback and therefore the child’s performance on the task becomes refined, and mastery is achieved. Montessori identified that if a child spends too much time on a complex task or fails to master a detail, the exercise will cease to interest them.

Control of Error: Montessori designed her materials to include a control of error which means that the children receive instant feedback as they work, without the intervention of the teacher. The graduated cylinders, for example, must all be placed in the correct spot or the child will be left with a peg that does not fit. This process allows the child to recognize the mistake independently and correct his work, therefore having a greater sense of self-control, self-esteem and motivation.

Planes of Development: Montessori described four periods of development that each child goes through. The first period, from 0-6, is the period of the Absorbent Mind, which is characterized by several “sensitive periods” where the child is most open to learning particular concepts or abilities. The second period from 6-12 is the period of Reasoning and Abstraction. The period from 12-18 is the construction of the “Social Self” where youth develop values and become more emotionally independent. Lastly, the period from 18-24 is when young adults seek to construct themselves and understand their place in the world.

Liberty: According to Montessori the child’s liberty is the freedom to act as he chooses within the prepared environment. Liberty is activity and discipline must come through liberty, in other words; discipline must be active. It is the liberty of the child to fulfill their developmental needs that allow him to be the master of himself and regulate his conduct. Important in maintaining the liberty of the child is the teacher’s ability to keep in check the behaviours that disrupt, offend or annoy others.

Absorbent Mind: The main characteristic of the absorbent mind is that a young child learns simply by existing in the world. Montessori believed that the mind of a child from birth to six was different than that of the older child and even still the adult. The absorbent mind is characterized by an involuntary, non-specific drive to absorb information and experience. The absorbent mind allows the child to learn through the use of her senses. By way of touch, taste, sound, and sight, the child can create an orderly understanding of her world and through these sensory experiences the basis of intellect, memory and will is formed. Later, the child will be able to consolidate these experiences and move on to more abstract learning.

Modes of activity or Motives of Activity: Motives of Activity are more commonly known as Exercises of Practical Life. Montessori developed these exercises to satisfy the needs of the young child who is motivated to move and imitate the adults in her surroundings. The child, however, lacks the coordination and necessary muscle development to complete these tasks with grace. The teacher’s task is to prepare an environment that provides reason and motivation to move and work in an environment that is both physically and culturally significant to the child. This significance and familiarity attract the child to explore and participate in exercises that help her work towards her independence.

Point of Consciousness: When the child completes a Montessori exercise, they have gained knowledge both consciously and unconsciously. Montessori’s aim was to provide direct preparation, as well as indirect preparation for higher learning in all of her didactic materials. The moment a child can pull information acquired unconsciously and consciously apply that knowledge to a new situation is what Montessori referred to as a point of consciousness.

Work Cycle: Through her observations of children at work, Maria Montessori discovered that children will achieve their highest level of concentration when given the opportunity to work uninterrupted for two to three hours, preferably in the morning. During this uninterrupted work time the children begin by choosing an activity, doing the activity, returning it to order and then experiencing a sense of satisfaction. This feeling of satisfaction helps the child to choose another, more difficult activity and complete another full work cycle. The complete work cycle is an important component for the normalization of the child and the freedom to choose and complete different activities is vital to the child’s auto-education.

False Fatigue: False fatigue is a phenomenon that occurs in the three hour work cycle. Children often experience this around the one hour, to one and a half hour mark, after they have chosen a moderately difficult work and before they have moved on to more challenging work. Montessori considered false a fatigue a requirement for children to return to a higher level of concentration and focus. The experienced teacher must not step in and try to order the class during this phenomenon she must simply trust in the children and the method. False fatigue may last anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes and illustrates the need prolonged periods of work where the child may experience their deepest level of concentration.

Point of perfection: Montessori described perfection as one of the tendencies innate to humans. A point of perfection is an added detail that can extend the child’s interest in the activity and therefore assist them in performing it with greater accuracy. The control of error built in to each exercises should act as a trigger for the child to repeat the exercise, working towards the mastery and perfection of it.

Mathematical Mind: The Mathematical mind refers to the child’s natural desire and tendency to produce order out of disorder. Montessori believed the brain is naturally drawn to precision, to order, to classify and quantify patterns and relationships. It is for these reasons that Montessori believed in introducing mathematical concepts to young children through sensory materials. By investigating, measuring and manipulating these objects the children are led into further abstraction.

Normality: Unlike Normalization, which is foundational, Normality is what Montessori thought of as sustaining the psychic health and motivation of the child beyond the first plane. Normalization is what occurs early in the child, within the first plane of development, whereas normality is what follows after.