Baan Dek

The Montessori Presentation

Montessori Activities

In a Montessori classroom, a directress gives presentations. These are individual instructions conducted with a student. As demonstrated in the video above, the directress will introduce the child to the material and establish the nature of the process. Then, when the directress has finished the presentation, they will remove themselves from the situation so that the child can explore the activities on their own.

One of the many great insights Montessori had the office to afford was the ability to allow the child independence. Now, independence has become a key and operative word for many, but it can be quite disconcerting and confusing, as it operates on a number of levels. What exactly does independence mean and how can it be exhibited? The video above illustrates a number of interesting characteristics about both independence and the ways in which Montessori addresses confidence and failure.

First, the video highlights a very specific type of independence that Montessori education permits by encouraging children to explore what they want to learn. For example, the girl in this video chose to be introduced to sandpaper letters. Second, the video calls attention to the way Montessori addresses errors. Notice that while the directress presents the sandpaper letters, the child indicates the “wrong” letter on a number of occasions. However, as soon as the directresss leaves and the child engages with the work on her own accord, she does it “correctly”.

A Montessori directress will never correct the child on the spot, but take note and remember to re-introduce the child to the material at a later date, with new determinations. The independence to ‘fail’ is just as important as the independence to ‘accomplish’. Both paths lead to the independence to learn and succeed.

We hope you have enjoyed the post on The Montessori Presentation.

Written by:

Baan Dek

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