From 65438 to 0898, at the education conference held in Turin, Montessori delivered a speech entitled "Spiritual Education", expounding the ideas and methods of education for mentally retarded children. She believes that "children's mental retardation is mainly an educational problem, not a medical problem" and calls on the society to let mentally retarded children enjoy the same right to education as normal children. Montessori found that the intelligence level of mentally retarded children is generally worse than that of normal children of the same age, but they have many common characteristics with younger normal children, such as imperfect sensory development, uncoordinated movements, unstable walking, inability to engage in activities such as undressing, inability to master language, and inattention. Therefore, she is convinced that the educational methods she designed for mentally retarded children are also applicable to normal children and will achieve more remarkable results. So she decided to devote herself to the education of normal children.
190 1 year, Montessori left the Institute of Psychiatry and returned to the University of Rome to study philosophy, general pedagogy, experimental psychology and educational anthropology, expanding and deepening his theoretical foundation and further studying the methods of educating normal children, which laid a solid foundation for the future education of normal children.
During the period of 1904- 1907, she was a professor of anthropology at the University of Rome, and based on the lecture notes, she compiled a book "Anthropology of Education", which was published in 1908.
1907 Montessori established the "Children's Home" in the slums of Rome. Recruiting 3-6-year-old children for education, she used her own original method to teach, and the results showed amazing results; Those "ordinary, poor" children, after several years, have undergone tremendous changes in their thinking and have been trained into smart, confident, educated and energetic young talents. Montessori's brand-new teaching method with great educational charm has caused a sensation throughout Europe. Reports about these excellent children spread like wildfire. Many new "Children's Home" were established according to the Montessori model. 1909, Montessori wrote the book "Scientific Education Methods Applied to Children's Home", which was published in the United States in 19 12, and was quickly translated into more than 20 languages and spread all over the world. More than 100 countries have introduced the Montessori method, and the Montessori movement has also appeared in Europe and the United States. From 19 13 to 19 15, Montessori schools have spread all over the world. By the 1940s, there were more than 2,000 in the United States alone. Montessori has caused a revolution in preschool education around the world.
1929, the international Montessori Association was established in Denmark, with Montessori as its chairman. Since then, more than 10 countries have established the Montessori Association. From 1929 to 195 1 year before Montessori's death, the International Montessori Association held nine congresses, and Montessori was re-elected as the chairman of the ninth congress. By the time Montessori died in 1952, Montessori Society had been established in Europe, America, India and other places, and "Children's Home" was spread all over the world. The first time was held in Elholtz, Denmark on 1929; The second time was in Nice, France1932; The third time was in Amsterdam, the Netherlands1933; The fourth time was in Rome1934; The fifth time was in Oxford1936; Copenhagen, Denmark 1937 for the sixth time; Edinburgh, Scotland 1938 for the seventh time; Italy 1949 for the eighth time; The ninth time was in London, England 195 1. Montessori has been fighting for the intellectual development of children and the realization of world peace all his life. She won many honors and awards before her death, which reflected the love and respect of people all over the world. For example, France awarded her the "Honorary Society Member Medal"; Her hometown ancona and Milan were awarded the title of "honorary citizens"; She was awarded an honorary doctorate in philosophy by the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. The Scottish Institute of Education awarded her the position of "Honorary Academician".
1949, 1950, 195 1 have been candidates for the nobel peace prize for three consecutive years.
Montessori believes that children have an innate driving force for learning (Hermes) and a strong ability to learn and absorb the surrounding environment (pastoral beauty), which makes children constantly explore the environment from birth. Under the influence of this inner driving force from the heart, children constantly explore the environment. As his proficiency in using his body increases, the scope of exploring the environment will also increase. The experience gained in the process of exploration will be absorbed and become the basis of higher-level intelligent learning activities in the future; The happiness and sense of accomplishment gained in exploration will actively support children's next exploration and form positive personality traits of self-confidence, positivity, independence and initiative.
To this end, Montessori advocates not blindly restricting children's free activities, but preparing an environment for children's free activities to the maximum extent (Children's Home and Montessori teaching AIDS). This environment needs to support children's free exploration and development, nourish children's curiosity, form positive personality traits, and give children a basic framework concept and foundation for future learning.
Montessori's view on children's psychological development is the basis of all her educational theories. Looking at all Montessori's theories, she thinks that children's psychological development is neither pure internal maturity nor the direct product of environment and education, but the result of the interaction between children and environment, which is "realized through the experience gained by exploring the environment" (Montessori: absorbing the mind, 1949 English version, p. 97). Montessori affirmed that creating a good environment, taking correct educational measures, early education and enriching children's experiences can eliminate and prevent mental retardation.
Specifically, Montessori first emphasized the quality and internal vitality of people and genes. She said: "A child's growth is due to the development of his inner life potential, which shows his vitality. His life develops according to the biological law determined by heredity." "People's first consciousness is not acquired, but innate", which she called "spiritual embryo". For children, vitality is a spontaneous impulse, so she regards whether the spontaneous impulse of children is suppressed or triggered as a watershed to distinguish the quality of education, and lashes out at the practice of suppressing students' spontaneous impulse in old schools. She said: "In such a school, children are like butterfly specimens fixed by nails, and everyone is tied to one place-the table", which is not good for children's development. Physically, it leads to skeletal deformity; In psychology, in order to cram bits and pieces of withered knowledge into children's minds, teachers use rewards and punishments to induce children to concentrate and remain silent. Montessori denied the reinforcement of rewards and punishments, and emphasized the inner strength and subjective initiative of children. It is required that the environment (stimulus) should be suitable for children's internal needs and interests, and that children should not passively accept external stimuli, and each environment has its own internal structure, change and development.
Montessori believes that the impulse of vitality is expressed through children's spontaneous activities. "Life is dynamic and can only develop through activities." In order to express, satisfy and develop children's vitality and personality through activities, it is necessary to create a suitable environment. Montessori has set up a good environment for "Children's Home": there is a big garden where students can enter and leave freely; Lightweight tables and chairs, 4-year-old children can move at will; There is a long row of low cabinets in the classroom, and children can take all kinds of teaching AIDS in them at will. This kind of environment setting obviously serves the children's free activities.
From the perspective of individual psychological development, Montessori emphasized that vitality presents a rhythm (stage) through the development of spontaneous activities: childhood is the most important period for personality formation, and "nothing needs intellectual help more than this period" (Montessori: absorbing the mind, page 27). In childhood, children's psychological function also has different critical periods of development. For example, 2-6 years old are sensitive to good behavior norms, and 2-4 years old are sensitive to colors, sounds, touch and other feelings. Some sensory abilities appear and disappear in the corresponding period, and they can learn most effectively when they appear; Ignoring the training in the sensitive period will cause irreparable losses, which is also the main reason for many mentally retarded children. Therefore, environment and education play an important role in children's psychological development. Montessori said that environmental issues play an important role in her educational method system.
Montessori also believes that different individuals have different development rhythms. If education is to coincide with the sensitive period of children's development, different education must be adopted to adapt to different mature rhythms. Therefore, she attaches great importance to individualized teaching, allowing children to move freely according to their own needs and fully develop their personalities.
Montessori's thought about the sensitive period and stage of children's psychological development has been widely accepted by psychologists.
Montessori primary school teaching method is suitable for children aged 3 ~ 6, which is divided into the following four aspects.
In order to promote the normal development of children's physiology and make them skilled in daily life, Montessori attaches great importance to children's muscle exercise. In addition to letting children sit, get up, walk, dress, undress, take things and take care of animals and plants, she also invented various electrical appliances, such as spiral ladders and rocking chairs, to help children train, and even compiled gymnastics and even breathing, lips and tongue.
Such as dressing, personal hygiene, indoor cleaning, etc. Let children deal with daily life affairs by themselves without the help of others and cultivate their independence. It is not difficult to see that Montessori's above practice has many merits for early childhood education. As for Montessori's sensory education, further analysis is needed.
This is the central link in the Montessori method, which will be reviewed emphatically below. Montessori believes that sensory training is not only a preparation for children's future real life, but also the basis for children to accept knowledge and develop intelligence.
Combined with sensory training, children should be educated in reading, writing, arithmetic and music in advance. At the same time, develop children's language ability through conversation.
Help children master the abstract concept of "quantity" through specially designed teaching aid operation flow and mathematics teaching aid.
Through a large number of language activities and teaching AIDS, help children master basic writing and reading skills and increase their oral expression ability.
Sensory training occupies the most important position in Montessori's educational system and is also the main part of her educational experiment. The book Montessori Method discusses sensory education in the space of 1/4.
Montessori believes that for young children, it is "stimulating, not thinking about things, which attracts his attention", so sensory education meets the needs of children's psychological development and is important; Montessori also believes that "the cultivation of intelligence depends first on feeling ... feeling exercise is a preliminary and basic intellectual activity." Through the practice of feeling, let children identify, classify and arrange the order, which is intellectual and cultural learning "(Montessori: advanced Montessori teaching method, vol. 1 Spontaneous activities in education, English version 19 17, pp.198 ~ 20). Arithmetic, writing, speech, even practical life ability and good order are all led by sensory education. In addition, through sensory education, we can find the deficiency of children's sensory function in a certain aspect at an early stage, so as to treat and correct it in time.
First of all, according to the principle that children have different sensitive periods to different sensory stimuli, Montessori divided sensory training into tactile, visual and auditory training, and each training was carried out separately, and created a set of teaching AIDS, totaling 26 kinds, for sensory training except smell. For example, the teaching aid for a visual exercise is: three groups of cylinders, the first group is equal in height but different in diameter, the second group is equal in diameter but different in height, and the third group is different in height and diameter. Children are required to insert them into corresponding holes drilled in the board.
Secondly, Montessori believes that sensory education should give children the freedom of activities, adults should try not to interfere, and let children choose textbooks and teaching AIDS according to their own wishes and progress, and operate by themselves. Only in this way can we stimulate children's intrinsic motivation, and at the same time let the teaching AIDS cooperate with children's sensitive period to achieve the best learning effect. The teaching AIDS created by Montessori can control mistakes. She mainly makes children educate themselves through this set of teaching AIDS. For example, the visual AIDS mentioned above, if a child puts a cylinder into a hole smaller than it, it can't be put in; If you put a hole bigger than it, at least one cylinder will not fit into the hole. As long as there is one mistake, the whole process needs to be readjusted. Therefore, "this teaching aid controls every mistake and requires children to correct themselves."
Thirdly, according to the principle that vital activities obey a certain rhythm, the whole set of sensory training teaching AIDS tries to provide systematic stimulation (from shallow to deep, from easy to difficult, from less to more) with distinct levels and orderly sequence according to children's level and interest and according to the appearance characteristics of objects (shape, color, size, sound, etc.). ) to arouse children's free reaction and independent learning.
Many experiments have proved that the cultivation of cognitive ability should start with sensory training. The better the sensory development, the more external information it brings, and the more cognitive ability it can develop. Therefore, many psychologists and educators believe that Montessori's emphasis on children's sensory training is in line with the law of human cognitive development. Some experimental studies have also proved that children in Montessori school have generally improved their intelligence, especially in perception, after passing the Stanford-Binet.Alfred exam. Alfred intelligence test. From the perspective of educational history, Montessori's method is really original. For example, Rousseau's theory of natural education takes natural consequences as a method of moral self-education, and Montessori extends it from moral education to intellectual education, and advocates that children can realize intelligent self-education by "controlling mistakes in teaching AIDS" in their self-operation and exploration, which is an inspiration for personalized teaching in the future. Another example is the study of writing. Pestalozzi advocates the transition from mastering the shape of painting to writing, while Montessori lets children learn to write explosively unconsciously through planned sensory training from the first day they enter "Children's Home", and the effect is much better than the conventional one.
Montessori's spontaneous impulse to worship children demands that children be given great freedom. Therefore, she tried to let the children realize self-education through homework. The so-called homework refers to some activities that children freely choose according to their own interests, or sensory exercises, or arithmetic exercises, or fiddling with letter cards, or practicing dressing and undressing.
Montessori believes that through homework, children naturally "learn to be cautious, learn to be conscious, and learn to direct body movements"; Through homework, a freely chosen individual activity, we learn to rely on ourselves and respect others, so that "there is no jealousy and quarrel between children", thus cultivating an atmosphere of "absolute calm" and a good order comes from it; Through homework, let children learn self-discipline, prepare for the formation of willpower, and promote children's obedience. It can be seen that Montessori advocates from free homework to conscious order and obedience, thus realizing the purpose of children's self-education.
Montessori believes that the primary task of teachers is to observe and study "natural children" with a scientific attitude and way, and truly understand the true colors of children, so as to uncover the "secret veil" of life development and explore the "profound truth" of life. Secondly, under the premise of truly understanding and knowing children, teachers should become "helpers" of children's self-development and "creators" of excellent environment. That is to say, in addition to passive observation, teachers should actively guide children, but this kind of guidance is not the traditional practice of directly teaching children methods and concepts, but providing children with teaching AIDS for activities and homework, so that children can realize self-discovery and development through their own homework. At the same time, teachers should stop children's bad behavior so as not to endanger the development of children themselves and other children. Thirdly, teachers should love children infinitely, devote themselves to education, constantly improve themselves, and take their perfect image as an example for children's self-education.
International Montessori Association
The Montessori International Association (AMI) is a non-governmental organization founded by Dr. Maria Montessori and a long-term cooperative unit of UNESCO. AMI was founded in Denmark from 65438 to 0929, and the first international Montessori conference was held in the same year, with Montessori as the chairman. AMI aims at developing and popularizing Dr. Montessori's research results and maintaining this great legacy left by Dr. Montessori to the world.
A qualified AMI teacher needs 96 days of off-the-job training, 2 months of observation and practice, and 6 months of theoretical and teaching aid operation training. During the six-month theoretical and teaching aid operation training, it is necessary to complete the theoretical defense and the production of the work manual, and finally pass the examination organized by AMI to successfully obtain the qualification certificate of AMI teachers.