The Montessori Curriculum
Montessori National Curriculum provides a learning framework for children from birth to eighteen years and helps to ensure a smooth transition from one development state to the next.
The Montessori National Curriculum used by Beehive is a document which articulates how the AMI Montessori Curriculum meets the requirements of both the national education body; Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as well as the state education body; School Curriculum and Standards authority (SCSA WA).
This was first published and recognised as an alternative curriculum in 2011, but undergoes continuous curriculum updates
How does the Montessori Curriculum work?
Children progress through the Montessori Curriculum in a series of sequenced lessons which build on previous understanding and experience. Montessori teachers create ‘albums’ for all subject areas, which are full of lesson plans which outline how Montessori materials are presented and sequenced.
A Montessori teacher presents lessons from these albums to introduce children to the Montessori material, and how they can be used. After a lesson, the children take independent ownership of their learning and work together to practice, explore and make connections to the concepts given.
An essential part of Montessori philosophy is to ‘follow the child’. Lessons or topic areas are therefore presented to each child when they are developmentally ready. This fosters spontaneity in learning as a child’s interest to engage in an activity can spark at any time.
During this time, Montessori educators stand back, observe how the children are learning, and document their progress. The teacher will only intervene if needed. This is to encourage children’s independence, as there is a direct link between children’s sense of empowerment and their ability to learn and retain new skills and information.
New lessons are provided when a child is ready to progress to the next stage. Through repetition and practice, children come to understand concepts through working with materials, and can often feel that they have ‘taught themselves’.
Montessori materials
Montessori materials are ingenious hands-on learning tools that are designed to stimulate children’s minds, encourage exploration, and allow for independent learning. They are enticing, simple to use, and intentionally support children’s learning and development.
The materials are presented to the child in sequence, and in accordance with their developmental needs and interests. This clear structure provides a logical and ordered progression for learning, which in turn, promotes the gradual layering of knowledge and understanding.
The three-year cycle
Providing multi-age classrooms is fundamental to Montessori pedagogy. Children typically enter a classroom as the youngest children and remain in the same learning community for three years, moving on to transition into the next age range in the term closest to their birthday.
By having a three year age range, classrooms become collaborative spaces, rather than highly competitive ones, where children exist in a micro-society. Older children help the younger children, and help to carry the culture and expectations of the classroom to new additions.
Over the course of those three or so years, they cycle through a rhythm of growth and development, moving from being the youngest in the room to the eldest.
The first year
When children first come into a new classroom it is a bit like what happens when transplanting a perennial flower: they need some time to establish their roots and initially don’t show a great deal of external growth. They are exploring their environment and making sense of their new community.
The second year
During their second year, children are more established and, like perennial flowers, they often show more growth and blossom a bit more. This is when children are experimenting in a learning space where they feel comfortable and established.
The third year
By their third year, children are the experts in their community. Growth becomes exponential and abundant. They have established their roots, extended themselves, and then have the time and space to bloom in exciting new ways.
How assessment works in Montessori classrooms
Lessons provide scope and sequence to the curriculum in a cohesive, organised way that builds over time from infancy through adolescence.
Sitting beside a child
Assessment is derived from a Latin word meaning ‘to sit beside’.
In a Montessori classroom, that is exactly what we do. Teachers sit beside children while they work, gathering data as they go. The three period lesson – a Montessori hallmark – is specifically designed to measure understanding and mastery during teaching.
During lessons this often means staying flexible enough to change course depending on the child’s understanding and skill.
Formative Assessment
Montessori teachers use formative assessment methods of observation and recording to determine a child’s mastery of particular skills or subject areas.
Observing a child as they work allows teaching and learning to be adjusted in the moment, allowing them to support children in areas where they have difficulty – or where they may need more of a challenge.
Summative Assessment
While teachers in conventional schools use a range of assessment methods they tend to lean heavily on summative assessment. Examples include tests, quizzes and graded assignment.
Summative assessments place a value on a student’s understanding at a particular point in time.
This type of assessment is used sparingly in a Montessori context, and is used as a diagnostic tool for teachers, where results are rarely ‘published’ or shared with students.
