Pedagogy elementary school
A holistic approach to education
Children in Montessori classes are taught in a mixed age group not only in kindergarten, but also in elementary school. The children work at their own pace. At school, classes are divided into lower elementary (6- to 9-year-old children) and upper elementary (9- to 12-year-old children).
The main aims of the children in elementary school are to acquire basic knowledge of all the sciences, in order to understand the essential relationships in the universe and to find their own place in the world, to work with others and to share insights and knowledge.
At this age, children feel the urge to discover the world. Their powerful imagination enables them to create fantastic tales and to “travel” through space and time stimulated by stories and pictures. They develop a growing sense for complex interrelations and abstract concepts, which allows them to make new discoveries, for instance, in the fields of mathematics, geometry or languages. During the elementary years (6 – 12 years), the children develop a sense of time. This enables the children to plan their work for a day, a week or even two weeks and to put their plans into practice. Working independently, assuming responsibility for their own learning progress leads to the children understanding difficulties as challenges to be tackled and solved individually or as a group.
Lower elementary school
In lower elementary school, the development of writing, reading and mathematical skills are of great importance. Using these, the children explore areas of interest independently and consolidate these skills at the same time.
The “great stories” by Mario Montessori give the children insight into how the earth came to be, the life of the first human beings and the cultural achievements of humanity. These stories are the starting point for assignments and projects in a variety of natural sciences such as biology, geography, chemistry and physics, as well as in the humanities for example language, writing and history. The children work independently, explore, experiment and keep written records including illustrations of their findings. They are supported on the one hand by the Montessori material, which was developed according to scientific insights and on the other hand by high-quality books, carefully selected software and suitable websites. The children share their knowledge with other children for example in the form of a presentation.
Upper elementary school
In upper elementary school, the children consolidate and expand their knowledge in all the sciences and further explore more complex interrelations and abstract knowledge.
The skills acquired in lower elementary school enable the children to work through whole topics on their own or in groups. Afterwards, they present and explain their results to the class using posters, PowerPoint presentations or role-play. The children realize more and more that the different sciences are interrelated – for example, they begin to connect mathematics with history when they get to know the Egyptian or Roman numbers and use them to solve mathematical problems; they combine biology with physics when they study how human beings breathe. Maria Montessori called this approach of understanding interrelations, including all the sciences and all aspects of our cosmos, “cosmic education”. Cosmic education covers all the learning goals of the official curriculum of Canton Zurich and goes beyond in many subjects.
Social development
Children discover not only the physical world; they also show great interest in living in a community with other human beings and especially in being together with their peers.
They begin to think about whether something is good or bad, just or unjust. They look for answers in school, among their peers and in their family environment and thus build their own conscience and ethical principles. At first, they apply them in class and at home and later in a larger context in connection with social topics for example ecology, animal husbandry and climate protection. Respectful behaviour of the children among themselves and the unbiased approach of the teachers towards the children on the one hand and the open structure of the classes, which encourage the children to work alone, with a partner or in a group on the other hand, enable the children to grow into independent personalities who think and act appropriately in a multitude of social contexts.
Competence and self-determination
The way the children work in Montessori classrooms fosters abilities such as acting purposefully, taking decisions, setting focal points while maintaining an overview, using the given time wisely, reacting flexibly in unforeseen situations and concluding a project. Thus, the children develop a healthy and realistic perception of themselves as competent young people.
Conferences
Child and teacher meet regularly so that the teacher may guide and support each child individually.
In these conferences, the child presents completed work; the teacher evaluates and appreciates the learning progress and together they set new learning goals and plan the related assignments and projects. In addition, the children work and reflect on their growing competence. The older and more experienced children are, the more their competence becomes apparent in their ability to plan and manage longer work phases independently.
Secondary school
The teachers direct the upper elementary children carefully towards the transfer to secondary school. Children aspiring to “gymnasium” receive specific training for the entry exam. This training is included in the classes.