Montessori Theory Terms

Question 1

Absorbent Mind

Answer 1

The mind of the child is like a sponge absorbing all that is in their environment indiscriminately - impressions in the environment become part of the child, this is done unconsciously
Part of the child’s self-construction as they build their intelligence and personality
They completely adapt to the culture in which they live
Camera analogy - takes in totality of image, effortlessly, without fatigue
Child takes in emotional content - absorbs relationship between people and things - all attitudes and prejudices, even unstated
Indiscriminate, without judgement - can’t distinguish between helpful and harmful
Universal - all children worldwide follow this pattern of development
Temporary - only lasts a few years, will fade into a reasoning mind (what a child will have into adulthood)
Helps with adaptation

Question 2

Abstraction

Answer 2

A reduced representation of something to bring attention to something specific**
Able to understand a concept without relying on materials - distance game

Question 3

Analysis of Movement

Answer 3

slow precise movements to bring attention to “how” to do something
movement broken down into small purposeful steps

Question 4

Classification

Answer 4

organizing and grouping of like things
-ice cream
-flowers
-made of wood

Question 5

concentration

Answer 5

child’s ability to focus on a particular thing that is developed through meaningful work - leads to mormalization

Question 6

control of error

Answer 6

built in to the material to make it self correcting - child gets instant feedback, allowed them to recognize, correct, and learn from an error without adult assistance
mechanical - won;t fit, left over piece
visual - see mistake (blindfold removed)
within the child’s developing since, perception

Question 7

cultural extensions

Answer 7

create experiences giving information about various cultures
windows/mirrors - seeing themselves as same and different - way to bring in other cultures not represented in classroom

Question 8

deviations

Answer 8

when development of child has strayed from the path of normal development
child’s natural development is disrupted - human tendencies, sensitive periods - incomplete environment and they can’t fully develop; trama, lack of resources

Question 9

discipline

Answer 9

self - discipline focuses on control through meaningful work
outer and inner form - inner guides development - outer is window in to what is happening internally
rain coat tantrum - right not raining, carry now wear later

Question 10

extended day/Montessori all-day

Answer 10

children who stay a full day and are able to engage in more challenging work in the afternoon - second work cycle

Question 11

Four Planes of Development

Answer 11

0-6 functional independence - help me do it myself
6-12 intellectual independence - help me thing for myself
12-18 social/emotional - help me find myself
18-24 economic independence - help me support myself

Question 12

Freedom

Answer 12

ability to choose and act on what you desire to do - freedom within a structured environment

Question 13

functional independence

Answer 13

first plane birth to 6 - child learns how to take care of basic needs - walk, talk, feed self, dressing, care of belongings and environment (home and school)
knows steps to complete task

Question 14

human tendencies

Answer 14

innate powers that urge humans towards development - within all of us
self-perfection, exactness and precision, work, imagination, abstraction, communication, exploration, order

Question 15

imagination

Answer 15

human tendency - forming abstractions leads to imagination - this is what we do with the essence of abstractions

Question 16

independence

Answer 16

ability to do something for yourself, self- sufficient without relying on someone else
can’t be given must be achieved
have to be given freedom to carry out choices to achieve
to support - break down tasks to smaller steps, show don’t tell, give time to practice

Question 17

indirect preparation

Answer 17

aspect of presentaion or work that prepared a foundation for an activity in the future - aids in learning or development later - could be just an impression

Question 18

isolation of difficulty

Answer 18

teaching one step at a time
points of interest - pause draw attention, done through analyzed movements
removes unecessary obstacles - allows child to focus on and gain mastry of just one difficult element

Question 19

liberty

Answer 19

granted to children so they are free to acto on what their mind tells them to do
connected to choiceand action - freedom is capacity to choose, liberty is ability to act upon choice
liberty is external

Question 20

limits

Answer 20

freedom within limits/boundaries - like banks of river - still have choice but within these limits - giving choice a or b, to allow child to choose when choice is in not an option

Question 21

materialized abstraction

Answer 21

concepts that are made concrete - concrete representaion color box 3 variations of green allows for development of thinking that there is more green than what is shown in the 7 - child comes into physical contact with idea or concept

Question 22

mathematical mind

Answer 22

produces order out of disorder
mind recognized patterns and logical thinking
all of earth has a pattern it follows - we also have that within us

Question 23

montessori adult

Answer 23

has understanding of child development
prepares and maintains supportive environment
observes carefully - understands transformation happening
offer opportunities to support further development
sees child’s potential and has faith and knowledge to bring that potential to light

Question 24

normalization

Answer 24

process by which the child develops concentration and meaningful work - child’s true self, focus concentration ad independence by the child’s own choice
recipe for normalization; work freely chosen, done by the hands, with real objects, with concentration

Question 25

obedience

Answer 25

develops naturally within child’s character - hear request and follows through with action
not forced or imitated - inner preparation

Question 26

observation

Answer 26

seeing what is happening in the room and what the child is interested in - what lessons are needed and know when to step in and when to allow for a bit of struggle
objectivly seeing what is needed for grace and courtesy

Question 27

points of interest

Answer 27

specific point to bring child’s attention to certain details of a presentation that will aid them in process of self perfection
shows refined movement to engage child’s attention - nonverbal instructions - channels child’s creative energies and encourages deeper concentration

Question 28

prepared environment

Answer 28

one leg of montessori tri-ad
items call to child, are real, give real feedback, functional, child-sized, natural material, organized by area, set up in sequence of difficulty from L to R
thoughtfully prepared

Question 29

presentation

Answer 29

analyzed steps shown to a child in a specfic order or sequence to allow child to follow and repeat
for purpose of connection
logical sequencing

Question 30

responsibility

Answer 30

children are taught to be responsibilie for their choices and actions - treat others with kindness, share in caring for environment, help others, express their own needs nad take initive to do it

Question 31

sensitive periods

Answer 31

order, movement, development and refinement of sensory perception, language
brian overly produces synapses - then elimates what is less efficent based on environment - not used regualry fade away - regularly used are mylenated - brain is uniquely constructed this way - the growth and development is guided by sinsitive periods and operates with the absorbent mind

Question 32

social cohesion

Answer 32

community of mixed ages
socially responsible
admire their accomplishments w/o judgement of others
have altruism (unselfish regard/devotion to welfare of others) for thier community

Question 33

third period review

Answer 33

this is the recall - ask the child to identify a concept that they have previously learned (a bring me game with the known sandpaper letters for instance)

Question 34

three period lesson

Answer 34

1st - concrete experience where something is named, in context
2nd - longest, what can the child recognize - point, move, arrange, etc
3rd - recall - what is this?…

Question 35

three part work cycle (cycle of activity)

Answer 35

comepletion of activity, beginning, middle, end
-choose work from shelf
-take work and use it
-return work to shelf, ready for next person

Question 36

uninterrupted work period

Answer 36

block of 2.5 - 3 hours
child is not interrupted by any outside force
child can freely choose work and work for as long as they would like

Question 37

will

Answer 37

inner guide of child that directs them to do or not do something

Question 38

work

Answer 38

what the child uses to construct themselves