For a long time ago, education was considered as a secret library that covers an

infinite and precious source of human knowledge. As the society becomes more and
more prosperous, the education now is one of the top concerns of many people which
is regarded as direct influence to decide human future. Parents always seek an
education that fits their children’s talents best and one of the oldest and most
well-known teaching method all over the world is Montessori education which turned
the subjects at school especially Math - a difficult subject with almost students into an
easy and funny way that every kid can absorb the knowledge without getting bored.
This paper will make clear the reasons that make Montessori teaching method in Math
for K5 students more special than traditional ones, point out students’ real-life
benefits, parents’ evaluation with Montessori education and how to start
homeschooling children in Montessori program.

Maria Montessori and the innovation of teaching method

Maria Montessori was born in 1870 and was an Italian physician, educator, and
innovator. She was born to a well respected family and was expected to grow up to
fulfill the traditional role of the Italian woman. Upon graduating from high school,
Montessori pursued an advanced degree at the University of Rome and became
among the first woman physician to graduate in Italy. This allowed her to work with
and observe many disadvantaged children, particularly children of lower
socioeconomic status and children with disabilities in a variety of settings.

Montessori decided to developed a teaching program that based on “first the

education of the senses, then the education of the intellect” (Smith, 1997). She
designed learning materials and a classroom environment that fostered the children’s
natural desire to learn and provided freedom for them to choose their own materials.
Montessori method emphasizes child-led learning and discovery. All the exercises in
the classroom will be repeated: Looking becomes reading; touching becomes writing,
and all activities are developed on the basis of “Play to Learn”.

http://infed.org/mobi/maria-montessori-and-education/

Essential qualities of Montessori education

 Although Montessori educational program existed more than 100 years, every
classroom still always claims five key factors to make it profoundly successful in
training the children.

The first and also the most priority in Montessori classroom’s regulation is
respect. Unlike traditional classrooms, children are expected to be quiet, to listen, and
sit still; the teacher is a central figure or authority: the vehicle through which lessons
are delivered, in Montessori classroom students are central in learning experience
through the guidance of certified teachers.

Secondly, there are multi-groupings of children in the class. Accroding to

Sapientia Montessori (n.d), Younger students naturally learn more from their older
peers, and older students tend to retain more information when they teach it to
younger ones. Besides that, having children of different ages and stages together in
the classroom mimics the real world, teaching students how to get along with people
of different ages and interests.

Self-directed learning is the third important factor of in Montessori education.

“Montessori education is that our goal is not to fill your child's head with facts so that
they can pass a test. While we agree that cultivating and expanding a child's
knowledge is incredibly important.”They are given the chance to choose an activity
that captures their personal interest. In some cases, the child may be working on their
activity independently but in other cases, they may team up with a couple of other
students who share their curiosity over that particular subject or activity. Together as a
team, they discover, learn and grow through exploration.

A prepared environment determines a success in Montessori lessons. There's not

a one-size-fits-all approach to Montessori instruction. Montessori teachers set up their
classroom to promote independent exploration and learning, often through hands-on
activities and lessons. Dohrmann stated (2018) that, “We do not believe learning
comes from memorizing facts - instead, we use a wide array of specialized materials
that allow the child to learn with increasing levels of abstraction.”

Inside a Montessori classroom

Montessori education makes it outstanding among other traditional ones as it

concentrates on two NO: no punishment and no praise or reward. Karson (2014)
illustrated that, punishment is not an effective way to teach children to do the right
thing. Instead, it encourages children to lie about their behavior and shame them into
bad felling about themselves, which is the most powerful tool we have to influence
behavior. Students will perform their work with fear rather than enthusiasm.
Moreover, the common scenario people usually see in other education is teacher or
parents always give the kids something like candies when they have well
performances with the reason is to boost their motivation. However, Montessori
teaching method is quite opposite, there is no praise or reward in Montessori
classroom. When a child brings over work they are proud of, rather than responding
“good job,” teachers encourage introspection, saying things like “you must be really
proud of that hard work you did. Kym (2017) found that, When we offer rewards and
praises, we are training them to perform for the reward rather than the intrinsic value
of learning. Students will search for short term incentives instead of focusing on their
interests and distort original emission of education: knowledge. In other words,
Montessori education wants the children to reach the top level of the pyramid in
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs - self actualization.

Unlike classical education that teachers always teaching Math based on theories
which are hard for students to imagine and then giving exercises soon later,
Montessori teaching method is completely different from others due to having unique
material. Dr. Montessori’s observations of the kinds of things which children enjoy
and go back to repeatedly led her to design a number of multi-sensory, sequential and
self-correcting materials which facilitate the learning of skills and lead to learning of
abstract ideas. Mallet (2013) explained, all the materials in Montessori classroom
must be beautiful and colorful concretes to stimulate to the senses inviting children to
take them from the shelves to explore them again and again. There’s an array of
brightly coloured objects; solid geometric forms, knobbed puzzle maps, coloured
beads, and various specialized rods and blocks. Many of these objects are made of
smooth polished wood. Others are made of metal, wicker, and fabric.
The learning materials are not the method itself, but rather tools that Montessori
classrooms use to stimulate the child into logical thought and discovery. Each has a
specific place on the shelves, they are always arranged in sequence, from the most
simple to the most complex, and from the most concrete to those that are the most
abstract. Montessori believed that when students use real objects while learning, they
will remember longer than those who don’t. Depending on the age group, there will
be different materials to suit their level of knowledge. Todllers are exposed to the world
of numbers through counting games and concrete materials. These exercises encourage the
development of important pre-math skills such as order, sequence, visual discrimination, sorting,
one-to-one correspondence and directionality. Toddler Math activities include stacking and nesting
cubes, number blocks and puzzles, and sorting and counting materials. With primary students, The
Mathematics area allows the child to concretely work with manipulatives unique to a Montessori
classroom. The extensive curriculum spans from the basic works of one through ten and sequentially
progresses to working to 1000. Other activities include addition, subtraction, and fractions.

One type of those material can be served for distinct groups and purposes. For
example, the material known as the ‘pink tower’ is made up of ten pink cubes of varying sizes
and isolates the concept of size. The preschool-aged child will learn how to constructs a tower
with the largest cube on the bottom and the smallest on top. An older child in primary school
will use it study perspective and measurement.

Especially, Snyder stated (n.d) that, “The material are the teacher in the class, not the
adult”. This is where self-correcting material comes up in Montessori classroom. Montessori
material is designed with a visual control of error, meaning that the child can easily see and
correct their own mistakes because the pieces do not fit together, or there is a piece left out. This
self-correcting aspect also makes the materials auto-instructional, the child can discover and
master the outcomes of the material through repetition and practice, independent of an adult.

Students’ real-life benefits and parents’ evaluation

“What are the benefits my children will receive when joining in Montessori
classroom?” is the common question that almost parents wondering before letting the
kids follow Montessori education and here are the answer:

Montessori education creates enthusiastic, self motivated learner. When children

are given the space to learn at their own pace and in their own way, they actually enjoy learning!
Montessori methods are designed to help your child develop a life-long love of learning and
insatiable curiosity about the world around them.

Improving social and problem-solving skill. Because of the multi-age classroom

atmosphere, children who study under a Montessori program typically interact better with their
peers. Barshay (2018) found, students learn positive ways to resolve differences and find
connection and camaraderie in their joint pursuit of discovery, a skill that will serve them well for
the rest of their lives.

Advanced reading and mathematical abilities. Reading is a huge part of Montessori education.
Almost Montessori students display an advanced understanding of abstract and practical
mathematical concepts. Zosh (2017) stated that, in a 2017 study of 140 students — some in
Montessori programs, others in traditional classrooms — the students who were enrolled in
Montessori programs displayed a more advanced set of literacy and math skills than their
non-Montessori peers by the end of their third year in a Montessori program.
 To compare with the advantages above, here are some parents’ practical comments about their
children after observing them joining in Montessori classroom. According to Island Chidren’s
Montessori School (2018), “Our son made remarkable improvements in less than a year. Ryan has
joined Montessori for less than a year, yet he has made remarkable improvements in Chinese,
English, Math and other knowledge.”- said Frank Goo & Alieen. “Our daughter Annabel has
blossomed into a very talkative toddler who has no problem expressing ideas. She may seem quiet
in class but we know she’s been an observer.What she has learnt in school over the past 1.5 years
has been a fruitful adventure – making her very curious about the world she lives in.”- said Mr &
Mrs Yeung. “Our kids learned and flourished in a non-competing but not slack environment. They
have now graduated and gone on to our top-choice local school.” -said Mr & Mrs Lam

A Montessori Approach to Homeschool: Where to Start?

For parents who can't afford to let children go to Montessori school or just want
to the kids by themselves, they can homeschool their children with the Internet's help.
Since the technology developed rapidly, a computer with Internet connection is all
parents need to start teaching the kids. Mamashappyhive.com is one of the free
website established by a woman who is used to be a Pediatric nurse for 13 years but
now is a full-time mother of two kids, to homeschool children basing on Montessori
program that provides parents not only a lot of educational videos, printable sources,
but also plans for weeks and month for each age group and home-made material like
pink tower or number rod for the ones who have financial tight, It's also like a small
forum to connect with other stay-at-home-moms through the blogging community.

Montessori education has never been so close!

With More than 5,000 Montessori schools in America, 20,000 school all over the world,
The Montessori Method has found fertile soil not only in the U.S but also worldwide.
Montessori education has created a new educational environment which is far more different
than classical ones from class size,basic lessons, area of study to learning styles and
assessment. Montessori. Teaching method has successfully turned Mathematics - a complex
subject and also a fear of many students into interesting ways for them to acquire the
knowledge through colorful concretes held in hands.
References
 Barshay, J. (2018). Studies Shed Light on Merits of Montessori Education. Retrieved
from https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-01-02/studies-shed-light-on-
merits-of-montessori-education

Dohrmann, K. (2003). Outcomes for students in a Montessori program: A longitudinal

study of the experience in the Milwaukee Public Schools. Association Montessori
International / USA. Retrieved
from https://www.public-montessori.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Outcomes_Milwaukee
%20b.pdf

Karson, M. (2014). Punishment doesn’t work. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/feeling-our-way/201401/punishment-doesnt-wor
k

Kym, (2017). The Montessori messenger. Retrieved from

https://samontessori.org.za/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/Parent_Newsletter_Jan_201
7_17.pdf

Snyder, C. (n.d). Self-teaching and self-correcting. Retrieved from

https://baandek.org/posts/self-teaching-self-correcting/

Zosh, J. (2017). Montessori Preschool Elevates and Equalizes Child Outcomes: A

Longitudinal Study. Retrieved from
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01783/full#h6

Island Children’s Montessori School, 2018. What parents said about us. Retrieved from
https://icms.edu.hk/what-parents-say-about-us/
Smith, 2017. Montessori and her education. Retrieved from
http://infed.org/mobi/maria-montessori-and-education/