prepared environment montessori essay

Your Guide to the Prepared Environment in Montessori

the importance of the prepared environment pinterest graphic.

What is the Prepared Environment?

What are the elements of a prepared environment.

socialization
exploration/learning

The teacher's or parent's role in preparing the environment

shelf containing glass items, part of a prepared environment

cleanliness
living plants
small furniture
art at child's eye level
neutral walls and furnishing
variety of natural textures in furnishings and materials
ample open space
designated place for personal items (shoes, jacket, ect)
designated place for completed art projects
low shelving

Why is the prepared environment so important in Montessori?

child ready to wipe a table. the independence a prepared environment facilitates.

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What is a Prepared Montessori Environment?

What is a Prepared Montessori Environment?

This video lesson is designed for parents to guide them about the Montessori-prepared environment and its principles and benefits.

What is a Montessori Prepared Environment?

Dr. Maria Montessori believed that a child should be provided an environment to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration; thus, named it as “Prepared environment.”

Therefore, a Montessori-prepared environment is an organized, clean, spacious, warm, safe, and inviting space that helps children learn from the activities prepared to tailor their development needs.

In a Montessori classroom, lessons, activities, and teaching tools are visually appealing and are tailored to meet every child’s developmental needs and interests. Each child is allowed to choose the lessons they want to learn. The furniture is child-sized and activities are kept at the eye level of children.

With a prepared environment, each child gets the freedom to develop their unique potential through appropriate learning materials and activities. These materials are realistic and easy to use. It ranges from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, catering to every child’s age, ability, and independence.

Montessori teachers act more than just as guides. They are responsible for preparing the lessons, and the environment. They are also responsible for maintaining a healthy environment and assisting with behavioral interventions.

The Montessori-prepared environment greatly differs from that of conventional education, here a child experiences a combination of freedom and self-discipline, as guided by the environment.

The Prepared Environment is composed of six aspects, or principles: Freedom, Structure and Order, Beauty, Nature and Reality, Social Environment, and Intellectual Environment.

6 Principles of Montessori Prepared Environment

There are 6 basic principles or aspects or characteristics of a prepared environment in a Montessori school: freedom, structure and order, beauty, nature and reality, social environment and intellectual environment.

“The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult.” – Maria Montessori

Children in a Montessori-prepared environment have freedom of choice, movement, and interaction. It means a child can explore, learn, move around, observe, and engage socially. Children are allowed to make choices of what they want to learn and with whom they want to learn.

Structure and Order:

This principle refers to how the universe functions and its structure and order . A child understands the order of their surroundings and relates to the world around them. In a Montessori classroom, a routine is followed and children know what to expect and how to be confident and organized. The baseline of their realizations is their classroom.

Montessori classrooms are clean, uncluttered, in order, and have a neutral color palette. The Montessori materials are made up of natural materials and are beautifully displayed on the shelf, accessible to the children. The classroom also has windows to get natural light and potted plants to bring positivity to them. This beautiful overall layout is inviting and is meant to inspire tranquility when compared to conventional classrooms .

Nature and Reality:

The cornerstone of Montessori education is interacting with the world around you. It is because of Montessori’s belief that children can learn more from nature than from a book that nature is incorporated into prepared environments.

Nature inspires children. Therefore, children are invited to play outside and interact with nature. They use learning materials made of natural wood, metal, bamboo, cotton, and glass rather than synthetics or plastics. These materials are child-friendly so that the child can work with them independently. Montessori activities use real objects such as sewing with a needle, transferring beans using a spoon, and many more to keep the child close to nature.

Social Environment:

In a Montessori school, a prepared environment is more than the classroom setting. The prepared environment supports the social and emotional development of the child by encouraging freedom of interaction. Through Montessori learning, children develop empathy for others and a sense of compassion . Children are encouraged to learn grace and courtesy with the help of a multi-age classroom setting.

Intellectual Environment:

To achieve intellectual excellence, all the above five principles should be fulfilled. The ultimate goal of Montessori education is to develop the overall personality of the child using five key areas of the Montessori curriculum ( Sensorial , Practical life, Mathematics , Science, and Culture). In addition to fostering cognitive development , the above principles also provide an infinite amount of learning and growth opportunities for the child.

Montessori education spends a great deal of time and effort to plan and develop a prepared environment for each class level. The environment is prepared by keeping the development needs of each child in mind and providing them with appropriate materials and opportunities to explore, learn, and grow. Thus, helping children succeed in life .

Watch the video to know more about the importance and benefits of a “Prepared Montessori Environment”.

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The American Approach to Montessori Teaching and Learning

Montessori in the Classroom: The Prepared Environment

The design of a Montessori classroom, sometimes referred to as the “Prepared Environment,” is an important component of the Montessori method of education. In each Montessori classroom, the furniture and learning materials are scaled to the child. To make learning materials inviting to the child, the teacher stores them in places that are visible and easily accessible to children. Room to Learn , filmed in 1968 at the Early Learning Center in Stamford, Connecticut, describes the design and construction of a Montessori school and explains the layout of a Montessori classroom. That same year, AMS member Jane Nielson photographed Montessori classrooms all over the country. Many of the classroom elements described in “Room to Learn” are visible in her photographs.

The UConn Library is committed to making our collections fully accessible, but some older media, such as the video shown here, do not allow us to provide captions or transitions on this webpage. Contact the staff at [email protected] to ask for a transcript of this video.

Jane Nielson's photographs of Montessori classrooms

In “I Can Do It Myself,” which appeared in the AMS periodical, The Constructive Triangle , Volume VI, Number 3 (Summer 1979), Eileen S. Adler explains the importance of the prepared environment to the development of a child’s independence. She notes, “If we want our children to be independent and feel that they can do it themselves, we must provide the environment that allows them this space.” Scaling the classroom to the child encouraged independent action by making activities easier for children to complete on their own and made work more comfortable. Maria Montessori explained this feature of the prepared environment in her book, Spontaneous Activity in Education (Originally translated into English in 1917):

“It is the tendency of the child actually to live by means of the things around him; he would like to use a washstand of his own, to dress himself, really to comb the hair on a living head, to sweep the floor himself; he would like to have seats, tables, sofas, clothes-pegs, and cupboards. What he desires is to work himself, to aim at some intelligent object, to have comfort in his own life. . . . We offer a very simple suggestion: give the child the environment in which everything is constructed in proportion to himself, and let him live therein.”

Montessori classrooms across the United States followed this model, with low shelves that were easily accessible to students and chairs and desks that were sized to fit the child.

A photograph of educational materials stored on low shelves that are accessible to students.

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What are The Six Principles of a Montessori Prepared Environment?

By MontessoriAcademy
March 20, 2023
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In Montessori education, freedom is a fundamental principle that empowers children to direct their learning. Teachers act as facilitators and guides, fostering independent thinking and self-motivation.

Freedom within limits is a key aspect of the Montessori approach. The teacher sets clear boundaries and expectations, but learners can choose their activities and pursue their interests. This promotes responsibility, self-discipline , and self-regulation, leading to a sense of confidence and autonomy.

Some of the benefits of freedom in a Montessori environment include:

Encouraging creativity and imagination
Promoting a love of learning
Fostering independence and self-direction
Developing decision-making and problem-solving skills
Building self-esteem and confidence

2. Structure and Order

In a Montessori environment, structure and order are important principles that support learning and development. The Environment is designed to be structured and orderly, with designated areas for different activities.

Each area has appropriate materials and tools, and everything has a specific place. The order of the Environment helps to create a sense of security and confidence, allowing learners to focus on their work and making it easier for them to access the materials they need.

The benefits of structure and order in a Montessori environment are numerous. Here are some examples:

Encouraging independence and self-direction
Promoting concentration and focus
Developing problem-solving and decision-making skills
Enhancing coordination and motor skills
Fostering a sense of responsibility and respect for materials and tools
Supporting the development of organizational skills

3. Beauty and Atmosphere

Creating an optimal learning environment is essential in Montessori education. The physical space should be designed with aesthetics, organization, and cleanliness. The Environment should be visually appealing and stimulating, with materials encouraging creativity and imagination.

Natural elements like plants and sunlight should be included to create a calming and inviting atmosphere. A well-designed environment fosters a sense of respect and appreciation for the space and materials used, which can enhance the love for learning.

The beauty and atmosphere of the Montessori Environment provide a range of benefits to learners. Here are some examples:

An aesthetically pleasing environment promotes creativity, imagination, and curiosity.
A calm, peaceful atmosphere helps learners to focus and concentrate on their work.
A clean and well-maintained environment teaches children the importance of orderliness and responsibility.
Natural elements, such as plants, help to create a healthy learning environment by purifying the air and reducing stress levels.
An engaging and stimulating environment enhances the learning experience, making it more enjoyable and meaningful.

4. Nature and Reality

Natural materials and real-life experiences are emphasized to promote a sense of connection to the world and foster understanding. This focus on nature and reality supports curiosity and wonder.

The natural materials in the Environment, such as plants, animals, and rocks, allow children to explore new ideas and concepts while developing their senses and imagination. Real-world experiences promote a greater understanding of material properties as well as an awareness of the Environment.

Examples of how Montessori promotes nature and reality include:

Using real-life tasks, such as cooking or cleaning, as learning activities
Incorporating natural materials, like plants, wood, and stone, into the learning environment
Encouraging outdoor exploration and activities
Using real-world examples in lessons, such as studying the solar system or learning about different cultures and their traditions.

5. Social Environment

In the Montessori approach, social interaction and cooperation are encouraged through various strategies. Mixed-age classrooms allow for peer mentoring and natural leadership development as older students take on the role of helping and supporting younger ones.

The Environment is designed to be respectful, inclusive, and supportive of diversity and cultural differences, promoting a sense of community and belonging. Teachers facilitate opportunities for group work and collaboration and model positive social behaviors and attitudes.

The Social Environment of the Montessori classroom offers numerous benefits for learners. Here are some examples:

Opportunity for peer mentoring and leadership development
Exposure to diverse perspectives and cultures
Enhanced social skills such as communication, collaboration, and empathy
Sense of community and belonging
Increased confidence and self-esteem through group work and shared accomplishments.

6. Intellectual Environment

Various challenging and engaging activities and materials foster intellectual growth and development . The approach encourages self-directed learning, where you are given the freedom and support to explore and discover independently.

This promotes a sense of responsibility for your education and encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity. The Environment is designed to be stimulating and thought-provoking, with various materials and activities catering to different learning styles and interests.

Here are some examples of the benefits of the intellectual Environment in the Montessori approach:

Encourages self-directed learning and exploration
Promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity
Offers a wide range of materials and activities to cater to different learning styles and interests
Supports intellectual growth and development through challenging and engaging activities
Helps develop a sense of responsibility for one’s education

Factors to Consider in Preparing Montessori Environment

When implementing Montessori methods, it is important to remember that they may not work equally well for every student. In order to create an environment in which all learners can thrive, there are three key considerations to keep in mind.

1. Students have different maturity levels and interests and should be allowed to choose their materials based on their preferences.

2. Some students may have disabilities or physical limitations that require specialized equipment or materials to work effectively. Teachers should be prepared to provide these accommodations.

3. Cultural background can significantly affect a student’s learning process. Teachers should strive to be culturally sensitive and encourage students to develop a global perspective that acknowledges and respects differences in beliefs, perspectives, and values.

Things To Remember

If you are considering the Montessori approach to education for your child, it is important to understand these six principles and find a Montessori school that adheres to them.

At Montessori Academy , we understand that a child’s environment plays a crucial role in their development. We strive to create a welcoming and caring atmosphere where every child feels safe and empowered to learn and discover. Our top priority is to provide a nurturing environment that fosters growth and encourages exploration.

If you have any questions or any concerns, please contact us today. We will be happy to help!

Montessori Prepared Environment

MontessoriAcademy

Prepared Environments and Teachers: The Fundamentals of Authentic Montessori

The proper boundary of an authentic Montessori education remains a divisive issue. The fact that no clear consensus exists on a means to authenticate a school bearing the name of Montessori has led to some educators arguing in favor of broad flexibility to adapt the method for local circumstances. Others contend there must be fixed criteria to assure that all Montessori schools maintain at least some sense of consistency. This essay argues for the fixed, or non-adaptive, approach and establishes both a prepared environment with Montessori materials and the spiritual preparation of the teacher as two indispensible elements of an authentic Montessori education. This essay also explores common elements put forward by other Montessori educators as indispensible such as three-year age grouping. Despite the utility of these other elements, this essay concludes that both personal experience and extensive secondary research confirm the necessity of teacher preparation in the Montessori context. Just as we guide young children from concrete concepts to more abstract ones, this essay argues the components of authenticity move from the concrete realm of physical preparedness, to the abstract realm of being spiritually in tune with the needs of the children.

Related Papers

Betty Namuddu

Half a decade later after the passing of its founder, there are many questions about the Montessori philosophy and methodology. Can the Montessorians stay true to the views and ideals of Dr Montessori? How do you tell that a Montessori school is authentic? What is the yardstick for an authentic Montessori classroom? In my opinion, authenticity, is all about the teacher’s spiritual preparedness, and understanding of the philosophy. Drawing from different scholarly peer-reviewed research, I explain in this paper why the teacher is the most important element in preserving the authenticity of the Montessori methodology in the classroom. The teacher is the one that puts all the puzzles together (all the elements) to create an authentic Montessori classroom.

Jennifer Johnson

LaToya Jones

Dana McCabe

The question of authenticity in Montessori appears to be open to debate. Guidelines for “what makes it real” are given; most concentrate on the external. Perhaps looking inward could emphasize the most significant element of the Montessori Method: the preparation of the adult who guides the students. Sometimes refered to as a “Spiritual Transformation”, this process is an ongoing, career-long process, and takes commitment on the part of the adult to use continual self-reflection as a means to better practice.

Mitzi Jones

Maria Montessori dedicated her life’s work to observing children. Through observation and experimentation, she developed a method to meet the needs of the child at their stage of development (Abraham, 2012, p.22). She taught us that to help a child meet their fullest potential we must follow the child. As Montessori’s teachings have spread into every corner of the world, it is often met with opposition from educational leaders on every level. As teachers and school leaders try to satisfy the demands of the outside world, they often find themselves compromising the authenticity of their Montessori program. This paper explores some of the challenges experienced by Montessori practitioners, including my personal experiences.

Dayani Pieri

22,000 Montessori schools have been established worldwide within a hundred years after the inauguration of the first Montessori school in Rome. Maria Montessori expressed concern regarding the watering down of her education system and chose to train all the teachers herself. Today, scholars are still concerned about the watering down of the Montessori schools due to various reasons listed. Many have tried to express what an authentic Montessori classroom should be but have fallen short. Powell (2009) uses his solar system analogy to explain the characteristics of a Montessori classroom which fosters collaborative learning, freedom of choice, and a personal connection. AMS (2006) and Abraham (2012) both agree with Powell on these attributes, however, Abraham unlike AMS and Powell points to the lack of these characteristics to be unauthentic. AMS agrees with Powell regarding the importance of the three-year span classroom which according to Powell energizes all the other features of the environment, namely, collaborative learning, freedom of choice, and personal connection between the guide and the students. The paper concludes that if these and other characteristics put forth by AMS (2006) and Dorer (2007) are combined, it might be possible to explain authentic Montessori.

Baer Hanusz-Rajkowski

Abstract Authentic Montessori education in the 21st century poses many hopes and as many challenges when looking at the state of public and private education in the Unites States. These multiple approaches to education are hindered and compounded by the traditional one-way teacher-dictated sharing of information, then evaluated by standardized testing. On the other hand, Montessori’s approach is to meet the child where the child’s interests and abilities stand and to challenge the child to the next step. It gives the child place and space to explore limits, with the capacity to self-correct most errors. Montessori is interactive, much like the life that today’s children participate in via the internet and electronic games. It is still possible to bring authentic Montessori into the public sector by applying the Montessori Method.

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Abstract Over one hundred years after Maria Montessori’s last visit to the United States of America have past, and Montessorians still cannot decide on the standards for an authentic Montessori school. More conversation is needed between Montessori teachers or guides to stop the bickering about who teaches in the most authentic school. A respectful and engaged conversation is needed to unite Montessorians and help children. I believe that authentic Montessori should have, at minimum, a certified Montessori guide, three-year multi-aged groupings, and uninterrupted work choice stimulated by intrinsic motivation.

Alyssa Dapolito

Hannah Ebner

Today’s education system is not working, and Montessori methodology holds solutions to many problems in the current paradigm. We need an overhaul, a revolution of the system. Montessorians must determine what parts of the philosophy are non-negotiable, and which parts are flexible to meet modern challenges. I argue that the spiritual, loving quality of the teacher is the fundamental aspect of Montessori that must be preserved as the method grows. The spirituality is contained in the teacher’s Montessori cosmic worldview, in the interactions between the teacher and student, as well as in the Montessori prepared environment. Many schools make compromises to the “authentic” Montessori method in today’s climate of standardized testing, parental anxiety, and district mandates. If Montessori is to be a successful remedy to our education system’s problems, the soul of Montessori must be kept intact by wise and loving teachers.

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Review Article
Open access
Published: 27 October 2017

Montessori education: a review of the evidence base

Chloë Marshall 1

npj Science of Learning volume 2 , Article number: 11 ( 2017 ) Cite this article

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Human behaviour

The Montessori educational method has existed for over 100 years, but evaluations of its effectiveness are scarce. This review paper has three aims, namely to (1) identify some key elements of the method, (2) review existing evaluations of Montessori education, and (3) review studies that do not explicitly evaluate Montessori education but which evaluate the key elements identified in (1). The goal of the paper is therefore to provide a review of the evidence base for Montessori education, with the dual aspirations of stimulating future research and helping teachers to better understand whether and why Montessori education might be effective.

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Introduction.

Maria Montessori (1870–1952) was by any measure an extraordinary individual. She initially resisted going into teaching—one of the few professions available to women in the late 19th century—and instead became one of the very first women to qualify as a medical doctor in Italy. As a doctor she specialised in psychiatry and paediatrics. While working with children with intellectual disabilities she gained the important insight that in order to learn, they required not medical treatment but rather an appropriate pedagogy. In 1900, she was given the opportunity to begin developing her pedagogy when she was appointed director of an Orthophrenic school for developmentally disabled children in Rome. When her pupils did as well in their exams as typically developing pupils and praise was lavished upon her for this achievement, she did not lap up that praise; rather, she wondered what it was about the education system in Italy that was failing children without disabilities. What was holding them back and preventing them from reaching their potential? In 1907 she had the opportunity to start working with non-disabled children in a housing project located in a slum district of Rome. There, she set up her first 'Casa dei Bambini' ('children’s house') for 3–7-year olds. She continued to develop her distinctive pedagogy based on a scientific approach of experimentation and observation. On the basis of this work, she argued that children pass through sensitive periods for learning and several stages of development, and that children’s self-construction can be fostered through engaging with self-directed activities in a specially prepared environment. There was international interest in this new way of teaching, and there are now thousands of Montessori schools (predominantly for children aged 3–6 and 6–12) throughout the world. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4

Central to Montessori’s method of education is the dynamic triad of child, teacher and environment. One of the teacher’s roles is to guide the child through what Montessori termed the 'prepared environment, i.e., a classroom and a way of learning that are designed to support the child’s intellectual, physical, emotional and social development through active exploration, choice and independent learning. One way of making sense of the Montessori method for the purposes of this review is to consider two of its important aspects: the learning materials, and the way in which the teacher and the design of the prepared environment promote children’s self-directed engagement with those materials. With respect to the learning materials, Montessori developed a set of manipulable objects designed to support children’s learning of sensorial concepts such as dimension, colour, shape and texture, and academic concepts of mathematics, literacy, science, geography and history. With respect to engagement, children learn by engaging hands-on with the materials most often individually, but also in pairs or small groups, during a 3-h 'work cycle' in which they are guided by the teacher to choose their own activities. They are given the freedom to choose what they work on, where they work, with whom they work, and for how long they work on any particular activity, all within the limits of the class rules. No competition is set up between children, and there is no system of extrinsic rewards or punishments. These two aspects—the learning materials themselves, and the nature of the learning—make Montessori classrooms look strikingly different to conventional classrooms.

It should be noted that for Montessori the goal of education is to allow the child’s optimal development (intellectual, physical, emotional and social) to unfold. 2 This is a very different goal to that of most education systems today, where the focus is on attainment in academic subjects such as literacy and mathematics. Thus when we ask the question, as this review paper does, whether children benefit more from a Montessori education than from a non-Montessori education, we need to bear in mind that the outcome measures used to capture effectiveness do not necessarily measure the things that Montessori deemed most important in education. Teachers and parents who choose the Montessori method may choose it for reasons that are not so amenable to evaluation.

Despite its existence for over 100 years, peer-reviewed evaluations of Montessori education are few and they suffer from a number of methodological limitations, as will be discussed in Section 3. This review has three aims, namely to (1) identify some key elements of the Montessori educational method, (2) review existing evaluations of Montessori education, and (3) review studies that do not explicitly evaluate Montessori education but which evaluate the key elements identified in (1). My goal is to provide a review of the scientific evidence base for Montessori education, with the dual aspirations of stimulating future research and helping teachers to better understand whether and why Montessori education might be effective.

Some key elements of the Montessori educational method

The goal of this section is to isolate some key elements of the Montessori method, in order to better understand why, if Montessori education is effective, this might be, and what elements of it might usefully be evaluated by researchers. These are important considerations because there is considerable variability in how the Montessori method is implemented in different schools, and the name, which is not copyrighted, is frequently used without full adherence. 5 , 6 Nevertheless, some elements of the method might still be beneficial, or could be successfully incorporated (or, indeed, are already incorporated) into schools that do not want to carry the name 'Montessori' or to adhere fully to its principles. Pinpointing more precisely what—if anything—about the Montessori method is effective will enable a better understanding of why it works. Furthermore, it has been argued that there might be dangers in adopting wholesale and uncritically an educational method that originated over 100 years ago, in a world that was different in many ways to today’s. 7 If the method is to be adopted piecemeal, which pieces should be adopted? As outlined previously, two important aspects of Montessori’s educational method are the learning materials, and the self-directed nature of children’s engagement with those materials. Some key elements of each of these aspects will now be considered in turn.

The learning materials

The first learning materials that the child is likely to encounter in the Montessori classroom are those that make up the practical life curriculum. These are activities that involve pouring different materials, using utensils such as scissors, tongs and tweezers, cleaning and polishing, preparing snacks, laying the table and washing dishes, arranging flowers, gardening, doing up and undoing clothes fastenings, and so on. Their aims, in addition to developing the child’s skills for independent living, are to build up the child’s gross and fine motor control and eye-hand co-ordination, to introduce them to the cycle of selecting, initiating, completing and tidying up an activity (of which more in the next section), and to introduce the rules for functioning in the social setting of the classroom.

As the child settles into the cycle of work and shows the ability to focus on self-selected activities, the teacher will introduce the sensorial materials. The key feature of the sensorial materials is that each isolates just one concept for the child to focus on. The pink tower, for example, consists of ten cubes which differ only in their dimensions, the smallest being 1 cm 3 , the largest 10 cm 3 . In building the tower the child’s attention is being focused solely on the regular decrease in volume of successive cubes. There are no additional cues—different colours for example, or numbers written onto the faces of the cube—which might help the child to sequence the cubes accurately. Another piece of sensorial material, the sound boxes, contains six pairs of closed cylinders that vary in sound from soft to loud when shaken, and the task for the child is to find the matching pairs. Again, there is only one cue that the child can use to do this task: sound. The aim of the sensorial materials is not to bombard the child’s senses with stimuli; on the contrary, they are tools designed for enabling the child to classify and put names to the stimuli that he will encounter on an everyday basis.

The sensorial materials, are, furthermore, designed as preparation for academic subjects. The long rods, which comprise ten red rods varying solely in length in 10 cm increments from 10 cm to 1 m, have an equivalent in the mathematics materials: the number rods, where the rods are divided into alternating 10 cm sections of red and blue so that they take on the numerical values 1–10. The touchboards, which consist of alternate strips of sandpaper and smooth paper for the child to feel, are preparation for the sandpaper globe in geography—a globe where the land masses are made of rough sandpaper but the oceans and seas are smooth. The touchboards are also preparation for the sandpaper letters in literacy and sandpaper numerals in mathematics, which the child learns to trace with his index and middle fingers.

Key elements of the literacy curriculum include the introduction of writing before reading, the breaking down of the constituent skills of writing (pencil control, letter formation, spelling) before the child actually writes words on paper, and the use of phonics for teaching sound-letter correspondences. Grammar—parts of speech, morphology, sentence structure—are taught systematically through teacher and child-made materials.

In the mathematics curriculum, quantities 0–10 and their symbols are introduced separately before being combined, and large quantities and symbols (tens, hundreds and thousands) and fractions are introduced soon after, all through concrete materials. Operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, the calculation of square roots) are again introduced using concrete materials, which the child can choose to stop using when he is able to succeed without that concrete support.

Principles running throughout the design of these learning materials are that the child learns through movement and gains a concrete foundation with the aim of preparing him for learning more abstract concepts. A further design principle is that each piece of learning material has a 'control of error' which alerts the child to any mistakes, thereby allowing self-correction with minimal teacher support.

Self-directed engagement with the materials

Important though the learning materials are, 8 they do not, in isolation, constitute the Montessori method because they need to be engaged with in a particular way. Montessori observed that the young child is capable of concentrating for long periods of time on activities that capture his spontaneous interest. 2 , 3 , 4 There are two features of the way that children engage with the learning materials that Montessori claimed promoted this concentration. The first is that there is a cycle of activity surrounding the use of each piece of material (termed the 'internal work cycle ' 9 ). If a child wishes to use the pink tower, for example, he will have to find a space on the floor large enough to unroll the mat that will delineate his work area, carry the ten cubes of the pink tower individually to the mat from where they are stored, then build the tower. Once he has built the tower he is free to repeat this activity as many times as he likes. Other children may come and watch, and if he wishes they can join in with him, but he will be able to continue on his own if he prefers and for as long as he likes. When he has had enough, he will dismantle the pink tower and reassemble it in its original location, ready for another child to use. This repeated and self-chosen engagement with the material, the lack of interruption, and the requirement to set up the material and put it away afterwards, are key elements aimed at developing the child’s concentration. 10

The second feature which aims to promote concentration is that these cycles of activity take place during a 3-h period of time (termed the 'external work cycle' 9 ). During those 3 h children are mostly free to select activities on their own and with others, and to find their own rhythm of activity, moving freely around the classroom as they do so. One might wonder what the role of the teacher is during this period. Although the children have a great deal of freedom in what they do, their freedom is not unlimited. The teacher’s role is to guide children who are finding it hard to select materials or who are disturbing others, to introduce new materials to children who are ready for a new challenge, and to conduct small-group lessons. Her decisions about what to teach are made on the basis of careful observations of the children. Although she might start the day with plans of what she will do during the work cycle, she will be led by her students and their needs, and there is no formal timetable. Hence the Montessori classroom is very different to the teacher-led conventional classroom with its highly structured day where short timeslots are devoted to each activity, the whole class is engaged in the same activities at the same time, and the teacher instructs at the front of the class.

In summary, there are two aspects of Montessori classrooms that are very different to conventional classrooms: the learning materials themselves, and the individual, self-directed nature of the learning under the teacher’s expert guidance. All the elements described here—the features of the learning materials themselves (e.g., each piece of material isolates just one concept, each contains a control of error that allows for self-correction, learning proceeds from concrete to abstract concepts) and the child-led manner of engagement with those materials (e.g., self-selection, repeated and active engagement, tidying up afterwards, freedom from interruption, lack of grades and extrinsic rewards) might potentially benefit development and learning over the teaching of the conventional classroom. We will return to many of the elements discussed here in the following two sections. (This has necessarily been only a brief survey of some of the most important elements of the Montessori method. Readers wanting to find out more are again directed to refs. 2 , 3 , 4 ).

Evaluations of Montessori education

There are few peer-reviewed evaluations of Montessori education, and the majority have been carried out in the USA. Some have evaluated children’s outcomes while those children were in Montessori settings, and others have evaluated Montessori-educated children after a period of subsequent conventional schooling. As a whole this body of research suffers from several methodological limitations. Firstly, few studies are longitudinal in design. Secondly, there are no good quality randomised control trials; most researchers have instead tried to match participants in Montessori and comparison groups on as many likely confounding variables as possible. Thirdly, if children in the Montessori group do score higher than those in the non-Montessori group on a particular outcome measure, then assuming that that effect can be attributed to being in a Montessori classroom, what exactly is it about Montessori education that has caused the effect? Montessori education is a complex package—how can the specific elements which might be causing the effect be isolated? At a very basic level—and drawing on two of the main aspects of Montessori education outlined above—is the effect due to the learning materials or to the self-directed way in which children engage with them (and can the two be separated)? Fourthly, there are presumably differences between Montessori schools (including the way in which the method is implemented) that might influence children’s outcomes, but studies rarely include more than one Montessori school, and sometimes not more than one Montessori class. Fifthly, and relatedly, there is the issue of 'treatment fidelity'—what counts as a Montessori classroom? Not all schools that call themselves 'Montessori' adhere strictly to Montessori principles, have trained Montessori teachers, or are accredited by a professional organisation. A sixth, and again related, point is that children’s experiences in Montessori education will vary in terms of the length of time they spend in Montessori education, and the age at which they attend. Finally, the numbers of children participating in studies are usually small and quite narrow in terms of their demographics, making generalisation of any results problematic. These methodological issues are not limited to evaluations of Montessori education, of course—they are relevant to much of educational research.

Of these, the lack of randomised control trials is particularly notable given the recognition of their importance in education. 11 , 12 Parents choose their child’s school for a host of different reasons, 13 and randomisation is important in the context of Montessori education because parents who choose a non-conventional school for their child might be different in relevant ways from parents who do not, for example in their views on child-rearing and aspirations for their child’s future. This means that if a study finds a benefit for Montessori education over conventional education this might reflect a parent effect rather than a school effect. Furthermore, randomisation also controls for socio-economic status (SES). Montessori schools are often fee-paying, which means that pupils are likely to come from higher SES families; children from higher SES families are likely to do better in a variety of educational contexts. 14 , 15 , 16 A recent report found that even public (i.e., non-fee-paying) Montessori schools in the USA are not representative of the racial and socioeconomic diversity of the neighbourhoods they serve. 17 However, random assignment of children to Montessori versus non-Montessori schools for the purposes of a randomised control trial would be very difficult to achieve because it would take away parental choice.

Arguably the most robust evaluation of the Montessori method to date is that by Lillard and Else-Quest. 18 They compared children in Montessori and non-Montessori education and from two age groups—5 and 12-year olds—on a range of cognitive, academic, social and behavioural measures. Careful thought was given to how to overcome the lack of random assignment to the Montessori and non-Montessori groups. The authors’ solution was to design their study around the school lottery that was already in place in that particular school district. All children had entered the Montessori school lottery; those who were accepted were assigned to the Montessori group, and those who were not accepted were assigned to the comparison (other education systems) group. Post-hoc comparisons showed similar income levels in both sets of families. Although group differences were not found for all outcome measures, where they were found they favoured the Montessori group. For 5-year olds, significant group differences were found for certain academic skills (namely letter-word identification, phonological decoding ability, and math skills), a measure of executive function (the card sort task), social skills (as measured by social reasoning and positive shared play) and theory of mind (as measured by a false-belief task). For 12-year olds, significant group differences were found on measures of story writing and social skills. Furthermore, in a questionnaire that asked about how they felt about school, responses of children in the Montessori group indicated that they felt a greater sense of community. The authors concluded that 'at least when strictly implemented, Montessori education fosters social and academic skills that are equal or superior to those fostered by a pool of other types of schools'. 18

Their study has been criticised for using just one Montessori school, 19 but Lillard and Else-Quest’s response is that the school was faithful to Montessori principles, which suggests that the results might be generalisable to other such schools. 20 That fidelity might impact outcomes has long been of concern, 21 and was demonstrated empirically in a further, longitudinal, study, 6 that compared high fidelity Montessori classes (again, from just one school), 'supplemented' Montessori classes (which provided the Montessori materials plus conventional activities such as puzzles, games and worksheets), and conventional classrooms. Children in these classes were 3–6 years old, and they were tested at two time-points: towards the beginning and towards the end of the school year. Although the study lacked random assignment of children to groups, the groups were matched with respect to key parent variables such as parental education. As in Lillard and Else-Quest’s earlier study, 18 outcome measures tapped a range of social and academic skills related to school readiness (i.e., children’s preparedness to succeed in academic settings). There were two research questions: firstly, do preschool children’s school readiness skills change during the academic year as a function of school type, and secondly, within Montessori schools, does the percentage of children using Montessori materials in a classroom predict children’s school readiness skills at the end of the academic year? Overall, the answer to both questions was “yes”. Children in the high-fidelity Montessori school, as compared with children in the other two types of school, showed significantly greater gains on measures of executive function, reading, math, vocabulary, and social problem-solving. Furthermore, the degree to which children were engaged with Montessori materials significantly predicted gains in executive function, reading and vocabulary. In other words, treatment fidelity mattered: children gained fewer benefits from being in a Montessori school when they were engaged in non-Montessori activities.

This study does not demonstrate definitively that the Montessori materials drove the effect: there might have been other differences between the high and lower fidelity classrooms—such as the teachers’ interactions with their pupils—that were responsible for the difference in child outcomes. 6 In a move to explore the role of the Montessori materials further, a more recent experimental study 22 removed supplementary materials, to leave just the Montessori materials, from two of the three classrooms in a Montessori school that served 3–6-year olds. Over a period of 4 months children in the classrooms from which supplementary materials were removed made significantly greater gains than children from the unchanged classroom on tests of letter-word identification and executive function, although not on measures of vocabulary, theory of mind, maths, or social problem-solving. The authors acknowledge weaknesses in the study design, including the small number of participants (just 52 across the three classrooms) and the short duration. Nevertheless, the study does provide a template for how future experimental manipulations of fidelity to the Montessori method could be carried out.

Fidelity is important because variation in how faithful Montessori schools are to the 'ideal' is likely to be an important factor in explaining why such mixed findings have been found in evaluations of the Montessori method. 6 For example, two early randomised control trials to evaluate Head Start in the USA did not find any immediate benefit of Montessori preschool programmes over other types of preschool programmes. 23 , 24 In both programmes, only 4-year olds were included, whereas the ideal in Montessori preschool programmes is for 3–6 year olds to be taught in the same class in order to foster child-to-child tutoring. 6 Furthermore, in one of the programmes 23 the ideal 3-h work cycle was reduced to just 30 min. 6 A more recent study of older children compared 8th grade Montessori and non-Montessori students matched for gender, ethnicity and socio-economic status. 25 The study found lower scores for Montessori students for English/Language Arts and no difference for maths scores, but the participating Montessori school altered the “ideal” by issuing evaluative grades to pupils and introducing non-Montessori activities. 6

These same limitations then make it difficult to interpret studies that have found 'later' benefits for children who have been followed up after a subsequent period of conventional education. In one of the studies discussed earlier, 23 social and cognitive benefits did emerge for children who had previously attended Montessori preschools and then moved to conventional schools, but these benefits did not emerge until adolescence, while a follow-up study 26 found cognitive benefits in Montessori males only, again in adolescence. Although such 'sleeper effects' have been widely reported in evaluations of early years interventions, they may be artefacts of simple measurement error and random fluctuations. 27 Importantly, if the argument is that lack of fidelity to the Montessori method is responsible for studies not finding significant benefits of Montessori education at younger ages, it is not logical to then credit the Montessori method with any benefits that emerge in follow-up studies.

Some studies report positive outcomes for certain curricular areas but not others. One, for example, investigated scores on maths, science, English and social studies tests in the final years of compulsory education, several years after children had left their Montessori classrooms. 28 Compared to the non-Montessori group (who were matched for gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity and high school attended), the Montessori group scored significantly higher on maths and science, but no differences were found for English and social studies. What might explain this differential effect? The authors suggested that the advantages for maths might be driven by the materials themselves, compared to how maths is taught in conventional classes. 28 Alternatively, or perhaps in addition, children in Montessori classrooms might spend more time engaged in maths and science activities compared to children in conventional classes, with the amount of time spent on English and social studies not differing. However, the authors were unable, within the design of their study, to provide details of exactly how much time children in the Montessori school had spent doing maths, science, English and social studies, in comparison to the time that children in conventional classes were spending on those subjects.

Just as knowing what is going on in the Montessori classroom is vital to being able to interpret the findings of evaluations, so is knowing what is going on in the comparison classrooms. One of the earliest evaluations of Montessori education in the USA 29 speculated that Montessori would have found much to appreciate in one of the non-Montessori comparison classes, including its 'freedom for the children (moving about; working alone); its planned environment (innovative methods with tape recorder playback of children’s conversations; live animals, etc.); its non-punitive character (an “incorrect” answer deserves help, not anger; original answers are reinforced, but other answers are pursued); and its emphasis on concentration (the children sustained activity without direct supervision for relatively long periods of time)'. In some evaluations, the differences between Montessori and conventional classrooms might not actually be so great, which might explain why benefits of being educated in a Montessori classroom are not found. And even if the Montessori approach to teaching a particular curriculum area is different to those used in conventional classrooms, there are likely to be different, equally-effective approaches to teaching the same concepts. This is a suggested explanation for the finding that although children in Montessori kindergartens had an advantage relative to their conventionally-educated peers for base-10 understanding in mathematics, they did not maintain this advantage when tested 2 years later. 30

While most evaluations are interested in traditional academic outcomes or factors related to academic success such as executive functions, a small number have investigated creativity. For example, an old study 31 compared just 14 four and five-year-old children who attended a Montessori nursery school with 14 four and five-year olds who attended a conventional nursery school (matched for a range of parental variables, including attitudes and parental control). In a non-verbal creativity task, involving picture construction, they were given a blank sheet of paper, a piece of red gummed paper in the shape of a curved jellybean, and a pencil. They were then asked to think of and draw a picture in which the red paper would form an integral part. Each child’s construction was rated for originality, elaboration, activity, and title adequacy, and these ratings were then combined into a 'creativity' score. The group of conventionally-schooled children scored almost twice as high as the Montessori group. A second task involved the child giving verbal descriptions of seven objects: a red rubber ball, a green wooden cube, a short length of rope, a steel mirror, a piece of rectangular clear plastic, a piece of chalk, and a short length of plastic tubing. Each description was scored as to whether it was functional (i.e., focused on the object’s use) or whether it was a description of the object’s physical characteristics (i.e., shape, colour, etc.). Like the non-verbal creativity task, this task differentiated the two groups: whereas the conventionally educated children gave more functional descriptions (e.g., for the cube: “you play with it”), the Montessori children gave more physical descriptions (e.g., “it’s square, it’s made of wood, and it’s green”). A third task, the Embedded Figure Test, involved the child first being presented with a stimulus figure and then locating a similar figure located in an embedding context. Both accuracy and speed were measured. While the two groups did not differ in the number of embedded figures accurately located, the Montessori group completed the task significantly more quickly. The fourth and final task required children to draw a picture of anything they wanted to. Drawings were coded for the presence or absence of geometric figures and people. The Montessori group produced more geometric figures, but fewer people, than the conventional group.

The authors were careful not to cast judgement on the performance differences between the two groups. 31 They wrote that 'The study does, however, support the notion that differing preschool educational environments yield different outcomes' and 'Montessori children responded to the emphasis in their programme upon the physical world and upon a definition of school as a place of work; the Nursery School children responded on their part to the social emphasis and the opportunity for spontaneous expression of feeling'. They did not, however, compare and contrast the particular features of the two educational settings that might have given rise to these differences.

Creativity has been studied more recently in France. 32 Seven to twelve-year olds were tested longitudinally on five tasks tapping different aspects of creativity. 'Divergent' thinking tasks required children to (1) think of unusual uses for a cardboard box, (2) come up with ideas for making a plain toy elephant more entertaining, and (3) make as many drawings as possible starting from pairs of parallel lines. 'Integrative' thinking tasks required children to (1) invent a story based on a title that was provided to them, and (2) invent a drawing incorporating six particular shapes. Their sample was bigger than that of the previous study, 31 comprising 40 pupils from a Montessori school and 119 from two conventional schools, and pupils were tested in two consecutive years (no information is provided about whether pupils from different schools were matched on any variable other than age). For both types of task and at both time-points the Montessori-educated children scored higher than the conventionally-educated children. Again, the authors made little attempt to pinpoint the precise differences between schools that might have caused such differences in performance.

None of the studies discussed so far has attempted to isolate individual elements of the Montessori method that might be accounting for any of the positive effects that they find. There are several studies, however, that have focused on the practical life materials. A quasi-experimental study 33 demonstrated that the practical life materials can be efficacious in non-Montessori classrooms. More than 50 different practical life exercises were introduced into eight conventional kindergarten classes, while five conventional kindergarten classes were not given these materials and acted as a comparison group. The outcome measure was a fine motor control task, the 'penny posting test', whereby the number of pennies that a child could pick up and post through a one-inch slot in a can in two 30 s trials was counted. At pre-test the treatment and comparison groups did not differ in the number of pennies posted, but at post-test 6 months later the treatment group achieved a higher score than the comparison group, indicating finer motor control. A nice feature of this study is that teachers reported children in both groups spending the same amount of time on tasks designed to support fine motor control development, suggesting that there was something specific to the design of the practical life materials that was more effective in this regard than the conventional kindergarten materials on offer. And because the preschools that had used the practical life activities had introduced no other elements of the Montessori method, the effect could be confidently attributed to the practical life materials themselves.

An extension of this study 34 investigated the potential benefits of the practical life materials for fine motor control by comparing 5-year olds in Montessori kindergarten programmes with 5-year olds in a conventional programme (reported to have similarities in teaching mission and pupil background characteristics) on the 'flag posting test'. In this task, the child was given a solid hardwood tray covered with clay in which there were 12 pinholes. There were also 12 paper flags mounted on pins, six to the right of the tray and six to the left, and the child’s task was to place the flags one at time in the holes. The child received three scores: one for the amount of time taken to finish the activity, one for the number of attempts it took the child to put each flag into the hole, and one for hand dominance (to receive a score of 1 (established dominance) the child had to consistently use the same hand to place all 12 flags, whereas mixed dominance received a score of 0). Children were pre-tested at the beginning of the school year and post-tested 8 months later. Despite the lack of random assignment to groups, the two groups did not differ on pre-test scores, but they did at post-test: at post-test the Montessori group were significantly faster and significantly more accurate at the task, and had more established hand dominance. However, no attempt was made to measure how frequently children in both groups engaged with materials and activities that were designed to support fine motor control development. Furthermore, the children in the Montessori classrooms were at the age where they should also have been using the sensorial materials, some of which (for example, the 'knobbed cylinders' and 'geometric cabinet') are manipulated by holding small knobs, and whose use could potentially enhance fine motor control. At that age children would also have been using the 'insets for design', materials from the early literacy curriculum designed to enhance pencil control. Therefore, although the results of this study are consistent with the practical life materials enhancing fine motor control, the study does not securely establish that they do.

A further study 35 introduced practical life exercises into conventional kindergarten classes, while control kindergarten classes were not given these materials. 15 min were set aside in the experimental schools’ timetable for using the practical life materials, and they were also available during free choice periods. This time the outcome measure at pre-test and post-test was not fine motor skill but attention. There were benefits to attention of being in the experimental group, but only for girls—boys showed no such benefits. The differential gender impact of the practical life materials on the development of attention is puzzling. Girls did not appear to engage with the materials more than boys during the time that was set aside for using them, but no measure was taken of whether girls chose them more frequently than boys during the free choice periods. Similarly, there were no measurements of the time that children in both the experimental and control groups spent engaged in other activities that might have enhanced fine motor control. Nor is it clear whether it was the fine motor practice directly or rather the opportunity to select interesting activities (the teachers in the experimental schools commented on how interesting the children found the practical life activities) that was responsible for the benefits to attention that were recorded for girls.

Finally, it has been found that young adolescents in Montessori middle schools show greater intrinsic motivation than their peers in conventional middle schools (matched for an impressive array of background variables, including ethnicity, parental education and employment, home resources, parental involvement in school, and number of siblings). 36 The authors did not establish exactly which elements of the Montessori method might be responsible for this finding, but they did speculate that the following might be relevant: “students were provided at least 2 h per day to exercise choice and self-regulation; none of the students received mandatory grades; student grouping was primarily based on shared interests, not standardised tests; and students collaborated often with other students”. The authors did not evaluate the Montessori and non-Montessori groups on any measures of academic outcomes, but given the links between academic success and motivation at all stages of education (they provide a useful review of this literature), this link would be worth investigating in Montessori schools.

This section has discussed studies that have evaluated the Montessori method directly. To date there have been very few methodologically robust evaluations. Many suffer from limitations that make it challenging to interpret their findings, whether those findings are favourable, neutral or unfavourable towards the Montessori method. However, while randomised control trials could (and should) be designed to evaluate individual elements of the Montessori method, it is difficult to see how the random assignment of pupils to schools could work in practice (hence the ingenuity of the study reported in ref. 18 ). Nor could trials be appropriately blinded—teachers, and perhaps parents and pupils too, would know whether they were in the Montessori arm of the trial. In other words, although random assignment and blinding might work for specific interventions, it is hard to see how they could work for an entire school curriculum. Furthermore, given the complexity of identifying what it is that works, why it works, and for whom it works best, additional information, for example from observations of what children and teachers are actually doing in the classroom, would be needed for interpreting the results.

Evaluations of key elements of Montessori education that are shared with other educational methods

This final section examines studies that have not evaluated the Montessori method directly, but have evaluated other educational methods and interventions that share elements of the Montessori method. They, together with our growing understanding of the science underpinning learning, can add to the evidence base for Montessori education. Given the vast amount of research and the limited space in which to consider it, priority is given to systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

One of the best-researched instructional techniques is the use of phonics for teaching children to read. Phonics is the explicit teaching of the letter-sound correspondences that allow the child to crack the alphabetic code. Montessori’s first schools were in Italy, and Italian orthography has relatively transparent one-to-one mappings between letters and sounds, making phonics a logical choice of method for teaching children the mechanics of reading and spelling. English orthography is, however, much less regular: the mappings between letters and sounds are many-to-many, and for this reason the use of phonics as a method of instruction has been challenged for English. 37 Nevertheless, there is overwhelming evidence of its effectiveness despite English’s irregularities. 38 , 39 , 40 At the same time, great strides have been made in elucidating the neural mechanisms that underlie early reading and reading impairments, and these too demonstrate the importance to successful reading of integrating sound and visual representations. 41

As always in education, the devil is in the detail. Importantly, phonics programmes have the greatest impact on reading accuracy when they are systematic. 39 , 40 By 'systematic' it is meant that letter-sound relationships are taught in an organised sequence, rather than being taught on an ad hoc as-and-when-needed basis. However, within systematic teaching of phonics there are two very different approaches: synthetic phonics and analytic phonics. Synthetic phonics starts from the parts and works up to the whole: children learn the sounds that correspond to letters or groups of letters and use this knowledge to sound out words from left to right. Analytic phonics starts from the whole and drills down to the parts: sound-letter relationships are inferred from sets of words which share a letter and sound, e.g., \(\underline{h}\) at , \(\underline{h}\) en , \(\underline{h}\) ill , \(\underline{h}\) orse . Few randomised control trials have pitted synthetic and analytic phonics against one another, and it is not clear that either has the advantage. 40

The Montessori approach to teaching phonics is certainly systematic. Many schools in the UK, for example, use word lists drawn from Morris’s 'Phonics 44'. 42 , 43 Furthermore, the Montessori approach to phonics is synthetic rather than analytic: children are taught the sound-letter code before using it to encode words (in spelling) and decode them (in reading). One of the criticisms of synthetic phonics is that it teaches letters and sounds removed from their meaningful language context, in a way that analytic phonics does not. 44 It has long been recognised that the goal of reading is comprehension. Reading for meaning requires both code-based skills and language skills such as vocabulary, morphology, syntax and inferencing skills, 45 and these two sets of skills are not rigidly separated, but rather interact at multiple levels. 46 Indeed, phonics instruction works best where it is integrated with text-level reading instruction. 39 , 40 The explicit teaching of phonics within a rich language context—both spoken and written—is central to the Montessori curriculum. No evaluations have yet pitted phonics teaching in the Montessori classroom versus phonics teaching in the conventional classroom, however, and so whether the former is differentially effective is not known.

Research into writing supports Montessori’s view that writing involves a multitude of component skills, including handwriting, spelling, vocabulary and sentence construction. 47 , 48 Proficiency in these skills predicts the quality of children’s written compositions. 49 , 50 In the Montessori classroom these skills are worked on independently before being brought together, but they can continue to be practised independently. A growing body of research from conventional and special education classrooms demonstrates that the specific teaching of the component skills of writing improves the quality of children’s written compositions. 51 , 52 , 53 , 54

With respect to teaching mathematics to young children, there are many recommendations that Montessori teachers would recognise in their own classrooms, such as teaching geometry, number and operations using a developmental progression, and using progress monitoring to ensure that mathematics instruction builds on what each child knows. 55 Some of the recommended activities, such as 'help children to recognise, name, and compare shapes, and then teach them to combine and separate shapes' 55 map exactly on to Montessori’s sensorial materials such as the geometric cabinet and the constructive triangles. Other activities such as 'encourage children to label collections with number words and numerals' 55 map onto Montessori’s early mathematics material such as the number rods, the spindle box and the cards and counters. The importance of conceptual knowledge as the foundation for children being able to understand fractions has been stressed. 56 The Montessori fraction circles—which provide a sensorial experience with the fractions from one whole to ten tenths—provide just such a foundation, as do practical life exercises such as preparing snacks (how should a banana be cut so that it can be shared between three children?) and folding napkins.

Finally in this section, it is worth returning to the sustained attention and self-regulation that have been argued to characterise children’s engagement with the learning materials in the Montessori classroom. 2 , 3 , 4 These are important parts of the complex cognitive construct of executive functions (EFs), which also include inhibition, working memory and planning. Put simply, EFs are the set of processes that allow us to control our thoughts and actions in order to engage in motivated, goal-directed behaviour. That EFs are critical for academic success is backed by a wealth of research evidence. 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 Given this key role, EFs have become the target for a number of individually-administered interventions, full curricula, and add-ons to classroom curricula, such as CogMed (Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ), Tools of the Mind, 62 PATHS (PATHS Training LLC, Seattle, WA), music, yoga and martial arts. A review study compared these, including Montessori education, and concluded that compared to interventions such as CogMed that solely target EFs, 'school curricula hold the greatest promise for accessibility to all and intervening early enough to get children on a positive trajectory from the start and affecting EFs most broadly'. 63

Conclusions

Montessori education has been in existence for over a hundred years. Such longevity could well be due, at least in part, to its adaptability. 6 However, by its very nature, of course, greater adaptability means lower fidelity. This paper has discussed evidence that children may benefit cognitively and socially from Montessori education that is faithful to its creator’s principles, but it is less clear that adapted forms—which usually result in children spending less time engaged with self-chosen learning materials—are as effective. Nevertheless, studies suggest that the practical life materials can be usefully introduced into non-Montessori classrooms to support the development of young children’s fine motor skills and attention, and there is ample evidence from the wider educational literature that certain elements of the Montessori method—such as teaching early literacy through a phonic approach embedded in a rich language context, and providing a sensorial foundation for mathematics education—are effective. It has not been possible in this paper to give an exhaustive discussion of all the elements of Montessori education that might be beneficial, for example the lack of extrinsic rewards, the reduced emphasis on academic testing and lack of competition between pupils, the 3-year age-banding that fosters cross-age tutoring, or the presence of a trained teacher in the early years classroom.

Where does this leave Montessori education more than 100 years after its birth, and more than 60 years after the death of its creator? As others have noted, Montessori was a scientist who truly valued the scientific method and would not have expected her educational method to remain static. 64 Yet Montessori teachers often feel fear or uncertainty about being able to apply Montessori’s theories in new and innovative ways while still adhering to her underlying philosophical principles. 65 Ultimately, only empirical research, undertaken by teachers and researchers working together, can be our guide, because the questions that need answering are empirical in nature. Neuroscientific research—using neuroimaging methods which were not available in Montessori’s day—might also play a guiding role. For example, Montessori was prescient in her views that adolescence was a special time in development where the individual required a specially-designed form of education to address their needs. 66 Recent neuroimaging evidence points to adolescence as indeed being an important period for neural development, particularly for areas involved in executive functions and social cognition. 67 , 68 Montessori did not fully develop her ideas for the education of 12–18-year olds during her lifetime, but it is an area where current Montessorians might be able to take over the reins. Although some Montessori schools take pupils up to the age of 18, they are few and far between, and to my knowledge there are no published evaluations of their effectiveness. Developing a Montessori education for this age group in conjunction with the best of our current knowledge of developmental cognitive neuroscience has the potential to make a very positive contribution.

Nor did Montessori consider using her method with the elderly. In the context of a rapidly aging population and increasing numbers of elderly adults with acquired cognitive impairments such as those that result from Alzheimer’s disease, 69 it is interesting to note that the Montessori method is now being adapted for use with dementia patients, with the aim of improving functioning in activities of daily living, such as feeding, and in cognition. There is strong evidence for a reduction in difficulties with eating, weak evidence for benefits on cognition, and mixed evidence for benefits on constructive engagement and positive affect. 70 However, the quality of studies varies across domains; those evaluating effects on cognition have been of rather poor quality so far, and they have not yet examined whether there might be long-term effects. Nevertheless, given the challenges to developing successful medication for patients with Alzheimer’s disease despite a detailed knowledge of changes in their neurobiology, it would be sensible to continue the search for successful behavioural interventions alongside that for medical interventions. 71 One method for delivering Montessori-based activities to the elderly is via inter-generational programmes, whereby older adults with dementia are supported in teaching Montessori-based lessons to preschool children. Benefits have been reported for the adults involved, 72 but whether the children also benefit in particular ways from such inter-generational teaching has not been evaluated. Nor is it known whether a Montessori education in childhood or Montessori-based activities experienced in later life can protect the executive control circuits of the brain, as has been proposed for bilingualism. 73 A lifespan approach to the evaluation of the Montessori method involving both behavioural and neuroimaging methods might be valuable.

In sum, there are many methodological challenges to carrying out good quality educational research, including good quality research on the Montessori method. Arguably the most obvious challenge to emerge from the literature reviewed here is the practical difficulty of randomly allocating pupils to Montessori and non-Montessori schools in order to compare outcomes. The majority of studies have relied instead on trying to match pupils and teachers in Montessori and non-Montessori schools on a number of different variables, with the concomitant danger that unidentified factors have contributed to any difference in outcomes. Even if randomisation is achievable, studies need to be conducted on a large enough scale to not only allow generalisations to be made beyond the particular schools studied, but to also allow investigation of which children the Montessori method suits best. On a more optimistic note, recent experimental studies—whereby features of existing Montessori classrooms are manipulated in some way, or features of the Montessori method are added to non-Montessori classrooms—hold promise for investigating the effectiveness of particular elements of the Montessori method. The evidence base can be strengthened yet further by drawing on research of educational interventions with which it shares certain elements, and by drawing on related research in the science of learning. National and regional education systems are beset by regular swings of the pendulum, for example towards and away from phonics, 74 and towards and away from children working individually. 75 This means that elements of the Montessori method will sometimes be in vogue and sometimes not. It is therefore particularly important that Montessori teachers understand the evidence base that supports, or does not support, their pedagogy.

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I dedicate this work to Sandra Nash Petrek (1939–2017), an inspiring Montessorian.

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Home — Essay Samples — Education — Teaching — Dr Maria Montessori: The Benefits of the Theory of Prepared Environment

Dr Maria Montessori: The Benefits of The Theory of Prepared Environment

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Introduction, maria montessori and her ideas of prepared environment.

Freedom to move, explore and express.
Structure and Order
Nature and Reality
Social Environment
Intellectual Environment

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Given the freedom and support to question, to probe deeply, and to make connections, Montessori students become confident, enthusiastic, self-directed learners. They are able to think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly—a skill set for the 21st century.

A multi-age setting enhances learning; children learn from one another, and they learn because of each other. Younger children get a chance to look ahead and see what is coming next by watching their older classmates work. Older children have the opportunity to reinforce their knowledge by sharing it with their younger classmates. Younger children emulate older children, and older children reinforce their knowledge by "teaching" the younger children.

A multi-age setting, whether it be preschool or elementary, provides children with opportunities for broad social development. The students' constant interaction with each other teaches them how to get along with children of different ages and abilities, to respect each other's work and work space, and to treat each other with courtesy. The children take an active role in maintaining their classroom, and it becomes a thriving community where everyone is treated with respect and dignity.

Self-confidence develops and children are given the opportunity for even greater leadership roles. Relationships and their complexities are supported by alert and sensitive adults who are trained to observe and enhance social interaction, not to repress it.

Freedom of Movement and Atmosphere

A child's natural inclination is not to sit at a desk all day. For this reason, a Montessori environment allows for a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. Much of the work is done individually, but children often enjoy working on an activity with friends in small groups or on a whole class project.

The Montessori prepared environment respects and protects the child's rhythm of life. It is a calm, ordered space constructed to meet her needs and match her scale of activity. Here, the child experiences a blend of freedom which goes hand in hand with self-discipline.

Fostering a Peaceful Community

The Preschool Prepared Environment and Materials

The Montessori "prepared environment" of the preschool classroom is a "living room" for children, which is designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by each child. The classroom space is divided into five distinct areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language, and Culture. No subject is taught in isolation; the Montessori preschool curriculum is interdisciplinary and interactive.

Each area's materials are arranged invitingly on low , open shelves. Each child may choose his work from the shelves so long as a lesson has been presented to him. He may work for as long as the material holds his interest. When the child is finished with the material, he returns it to the shelf from which it came.

The materials themselves invite activity and are the focal point of the classroom. The walls are kept clear of distracting pictures.

The Elementary Prepared Environment and Materials

The Montessori elementary environment balances the child's developing imagination and powers of abstraction with down-to-earth, concrete, hands-on materials. The classroom is still divided by curriculum areas, but again, the subjects are not taught in isolation. Lessons are placed on shelves for individual children to use by themselves or with a small group of classmates, but hands-on materials will become of less importance, particularly at the higher elementary levels, when the child will begin to work more abstractly. Each lesson's material has its structured sequences which have been designed to lead the child to discovery and understanding of the physical world.

Montessori provides diverse and creative passages to abstraction. Mathematics, for instance, is presented through three-dimensional manipulative materials, each providing a concrete way to experience an abstract concept. Likewise, the grammar materials use symbols and visual patterns to help the child discover parts of speech and analyze the structure, style, and logic of sentences. These exercises refine reading and writing skills and lay the foundation for foreign language study. The prepared environment provides the "keys" of each discipline in a manner that meets the elementary child's needs for inspiration as well as order.

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The prepared environment.

The environment, in addition to the student and the classroom guide, is the “third teacher.” Just as every child effortlessly absorbs his native language, so he absorbs the ideas guiding the design of his environment.

Creating a child's world

It’s common to recognize that young children are highly perceptive and unusually sensitive to their surroundings. Montessori agreed, and took this a step further: she believed that children use their early experiences to build the very foundations of their minds.

If the child finds herself in a world of beauty and order, she can use this to form a wordless confidence that the wider world is beautiful and knowable. She is afforded the opportunity to make clear choices from attractive options, to understand where things go and predict where to find them, to focus her attention and efforts on interesting materials, and to succeed at what she sets out to do. She pours her energy into purposeful endeavors that serve her needs and delight her soul — whether a delicious snack prepared with care, or a vase of flowers arranged just so. Through a thousand small actions and impressions every day, she takes this beauty and order into herself. Conversely, if the child finds her world uncared for and in disarray, she will be bombarded with a cacophony of meaningless and disconnected objects, with unpredictability, and with distraction — and might unknowingly fall into patterns of insecurity and dependency to cope with what she takes to be a chaotic world.

These kinds of preverbal beliefs run deep, creating a powerful implicit worldview in the child, a philosophy that guides her as she is starting off and that can linger and echo throughout her life. Modern developmental psychology has catalogued how one’s early experiences can be profoundly impactful, shaping the ways we relate to others (e.g. via our attachment styles) or even understand our own potential (e.g. via our growth or fixed mindset). Many educators have come to recognize the power of the environment and even the classroom aesthetic in shaping the development of their students.

Montessori was an earlier pioneer and progenitor of this perspective on early experiences. As she put it: all children must create themselves, and they do so using the material they find in the world around them.

This is why good Montessori educators take tremendous care of the environments they design for their children. Every tool, every ornament, every piece of furniture is meticulously selected and arranged such that students are able to independently know it and access it. And more than that, it’s designed to instill in students a sense of reverence: that their everyday interactions with the world are purposeful and profound. The materials selected are beautiful, breakable, and precious, begging to be treated with care. Children are taught to take stewardship of their environment; they are taught this through continuous modeling by all of the adults in the school, who are trained to showcase their grace and respect.

The same principles apply to parents who are applying Montessori principles to their home environment: there’s a consciousness of an aesthetic and a simplicity, and an awareness of how to maximize the child’s independence in engaging with her world at home.

The reason for all this attention to the environment is the unique opportunity it affords to:

Give children striking impressions of organization and order , and thus inspire analogous inner habits of mind. Shelves are ordered functionally, and then from least to most difficult. Each activity on the shelf is organized into trays and baskets.
Relatedly, instill in children an appreciation for cleanliness and clarity . Montessori classrooms are simplified and uncluttered. They are home to many activities and practices that invite children to participate in actively maintaining this state.
Create in children the experience of a world of exciting values , a world they can understand, love, access, and use. Children are natural explorers, and in the right kind of environment, that tendency can seed a lifelong curiosity and a real benevolence toward a world that they know is full of excitement and beauty.

Each environment must not only be designed to instantiate principals of beauty and order, not only filled with quality furnishings and materials, not only decorated to be a beautiful home-like (or beautiful at-home) environment for children — it must be maintained with effort. The only thing that can inspire such effort — in the face of the countless competing priorities intrinsic to early childhood education — is the absolute conviction that doing so matters.

Dr. Montessori held just such a conviction: that the environment, in addition to the student and the classroom guide, is the “third teacher.” Just as every child effortlessly absorbs his native language, so he absorbs the ideas guiding the design of his environment.

Our task at Guidepost is to support educators and parents in creating for each child a world worthy of her absorption.

Ideas from the Guidepost Blog

Parenting tips, Montessori explainers and strategies for helping your child become an independent, capable human being — The Guidepost Team is here to help parents succeed

How Montessori at Home Improved the Lives of an Innovative English Family

The Montessori Method helped Florence Taylor connect with her son and become a better adult, regardless of how childishly others reacted to her parenting techniques.

Montessori Material Spotlight: Sandpaper Numerals

Sandpaper Numerals help a child develop his understanding of the symbols of the numbers 0 through 9.

What Makes Us Different — Why The Montessori Method Is Unique

Understand how the Montessori Method brings a knowledge-rich, child-centered approach to education.

The Six Principles of the Montessori Prepared Environment Explained

There are generally six aspects, or principles, to the Prepared Environment: Freedom, Structure and Order, Beauty, Nature and Reality, Social Environment, and Intellectual Environment.

Learn more about each of these aspects, and why the prepared environment is so important to the success a child experiences with Montessori education!

Montessori believed that a child must be free to explore and follow his own natural impulses, thus developing his potential and increasing his knowledge of the world around him. Within the prepared environment, the child must experience freedom of movement, freedom of exploration, freedom to interact socially, and freedom from interference from others. This freedom ultimately leads to a greater freedom: freedom of choice.

2. Structure and Order

While Structure and Order seem counter-intuitive to the aforementioned freedom, nothing could be further from the truth. Structure and Order in the Montessori classroom accurately reflect the sense of structure and order in the universe. By using the Montessori classroom environment as a microcosm of the universe, the child begins to internalize the order surrounding him, thus making sense of the world in which he lives. Montessori stated that there is a sensitive period for order, which occurs between the ages of 1 and 3 years of age. This is when the child begins to draw conclusions of the world around him. If there is not order to his environment, the child’s sense of reason may be off, since he will not be able to validate his findings. This is not to say that routines or classroom set-up or ways of doing things can’t change. However, it does mean that change should be carefully considered. Is this change for the good of the children? If so, it should be done carefully and its after-effects should be observed to ensure that it is of benefit to the children.

Montessori environments should be beautiful. Whether your school is in an old Victorian mansion or in a strip-mall or in the living room of your home, the environment should suggest a simple harmony. Uncluttered and well maintained, the environment should reflect peace and tranquility. The environment should invite the learner to come in and work. This atmosphere is easily seen by the attitude of those working there, both child and adult.

4. Nature and Reality

Montessori had a deep respect and reverence for nature. She believed that we should use nature to inspire children. She continually suggested that Montessori teachers take the children out into nature, rather than keeping them confined in the classroom. This is why natural materials are preferred in the prepared environment. Real wood, reeds, bamboo, metal, cotton, and glass are preferred to synthetics or plastics. It is here where child-size real objects come into play. Furniture should be child-size so the child is not dependent on the adult for his movement. Rakes, hoes, pitchers, tongs, shovels should all fit children’s hands and height so that the work is made easier, thus ensuring proper use and completion of the work without frustration.

5. Social Environment

Where there is freedom to interact, children learn to encourage and develop a sense of compassion and empathy for others. As children develop, they become more socially aware, preparing to work and play in groups. This social interaction is supported throughout the environment and is encouraged with the nature of multi-age classroom settings.

6. Intellectual Environment

If the above aspects are not recognized, the intellectual environment will not reach its purpose. The purpose of the Montessori environment is to develop the whole personality of the child, not merely his intellect. By guiding the child through the five areas of the Montessori curriculum (Practical Life, Sensorial, Language, Mathematics, and Cultural subjects), the child has the structure, which is at the forefront of the creative work in a Montessori classroom.

A lot of time and effort is involved in creating a prepared Montessori classroom that is designed to meet the individual needs of all children. Through developmentally appropriate, sensorial material that moves hierarchically from simple to complex and concrete to abstract, children are given the freedom to fully develop their unique potential through a carefully prepared learning environment.

Montessori at Home

Bringing Montessori principles into your home can be a valuable bridge to what your child learns at school. Here are some tips from the American Montessori Society on ways to build that connection: Create an ordered environment. Having a place for everything, on a child-friendly scale, encourages both independence and self-discipline. Children know where to…

Developing and Supporting Your Child’s Independence

It can be heart-wrenching and difficult to feel that your child does not need you as much as they used to, and when they start saying ‘I can do it myself’ or ‘I want to do it on my own’, it may be tough to hear, but you are doing exactly what your child needs…

The Montessori Three-Period Lesson

The three-period lesson is a key part of the Montessori Method of teaching. It is a fundamental tool and approach used daily in every Montessori classroom to introduce a new concept (not just vocabulary) to children. Who Came Up With This Amazing Concept? The three-period lesson was developed by Edouard Seguin, a French physician who…

The Importance of Effective Communication

Many experts in communication strategies have written about what it means to effectively communicate. While this can be a topic that may be subjective depending on who is providing the information, it is nevertheless, a truly important topic for our teachers and families. There is no recipe for success, and no guarantees that we get…

Transitions to a New Classroom or New School Environment

As the end of the school year is coming to a close, we are filled with all kinds of different emotions, especially with the pending departure of our children and families leaving us for kindergarten. Whether a child transitions from an infant room to a toddler classroom environment, or a toddler moves into preschool, or…

Why Do We Choose Montessori Education?

We understand that all of our families have a choice of education programs for their children, and this is a critical and important decision they make as a family. One of the first questions that come up when we meet families is, ‘What separates us from a traditional education?’ When we have conversations with our…

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The Prepared Environment of a Montessori Essay

The Importance of the Main Ingredients of the Montessori Method : the Directress and the Prepared Environment

ingredients of the Montessori method : the directress and the prepared environment Motto:’’ The teacher as an adult should try to interpret the child's needs and meet them as best as he can by preparing a really suitable environment. This may be the beginning of a new epoch in education, which will consider how it can assist the life of the child.’’ (Montessori, M., The Secret of Childhood, Part1, Chapter IV: Where adults impede the question of sleep, 1963, p.79). The child in the Montessori school needs

Why Are Montessori Materials Essential Parts of the Prepared Environment? Discuss How to Introduce the Child Into the Exercises with the Sensorial Materials.

Next to the family, the Montessori classroom is the place of importance in the world of a child. The Montessori classroom is a social institution that not only determines the present state of the child but also their future. In “The Absorbent Mind”, Dr Maria Montessori wrote, “The most important period of life is not the age of university studies, but the first one, the period from birth to the age of six. For that is the time when man’s intelligence itself, his greatest implement is being formed…At

Montessori Classrooms Environment Essay

THE PREPARED ENVIRONMENT Montessori classrooms provide a prepared environment where children are free to respond to their natural tendency to work. In a Montessori Infant/Toddler room, the prepared environment is very important. It is designed to meet these goals: * Be attractive, welcoming, and conducive to learning * Have a space large enough to accommodate all the children, providing them with free and comfortable movement * Provide areas for all the activities each day *

Theory-Part 1. What Are The Principals Governing The Creation

principals governing the creation of the Prepared Environment? How are the concepts of freedom and discipline encompassed within the prepared environment? Please consider the importance of freedom for the developing child in terms of self-regulation. The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult. —Maria Montessori The Secret of Childhood, 1966 The Montessori Environment is prepared on six principals: Freedom, Structure

The Importance Of A Well Prepared Environment

Maria Montessori inadvertently created an alternative to traditional schooling. She did this by allowing her pupils the opportunity to learn through action rather than repetition. Montessori had five main principles: respect for the child, sensitive periods, the prepared environment, auto-education, and the teacher’s role. In this paper I will discuss the prepared environment thoroughly and how a well prepared environment can positively affect each student in the 3-6 classroom. I will, in reflection

The Role of a Teacher in a Montessori Classroom

to develop naturally. She believed that every child held the ability to learn but only needed to be shown or guided on how to correctly do so. The teachers role in the class room is to cater for these needs. Montessori believed that only a certain type of person suited the role of a Montessori teacher “The teacher must derive not only the capacity, but the desire, to observe natural phenomena. In our system, she must become a passive, much more than an active, influence, and her passivity shall be

Maria Montessori and Environment

which had been interrupted, is now taken up again, as nature has intended all along.” E.M Standing, Maria Montessori: her life and work, pg 174 Learning, by itself, cannot happen without concentration. Whether we are learning to tie our shoes, write our name, wash a car or solve complex algebraic equations, there is intense concentration specific to the task at hand. Dr. Maria Montessori understood the power of concentration, and her methodology is designed to nurture this power. Concentration

The Educational Work Of Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was born on the 31st August 1870 in the town of Chiaravalle, Italy. Maria got her quest for knowledge from her parents who were both well educated. She started her education at a local state school and proceeded onto a technical institute where she intended to pursue a career in engineering. This was unusual at the time as there were barriers that constrained women’s careers, leaving them with fewer options to pursue technical careers than their male contemporaries. Even after graduating

Contribution Of The Montessori Method

Maria Montessori once stated, “The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist’” (Chattin-McNichols, 1992). The end goal of a Montessori classroom is to create independent and curious learners ready to take on any challenge thrown their way. The Montessori Method differs from traditional school settings because learning is child-centered, meaning children create their own knowledge from experiences within a prepared environment. Who

Childcare Level 3

Children’s journeys throughout education should be personal, and this is what the Montessori approach achieves. From visiting a Montessori setting, the practitioners accomplished this as they allowed the children to play individually “Montessori thought working alone encouraged children to become independent learners” (M. Beaver, J. Brewster et all, CACHE Level 3 Childcare and Education). It is also important that

Prepared Environment

The Prepared Environment is a fundamental principle of Montessori education, reflecting a deliberate design that supports independent learning and exploration by the child. This environment is carefully arranged to be aesthetically pleasing, orderly, and suited to the child’s size, interests, and developmental needs. Every material and piece of furniture is chosen with the child’s accessibility, safety, and educational potential in mind.

In a Prepared Environment, materials are displayed on open shelves at the child’s eye level, inviting exploration and use. The arrangement encourages movement, choice, and engagement, fostering children’s natural desire to learn. The environment is structured to support varying levels of complexity and challenge, accommodating individual learning paces. A key aspect of the Prepared Environment is its emphasis on real-life, natural materials that are both beautiful and functional, which convey respect for the child’s learning process. This environment not only facilitates academic skills but also promotes social interactions, independence, and a sense of responsibility for oneself and the community.

Montessori Childcare: The Importance of a Prepared Environment

The “prepared environment” is Maria Montessori’s concept that the environment can be designed to facilitate maximum independent learning and exploration by the child. In the prepared environment, there is a variety of activity as well as a great deal of movement. A Montessori teacher serves as the preparer and communicator of the environment to the child and is responsible for maintaining the atmosphere and order of the prepared environment. A prepared environment gives every child the freedom to fully develop their unique potential through developmentally appropriate sensorial materials. The materials range from simple to complex and from concrete to abstract, catering toward every child’s age and ability.

Montessori classrooms are designed to offer lessons, activities, and tools that match the developmental needs and interests of each individual child. It is important to note that not every child will be interested in every available lesson. This is why children are allowed to choose the lessons they gravitate toward naturally.

Many parents may find themselves wondering what sets Montessori childcare apart from your average daycare center or preschool. For starters, as soon as you walk into your traditional childcare center, you will notice that is most likely lively, loud, and messy. On the other end of the spectrum, as soon as you walk into a Montessori classroom, you will notice that it is peaceful, quiet, and orderly. You may ask yourself, why are the two childcare systems so different from one another. The difference lies in something that Dr. Maria Montessori calls the prepared environment.

What is the Prepared Environment?

In her book The Secret of Childhood, Dr. Montessori described the goal of the prepared environment as follows: “The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult.” The prepared environment, therefore, is one of the core components of the Montessori philosophy. According to Dr. Montessori, the learning environment, and everything that the child comes into contact with should foster independent learning and exploration.

Key components of the Prepared Environment

Freedom – One of the main goals of a Montessori prepared environment is freedom of choice. This is achieved through giving the child freedom to exploration, freedom of movement, freedom to interact socially, and freedom of interference from others.

We believe in giving our little ones enough independence to choose their daily activities. Meanwhile, we as mentors, will keep a close watch and correct them where ever needed. It improves the cognitive (the process of knowing, thinking, learning and judging) skill.

Structure and Order – The idea behind this principle is to reflect the structure and order of the universe, so that the child can internalize the order of his surroundings and is therefore able to begin making sense of the world around him.

Beauty – It is also important to make the environment inviting for learning. The atmosphere, therefore, should be prepared beautifully and simplistically, in such a way that evokes peace, tranquility and harmony. The learning environment should also be uncluttered and well-maintained.

Nature and Reality – Dr. Montessori believed that nature should be used to inspire children. That’s why Montessori teachers regularly take the children out into nature and use natural learning materials in the prepared environment. These materials include real wood, metal, bamboo, cotton, and glass, rather than synthetics or plastics. The materials should also be real and child-size, so the child is able to work with the materials on her own without frustration and without having to depend on adult for help with movement.

Social Environment – The prepared environment should support social development by encouraging freedom of interaction. Montessori classrooms foster the development of a sense of compassion and empathy for others, thus causing children to be more socially aware.

Intellectual Environment – Once all of the above principles are met, Montessori educators will be able to reach children through the intellectual environment, which develops the whole personality of the child, as well her intellect.

The Prepared Environment at Silverline Montessori

Love of environment: Our childcare facilities are purposefully designed with the child’s independence in mind. Classrooms at Silverline Montessori are filled with learning materials that enhance the senses of our children. We encourage freedom of choice while still maintaining structure and order. Our caring environment is well-prepared and dedicated to academic excellence while nurturing each child’s mind, body, and spirit for success throughout life.

The lessons and learning materials in the prepared environment are specially designed and set out on low, easily accessible shelves. In addition to child-height shelves, Montessori classrooms have child-sized furniture, fixtures, tools, and utensils. By keeping the environment child-sized and accessible, the Montessori classroom minimizes the child’s need for adult assistance and maximizes the self-regulated activity. True Montessori materials are presented to the child in the Four Avenues of Learning: Practical Life, Sensorial, Language and Mathematics.

“Obstacles must be reduced to a minimum and surrounding should provide the necessary means for the exercise of those activities which develop a child’s energies” – Maria Montessori.

Shadow Creek Campus

Silverlake campus, towne lake cypress.

Montessori Vs. Traditional Education

This essay about the distinct characteristics and outcomes of Montessori and traditional educational systems examines their teaching methodologies, classroom setups, and the roles of teachers in each system. It contrasts the child-centered, flexible environment of Montessori with the structured, teacher-led approach of traditional schooling, highlighting how each system suits different types of learners and educational goals.

How it works

Teaching Montessori and school traditional systems each offer access only despite educating, this dessert despite the kinds students and educational combine philosophy. Choice between Montessori and traditional teaching can perceptibly influence studies child experience and display. It essay investigates keys distinctions between these educational access, include one teach courses, environments chic room, and results usually chocked up he with each.

Course Montessori, grows a doctor Maria Montessori in beginning 1900 – ?, concentrates he around an idea settles enfants to investigate and to do his the manoeuvres in their clean rhythm in borders the prepared environment.

This fundamentally child-concentrated access, distinguishes on studies and pragmatic jeu partner. Rooms Montessori a stylishness is characterized by their groups hybrid age, that usually even from three ages to six years in a chic room, six one to nine years in other, ASF. This settlement designed, to encourage equal studies, where young children can do his the manoeuvres from aîné peers and senior children strengthen their studies one teach concepts, that they already mastered.

In contrasts, traditional school systems more structured and unconcentré, concentrates he on a command with the nearest future address as studies self-directed. Chic rooms in traditional schools usually animated age and the stages the stage. Standardized school picture, and teachers supply with even material despite whole students in cadence even. This access based on systematic instruction and often a branch detains acts and standardized a test, to measure the university moving forward.

Only from above all distinctions between Montessori and bind the school traditional systems in a role teacher. In schools Montessori, teachers serve directions or helpers. They are due there to assure an entry and methods, settles enfants to devote their clean studies and to investigate themes, that interest them. University for a teacher index usually down, and environment less structured, assures materials, with it children can want to train in their clean rhythm combine.

In traditional schools, teachers is a fountain information of initial letter and usually bring enseigne over process. A more environment appropriates, and activities timed often, with the chic whole moving through a school picture integrity. It maybe be advantageous for students, that flower under setting and light skeleton and, at a case, limit for every, who request a banner flexible rhythm.

Results these educational accesses can be mimiced widely. Teaching Montessori often makes students, that appear excellent problem solvers, can manage their time practically, and enthousiaste from studies. These students, at a case, outstrip other in environments, where creative potential and initiative précieux. Traditional teaching, from other side, inhales to make students, that adroit in one adhere to setting, takes place on the standardized tests, and completes the problems structured personnel.

However, all two systems have their appeals. Schools Montessori, at a case, no assure even the stage preparation for the standardized test so as traditional schools, potentially places students at absence in environments, where similar tests distinguished on. From other side, traditional teaching, at a case, no encouraged even the stage independence and loved for studies so as course Montessori.

In eventual addition, choice between Montessori and traditional teaching depends from necessities and person student, too so as and values and priorities their specific families. Parents, search personalized and the child-concentrated teaching, at a case, fell down he on setting despite Montessori, while every, who prefer structured, standardized educational an environment, at a case, chooses the traditional educating.

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First successful projects, then lasting relationships!

As it has been in the past 40 years, Mimsa believe in providing competitive prices without compromising their principles of quality. We have managed to create lasting relationships based on honesty and cooperation while adding new customers each year.

Nothing is more important for us than Customer satisfaction!

Mimsa prioritizes customer satisfaction in the services they provide, and strives to understand the customers’ requests thoroughly in order to fulfil their needs and expectations. According to Mimsa Aluminium, every single customer should always be provided with the quality and services above expectations.

Every single completed project is the beginning of a lasting relationship for us.

Mimsa executes every project with experience and knowledge, while continuously improving itself and its high-quality production. Therefore, Mimsa never regards a project as a completed business. Every single project is a successful representation of lasting relationships. Thus, Mimsa pay great attention to post-sale support and keep on supplying uninterrupted support to their customers after completion.

It is very important for us that every single project we execute creates value to our workers, community and environment!

Aiming to create value for the community, environment and humankind in each project. Mimsa perceive that the occupational training of its employees and the new entrants to the workforce gets these individuals well equipped for the industry and community, and so does whatever needed without second thoughts.

Rosatom to survey contaminated areas near Elektrostal plant

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Russia’s Rosatom on 22 June signed a state contract with VNIPIpromtekhnologii to conduct a radiation survey in 2021 of three legacy radiation-contaminated areas in the Moscow Region, which adjoin the site of the Mashinostroitelny Zavod (MSZ) in Elektrostal (part of the TVEL Fuel Company). The survey aims to obtain up-to-date and reliable information about the radiation situation in the three areas. The total survey area is some 582,000 square metres and the results of the work, including recommendations on the observation regime for the objects located in this territory, will be presented no later than 30 October.

MSZ currently produces nuclear fuel for Rosatom’s fleet of reactors as well as for some NPPs in Europe. However, from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s, at plant No 12 (the predecessor of MSZ), work was carried out to process imported uranium ores. The ores were initially stored along the railway tracks running south of the industrial site of the plant, resulting in contamination.

At another site, radioactive contamination is a consequence of the collapse in 1953 of a tailings dam. From 1950, the tailing dump was used to store waste from the production activities of the enterprise. The third small area with a radiation anomaly is near the village of Subbotino and was decontaminated in 2016 as part of the implementation of the programme activities of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Radon. The content of radionuclides in the soil was reduced to levels corresponding to the radiation safety requirements for land plots for the construction of residential houses, buildings and structures for public and industrial purposes. The radioactive waste (some 10 cubic metres) was sorted, packed and prepared for shipment for processing, conditioning and temporary storage.

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40 Facts About Elektrostal

Written by Lanette Mayes

Modified & Updated: 02 Mar 2024

Reviewed by Jessica Corbett

Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to captivate you.

This article will provide you with 40 fascinating facts about Elektrostal, giving you a better understanding of why this city is worth exploring. From its origins as an industrial hub to its modern-day charm, we will delve into the various aspects that make Elektrostal a unique and must-visit destination.

So, join us as we uncover the hidden treasures of Elektrostal and discover what makes this city a true gem in the heart of Russia.

Key Takeaways:

Elektrostal, known as the “Motor City of Russia,” is a vibrant and growing city with a rich industrial history, offering diverse cultural experiences and a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.
With its convenient location near Moscow, Elektrostal provides a picturesque landscape, vibrant nightlife, and a range of recreational activities, making it an ideal destination for residents and visitors alike.

Known as the “Motor City of Russia.”

Elektrostal, a city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia, earned the nickname “Motor City” due to its significant involvement in the automotive industry.

Home to the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Elektrostal is renowned for its metallurgical plant, which has been producing high-quality steel and alloys since its establishment in 1916.

Boasts a rich industrial heritage.

Elektrostal has a long history of industrial development, contributing to the growth and progress of the region.

Founded in 1916.

The city of Elektrostal was founded in 1916 as a result of the construction of the Elektrostal Metallurgical Plant.

Located approximately 50 kilometers east of Moscow.

Elektrostal is situated in close proximity to the Russian capital, making it easily accessible for both residents and visitors.

Known for its vibrant cultural scene.

Elektrostal is home to several cultural institutions, including museums, theaters, and art galleries that showcase the city’s rich artistic heritage.

A popular destination for nature lovers.

Surrounded by picturesque landscapes and forests, Elektrostal offers ample opportunities for outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, and birdwatching.

Hosts the annual Elektrostal City Day celebrations.

Every year, Elektrostal organizes festive events and activities to celebrate its founding, bringing together residents and visitors in a spirit of unity and joy.

Has a population of approximately 160,000 people.

Elektrostal is home to a diverse and vibrant community of around 160,000 residents, contributing to its dynamic atmosphere.

Boasts excellent education facilities.

The city is known for its well-established educational institutions, providing quality education to students of all ages.

A center for scientific research and innovation.

Elektrostal serves as an important hub for scientific research, particularly in the fields of metallurgy, materials science, and engineering.

Surrounded by picturesque lakes.

The city is blessed with numerous beautiful lakes, offering scenic views and recreational opportunities for locals and visitors alike.

Well-connected transportation system.

Elektrostal benefits from an efficient transportation network, including highways, railways, and public transportation options, ensuring convenient travel within and beyond the city.

Famous for its traditional Russian cuisine.

Food enthusiasts can indulge in authentic Russian dishes at numerous restaurants and cafes scattered throughout Elektrostal.

Home to notable architectural landmarks.

Elektrostal boasts impressive architecture, including the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord and the Elektrostal Palace of Culture.

Offers a wide range of recreational facilities.

Residents and visitors can enjoy various recreational activities, such as sports complexes, swimming pools, and fitness centers, enhancing the overall quality of life.

Provides a high standard of healthcare.

Elektrostal is equipped with modern medical facilities, ensuring residents have access to quality healthcare services.

Home to the Elektrostal History Museum.

The Elektrostal History Museum showcases the city’s fascinating past through exhibitions and displays.

A hub for sports enthusiasts.

Elektrostal is passionate about sports, with numerous stadiums, arenas, and sports clubs offering opportunities for athletes and spectators.

Celebrates diverse cultural festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal hosts a variety of cultural festivals, celebrating different ethnicities, traditions, and art forms.

Electric power played a significant role in its early development.

Elektrostal owes its name and initial growth to the establishment of electric power stations and the utilization of electricity in the industrial sector.

Boasts a thriving economy.

The city’s strong industrial base, coupled with its strategic location near Moscow, has contributed to Elektrostal’s prosperous economic status.

Houses the Elektrostal Drama Theater.

The Elektrostal Drama Theater is a cultural centerpiece, attracting theater enthusiasts from far and wide.

Popular destination for winter sports.

Elektrostal’s proximity to ski resorts and winter sport facilities makes it a favorite destination for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter activities.

Promotes environmental sustainability.

Elektrostal prioritizes environmental protection and sustainability, implementing initiatives to reduce pollution and preserve natural resources.

Home to renowned educational institutions.

Elektrostal is known for its prestigious schools and universities, offering a wide range of academic programs to students.

Committed to cultural preservation.

The city values its cultural heritage and takes active steps to preserve and promote traditional customs, crafts, and arts.

Hosts an annual International Film Festival.

The Elektrostal International Film Festival attracts filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts from around the world, showcasing a diverse range of films.

Encourages entrepreneurship and innovation.

Elektrostal supports aspiring entrepreneurs and fosters a culture of innovation, providing opportunities for startups and business development.

Offers a range of housing options.

Elektrostal provides diverse housing options, including apartments, houses, and residential complexes, catering to different lifestyles and budgets.

Home to notable sports teams.

Elektrostal is proud of its sports legacy, with several successful sports teams competing at regional and national levels.

Boasts a vibrant nightlife scene.

Residents and visitors can enjoy a lively nightlife in Elektrostal, with numerous bars, clubs, and entertainment venues.

Promotes cultural exchange and international relations.

Elektrostal actively engages in international partnerships, cultural exchanges, and diplomatic collaborations to foster global connections.

Surrounded by beautiful nature reserves.

Nearby nature reserves, such as the Barybino Forest and Luchinskoye Lake, offer opportunities for nature enthusiasts to explore and appreciate the region’s biodiversity.

Commemorates historical events.

The city pays tribute to significant historical events through memorials, monuments, and exhibitions, ensuring the preservation of collective memory.

Promotes sports and youth development.

Elektrostal invests in sports infrastructure and programs to encourage youth participation, health, and physical fitness.

Hosts annual cultural and artistic festivals.

Throughout the year, Elektrostal celebrates its cultural diversity through festivals dedicated to music, dance, art, and theater.

Provides a picturesque landscape for photography enthusiasts.

The city’s scenic beauty, architectural landmarks, and natural surroundings make it a paradise for photographers.

Connects to Moscow via a direct train line.

The convenient train connection between Elektrostal and Moscow makes commuting between the two cities effortless.

A city with a bright future.

Elektrostal continues to grow and develop, aiming to become a model city in terms of infrastructure, sustainability, and quality of life for its residents.

In conclusion, Elektrostal is a fascinating city with a rich history and a vibrant present. From its origins as a center of steel production to its modern-day status as a hub for education and industry, Elektrostal has plenty to offer both residents and visitors. With its beautiful parks, cultural attractions, and proximity to Moscow, there is no shortage of things to see and do in this dynamic city. Whether you’re interested in exploring its historical landmarks, enjoying outdoor activities, or immersing yourself in the local culture, Elektrostal has something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself in the Moscow region, don’t miss the opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Elektrostal.

Q: What is the population of Elektrostal?

A: As of the latest data, the population of Elektrostal is approximately XXXX.

Q: How far is Elektrostal from Moscow?

A: Elektrostal is located approximately XX kilometers away from Moscow.

Q: Are there any famous landmarks in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to several notable landmarks, including XXXX and XXXX.

Q: What industries are prominent in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal is known for its steel production industry and is also a center for engineering and manufacturing.

Q: Are there any universities or educational institutions in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal is home to XXXX University and several other educational institutions.

Q: What are some popular outdoor activities in Elektrostal?

A: Elektrostal offers several outdoor activities, such as hiking, cycling, and picnicking in its beautiful parks.

Q: Is Elektrostal well-connected in terms of transportation?

A: Yes, Elektrostal has good transportation links, including trains and buses, making it easily accessible from nearby cities.

Q: Are there any annual events or festivals in Elektrostal?

A: Yes, Elektrostal hosts various events and festivals throughout the year, including XXXX and XXXX.

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Your Guide to the Prepared Environment in Montessori
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Your Guide to the Prepared Environment in Montessori
Learn what a prepared environment is and why it is important in Montessori education. Find out the characteristics, elements, and purpose of a properly prepared environment for children's learning and development. See how to create a prepared environment at home or in a Montessori classroom.
What is Prepared Environment in Montessori?
A prepared Montessori environment is an organized, clean, spacious, warm, safe, and inviting space that helps children learn from the activities prepared to tailor their development needs. It has six basic principles or aspects: freedom, structure and order, beauty, nature and reality, social environment, and intellectual environment. Learn more about the benefits and features of a prepared Montessori environment with video lessons and FAQs.
Montessori Prepared Environment: Principles and Characteristics
Learn about the 6 main elements and characteristics of the Montessori prepared environment, such as freedom, structure and order, beauty, nature and reality, social environment, and intellectual environment. Find out the 6 Montessori principles of the prepared environment and the different goals and materials for each age group.
Montessori in the Classroom: The Prepared Environment
Learn how the design of a Montessori classroom, also known as the "Prepared Environment", is an important component of the Montessori method of education. See examples of furniture, materials, and layout that are scaled to the child and encourage independence and self-directed learning.
Montessori Education And The 'Prepared Environment'
Maria Montessori's idea of the learning environment recognises that learning is ongoing and should thus be supported, by providing age-appropriate educational tools. It also recognises the role ...
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Prepared Environments and Teachers: The Fundamentals of Authentic
This essay argues for the fixed, or non-adaptive, approach and establishes both a prepared environment with Montessori materials and the spiritual preparation of the teacher as two indispensible elements of an authentic Montessori education. This essay also explores common elements put forward by other Montessori educators as indispensible such ...
Montessori education: a review of the evidence base
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The Montessori Method is a 100-year old method of schooling that was first used with impoverished preschool children in Rome. It was developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in 1906 and the program has ...
Dr Maria Montessori: The Benefits of the Theory of Prepared Environment
This essay focuses on how the elements of Dr Maria Montessori's prepared environment encourages and enables children to develop certain traits like curiosity, self-control, self-regulation and character. Hence it becomes more relevant to describe at this stage what is Montessori's prepared environment and what are its key elements.
The Prepared Environment
Learn how Montessori education creates a prepared environment for children to learn and explore in a multi-age setting. The prepared environment is a "living room" for children, with five distinct areas: Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language, and Culture. Each area has inviting materials and activities that support the child's independence, self-confidence, and social development.
The Prepared Environment
The Prepared Environment. The environment, in addition to the student and the classroom guide, is the "third teacher.". Just as every child effortlessly absorbs his native language, so he absorbs the ideas guiding the design of his environment. "Impressions do not merely enter his mind, they form it, they incarnate themselves in him."
PDF What is the Prepared Environment?
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The Six Principles of the Montessori Prepared Environment Explained
Maria Montessori's idea of the prepared environment was that everything the child came in contact with would facilitate and maximize independent learning and exploration. This calm, well-ordered environment has a lot of movement and activity. Children are free to choose and work on activities at their own pace. Here, they experience a combination of freedom...
The Prepared Environment of a Montessori Essay
Montessori had five main principles: respect for the child, sensitive periods, the prepared environment, auto-education, and the teacher's role. In this paper I will discuss the prepared environment thoroughly and how a well prepared environment can positively affect each student in the 3-6 classroom. I will, in reflection.
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The Prepared Environment. This is a prepared environment to protect, and support the natural development of the child so that they may grow with the highest potential of their development. Maria Montessori believed that children need a specific developed appropriate environment. Before, children were made to adapt to their classrooms.
Prepared Environment (Term Definition)
The Prepared Environment is a fundamental principle of Montessori education, reflecting a deliberate design that supports independent learning and exploration by the child. This environment is carefully arranged to be aesthetically pleasing, orderly, and suited to the child's size, interests, and developmental needs. Every material and piece ...
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A prepared environment is a concept of Dr. Maria Montessori that allows children to learn and explore in a free, orderly, and beautiful environment. Learn how Silverline Montessori classrooms are designed to support the independence, development, and social skills of children through freedom of choice, structure and order, nature and reality, and intellectual environment.
Montessori vs. Traditional Education
Essay Example: Teaching Montessori and school traditional systems each offer access only despite educating, this dessert despite the kinds students and educational combine philosophy. ... he around an idea settles enfants to investigate and to do his the manoeuvres in their clean rhythm in borders the prepared environment. Need a custom essay ...
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Russia's Rosatom on 22 June signed a state contract with VNIPIpromtekhnologii to conduct a radiation survey in 2021 of three legacy radiation-contaminated areas in the Moscow Region, which adjoin the site of the Mashinostroitelny Zavod (MSZ) in Elektrostal (part of the TVEL Fuel Company). The survey aims to obtain up-to-date and reliable ...
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40 Facts About Elektrostal. Elektrostal is a vibrant city located in the Moscow Oblast region of Russia. With a rich history, stunning architecture, and a thriving community, Elektrostal is a city that has much to offer. Whether you are a history buff, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about different cultures, Elektrostal is sure to ...

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Nature and Reality:

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Intellectual Environment:

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