What Makes the Montessori Method Different?

I have been teaching about Montessori classrooms to early childhood educators for the past 5 years. Nearly every semester, I get teachers asking me about the difference between Montessori and other alternative early childhood methods like the Reggio Emilia and Waldorf-Steiner approaches.

There is much more that unites these approaches than divides them. Perhaps the central uniting element of these three approaches is their view of the child. All three approaches are holistic and care deeply about a child’s social and emotional development. Each of these approaches also see the child as an inherently good, caring and capable human. Lastly, they all embrace play-based learning as what Froebel once called “the highest form of learning”.

However, there are some important characteristics of the Montessori method that make it stand out from similar approaches.

These are: Montessori’s planes of development, the multi-age classrooms, the focus on the teacher as an ‘unobtrusive observer’, and the prepared environments.

1. Montessori’s Planes of Development

Montessori proposed that children develop in four biological stages. This belief in staged development places her in the company of other giants of child development theory such as Froebel and Piaget.

Montessori observed that children go through stages of tremendous growth and stages of skill consolidation. The two most important stages for early childhood educators to be aware of are the stage of the absorbent mind (0 – 6) and the stage of childhood (6 – 12).

The first stage of tremendous growth occurs between 0 and 6 years of age. Montessori called this the stage of the ‘absorbent mind’, which is a fitting description for children of this age. During this growth stage, children have certain ‘sensitivities’ which drive their curiosity. These include: developing a sense of order, developing language, learning to walk walking, manipulating small objects, and developing socialization.

The next stage, from 6 – 12 years of age, is one of consolidation. Children’s development continues but is much calmer. Children are productive at these ages, but require an educator who will foster their creative talents and who believes they are competent and capable in the classroom.

2. Multi-Age Groupings

The multi-age classroom approach logically follows from Montessori’s belief in planes of development. You will likely see children in multi-age groups that directly mirror Montessori’s planes of development.

Montessori proposed 3-year groupings for children with an unconscious absorbent mind (0 – 3 years) and a conscious absorbent mind (3 – 6 years), then two sub-stages of childhood (6 – 9 then 9 – 12 years).

By grouping children into their planes of development, Montessori believed children would have the freedom to work with other children in the same stage, but at different competencies within the stage. Older children could help guide younger children, while younger children had mentors to observe and follow.

3. The Teacher as Unobtrusive Observer

Montessori was in medicine before she devoted herself to educational psychology. As a physician, Montessori had a keen interest in observing patients to identify their needs. She brought this same skill to education.

One of my favorite quotes from Montessori was her phrase “the unobtrusive observer”. Montessori believed teachers should give children a great deal of freedom to make errors, try things out, and discover answers for themselves. The teacher should not be too quick to jump in and show children the ‘correct’ way of doing things, as this may stifle children’s self-development.

While children are playing, educators should take notes using a record keeping system and get to know the children’s skill sets. Educators need to use their observations to develop deeper understandings of their children, their needs, and their approaches to learning.

4. Prepared Environments

When an educator makes thorough observations of a child’s play, they will have a good idea of what the child’s needs are.

The teacher should use their observations when preparing future learning environments for children. A quality prepared environment should be resource rich, include resources that suit the developmental needs of the child, and give the child maximum freedom to explore and discover the world around them. For a great example, check out Erin’s classroom here.

Montessori proposed that prepared environments should also focus on children’s six developing sensitivities, outlined above. If a child is currently developing certain socialization skills, for example, the teacher might like to consider how they can prepare their learning environment to encourage positive socialization.

Final Thoughts

As a play-based, child-led approach to education, the Montessori approach has a lot in common with other approaches like the Reggio Emilia and Steiner approaches. However, the Montessori method is also unique. Anyone who walks into a Montessori classroom will immediately notice the mix of ages, great deal of resources, and child-initiated play that is occurring.

However, as Montessori environments are child-focused, each Montessori environment will also be different from the next. The educator’s observations of the child’s wants and needs will drive how the environment looks and feels.

About Chris Drew

Chris Drew is a university teacher based in Vancouver, BC. He specializes in play-based learning and the sociology of childhood. He writes on educational theories on his own blog at https://helpfulprofessor.com.