The Montessori approach, or method has its earliest roots in special education and compensatory early childhood education. This approach to education was initially developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in the early part of the 20th century. She was the first woman to receive a medical degree in Italy and her work as a physician in an asylum which housed "defective"children initially sparked her interest in children with disabilities. Because of Dr. Montessori's successful experiences with the children in the asylum, she next initiated a special education teacher training program.

Dr. Montessori then applied her work to normally developing children who were living in extreme poverty in the slums of Rome and continued to develop her philosophy and methodology in this setting. Eventually her work gained considerable attention and has been applied throughout the world.

Above all, Dr. Montessori stressed the importance of respecting each child as an individual, having a thorough knowledge of child development and being a sensitive observer of the child. She believed that these teacher attributes allowed one to "follow the child" in facilitating and creating opportunities for experiences and learning which are carefully matched to the child's needs, interests, and developmental levels. She also stressed the importance of preparing an environment for a child which allowed the child to be a highly engaged and active participant. She noted that a child's play is the child's work, and the multiple activities and materials available in Montessori classrooms are referred to as "work." Her notions are in direct contrast to the idea of leading or directing the child through a set of experiences via high level of teacher directed rather than child directed activities.

Following are ten specific aspects of the Montessori approach which have direct linkage to special education and the needs of young children with disabilities.

The advantages inherent in the use of mixed age groups.

The mixed age groupings found within a Montessori classroom are conducive to a successful inclusion experience. Mixed age groups necessitate a wide and complete range of materials within each classroom which are used to meet the individual needs of children and not the average need of the group. This helps children with disabilities to fit in by allowing them to use developmentally appropriate materials that their same age peers are also using. Mixed age groups contribute to the development of a caring community of learners and set up the expectation of sometimes being a teacher for your friends.

Additionally, children who are in mixed age classrooms stay with the same teacher for several years in a row. In Montessori classrooms, primary children begin at age 2 1/2 - 3 and remain with the same teacher through their kindergarten year. This means that their teacher has every opportunity to intimately understand developmental levels, learning styles, and family support systems. For children with disabilities, this means there is no "starting over period" as the regular education teacher learns about the child, the child's specific disability, and any specialized knowledge (i.e., positioning/handling, use of a phonic ear, seizure management, etc.).

The provisions for individualization for each child within the context of a supportive classroom community.

The individualized curriculum in Montessori classrooms is compatible with the individualization required for children with disabilities. Each child is able to move through material sequences at his or her own pace. While some lessons are done in small or large groups, the philosophy stresses individual demonstrations of each lesson. This is conducive to a highly individualized education and the inclusion of children with special needs.

Specific factors that facilitate implementation of IEP's.

Work in a Montessori classroom is introduced to children based on individual readiness rather than the average chronological age of classmates. When a child with a disability works on an individual need or skill that is very different from the needs of his peers, he or she is not set apart as different or viewed as an extra responsibility. Children with disabilities can work with their friends, or alone, as the skill being learned demands.

The sequence of a child's lessons may also vary without interrupting the flow of classroom work. Children with disabilities may, when necessary, pass through a skill sequence in a different order or at a different rate than a typical developing peer.

The emphasis on functionality within the Montessori environment.

All materials used are real objects rather than "toy" replications whenever possible (i.e., children cut bread with a real knife, sweep crumbs on the floor with a broom, and dry wet tables with cloths). In a Montessori classroom, the primary goal is to prepare children for life. The field of special education often focuses on the development of functional skills. Such skills are defined as skills that effect the actual survival or physical well-being of an individual; they also include the variety of skills which influence a student's ability to perform as independently and as productively as possible in home, school, and community. For example, the practical life area, one of Montessori's curricular sequences, teaches many skills that fall within this category.

The development of independence and the ability to make choices.

Research has shown that children with the most severe disabilities make few meaningful choices in their daily lives. In fact, the relationship between disability level and choice making is an inverse one. The more severe a child's disability is, the fewer opportunities to make meaningful choices he or she experiences (Guess, Benson, and Siegel-Causey, 1985).

Montessori classrooms help children with disabilities to make choices and become independent learners in many ways. In a Montessori classroom, children may choose any material for which they have had a lesson given by the teacher. The children's activities, therefore, are not predetermined by a teacherþs lesson plans. Children with disabilities are afforded the same opportunities to choose materials each day as their typically developing peers. They make truly meaningful choices many times each day. This also fosters independence, because as early as a child's second day, she is encouraged to choose from any of the materials presented the day before. With her first choice, she is taking a step toward becoming an independent learner. Independence is also facilitated by offering children a long uninterrupted block of work time daily, freeing them to truly experience this independent learning style.

The development of organized work patterns in children.

One objective of the practical life area, the beginning point for every young child, is the development of organized work habits. This objective is an essential part of demonstrations for materials within that area. Children with disabilities who have a critical need to learn to be organized in their work habits and their use of time, benefit from this emphasis on organization.

The value of the classical Montessori demonstration.

Demonstrations themselves have value for the learner who experiences disabilities. A demonstration is precise, orderly, uses a minimum of language selected specifically for its relevance to the activity, and emphasizes an orderly progression of the task from beginning to the end. An equivalent to these precise demonstrations in the field of special education is task analysis, or discrete behavioral steps in an instructional chain leading to acquisition of a skill. Both special educators and Montessori teachers believe in breaking a task to be taught into precise steps.

The emphasis on and value of repetition within the Montessori environment.

Children with special needs typically require lots of practice and may make progress in small increments. Montessori philosophy recognizes that the amount of repetition needed varies from child to child and skill to skill. Therefore, flexibility in the amount of practice needed for each child and each skill occurs daily for all children.

Many Montessori materials have a built-in control of error.

Materials that have a built-in control of error benefit children with disabilities in the same way they do all children in a Montessori classroom. Because errors are obvious, children notice and correct them without the help of a teacher. Self-corrected errors are less likely to recur than errors that must be teacher corrected. Additionally, self-corrected errors provide the child with internal, rather than external (teacher) reinforcement. While internal reinforcement is not always an emphasis in special education, it is no less important for the child with special needs than the typically developing child.

Many academic materials provide the child with concrete representation of the abstract.

For children with disabilities, the use of concrete materials is critical to promoting real learning. Montessori classrooms offer a wide range of concrete materials children can learn from as a regular part of the curriculum. For example, the teen numbers are introduced to children concretely through the use of a golden ten bead bar and unit bead bars of 1-9. (Therefore, 11 is represented by 10 and 1.) This is especially helpful for many children with mental retardation or developmental delays.

Materials found within the sensorial area of the classroom are designed to develop and organize incoming sensory perceptions.

Materials found within the sensorial area develop and refine each sense in isolation. All other qualities of the materials are neutralized. For example the pink tower, a tower of ten pink cubes of increasing size, are all the same color and shape. Their only difference is size. The pink tower, through the isolation of the quality of size, develops visual discriminatory skills as the child orders the cubes. The importance of the sensorial area to children with sensory deficits is tremendous. The child who cannot see, for example, will benefit enormously from the many materials that train and refine the senses of touch, hearing, smell, etc.

Guess, D., Benson, H.A., & Siegel-Causey, E. (1985). Concepts and issues related to choice making and autonomy among persons with severe disabilities. Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, 10, (2), 79-86.

 

For additional information about the Montessori approach:

• Chattin-McNichols, J.(1992). The Montessori controversy. Albany, NY: Delmar Publishers.
• Lillard, Paula P. (1972). Montessori: A modern approach. New York: Schocken Books.
• Leoffler, M.(Ed.). (1992). Montessori in contemporary American culture. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Educational Books, Inc.
• Montessori Life, a quarterly journal from the American Montessori Society, 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011.