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Unboxing Montessori in the primary years
Last week I ventured into the attic and rediscovered my Montessori teacher training files in several boxes. The weight of these boxes made me reflect on the extensive nature of the training. In addition to the many, many notes and files on the Montessori materials, on curriculum design, pedagogical theory, classroom practice, I also found photographs. These images brought back some wonderful memories of children enjoying their Montessori Primary school.
There’s a popular understanding of Montessori education as a nursery pedagogy, and indeed the majority of Montessori settings in the UK cater for the early years, namely 3-6 years of age. But there are many international examples of exemplary Montessori Primary (or elementary) provision and practice around the globe. There are only a handful of Montessori Primary schools in the UK and they do things differently. I want to use this blog to share my reflections on some of the key features of this pedagogy for children aged 6+.
Mixed age classes
An important feature of a Montessori environment is the mixed age classes. In Primary, children are grouped in classes for 6-9 and 9-12 years of age. Akin to many small schools where traditional academic ‘years’ are in mixed classes, this allows younger students the stimulation of older children, who in turn benefit from serving as role models. These learning environments are meant to mimic the family or workplace environment, where members are different ages, have diverse skill sets, and varying needs.
Didactic teaching materials
Specific learning resources are as key to the Montessori Primary years as they are to early childhood. Manipulatives for learning arithmetic operations, parts of speech, geometric equations, timelines, taxonomic classification of organisms and physical geography are just some of the rich resources to be found in a Montessori Primary classroom.
These appealing materials are carefully maintained, enticingly presented and always accessible and available. Additionally, a distinctive feature is that if you walk into any authentic Montessori classroom anywhere in the world, the materials will be the same, or very similar. At the same time, the presentation of the materials and supplementary materials are culturally specific and contextual, but the core resources are the same and have stood the test of time.
In the Primary years, these extensive resources for literacy, numeracy, geometry, botany, history and geography are complemented by ‘The Great Lessons’. The five stories told to a class offer brilliant inspiration and jumping off points for cross-curricular learning.
Agency and Autonomy
One of the tenets of Montessori education that first struck me as a trainee teacher was the independence and autonomy that was encouraged in young learners. In the Primary years, this took many forms. Children managed their own work across the week on individual programmes of study. They also expressed their agency in the choices of activities they made, and I witnessed their growing sense of efficacy and responsibility and accountability for their choices.
For me this generates many questions about approaches to education: whose curriculum are we working with? At whose pace? Where is the locus of control in the choices that children are afforded and make?
No one can be free unless he is independent. Therefore, the first active manifestations of the child’s individual liberty must be so guided that through this activity he may arrive at independence.
Impact of Movement on Learning
A linked feature of these schools is children’s freedom to move around the classroom space, to select their activities from open shelves and to choose where to work: either at a desk or on mats on the floor. This liberty to move supports self-determination. Lillard (2016) has written at length about the impact of moving around the classroom on learning, drawing on contemporary research about ‘embodied cognition’, and concludes that Montessori’s approach to respect for movement leads to profound, positive learning outcomes.
Role of the adult
Montessori teachers are the dynamic link between children and the Prepared Environment. In the Primary years, they are known as ‘enlightened generalists’. The art of engaging children is at the heart of the Montessori elementary classroom. Captivating interest is the key to motivating further exploration, practice, and mastery. Inspiring the children to connect to knowledge and skills, she fosters work in the classroom by presenting a wide range of stories and lessons.
There are many other features of this pedagogy to explore and I hope to be able share and interrogate these over the coming months. Unpacking this approach to education in the twenty first century is clearly a larger and an ongoing task and one of the priorities of the International Montessori Institute. Please join our mailing list and we will send further details or follow us on Twitter @Montessori_LBU
Dr Nathan Archer
Nathan Archer is Director of the International Montessori Institute in the Carnegie School of Education. Prior to joining Leeds Beckett University in March 2022, he worked as a research fellow for University of Leeds and Nuffield Foundation.
