American Montessori Early Childhood Teacher Education Program

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American Montessori Early Childhood Teacher
Education Program
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AMS (American Montessori Society)

• American Montessori Society (AMS) is founded
• in 1960 and has been the mainstream of the
  
• Montessori movement in the United States.
• It is a non-profit organization. Its mission is
  to encourage and support the use of the
  Montessori teaching approach in private and
  public schools.
• Today, AMS has more than 68 teacher training
  centers and a membership of more than 9,000 and
  over 900 member schools throughout the United
  States and internationally.
• Website www.amshq.org

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MACTE (Montessori Accreditation Council for
Teacher Education)

• MACTE is an international accrediting agency for
  accrediting educational institutions which offer
  Montessori teacher training programs.
• MACTE does not provide teacher training service.
• Website www.macte.org

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Montessori International Credential Program

• The Montessori Early Childhood Teacher Education
  program is comprised of 357 hours theory and 540
  hours practicum.
• The student works at the practicum site with an
  approved Supervising Teacher for a minimum of 3
  hours a day, 5 days a week for 9 consecutive
  months.
• The length of the practicum may be extended to
  provide additional experience and insure all
  standards and competencies for the practicum are
  met.

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Admission Requirement

• With Bachelors degree (Foreign transcripts of
  university degree must be evaluated by an outside
  agency to determine their equivalency to a United
  States degree) will receive Montessori Early
  Childhood Teacher Credential or
• With High School diploma will receive Associate
  Montessori Early Childhood Teacher Credential
• Interview

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Course Outline

• Academic Courses (357Hours) 
• Montessori Philosophy/Practical Life Curriculum -
  40 hrs
• Sensorial Curriculum - 40 hrs
• Language Arts Curriculum - 40 hrs
• Mathematics Curriculum - 56 hrs
• Cultural Curriculum (Geography, History, Botany
  Zoology) - 40 hrs
• Child Development and Observation 40 hrs
• Classroom Leadership - 16 hrs
• Art - 16 hrs
• Music Movement Curriculum 16 hrs
• Child, Family and Community 45 hrs
• Administration 8 hrs
• Practicum (540 Hours/9 months)
• Minimum 3 hours per day
• 5 days per week for 9 consecutive months

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AMS Early Childhood Credential
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History of Montessori

• Dr. Maria Montessori, the founder of the
  Montessori Method, graduated from the medical
  school of the University of Rome in 1896, and was
  the first woman to practice medicine in Italy.
• In her work at the University of Rome's
  psychiatric clinic, Dr. Montessori developed an
  interest in the treatment of mentally-disable
  children for several years and became the
  director of a school for mentally-disabled
  children. After two years under her guidance,
  these children, who formerly had been considered
  in-educable, took a school examination along with
  normal children and passed successfully.

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History of Montessori

• In 1907, Dr. Montessori was asked to take charge
  of fifty children from the poor area of the San
  Lorenzo in the city of Rome. Through scientific
  observation, she came to see how children
  interacted with one another, learned through the
  use of materials she provided, and went through
  specific phases of development.
• Her approach to education was developed based on
  her observations, in collaboration with her
  background in psychology and her belief in the
  education of children as a means to create a
  better society.

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Montessori Philosophy

• A view of children as competent beings capable of
  self-directed learning.
• Children learn in a distinctly different way from
  adults.
• A belief in the "absorbent mind", that children
  from birth to age 6 possess limitless motivation
  to achieve competence within their environment
  and to perfect skills and understandings. This
  phenomenon is characterized by the young child's
  capacity for repetition of activities within
  their sensitive periods.
• The child is auto-educated. The Montessori
  teacher does not teach, but rather provides
  experiences for the child to construct knowledge
  and mental images.

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Montessori Philosophy

• Children are masters of their environment, which
  has been specifically prepared for them to be
  comfortable, secure, and allow a maximum amount
  of independence.
• Children learn through discovery, so materials
  that are self-correcting are used as much as
  possible.
• The child comes to know the world through the
  senses. The curriculum area of sensorial in the
  Montessori classroom aids the child in the
  development and refinement of the senses and the
  many manipulative materials in the classroom
  allows the child to explore and learn.

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Montessori Philosophy

• The child learns that which is of personal
  interest. Therefore, it is important for the
  child to have freedom to select activities that
  are highly interesting.
• The child repeats activities until they are fully
  mastered. The Montessori class schedule has long,
  uninterrupted times in the morning and in the
  afternoon for the child to concentrate on
  activities.
• The child is orderly and focused. The Montessori
  classroom is calm, respectful and peaceful. This
  meets the child's inner need for concentration.
  The Montessori classroom is orderly and
  encourages the child to maintain an orderly
  environment.

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The Montessori Teacher

• The role of a Montessori teacher is one of guide
  and observer, whose ultimate goal is to intervene
  less and less as the child develops.
• The teacher builds a calm, orderly and joyful
  environment in the classroom and encourages the
  children in all their efforts, thus promoting
  self-confidence and discipline.
• With the younger children at each level, the
  teacher is more active, demonstrating the use of
  materials and presenting activities based on an
  assessment of the child's needs.

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Montessori Classroom

• The Montessori classroom is a prepared
  environment that provides an atmosphere which is
  pleasant and attractive to allow children to
  learn at their own pace and interact with others
  in a natural and peaceful environment.
• The classrooms usually stock with nature shelves,
  living plants and small pets, or perhaps a window
  sill garden, allowing children to experience as
  much of the natural world as possible.
• The Montessori schools ideally adhere to the
  three-year age range of children to encourage an
  interactive social and learning environment. This
  system allows flexibility in learning pace and
  allowing older children to become teachers by
  sharing what they have learned.

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The Montessori Materials

• Every Montessori material has its place in the
  classroom and is self-contained and
  self-correcting.
• Every material is specific in design, conforming
  to exact dimensions, and each activity is
  designed to focus on a single skill, concept, or
  exercise.
• The materials initially used to allow the child
  to analyze sense impressions are also designed to
  improve fine motor coordination needed for
  writing.

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The Montessori Materials

• All materials are child-sized, clean, attractive
  and preferably made of natural materials such as
  glass or wood, rather than plastic.
• For example, sponges, brooms ,and dustpans are
  provided and accidents, including broken
  glassware, are treated as an opportunity for the
  children to demonstrate responsibility by
  cleaning up after themselves.

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Practical Life Curriculum

• Refinement of movement large and small muscle
• Eye-hand coordination, concentration, order
• Preparation for writing
• Ground rules
• Grace and courtesy (manners)
• Care of the person - independence
• Care of the environment
• Food preparation

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Sensorial Curriculum

• Development and refinement of the five senses
  seeing, touching, smelling, tasting and hearing
• Preparation for mathematics and language

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Math Curriculum

• The development of mathematical concepts/skills
• Introduction to numeration (1-10)
• The relationship of symbol and quantity
• Concept of concrete and abstract
• The decimal system and their functions
• Memorization of the facts

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Language Arts Curriculum

• The development of language arts skills and
  concepts
• Receptive (listening) and expressive (talking)
  language experiences
• Visual and auditory perceptual experiences
• Vocabulary and enrichment

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Cultural Curriculum

• Geography - land and water forms, globes, maps,
  flags, multicultural awareness
• History - time, calendar, seasons, personal
  family history
• Botany parts of the plants, flowers, seeds,
  fruits, leaves
• Zoology parts of the animals

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Art, Music Movement Curriculum

• The development of art concepts and skills in
  two-dimensional art activities (easel or table),
  three-dimensional art activities, art
  appreciation and art history.
• The development of music concepts and skills,
  singing skills, instrumental skills, music
  appreciation and history.
• The development of movement concepts and skills
  body awareness, basic skills (loco-motor,
  stationary games), line activities.