Like the most innovative organizations in the world, Montessori schools are not handcuffed by the traditional educational structures that have held schools back.
As we move into an unpredictable future, it is becoming more apparent that we need to foster innovation and creativity in children rather than expecting them to conform to predetermined standards. Montessori education has been doing this for more than a century with great success. Read on to find five Montessori school innovations that align to produce some of the world’s most creative and divergent thinkers.
Dedicating Time for Creative Projects
Every week Montessori students meet in small groups to work on various community projects. The projects may include papermaking, composting, school comic writing, sports lessons for the younger years, and much more. Through these innovative projects, Montessori students learn valuable 21st-century skills that are difficult to replicate in the traditional classroom. They learn to resolve conflict, effective time management, coordinate group tasks, and make good decisions.
Rewarding Innovation and Divergent Ideas
Montessori teaching largely involves the encouragement of divergent ideas. In uninterrupted three-hour work cycles, the students are free to pursue tasks they want to personally extend. During these innovative hours, students scramble to create inventions of their own.
Preparing for Failure
In an educational culture of high-stakes tests and class ranks, it is difficult for traditional schools to prepare children for failure. They fear it will degrade the quality of work and might mitigate the students’ chances of achieving success in the future. The most innovative schools and educational institutions believe the opposite to be true. By preparing children for failure, Montessori schools create the conditions for success.
Measuring What Matters Most
The most innovative organizations don’t use an outdated system to measure performance in the 21st century. They know that the best results are achieved through an environment that values collaboration and a culture of continual feedback. Montessori learning values collaboration and anyone in the classroom can serve as a teacher. Older students can introduce younger children to math concepts they learned the prior year and young children assist older children in concepts they may have learned outside of school.
Inducing Internal Motivation
In Montessori classrooms, the students are not offered external rewards. The same innovation goes for traditional assessment methods and grading systems. Montessori teachers want children to tap into their drives and desires. They teach children to explore their world and trust their path. As Montessori teachers, they don’t consider themselves teachers in the traditional sense, but more as guides who support children as they find their own way.
The above innovations of Montessori teaching and learning are considered to be the holy grail of modern-day education.
