This segment “Did you know?”, highlights facts about the Montessori philosophy, Montessori materials or curriculum, and Princeton Montessori School. These short entries in the online newsletter are meant to give insight into components of your child’s experience that you otherwise would not know.
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Did you Know?
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Multiage classrooms enhance learning
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Did you know… Multiage classrooms of children sharing a developmental stage of childhood enhance learning.
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What it is: Dr. Montessori designed her schools to have learning environments for three year age spans that share a developmental stage of childhood so that children would have immediate social and academic role models, and to reflect a more natural learning setting, where children move at their own pace and not lock step with others their age.
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How it works: Children new to a program enter the environment needing assurance and support. They learn partially by watching older children use materials, work independently, care for the environment, and use language to express their ideas, needs, and grace and courtesy. Older children serve as teachers, role models, and helpers, gaining leadership skills and solidifying their own understanding. As the adage goes, “The highest form of learning is teaching.” When we teach what we know, we reinforce our own knowledge.
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Why it matters: Research shows that multi age classrooms increase harmony and nurturing among students, that children develop a stronger vocabulary more rapidly, and fewer children are isolated socially. We know teaching is the highest form of learning, so peer to peer teaching and coaching solidifies knowledge for the child instructing. Interest in learning is peaked in younger children when they see older children modeling learning and class work.
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Resource: http://sites.psu.edu/jrre/wp-content/uploads/sites/6347/2014/02/3-3_3.pdf
