Scientific Pedagogy be Montessori - Book Report/Review Example

Chapter 1. What did Montessori mean by Scientific Pedagogy? (P2) Scientific Pedagogy refers to the system of teaching that emphasizes on scientific experiments with scientific materials. The pedagogy aims at offering learners sufficient exposure in the method of the experimental sciences. 2. What is required in the preparation of the teacher in this new approach to education? (P7) The teachers in the new approach, first of all, have to develop a scientific spirit and familiarize themselves with how to use the new instruments. For this, they need to train themselves how to move their hands and arms to use these instruments. Besides, they have to undergo an intellectual preparation to apply a series of tests. 3. What did Montessori mean by the free, natural manifestation of the child? (P15) By free, natural manifestation of the child, Montessori means that every child should have the freedom to express his spontaneous natural tendencies, and pursue his intuitions to contribute towards the school scientific pedagogy. 4. What did Montessori believe about prizes and punishment (P23) Montessori does not believe in the trifling attraction of prizes or in the fear perpetuated through punishment. On the other hand, he holds that great and victorious people are never spurred to their task by either prizes or punishments. Chapter 6 1. What is the collective lesson? How frequently does the collective lesson occur? (P107) Collective lesson refers to children learning the idea of collective order through disciplinary exercises that help them to discern both good and evil. According to Montessori, collective lessons should be very rare as they are of secondary importance. 2. What are characteristics of the lesson? (P108) The lesson should be characterized by brevity, simplicity, and objectivity. The lesson becomes more perfect when the teacher avoids useless words, becomes more objective, and sustains the interests of children. 3. What is the first task of the educator? (P115) The first task of the educator is to stimulate the life of children and allow them to develop and unfold on their own. 4. How is collective discipline exhibited in the Children’s House versus Public Schools? (P116) Collective discipline is obtained in the Children’s House very easily as children are specially trained to hold their peace and remain in absolute silence. Children remain obedient and follow the orders like anxious explorers. On the other hand, in public schools, commanding collective discipline in the classroom is a tedious task for the teacher as it is extremely difficult to establish harmony among diverse instruments and voices. 5. What is Montessori’s view on Child’s Psychology? (P117) Montessori’s view on Child’s Psychology emphasizes the need to make an interior conquest of the child as a human soul rather than trying to dominate him through force, artificiality or violence. He also asks to value child love and knowledge. Chapter 12 1. What is the purpose of the Montessori Sensorial Materials? (P167) The purpose of the Montessori Sensorial Materials is to educate the senses of children. Sensory materials are shown to children to understand their spontaneous reactions. 2. What difficulties are encountered in the selection of the didactic materials? (P171) Children learn to use the didactic materials on their own through errors. The child corrects himself and the teacher is not supposed to interfere in the learning process. The educational importance of didactic materials lies in their ability to trigger errors and once the child has mastered the use of a particular didactic material it becomes useless for him and is to be replaced with another. 3. What did Montessori believe was the aim of education? For Montessori, the aim of education is to perfect the child through his own efforts and he believes that each child has the capacity to indulge in repeated efforts to correct himself. 4. What is auto education and how does this relate to the challenge for the Montessori directress? (P172) Auto education refers to the process of auto-correction whereby the child educates himself by correcting his own errors. The role of the teacher is to observe more and teach less. Montessori, therefore, changes the name of the teacher to that of directress as the role of the teacher is that of a psychologist who directs the psychic activity of children. 5. What is the control of error for Montessori Sensorial materials? (P173) The control of error for Montessori Sensorial materials refers the self-learning process of the child where he controls and corrects the errors yielded by the didactic material. 6. Compare control of error in deficient and normal children. (P172) While normal children benefit from the control of error of the didactic materials it is doubtful whether deficient children will be able to educate themselves without the inference of the teacher. Normal children tend to repeat the exercises until they master them whereas deficient children may cease from doing so. 7. What is the personal art of the educator? The personal art of the educator refers to the quality and manner of the intervention of the educator, while guiding the spontaneous education of the child. 8. What are the three period lessons? (P176) The three period lessons are lessons aimed at teaching the child to distinguish and arrange the three pairs of colors-two reds, two blues, and two yellows. In the first period, a color spool is placed before the child and the child is asked to identify similar colored spool. The activity is repeated for the other colors as well. 9. What did Montessori mean by isolating the sense? (P179) By isolating the senses Montessori meant facilitating learning by focusing on a single sense of the child. For instance, an exercise on the sense of hearing becomes an exercise by isolating the sense when it is given in darkness so that the child is unable to use the other senses during the exercise. 10. What did Montessori mean by distribution of stimuli? (P184) Distribution of the stimuli means that the educator should start with more contrasting stimuli and then proceed to gradual differentiation through hardly noticeable stimuli. For instance, the educator can start with the longest and shortest rods and then proceed to rods with slight differences in length and size. Chapter 13 1. How does Montessori integrate the education of the senses, in particular the tactile sense, with practical life? (P185) Montessori integrates the education of the tactile sense with the practical life of the child. For instance, Montessori would teach the child the basic lessons of cleanliness by integrating it with the process involved in a regular bath. A child who learns to wash his hands, rinse and dry them gently learns important lessons of cleanliness. 2. For the tactile sense Montessori has designed materials, which isolate what qualities? (P186-187) The designed materials such as a rectangular wooden board divided into two equal rectangles with two different surfaces or water with varying temperature are aimed at teaching children to distinguish things without the help of sight through the tactile sense merely by feeling or touching it. Students gain the ability to differentiate between different surfaces, different temperatures, and gain sense of different weights. 3. What did Montessori mean by functional ambidexterity? (P189) By functional ambidexterity Montessori meant the ability of the child to recognize the objects through the tactile sense merely by feeling or touching it. In the given exercise the child could very easily distinguish the cubes from the bricks through the first light touch as she proceeded with the exercise. 4. Montessori comments that it is desirable “to have two of each” of the brown prisms, the pink cubes, and red rods. Why? Montessori states that it is desirable to have two of these sets in every school because the educator, using these prisms, cubes and reds, can very easily offer children useful insights on thickness, length and size. 5. With the quadrilateral prisms, what is the control of error? (P193) The control of error for the quadrilateral prisms is that the large cylinders cannot enter the small openings while taller ones will project beyond the block. The child may easily notice the mistake and rectify himself. 6. With the pink cubes. What is the control of error? (P194) The control of error is the irregularity of the tower as it goes up. A misplaced cube may prevent the child from making the right block and therefore it is important that the child places the largest cube as the base of the tower. 7. What is the purpose of placing the material at one carpet and moving them to another carpet? (P194) The purpose of the carpet is that children may have to kneel and rise may times during the process of building up the tower. 8. Are the same materials used with three, four, and five-year old children? (P194) The same materials can be used with three, four, and five-year old children. While the game is excellent for children of four or five years old, the process of constructing the tower is really attractive for children less than three years as they enjoy knocking down the cubes and building it up again. 9. Are there any hints that Montessori redesigned and experimented with the materials she designed? (P195) Yes, there are hints that Montessori redesigned and experimented with the materials she designed. Montessori experimented with normal children a number of experiments she had in his school for deficients. She admits that she excluded the plane geometric insets as a tool to the teaching of color with normal children after many trials. 10. What is the control of error in the geometric cabinet? (P196) The control of error in the geometric cabinet was the exactness of the geometric pieces with regard to their dimension and form. Chapter 14 1. In the first chapter, Montessori noted the focus of psychologists on the physical measurement of aspects of the child. She continues this theme in Chapter 14, noting her own direction. Explain her emphasis. (P215) Montessori points out that experimental psychology needs to focus more on preparing the individuals rather than perfecting the instruments. Similarly, she also observes that both the biological side (natural development of the individual) and the social side (preparing the individual for the environment) of education can be accomplished through the education of the senses. 2. Psychologists have traditionally balanced the nature versus nurture issue as it influences the development of the child. How does Montessori resolve this issue? (P215-216) Montessori observes that natural psychic and physical development of the child as well as adapting the individual to the environment are significant goals of education. While these two phases of education are interrelated Montessori offers a solution by purporting that the period of life between three and seven years is a time of physical development where the priority should be educating the senses. Montessori argues that once the child has developed his senses his attention will automatically be attracted to the environment. 3. What are Montessori’s long-term goals in the education of the senses? (P218-219) Montessori believes that the education of the senses will prepare the child for practical life while it also helps him to adapt to the present age of civilization. Montessori points out that a cook or a physician is unable to perform better in the practical life unless and until they master the education of the senses, the capacity to discriminate between sense stimuli. 4. Montessori also defines true beauty. How does she see aesthetics developed? (P221-222) Montessori argues that both sensory education and aesthetic education are related as true beauty lies in sensations and the capacity to appreciate fine differences in stimuli. Aesthetics is developed in harmony and to experience the aesthetic harmony of nature one needs to have a fineness of the senses. 5. In what way are refinement of the senses and intensity of sensory stimulation related? (P222) The intensity of the stimulation and the refinement of the senses are interrelated. Aesthetics is an appreciation of harmony and to experience the aesthetic harmony of nature one needs to have a fineness of the senses. The more refined a person’s senses are the more likely he is to enjoy the aesthetic harmony of nature. On the other hand, a person with coarse sense is likely to experience the beautiful world as narrow and barren. 6. What is the chief end (aim) of education for Montessori? (P223) The chief end of education for Montessori is to perfect and educate the development of child through both psycho-sensory exercises and psychomotor exercises. Read More