Abstract/Notes: Excerpt from The World in the Palm of Her Hand

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: This study examines life in a Montessori classroom, with special attention focused on spontaneous episodes of imaginary play. The goal is to better understand what is going on when children engage in imaginary play and how this play assists young learners in their development. This article examines three play episodes, each from a different area of the classroom. A link is established between the value of play in young children's learning and development and the ways in which young children make sense of and experience play in a Montessori classroom. The results of this study suggest that imaginary play occurs as a social activity embedded within interactions with friends. In particular, as children depict imaginary worlds while dialoguing with the materials, they practice interpersonal cooperation and role-taking skills. Although superheroes and pop stars were not invited into a Montessori school, the children found surrogates to express their feelings and needs, and they looked to their classmates in these little scenarios for an endorsement of their ideas.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: Imaginary play activities are not only enjoyable in their own right, but also offer clear intellectual, social, and emotional benefits to children who participate in them. This article describes the nature of imaginary play as observed in some Montessori classrooms and lays the groundwork for developing a position statement on imaginary play for the early childhood years. In view of prevailing research supporting the importance of pretend play in the child's overall development, the stage is set for an interchange of ideas on whether Montessori's original proposal to align imagination with the elementary curriculum still holds true, or if the time has come to realize that pretend play has something to offer early childhood classrooms.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: Teaching adults unlike educating children, is a difficult area, owing to the learners’ educational and social background, compounded by their expectations and assumed goals. Bearing in mind that learning and teaching strategies may not be equally effective with all learners, it is advisable to propose such a mode of teaching that would accommodate especially those adults who face difficulties with gaining knowledge, due to factors outside the strictly educational sphere. This is where, Maria Montessori’s pedagogy steps in with a proposal addressed at those persons who have so far failed to succeed in learning a foreign language in a traditional way. Her pedagogy has inspired teachers and educators all over the world and consequently, had a profound effect on the structure and quality of teaching until today. Although it has mainly dealt with educating children and young people until the age of 18, there have been attempts to apply her methodology to adult teaching. The author of this article will look at the ways her philosophy can be adopted in teaching adults, however to get a better perception of the nature of her ideas, some attention has to be drawn to what drove Maria Montessori to devoting her professional life to education.

Language: English

Published: Berlin, Germany: Springer International Publishing, 2021

ISBN: 978-3-030-57799-5

Series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing , 1266

Language: English

Language: English

Published: Dallas, Texas: American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 1986

Abstract/Notes: Based on lecture, Bangalore, 1996

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 1470-8647