Before getting into the MSc OT, I was a Montessori guide and used to teach in primary schools in Italy. There is no doubt that the Montessori chapter of my life has had a huge impact on the therapist I am becoming: the mere choice to become an OT was triggered by a Montessori specialization course and the many pediatric OTs attending with teachers there.
To me, the Montessori methodology and the principles that underpin the Montessori practice in these schools share a lot in terms of goals, strategies, structures, and approaches with what OTs are doing every day in the therapeutic setting and research. Surprisingly though, "Montessori Therapy" is still relatively unknown and not many people from one field know much about the other. Personally, I think there is a missing dialogue that, if enhanced, would impressively grow our knowledge.
So, what would be some Montessori facts that both an Occupational Therapist and a Montessori teacher would love?
Help me do it myself: This is probably the most iconic aspect of Montessori education. In Montessori schools, the work of the teacher is to facilitate autoeducation, i.e. helping children to learn autonomously; it does not mean leaving the children alone. Rather it means to observe the child, their behavior, and their interest and either respect their choice of activities or help them choose if they cannot find something that attracts them. We believe that the child has an inner teacher that guides their learning in a natural, spontaneous way and that the best thing we can do is help the child follow this inner teacher. Basically, we would never ask a whole group of children to undergo the same activity, give them the same amount of time or decide for us what book they should read. We would allow them to decide and help them in their decision by providing instructions if required, materials, space, or psychological support. Does it sound quite similar to what we OTs call Person-Centerd practice, right?! I can easily see every pediatric (and non) OTs love this principle and expressively say that yes, we do it all the time!
Autocorrection: This is one of the key aspects of the Montessori materials. When Maria Montessori designed her famous Material of Development, she paid attention to a lot of qualities, like colors, textures, beauty, or weight. Those materials are the physical representation of children's representation of reality: in other words, how a child imagines numbers, so they are made real in the Montessori material. These materials are, most of the time, autocorrective. In other words, when a child works with one of these materials, there is the chance of mistakes but, as he reaches the end of the activity, the material will show the child that something is not quite right; thus, the child will work on a correction by their own. No external evaluation, judgment, or comment by teachers is required: they work out the error and correct it autonomously. For example, let's talk about the iconic Pink Tower. The aim of the activity is to stack 10 cubes on top of each other, from the largest to the smallest. They are all cubes, all pink, and the only thing that changes is the side length. Now, let's imagine the child, by mistake, allocate the 10th, 9th, and then the 7th cube, and so on, until the end of the tower. They will remain with the 8th forgotten cube that cannot clearly go over the 1st, as the 1st is too small to maintain the bigger 8th in balance and the tower would fall down. It is clear to the child that the 8th cube should have gone somewhere and has been forgotten. He will then put down some of the tower and find the right place for each cube. By doing so, the child is working through their own insight and producing active learning. The 2 benefits of this strategy are first, the children take their own responsibility for the quality of their work, being proud of the achieved results; the correction resembles more a successful investigation than a boring repetition. Second, there is no shame, the child is never put in a situation in which unpleasant feelings are associated with the improvement of their work, because of teachers' comments or evaluations. It is really about focusing on the learning process rather than on the results. I think many OTs do feel this is also their own practice, where the therapeutic process is the real focus of attention, much more of later results.
Meaningful learning space: The classroom environment is tremendously important in Montessori schools. These schools are actually quite famous for their iconic and peculiar physical setting, made of small furniture, a lot of plants, flowers, and light, materials organized everywhere in the room, and a strong resemblance to a domestic environment. When we organize the classroom, we pay attention to many aspects of it: is there enough light? can they reach materials on their own? is it clean and tidy? is there a variety of spaces, either for quiet, individual work and for group discussion? Do we have access to the garden? Now, we pay so much attention to the classroom environment because we believe that children absorb knowledge about the real world from the surrounding environment: a good, rich, and stimulating environment will give them chance to thrive, while a poor, non-organized one will hinder their development. Similarly, OTs address the environment as one of the key elements that would impact the ability to undergo meaningful occupation in a patient. We assess their kitchen, their bathrooms, and their house in general, and when it is required, we suggest adaptations and modifications. When it comes to children, we may visit their school and suggest modifications in the classroom. Also, the vast majority of the Occupational Therapy models analyze the environment as a key component of occupation performance, recognizing the huge impact it can have on what we are able to do.
Do not help a child that is confident to succeed on their own: This was not easy for me to learn, as I really tend to step into situations. But actually, it is a great lesson. To say it simply, if a child does not ask for help, you do not help; if a child believes they can succeed, you believe they can succeed. Help must be ready all the time, but given only if requested. The reasons behind this principle are basically 2. First of all, by helping a child that does not ask for help, we are sending a clear message that says "I think you cannot succeed", undermining the self-confidence of the child, and discouraging them to try. In addition, we prevent them from listening at their own intuit and learning actively, because we are actually distracting them. So, what are we supposed to do? sit in a place in which you do not cause any nuisance to the child's concentration and discretely observe. You will learn a lot about the way that child is working, understanding a lot of their psychological progress. And, if help is required, they will see you and will come to you asking for help. Then, you can help them. It sounds tough and, believe me, it is! I often get worried or impatient as I do want the child to succeed. But really, this is about trusting the child and the fact that they will succeed. As a future OT, I do think that the very first thought at the origin of the Occupational Therapy process is about being confident, almost having faith, that the person will be able to achieve meaningful goals. Without this confidence, we wouldn't be able to do the job that we do.
Global Citizenship: lastly, a slightly more philosophical aspect of the Montessori methodology. Maria Montessori was born in Italy but, during her life, she traveled around the world, lived over a decade in India, and spent the last part of her life in the Netherlands. Visiting so many places and talking to so many different people had a tremendous impact on her philosophy. Also, she was part of the Theosophical Society and included much of it in her work. As a result of all these experiences, she eventually formulated a unique, touching aim for education. From her perspective, all the work that we do with children about reading, numeracy, respect for the environment, knowledge of history, and so on, must lead to the achievement by the child of a Global Citizenship i.e. a sense of responsibility that goes beyond ones own marks, and looks at the whole world, at the entire human population. It means that each of us would take responsibility for what happens and take steps towards improvements. Now, the Occupational Therapists' community addresses a lot of social problems, talking quite politically sometimes. By doing so, we embrace our own Global Citizenship and the responsibility that comes with it and encourage others to do the same. Because, at the very end of the day, Occupational Therapy is pretty much about this: taking each of us the steps that we can to achieve e better, more inclusive, and fairer world.
Well, after having written this post, I must admit I now see even more potential in what we could achieve within a conversation between Montessori practitioners and Occupational therapists. Am I biased? Of course, I am! I love both of the parties deeply. But I do think there is room for research, growth in knowledge, and the beginning of an extraordinary positive alliance. I am just too excited to see where it would lead us.
"I beg the dear, all-powerful children to join me in creating peace in man and in the world." (Maria Montessori)
References
De Stefano, C. and Conti, G. (2022) The child is the teacher: a life of Maria Montessori. New York, NY: Other Press LLC.
Lillard, A. S. (2016) Montessori: The Science Behind the Genius. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Incorporated.
Pickering, J. S. et al. (2019) Montessori strategies for children with learning differences : the MACAR model (Montessori Applied to Children At Risk). Santa Rosa, California: Parent Child Press.
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