The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Monthly Archives: September 2017

How do you think?

29 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers, Wilmington Montessori School

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concept development, math, problem solving, skill development, subtraction, thinking, upper elementary

9-12 math graphingOver the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of working with some fourth- and fifth-grade students to learn more about their mathematical thinking. It has been fun and informative. I am an “old dog” and resort to my “old tricks,” so hearing some of their approaches to solving a math problem was nothing short of enlightening.

As we looked at various problems, I learned so many ways to solve them. For example, when given the problem 1000-998, one student did the following: 1000-900=100; 100-90=10; 10-8=2. Another approached it in a similar fashion, saying 900+100=1000; 100-98 =2. And yet another student counted up from 998 to 1000, realizing that they only had to count up 2 numbers. Each student arrived at the correct answer; each answer was the result of a different approach. They explained their thinking, and it was as varied as they are.

The thing that fascinates me about this is that when I was a student in upper elementary school, there was only one way to approach that problem: you set it up vertically, canceled the zeroes, borrowing from each previous digit and arrived at the solution of 2. There you have it! There was one way to do it and one correct answer. For everyone. No leeway allowed. And, boy, could those zeroes be tricky. Continue reading →

The Definition of Success

21 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education, Teachers

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assessment, creativity, learner outcomes, learning, learning styles, montessori, problem solving, standardized testing, success, teaching, yong zhao

Screen Shot 2017-09-21 at 8.17.07 PMAssessments are performed at the beginning of each school year. Teachers use them to determine what children remember after a long summer, which skills are strong and where additional support might be needed. Most of the assessments are measured against the “norm,” or the average student of that grade or age. When the results are favorable, the student is deemed to be on the right path; when they are less than optimal, it is determined what skills are lacking and what help is needed to reach that benchmark or average. Though this information may be useful in determining an instructional path for the development of specific skills, it cannot serve as the guiding force for learning. Continue reading →

Nurturing Creativity in Schools

14 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Montessori Education

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creativity, diane ackerman, education, learning, neuroscience, schools

creativity.pngCreativity of thought and action is something that is regaled in our society. Have you thought about what allows creativity to blossom? Where it comes from? How it is nurtured?

Diane Ackerman is a recognized author of books and essays about the natural world and human nature. In her latest book, One Hundred Names for Love, she has written about her husband’s stroke that robbed him of his ability to speak. They were a couple whose lives centered around language and words. The book shares their journey, and also Diane’s approach, which moved beyond the conventional path followed by others in similar situations. She was forced to employ creativity.

In the throes of creativity, a lively brain tussles with a mass of memories and rich stores of knowledge, attacking them both sub rosa and with the mind wide open. Some it incubates offstage until a fully fledged insight wings into view. The rest it consciously rigs, rotates, kneads, and otherwise plays with until a novel solution emerges. Only by fumbling with countless bits of knowledge, and then ignoring most of it, does a creative mind craft something original. For that, far more than the language areas of the brain are involved. Hand-me-down ideas won’t do. So conventions must be flouted, risks taken, possibilities freely spigoted, ideas elaborated, problems redefined, daydreaming encouraged, curiosity followed down zig-zagging alleyways. Any sort of unconsidered trifle may be fair game. It’s child’s play. Literally. Not a gift given to an elect few, but a widespread, natural, human way of knowing the world. With the best intentions, our schools and society bash most of it out of us. Fortunately, it’s so strong in some of us that it endures. As neuroscientist Floyd Bloom observes: ‘Schools place an overwhelming emphasis on teaching children to solve problems correctly, not creatively. This skewed system dominates our first twenty years of life: tests, grades, college admissions, degrees, and job placements demand and reward targeted logical thinking, factual competence, and language and math skills — all purveys of the left brain.’ (245)

OBash the Trash - Noel - 13ur children deserve a rich and creative environment. School’s purpose is not to squelch the desire to imagine, play with ideas, learn and question. It is precisely the opposite.

As we begin another school year, our obligation to the children we serve is to allow and further the creative spirit of which Ms. Ackerman speaks – to encourage “a lively brain that tussles with a mass of memories, and rich stores of knowledge.” It is creativity that has led us to places we never thought possible and may take for granted today. And it is creativity that will continue to lead us to solutions of problems that have eluded us so far.

Redefining School

07 Thursday Sep 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning

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curiosity, learners, learning, learning profiles, lifelong learning, school

sheep-brains-1.jpg

As another school year begins, it makes me think more about the purpose school serves in our lives and in societies throughout the world. Most everyone reading this post has attended school and knows what that means to them personally. If asked, would we all have the same definition of school? Does it have the same meaning for a 2-year-old as a 12- or 20-year-old? Does it serve the same purpose for us no matter our age or station in life? What do we expect from school?

Many would define school as the brick-and-mortar building where children go to learn. It houses children who are educated so that they may contribute to society as they grow older. School is a place, and what is supposed to happen there is learning. This limited definition of school assumes that students of any age will learn what they need to learn in this space and in a specifically allocated amount of time. It assumes we are all able to meet mandated goals in the same way and along the same trajectory.  Continue reading →

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