The Montessori Message

The Montessori Message

Tag Archives: creativity

It’s All Academic

20 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning, Montessori Education

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baking, creativity, holidays, learning, Maria Montessori, performance, practical life, sewing

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Heather Siple-winter concert-15 (1)
Heather Siple-winter concert-19

In schools at this time of year, children are often found doing things out of their typical routine – preparing for a show, baking or cooking, sewing, creating an art or craft project, wrapping gifts to be shared with others, or sending a note to a special friend, to name a few. They eagerly approach many of these tasks, enjoying the variety from typical school-day assignments and lessons.

As we continue to learn more about how we learn and how the brain engages when learning and performing novel tasks, we are reminded about how important it is to go beyond books, lectures and typical school assignments. As students prepare sets for the stage, learn how to run the lights, or cue the songs, they are learning so much about how to integrate technology to support the performers, how to juggle multiple responsibilities and how to work to support others. When baking, cooking and sewing, measurement and fractions reign supreme. You can’t do these things without math. The creativity involved in these tasks is crucial for the brain’s involvement in consolidating information learned in other domains.

Maria Montessori somehow knew, long before fMRI, through her education as a doctor and her observation of children, that children need to experience learning in many ways. Montessori classrooms are equipped with opportunities to go beyond what is contained in a typical school environment. From toddlers through high school, Montessori students are offered opportunities to go beyond the typical educational experience. Learning is an opportunity that exists in all forms and lasts a lifetime.

Do You Want to Learn?

14 Thursday Feb 2019

Posted by Lisa Lalama in 21st century learning, Learning, learning environment, Montessori Education, Schools of the Future

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creativity, engaged learners, engagement, freedom, independence, learning environment, maira kalman, montessori, school, standardization, Wynton Marsalis

If you want to learn something, I can’t stop you. If you don’t want to learn it, I cannot teach you.

– Wynton Marsalis

Heather Siple-First Day-Rm19-1As I listened to this podcast about creativity, I not only learned a great deal about the lives of a variety of people we would all consider to be creative in very different ways, I was inspired to apply these ideas and experiences to education and children’s school experiences.

At the same time, in talking to a teacher who was attending classes to become a certified Montessori teacher, she shared the idea presented that small class sizes can be detrimental to the idea of children gaining independence. The thinking is that in order to become independent, make the best decisions and learn from mistakes, it is important to have freedom. Children need freedom from adults watching every move they make. They need space for experimentation, for creativity to allow growth in ways they can’t experience if all they know is the “right” way to do things and the rewards are established by someone else, either a person or institution. We need to establish environments that allow students to set their own goals and assess their progress using criteria that continue to evolve through various iterations of a project or assignment. If we don’t allow for this process, students will struggle to become independent and make decisions throughout life. 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.

Shhh… Quiet

09 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Lisa Lalama in Learning

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

creativity, introverts, learning, NAIS, quiet, susan cain

quiet.png

The last place you might expect to find a person who identifies strongly as an introvert is on a stage in front of more than 5,000 people. Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, often finds herself in this position as she shares her message about life as an introvert. Listening to her speak to a large group, 80% of whom raised their hands when asked if they think they are introverts, was fascinating. Cain blends personal stories with research and strategies for introverts and extroverts alike.

One of the things that is of particular interest is her connection between the need for solitude and creativity. Schools and workplaces have worked to provide spaces for collaboration and teamwork; they also need to provide space for us to work quietly, to think and to let our minds wander. We keep hearing that the world of the future will require us to be able to get along well with others, work on a team and manage well in groups. It is also believed that we need to innovate and look for solutions to problems other than those that are obvious. How does this happen? Where will those ideas come from? How will we add meaning to a group or a creative process? How many of your good ideas have come to you while in the shower or driving? Perhaps it is the quiet that allows these ideas to percolate to the surface.

21st-Century Skills (Part 8)

02 Monday Mar 2015

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

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21st-century, 21st-century skills, artistry, arts, creativity, engaged learners, hands-on learning, innovation, montessori, self-expression, STEAM, teachers, Wilmington Montessori, Wilmington Montessori School

Toddler Maker Faire18Creativity, Artistry, Imagination, Innovation, Personal Expression

As we wind up this series on 21st-century learning, it is time to consider the skills at the forefront of discussion when most people think about this topic – the goals of innovation and creativity. Employers want them, and schools work hard to “teach” these skills. Montessori education leads the way in this respect. At WMS, classrooms are set up to allow personal expression to flourish and creative experiences abound. Learning is student directed, not teacher directed.

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