HOW A CHILD LEARNS EFFECTIVELY
INDUSTRY INSIGHT
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
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HOW A CHILD LEARNS EFFECTIVELY
Brain research has shown that when children in their formative years are given opportunities to see , touch , and explore a concept , it enriches their learning process , fires more neural connections and uses all areas of their “ growing brain .” “ Brain neurons that fire together , wire together .” — Sousa The importance of the hand is at the heart of Montessori education . Montessori strongly felt that the hand and the brain must develop in harmony . The hand reports to the brain , the brain guides the hand , and the cycle continues , resulting in the development of the intellect . Manipulatives are ubiquitous in many math programs , but their efficiency for learning may be inconsistent . In a Montessori classroom , there is a vast array of inviting , color-coded , sequential , and geometrically designed materials . Lessons are scaffold , explicit in instruction , and move from the concrete to the abstract .
A prime example would be the “ number rods ,” one of the earliest materials to teach counting and the order of numbers . The three-year-old is given the opportunity to see , feel , and assemble numbers from 1 to 10 . The child experiences that the longest rod is 10 times as long and 10 times as heavy as the one rod , that five rods is half the length … and so on , recognizing and experiencing the idea of quantity as a whole . The rods are all perceptually identical ( color , texture , thickness ) except for the relevant attributes ( number of segments and length ).
Let ’ s consider the basis of our numerical system : the decimal system , which is presented graphically and sensorial to the child . Units are represented with a single golden bead . A 10 is a bar of 10 beads strung together , hundreds are squares made up of ten bars , and a thousand is a cube comprised of 10 hundred squares . Each is barically weighted . A child holding a unit bead in one hand , and a thousand cube in the other is given a sensory impression in contrast to a one-dimensional picture of a worksheet . Using this material for operations in math such as addition and multiplication , the child internalizes how the process works .
The hands-on math materials spiral in sophistication and complexity in the elementary classroom spurred by “ History of Math ,” one of the Five Great Lessons . In the lower elementary class , students are immersed in math , learning 2 and 3 digit multiplication into the millions , finding equivalent fractions by superimposing tiles , moving into more complex mathematics such as geometry and algebra , and creating their own math portfolio . Children develop a strong work ethic and a love for math , while working collaboratively with their multi-aged peers . To my last piece of material ( in the 6-9 year old classroom ) This piece of material is used primarily to teach division , and the process of division . Imagine working with a partner dividing 34,786 by 34 … one child is responsible for the share of tens , while the partner then does the distribution of ones alternatively . The concentration , the teamwork , the process , and the dialogue between the children is always amazing to hear and watch – moving from the concrete to the abstract .
The brain is a muscle that needs to be used , each part a specialist : the visual , the auditory , the language – all subsets that are hard wired from birth , but when you use all of them together you are creating a multiplicity of complex synaptic connections between brain cells , producing an intricate architecture of neural networks that lead to higher thinking and problem solving .
Montessori materials in all subject areas engage all four lobes of the cerebrum simultaneously . These materials promote active learning and discovery , and have a feedback of self-monitoring and correcting . The materials and prescriptive lessons stimulate the learning process and enhance long-term retention for the students . I see it , I hear it , I feel it , I do it … now I understand . As Eric Jensen states , “ If learning is what we value , then we ought to value the process of learning as much as the result of learning .”
Fiona Guiser is a teacher in a 6-9 year old classroom at the Montessori Centre Academy in Glenshaw .
Hampton | Fall 2016 | icmags . com 25