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Bassett
Dr.
Holcomb
Curriculum
Development
March
20,
2014
Montessori
and
American
Secondary
Music
Program
Montessori
is
one
of
the
many
approaches
to
education
found
around
the
of
the
student
(What
is
Montessori
Education?).
In
these
planes
all
students
in
that
group
are
in
a
classroom
together.
So
not
only
are
they
learning
together,
but
they
are
also
learning
and
teaching
one
another.
In
any
given
plane,
an
older
student
may
help
a
younger
student
with
a
concept
they
have
already
mastered.
Not
only
does
this
help
the
younger
student
learn,
but
the
older
students
knowledge
is
being
reinforced
by
assisting
the
younger
student.
The
two
are
also
building
their
social
skills
at
the
same
time.
A
large
portion
of
what
a
Montessori
education
does,
is
encouraging
a
student
not
only
to
work
with
one
another,
but
to
facilitate
more
than
one
area
of
growth
or
subject
at
a
time.
For
instance,
a
student
might
have
a
question
in
a
math
classroom,
but
will
ask
the
question
of
the
teacher
in
French
in
order
to
work
on
both
his
math
skills
and
his
foreign
language
communication
skills.
Many
secondary
music
classrooms
are
like
the
Montessori
Plans,
because
many
places
the
Choir,
Band,
Orchestra,
and
sometime
even
general
music,
are
a
combination
of
many
grade
levels,
all
working
together
to
learn
and
grow.
The
students
who
have
been
in
the
ensemble
longer
tend
to
lead
the
newer
members,
and
help
them
out.
In
ways,,,
Montessori
is
like
Critical
Pedagogy.
Both
are
student
centered
learning,
in
which
the
students
learn
from
doing
and
from
those
experiences
learning.
Critical
Pedagogys
reciprocal
teaching
is
seen
in
Montessori,
not
just
between
students
and
teachers,
but
in
Montessori
between
younger
and
older
students.
Upon first glance a secondary Montessori classroom would look very similar
The twelve to eighteen year old plane is also known as Erdkinder. Erdkinder
entrance
to
middle
school
through
to
high
school
graduation.
This
time
corresponds
to
adolescence
for
the
students.
arduous yet exciting adventure where the adolescent tries to find his or
Throughout
these
years,
the
goal
is
for
the
student
to
discover
and
come
into
their
own
person,
and
figure
out
how
they
fit
into
the
greater
society.
As
part
of
the
Land
Children
phase,
it
is
also
encouraged
that
students
spend
a
period
of
time
in
the
country,
away
from
their
environments
and
families.
During
this
time,
students
study
civilization
from
its
origins
in
agriculture.
Students
are
encouraged
to
open
a
shop
where
they
can
sell
the
products
they
produce,
as
a
study
in
economics,
in
addition
to
their
other
studies,
of
math,
language
arts,
history,
science,
and
times
of
personal
reflection
(Montessori
At
The
Secondary
Levels).
While
these
years
are
not
as
precisely
planned
as
the
earlier
ones,
the
main
focuses
are
still
on
the
students
social,
mental,
and
personal
growth.
These
years
encourage
the
student
to
become
less
dependent
on
the
parent
as
preparation
for
independence
as
well
as
encouraging
them
to
foster
skills
they
will
need
as
an
adult.
Learning
music
and
fingerings
on
an
instrument
is
a
rather
independent
task,
especially
when
students
reach
the
secondary
age.
Many
times
music
students
parents
will
not
have
instrumental
backgrounds,
and
even
if
they
do,
they
cannot
learn
the
notes,
fingerings
and
rhythms
for
the
student,
that
practice
must
be
done
by
the
student,
and
so
independent
learning
is
found
through
practicing
their
personal
instrument
because
they
cannot
rely
on
their
parents.
three,
four,
and
five
year
olds
that
found
that
students who received musicenriched
Montessori instruction had higher levels of mathematics achievement than students who
received traditional Montessori instruction (The Effects of Music Instruction on learning
in the Montessori)*. After these initial findings, the test was expanded to a 3-year study to
see if the positive effects would continue. The result of the test was that all the children in
the Montessori music enriched programs fell into the 90-99 percentile on the math test
(Test of Early Math Ability). Another study done by Dr. Jean Houston of the Foundation
for Mind Research found that children who did not have the availability of an arts
program were damaging their brains. This damage was due to the lack of engagement of
their nonverbal modalities which help students learn skills like reading, writing, and math
(Roehmann & Wilson). Even with all of these studies, many public school are driven so
by test results that music programs are pushed aside.
In most American public schools the official curriculum is made around the
Common
Core
Standards,
and
the
standardized
tests
given
by
the
state.
Many
times
the
skills
focused
on
in
the
Montessori
Erdkinder
plane
are
part
of
a
teacher,
or
even
a
schools,
unofficial,
or
even
hidden
curriculum,
but
they
are
very
rarely
talked
about
or
focused
on
in
the
public
school.
The
main
complaint
of
the
upcoming
generations
is
that
they
are
narcissistic,
focused
on
the
extrinsic,
rather
then
the
intrinsic,
and
that
they
cannot
communicate
properly
with
the
people
physically
around
them.
Why
if
these
are
the
concerns
of
so
many,
are
they
not
being
addressed
in
the
school
system,
where
they
are
supposed
to
learn
the
knowledge
and
skills
they
will
need
to
succeed
in
the
world
around
them?
Many
of
these
things
could
easily
be
addressed
in
the
school
system,
especially
in
music
classrooms,
however,
more
often
than
not,
the
music
class
is
focused
more
on
the
performance
at
the
end,
instead
of
the
skills
needed
to
cultivate
their
students
as
better
musicians.
The
benefit
of
that
education,
and
its
applications
outside
of
the
music
classroom
itself
should
never
be
over
looked.
*
musicenriched
is
a
grammatical
error
found
in
the
original
source
itself,
reproduced
here
to
maintain
the
authenticity
of
the
quote.
The class is gathered at one end of the gym, the children are walking around in a
tight little cluster, beating time to a deliberate drumbeat. Suddenly, the beat
quickens and the children begin to spread out across the gym. What are they
studying? Energy transfer! Next, the students are water molecules being heated by
a uranium bundle in a nuclear power plant. (When water is heated, each molecule
moves more quickly and further apart from the others, a change in movement that
was signaled by the drum.) Later in the lesson, the children shuffle along the
floor, representing electrons moving along power lines. Then they pretend to be
atoms joining together and breaking apart, chanting a rap about the pros and cons
of various energy sources, all of this to musical accompaniment (Hoffman).
Think about how many different skills were worked on in this lesson. Students were able
to experience and further their understanding about energy, molecules, and electrons,
they also were given a physical work out, and they worked on their visual spatial skills as
they (hopefully) did not run into one another. On the musical front they worked on
moving to a steady beat, listening for changes in rhythm (when the drummer changed
speeds), reacting to changes in music, as well as rapping (or even composing if the
students wrote the rap themselves) over a given beat. That one lesson managed to
encompass not only a lot of information, but also covered three areas of academics in a
normal secondary science lesson.
Montessori Schools are not just about incorporating several classes or lessons
together but also about students working together to learn. Perhaps in a choral classroom,
instead just popping in theory lessons as you went, you set aside one day a week (or
every other week depending on the frequency of the class meetings) for students to work
in a modified Montessori Fashion to learn/teach each other various skills. Instead of
having a traditional choir rehearsal on Mondays, you gave the students theory projects.
For instance, one day you could have the third year choir students help the first year
students to do the first project in the packet, learning solfege, and then together they
could put solfege in their music. While you have the fourth year choir students help the
second year students learn to build and identify chords, this latter exercise being a
refresher and reinforcement of those chords that the fourth year students will need when
you challenge them to write a song together using any and all available instruments, and
music software as tools. This would move along throughout the year with students
moving forward as they are ready with skills, as well as learning how to apply them not
just to their choir music, but also to songs they might already know.
The pure Montessori style of education may not be for all students. It may not be
practical or affordable to take students away from their families and communities for a
long period of time to live in the country. However, the studies that have shown the
positive effects Montessori style can have on its students. In addition, their support of
music as a vehicle for learning not just as a multi-subject learning tool, but also as a way
to help bolster academic success, which is so important to American secondary schools,
is great for any future educator. With all this, it should be clear why incorporating
elements and ideas from the Montessori Educational System can benefit your student
body as a whole.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
"Association Montessori Internationale." Association Montessori Internationale. Association
Montessori Internationale, 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Danahoe, Marta, et al. Best Practices In Montessori Secondary Programs. Montessori Life 25.2
(2013): 16-23. OmniFile Text Mega (H.W. Wilson). Webb. 10 Apr. 2014.
Harris, Maureen. "The Effects of Music Instruction on Learning in the Montessori Classroom." Education News. American Montessori Society, 15 Aug. 2008. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
"Introduction to Montessori." Home. American Montessori Society, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
"Montessori at the Secondary Level." Montessori Programs n.d.: 147-73. Web.
<www.montessori.org/sitefiles/montessori_way_HS.pdf>.
Ginsburg, H. P., & Baroody, A. J. (2003). Test of Early Math Ability, 3rd Edition. Texas: PRO
ED.
Hoffman, J. (2003). Music, Math and the Mind. Todays Parent. Retrieved from
Www.todaysparent.com.
Secondary Sources
Copeland, Cheryl. "Teaching Music in a Montessori Fashion: A Vision Realized." Montessori
Life: A Publication of the American Montessori Society 17.3 (2005): 32-35. EBSCO Host.
Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Holfester, Chris. The Montessori Method. Montessori Method Research Starters Education
(2014): 1. Research Starters Education. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
"Music and Montessori: An Interview with Erica Roach." Montessori Life: A Publication of the
American Montessori Society17.3 (2005): 36-39. EBSCO Host. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.