蒙特梭利實驗教育

什麼是蒙特梭利教育?

蒙特梭利教育是由義大利的教育家瑪麗亞‧蒙特梭利博士發展出來的教育方法，蒙特梭利博士原先是一位醫生，一開始服務兒童時，採用科學方式觀察紀錄，來了解人類的發展與本質。當年她接手照顧一群在當時被認為有特殊需求、沒辦法上學的孩子，但是在為他們製作教具、打造適合的環境後，這群孩子的身心舉止卻有了顯著的改變。

      Montessori education is an educational method developed by the Italian educator Dr. Maria Montessori. Dr. Montessori was originally a doctor. When she first served children, she used scientific methods to observe and record to understand human development. When she took over the care of a group of children who were considered to have special needs and could not go to school at the time, but after making teaching aids and creating a suitable environment for them, the physical and mental behavior of this group of children has changed significantly.

       我所做的一切都是心理上的基礎；結果是教學性的。

（Maria Montessori,1946）。

蒙特梭利博士堅持，這個方法是兒童教她的，這是他們必須要做的工作──經由經驗去建構自己。她透過長期的觀察發現，孩子透過動手操作教具是最有效的學習方法，因此發展出了大量的數學教具；語文領域亦同，透過具體的教具，以視覺引導孩子能真實理解而非強記，並且讓學習者自己主導學習的方向，而非消極地透過機械式讀寫來接收知識。

        Dr. Montessori insists that this method is taught by children, and this is what they have to do - to construct themselves through experience. Through long-term observation, she found that the most effective way for children to learn is to use hands-on teaching aids, so a large number of teaching aids for mathematics have been developed; the same is true for the field of language. The specific teaching aids visually guide children to understand rather than memorize. And let learners lead the direction of learning by themselves, instead of passively receiving knowledge through mechanical reading and writing.

藉由蒙特梭利博士的眼光，我們得以重新認識眼前的這群未來的大人，因此要為他們準備適合的環境以及教育模式、提供完整的宇宙觀(Cosmos)、滿足他們的好奇心，以及想要探索原因的慾望！蒙特梭利為這時期的兒童設計了一個教育計畫，稱為「宇宙教育」。 

宇宙教育作為蒙特梭利教室的主軸，強調萬物一體，彼此相互關聯。透過宇宙教育，引導孩子探索人生的三大問題:「我是誰？」「我從何而來」，最後則是「我將來要何去何從」。透過蒙特梭利的宇宙教育可以幫助孩子看到：自己既是屬於人類群體中的一份子，也可以擁有自己獨特的個別性，並且尋找到如何為這個美麗世界的永續發展做出自己的貢獻。(轉引自宇宙之子一書)。 

        Cosmic education, as the main axis of the Montessori classroom, emphasizes that all things are one and interrelated. Through cosmic education, guide children to explore the three major questions of life: "Who am I?", "Where do I come from？" and "Where am I going in the future?" Montessori's cosmic education can help children to see that they are not only a part of the human group, but also have their own unique individuality, and find out how to make their own contribution to the sustainable development of this beautiful world.

若你來到教室，會發現沒有人在聊天，而是聽到孩子們小聲但熱情的討論，因為他們在這個環境中，被鼓勵自由的探索和發現，這份自由讓他們渴望可以獲得更多！當早上進教室，他們會問「老師你今天要講什麼故事?」「我可以開始工作了嗎？」工作時段你們聽到他們說「老師，我也想要聽這個示範。」或是問同學「我們再做一次這個工作好不好？」「這個我忘記了你可以幫我嗎？」孩子進入小學階段會開始喜歡和同儕在一起，他們會因找到團體中的定位而感到自在，他們樂於助人，也喜歡跟任何同學搭配一起工作，從學習和工作中找到興趣點和成就感，以及和同儕一同探索討論的樂趣！

        If you come to the classroom, you will find that no one is chatting, but you can hear the children's quiet but enthusiastic discussions, because they are encouraged to explore and discover freely in this environment, and this freedom makes them yearn for more ! When they enter the classroom in the morning, they will ask "Teacher, what story are you going to tell today?" "Can I start working?" During working hours, you hear them say "Teacher, I also want to listen to this demonstration." Or ask classmates " Shall we do this job again?" "I forgot this, can you help me?" Children enter elementary school and start to like being around their peers. They feel comfortable finding their place in the group. They are helpful, and also like to work with any classmates. They find interest and sense of accomplishment from study and work, and have fun by exploring and discussing with peers!

你還會注意到，教室裡居然有不同年紀的孩子？蒙特梭利教室是一到三年級/四到六年級的混齡教室，年幼的孩子會向年長的學習，年長的孩子在教導和分享中加強自己的能力，教室就像一個小型社會，他們會學習與各年齡段的朋友合作和學習，在團體中以自己的節奏發展社交和學習能力。而一位主責教師會帶領你的孩子三年，這也讓老師對學生有更深刻的理解，並且和他一同準備幼小/低高/國中的銜接。

        You will also notice that there are children of different ages in the classroom. The Montessori classroom is a mixed-age classroom for grades 1 to 3 and grades 4 to 6. Young children will learn from older children, and older children will strengthen their abilities through teaching and sharing. The classroom is like a small society , they will learn to collaborate and learn with friends of all ages, developing social and academic skills in groups at their own pace. And a teacher in charge will lead children for three years, which also allows the teacher to have a deeper understanding of the students, and prepare with them for the connection between lower, upper class and junior high school.     

你可能會發現老師不是站在黑板前，而是和某一群孩子坐在一起，曾有個孩子轉學進來兩週後，對媽媽說：「我覺得我離老師好近喔！」孩子是教室的主人，學習是他們的工作，而我們所做的只有「觀察」他們的需要以及「示範」教具或任何學習的管道，以及和他們共享發現時的驚喜和滿足，教室中的成人與其稱之為「教師」稱為「引導者」更顯恰當。教室中不論是哪個學習領域，都準備大量的教具可供學生自由操作，他們也要學習如何妥善的使用和歸位，蒙特梭利教室相當強調兒童學習的主動性，這樣的主動性可以很自然的帶出生理及心理上的獨立，而如此透過環境的營造、教具的設計、成人的引導，讓兒童成為自己學習與發展的主人。

        You may find that the teacher is not standing in front of the blackboard, but sitting with a certain group of children. Once a child transferred from another school for two weeks and said to his mother: "I think I am so close to the teacher!" The child is the master of the classroom. Learning is their job, all we do is to "observe" their needs and to "demonstrate" teaching aids or any means of learning, and share the surprise and satisfaction of discovering with them. The adult in the classroom is not called as a "Teacher",but more properly called as a "guide". No matter which learning field in the classroom, there are a lot of teaching aids for students to freely operate, and they also need to learn how to use and return them properly. The Montessori classroom places great emphasis on children's learning initiative, which can naturally bring out physical and psychological independence. Through the creation of the environment, the design of teaching aids, and the guidance of adults, children can become the masters of their own learning and development.

你可以看見一間蒙特梭利班級的模樣──溫暖的教室空間、熱鬧有序互動的孩子以及獨立專注自由工作的模樣。