Daggett Montessori School
September 19th, 2018
I had entered the classroom during a video, therefore, the teacher had the ceiling lights turned off. Because of this, the first thing I noticed about the classroom was its Smartboard. The desks were trapezoid-shaped and were arranged in rows angled towards the front of the class, where the Smartboard and teachers’ desk were. There were some students sitting on a rug in the front while most students remained in their seats. During the video portion of this rotation, the teacher did not have much interaction with the students. At the end of class, an announcement was made stating first hour would be extended. Right away, however, Ms. Bury knew what to do with the extra time; she gave her students two options: they could either work on homework or participate in a vocabulary game.
To prepare for their upcoming vocabulary quiz, the class played a game called “Trash-ket-ball” (like basketball). In this game, students were separated into teams. The teacher read a definition out loud and the teams had to write the corresponding word on a white board. If they were correct, they would send a representative to the front of the room to attempt to shoot a ball into a recycling bin. If they scored, the team would receive a bonus point on their quiz. The first thing that made a huge impression on me was when Ms. Bury designated a student to split the class into groups for the game. She stated her reason for choosing a student was because she wanted the student to “demonstrate his leadership skills.” This was an interesting event for me, as in a typical setting, most teachers would be in charge of organizing groups for team activities. As the game began, the students were extremely engaged; it offered them an opportunity to work together in a fun way all while studying. This is a method of review I hope to use one day in my own classroom as I found this activity beneficial in multiple aspects: there are minimal supplies and preparation needed, students are interacting with one another, and it promotes studying in an untraditional and fun manner.
In the classroom, I had noticed a “Respect Contract” was displayed on a wall. This also left a large impression on me. Next to a list of classroom rules, there was a list of signatures from all of the students. The list was clearly displayed on the wall as a constant reminder to students to respect each other, the teacher, and the classroom.
Towards the end of class, the teacher had asked her students to raise their hands if they were running for a position for Student Government; nearly every student raised their hand. This was fascinating to me –in my experience as a middle schooler, very few students actually ran for student government positions. This gave me the impression that, because of the emphasis on self-learning and growth in Montessori-styled schools, students are more likely to participate in organizations outside of the classroom. It was refreshing to see students so self-motivated, and excited to run.
For the second rotation of class, students had a lesson on significant figures in the Revolutionary War. Ms. Bury began the lesson with a formative assessment – a concept we have discussed in class; a type of assessment given prior to a lesson to grasp an idea of what the students already know. She had the students work with a partner to attempt to match new names with their significance during the Revolutionary War.
At the end of class, the students were assigned a collaborative project. They were to work in groups and research a historical figure from the Revolutionary War and based off their research, they would create a poster to present to the class. This assignment addresses multiple concepts discussed in class: summative assessment, cooperative learning, and student-centered learning.
Overall, I found this experience at a Montessori school extremely enlightening. While the environmental aspects between a typical school and a Montessori school were similar, I noticed some major differences in student interaction and participation. The students seemed more engaged and excited to learn. There are several questions I still have regarding these types of schools, more specifically in regard to this style of learning in an elementary setting: how can learning be measured if students are encouraged to explore independently?