Background

There is a growing awareness that our current institutions, including educational institutions, are not addressing the world's most pressing issues: ecological well-being, social justice, violence and abuse, alienation, and a lack of meaning and inspiration.

There is an extraordinary need for institutions to catch up with social reality. Educational programs, which have great impact on the ability to effectively deal with these issues, have a particularly strong obligation in this regard. This program, draws on the twentieth century contributions of Dr. Maria Montessori and her son, Mario Montessori.

 

 

Who was Maria Montessori ?

Maria Montessori was born in 1870. Throughout her early years she wanted to be a medical doctor and claimed she would never be a teacher. After focusing on the sciences and engineering during her secondary years she decided to enter Medical school. Turned away by the establishment she persisted until she gained entry.

Her initial work was with mentally challenged children in a psychiatric ward. Through her observations she determined that they were sensorial-deprived so she extended the ideas of Seguin and Itard by providing materials for the children to manipulate. In time, these hospitalized children learn to read and write at adanced levels. Her work gained world-wide attention.

In 1907 she opened the first Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House) in Rome Italy, where slum children were taken in order to remove them from the streets. Her experimental work produced miraculous results with children blossoming into abstract learning through concrete materials-- far beyond their years. It was a process based on observation of the child followed by the child’s self-education in a prepared environment.

As her insights concerning human development expanded, she became an outspoken activist for equal rights for women.
By the early 30’s she was speaking to huge congresses about the nature of a peaceful society that could only emerge from a fundamental shift in the way we educate children.
And in the 1940’s, with her son Mario Montessori at her side, she became convinced that every child needs to be immersed in the story of the universe as the largest context for living life in an interdependent “cosmic” world.

By the time of her death in 1952 she had developed a comprehensive framework for revolutionizing education -- very far from the mainstream of conventional, governmental schooling. Instead of indoctrinating young people to become citizens of a nation her aim was to liberate the child from the entrapment of the adult in order to create a new and harmonious civilization

 

Some questions that punctuate the course of study

What are the radical roots of the Montessori vision? How do current scientific findings support and expand that vision?

What is a learning community and what capacities are evoked through participation?

In what ways can we bring a sense of community - local, regional and global - to the learning process?

How might cosmic education lead to systemic thinking, integrated learning and the creation of the new human as described by Maria Montessori?

What is humanity’s next level of emergence?

 

 

Colloquium-based Learning

During recent years there has been a proliferation of courses and degrees offered under the umbrella of distance learning. For the most part these academic pursuits are similar to attending a conventional university. The professor lectures and gives out assignments, students submit papers, there are tests and there are grades.

In contrast we promote an integrative view hosted by a virtual "e-campus", where students work in collaborative learning communities, where faculty are mentors and co-learners, where creativity and self-direction are valued, and where there is a an understanding of dialogue as process.

Hence, the course of study emulates the principles of the Montessori approach by setting an example for non-adversarial adult interaction. Communication embraces an appreciation for each person's contribution to the learning process. Students from 27 countries and 32 states have enrolled in this program and participated in our on-line colloquia.

The Endicott-TIES virtual space was developed in conjunction with NewStories.org. We use the Catalyst software which is a highly customizable social space for community development, collaborative learning, in-depth conversations, and problem-solving in a supportive atmosphere that is focused and well-organized.

 

 

About the E-Campus

The heart of the teaching and learning process relies on interactive distance learning accessible through state of the art conferencing software. Faculty and students meet in asynchronous classroom conferences, building upon one another's insights and understanding. Once signed-on to the network, students have an opportunity to become an active member of an enthusiastic learning community - exchanging ideas, problem-solving and responding to dialogue with students and faculty from diverse cultures and countries. There are formal and informal meetings in community journals that are relevant to current life experience.

In addition to text-based learning, there are on line audio dialogues and interactive video CD’s for Montessori theory lectures and for the demonstration of lessons. Faculty-practitioners advise and mentor students throughout the program. Most graduates and students will tell you that the on-line community becomes a second "home" for gathering with people who share a common vision.

Maria Montessori’s approach to education is based on the formation of a prepared environment for each plane of development. This web-based Internet medium offers adults a prepared environment where content and process are integrated. It offers humans the potential to unite consciousness.

On-line activities include: meaningful interaction through directed readings; pondering provocative questions posed by faculty and students; replying to postings of other students; and formal and informal dialogues.

 

 

 

Program Options

(1) Montessori Emphasis Area for Practitioners
Individuals that have completed their Montessori certification may apply for the Emphasis Area option. Emphasis Area students are enrolled for three semesters choosing a particular focus to supplement the core syllabus. This focus amplifies an approach to developing stronger Montessori learning communities. Examples from pervious students include: Cosmic Education, The Art of Observation, Parent Education, Adolescent Learning, Outdoor Environment - Gardening, Teaching Sustainability, Art and Music, Ecological Literacy, Special Needs, Earth Literacy and Storytelling. These examples are provided to demonstrate the diversity of interests that have been approved for study.

(2) Teaching and Learning with Six to Twelve Year Olds
This option is designed for people who do not have a Montessori credential and have access to Montessori classes. Most students who enroll in this option have either been a classroom assistant or have been working as a Montessori teacher without any formal preparation. Others are administrators or people who are working in Montessori secondary environments.

(3) New Montessori Teacher Option
Students who are enrolling in one of our "Partner" programs choose this option.

(3) Montessori School Leadership
This course of study is designed for lead teachers, heads of school, principals and members of school boards. The preparation of the adult who has leadership responsibilities in a Montessori school is dynamically different in scope to ones engaged in other forms of education. While short and long term planning, budgeting, relations with the community and other matters of governance may have much in common with different institutions, the Montessori school leader has a significant role in carrying out the mission of the Montessori movement. There needs to be cohesion and congruence between the administrative aspects of running a school and the values and vision inherent to the Montessori approach.

 

 

 

 

 

Integrative Seminars

The core material and course work is presented through a series of on-line seminars where students and faculty post responses to assigned reading (or viewing). Subsequent to the initial posting, participants comment and weave responses, searching for new insights. Quite often the authors of the required books are available during the on-line dialogue.

The on-line seminars and course work are divided into three sections.

I. The Context
This includes readings from a variety of sources that set the context for a deeper understanding of the Montessori vision - science, cultural anthropology, cosmology, qualitative research, cultural history, social science and social transformation.

II. Montessori Theory
In these segments Maria and Mario Montessori's world-view is explored, including the major influences in their lives. "Love, Science and Spirituality" are the words Mario used to describe the approach. With these keystones there is an exploration of the role of observation, the formation of the teacher,sensitive periods, human needs and tendencies, the four planes of development and the "prepared environment." The prepared environment addresses the creation of the inside and outside physical environment as well as the classroom "atmosphere." Also included are the ways that adults and children work together.

III. Presentations and Practicum
The nature of the practicum is based on the option you have chosen. Emphasis Area students take their new knowledge and apply it in a real setting. The teaching practicum for students enrolled in the Six to Twelve Teaching and Learning option involves presenting lessons across all areas of study and reflecting upon what you learn from this experience. You also explore the process of creating Montessori lessons that respond to the needs of the child. Cosmic stories form the foundation for all of this work.

All students are required to complete a 150 hour practicum.

A sample of an integrative seminar dialogue can be accessed from the download section at the bottom of this page.

 

 

 

Dialogue

One of the gifts that humans can bring to Earth's awareness of itself is our dramatic need for and sense of creating meaning. One of the processes of communication that makes this possible is Dialogue. In this case we refer to a variation on a particular form of dialogue described by Physicist David Bohm. Bohm's constant thread that particularly relates to our dialogue is that we are investigating the possibilities for:

• The emergence of shared meaning
  
• Increasing awareness of our own and others assumptions
  
• Increasing sensitivity and willingness to "listen"
  
• The creation of space between our reaction and our response
  
• A willingness to experiment with the principles described
  

These are some of the hallmarks of process that we may take into the new "edge" of web or Internet-learning and exchanges.

Throughout the three semesters faculty and students also engage in telephone conference calls.

 

 

 

 

Downloads

Required Book List (HTML)
Course Titles and Descriptions (HTML)
Integrative Seminar Excerpts (PDF)

If you don't have the Adobe Acrobat program for
reading PDFs you can download it free from this link.

 

 

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