Montessori Method and eLearning: What do they have in common?
Why the Montessori Method is perfect for eLearning.
Montessori Method and eLearning: What do they have in common?
Why the Montessori Method is perfect for eLearning.
Flexible learning at your own pace, learner engagement, and individualized pathways sound like a list of eLearning benefits, but they are some of the basic principles of the method devised by Maria Montessori over 100 years ago. Based on the scientific method, the neuropsychiatrist and pedagogue turned the concepts of education of her time upside down, devising a method that focuses on listening and the well-being of the child. The principles of the Montessori method, which is used in schools around the world, transcend the classroom, and if we look at them in terms of eLearning, they are perfectly suited to online training and corporate training in general. Let's take a look at some of the aspects of the Montessori method that anticipated many of the core principles of eLearning and how they can be applied to corporate training.
Continuous learning becomes lifelong learning
In corporate settings, the holistic view of a child's development throughout his or her life is easily adapted to the adult who continues to learn at all times. This concept is summarized in continuous learning: the research, refinement of one's knowledge, discovery and learning experiences that help one live and work better.
Thanks to eLearning, even small and medium-sized companies can afford to offer continuing education to their employees.
Personalized and flexible learning
Every student has a learning style and individuality that the school should take into account. For Maria Montessori, the goal is not just to impart knowledge but to bring out the potential in each student - to educate. Within a company, the only way to personalize training, taking into account the pace and time of study as well as the training needs of each individual, is through eLearning. Online training in asynchronous mode, for example, allows learners to customize their training plan and choose when and how they learn. According to their learning style, visual auditory, based on reading and writing and kinaesthetic, the student can decide whether to use video, audio, text, simulations and any other interactive element of eLearning.
Pedagogy of doing and Learning by doing
There is a parallel between the freedom of movement of the Montessori method and learning by doing in eLearning. In Montessori schools, freedom of movement is what helps students develop skills independently. This translates into a different organization of space and learning that is not for its own sake, but for doing. In corporate training, a similar principle might be the idea of learning by doing. Instead of sitting and listening to a teacher or trainer, employees of any age learn on the job, getting the information they need when they need it.
What else do the Montessori method and eLearning have in common?
The basic principles of the Montessori method - empowering students to reach their potential by making them active participants in their own learning - can be applied in a number of ways in eLearning. Self-directed learning - the autonomous drive to learn and build the skills one needs, outside of traditional training, in a flexible, meaningful, and effective way - is the broadest point of contact between Montessori and eLearning.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator