Educator Training at Montessori Live

Montessori Live is an innovative educator training program for Montessori educators all over the world.

    We went live on November 1, 2006 as the first online teacher training program for Montessori teachers. Our purpose is to make Montessori training more adult-friendly, especially for those who reside long distances from a traditional face-to-face Montessori training program. We hope to reach schools inside as well as outside the U.S. who are far from live training centers, but who are committed to bringing the gift of Montessori education to children all over the world.

    At this time, we offer professional development for elementary educators working with students from age 5 through 10 years of age. We also offer upper elementary level math courses demonstrating materials using fractions, decimals, geometry, and algebra. It is necessary for participants to have a working knowledge of English. In the future, we hope to have our courses translated into other languages.

    Our goal is to provide a high quality distance learning program that is both interactive and valuable to educators.

Method and Philosophy

    Montessori is both an instructional method as well as a philosophy of teaching. One provides the content; the other provides the context. In order for your students to benefit most, you need to become the master of both.

    However, knowing how to use the materials is limited without understanding the philosophical framework of Dr. Montessori's seminal work on child development and early education. This philosophical understanding is critical even to teachers of upper elementary and secondary students. For this reason, we begin with a course in Montessori Philosophical Foundations.

    Thank you for spreading the word about Montessori Live, an adult friendly model of teacher training that will work within your personal schedule and responsibilities, as well as give you support to develop excellent Montessori environments for your students.

MACTE Certification

    In July 2011, Montessori Live received accreditation the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE). Our students can now qualify for a Montessori Elementary I certification. Please see our page on MACTE certification for more information.

    The U.S. Department of Education recently gave MACTE approval to accredit distance education components for Montessori teacher-training programs. MACTE requires Montessori Live to have a face-to-face component at our home school, Island Village Montessori, in Venice, Florida. At this time, the recommended length for the face-to-face component is a total of 120 clock hours or approximately three weeks at our home campus. We have split this residency component in half with 8 days in June and 7 days in October. The face-to-face component is not required for students seeking professional development credit alone.

Professional Development

    For many Montessori educators, the purpose of professional development is to improve one’s ability to work with the children in our care. The tuition for our courses is fairly priced with these goals in mind. Montessori Live is a “pay as you go” system that further supports economy for participants. This flexible system allows participants to design a program to fit their needs.

    Professional development students will receive a certificate of completion summarizing requirements for each course completed. Each participant may be able to apply for professional development credits in their district and state. Montessori Live will work verify information required by any institution regarding our courses. In foreign countries, the same applies. Regulations and policies for each district, state, and country are different, so we cannot guarantee that our course certificates for professional development will be accepted. We are happy to assist as much as we can but we advise participants first to check with their district or regulatory agency.