Program Overview

Montessori Live Blended Model Training Program
Educator Certification and Advanced Degree Programs
for Students Ages 5 to 10 Years Old

Current Online Component:

Required Foundational Courses (8 weeks each)

• Montessori Foundations of Philosophy
• Observation and Child Development

Curriculum Courses (7 weeks each)

• Handwriting, Correct Expression, and Whole Language
• Phonics, Spelling, and Punctuation
• Grammar, Sentence Analysis, and Formal Writing
• Number Sense and the Decimal System
• Operations with Addition and Multiplication
• Operations with Subtraction and Division
• Geometry Studies
• Fractions and Decimals
• Decimals and Algebra
• Big Picture of the Universe
• Earth and Human History

Practica (one semester)

• Practicum for Educators
• Practicum for Administrators

    Courses may be taken individually without enrolling in the complete course of study. Montessori Live Courses will be offered six times throughout the year. The Foundations and Observation courses must be taken before or concurrently while enrolling in curriculum courses. See the program of study options for more information.

Face-to-Face Component to include:
(Required for Montessori certification and degree programs)

• Teaching Practicum – (90 to 180 days)

    Students enrolled for Montessori certification will be required to complete supervised practicum for a minimum length of one semester with a suggested practicum experience of one school year.

Residency Outline by Topic

    The following 120-hour residency and teaching practicum component is suggested but not required for Montessori Live students taking courses for professional development.

    The graduate program currently approved through Argosy University as a Concentration in Montessori Education requires a 3-day residency component composed of a program orientation and observations at Island Village Montessori School in Venice, Florida.

    The 3-day residency component for Argosy students will be offered Friday - Sunday, January 22-24, 2010 AND October 8-10, 2010.

    The 120-hour residency component as outlined below satisfies part of teaching practicum requirements for two PROPOSED programs pending approval:

• Montessori Educator Certification for Elementary I Level (MACTE)
• Montessori Education Master's in Teaching and Learning (Argosy University)

Summer Residency
June 23 – 30, 2010 (64 clock hours or 8 days)

• Program Overview and Orientation – 8 hours
  Kym Elder and Mary Beth Sullivan

    Students will receive an overview of the program of study, review program policies and requirements, including the student and practricum handbooks, and have an opportunity to ask questions. Each student will have to identify their program of study option, including specifics for the teaching practicum.

• Distance Education Best Practices – 8 hours
  Kym Elder

    Best practices for students in distance education courses will be covered. The online course management system as well as hardware and software requirements will be reviewed in detail.

• Early Childhood Overview – 40 hours
  Kym Elder

    All areas of the early childhood curriculum will be reviewed. Topics will include grace and courtesy, practical life, sensorial, math, language, cultural studies of geography, science, art, and music. Montessori’s theory of child development will be introduced (and further developed in the online Philosophy and Observation courses).

• Elementary and Middle School Overview – 8 hours
  Mary Beth Sullivan and Dr. Paul Czaja

    This survey course of Montessori early childhood and middle school programs will extend participants understanding of the Montessori experience for children from early childhood to adolescence to provide an essential understanding of why Montessori education begins with the young child. The middle school model for this course is based on the contract plan developed by Helen Parkhurst, one of Montessori’s earliest collaborators in the U.S. Mrs. Parkhurst consulted with the faculty of the Whitby School in Greenwich, Connecticut. Dr. Paul Czaja brought the contract plan ideas to Island Village Montessori, where they have been further developed into a contemporary Montessori public middle school program.

Fall Residency
October 10 – 16, 2010 (56 clock hours or 7 days )

• Montessori Philosophy and Peace Education – 24 hours
  Kym Elder, Mary Beth Sullivan, and Dr. Paul Czaja

    The discussion of Montessori philosophy will be introduced (covered in more detail in the 8-week Foundations course) especially as it relates to Montessori’s commitment to peace education. Discussions will develop various strands including: stewardship of the Earth, the development of a peaceful learning community, the importance of celebrating differences, the Peace Table and other methods to keep the peace, teaching children a love of learning, self-advocacy, and care of the environment. Developing strong relationships between student, family, educator, and environment will be emphasized.

• School Leadership: Peace Education for Adults Means Leading from a Shared Vision – 8 hours
  Kym Elder

    Topics involving the educator as school leader will be covered with an emphasis on developing a learning community based on trust, visionary alignment, straight and honest communication, loyalty, and integrity among
all adults. Without this component, all the materials in the world do not matter.

• Observations of Elementary Learning Environments – 8 hours
  Dr. Paul Czaja

    Participants will spend the day observing in multiple learning environments at Island Village Montessori School (site of training center). They will record their observations and partipate in group reflections with the instructor.

• Recordkeeping in Montessori Environments – 8 hours
  Kym Elder

    Recordkeeping that supports constructivist, mastery based education will be discussed. Different models of paper and digital recordkeeping will be analyzed and compared.

• Technology in Montessori Environments – 8 hours
  Kym Elder

    Computer technology has revolutionized the world for children and adults. How does technology integrate with the Montessori philosophy emphasizing individualized, differentiated instruction, creative exploration, constant assessment, as well as the educators' need to manage 25 or more students progressing at different rates?

    Technology and Montessori are not conflicting. The seminar discusses the development of excellent computer programs for children and adolescents as well as the need to implement technology according to a child's development.

• Open Discussion Topics – 8 hours
  Kym Elder and Mary Beth Sullivan

    Participants will have an opportunity to process and share reflections with other students in the cohort on their questions and concerns.