Observation in the Montessori Environment
Observation is an integral and continual part of Montessori education
Observation is a tool that is used by the adult to follow the child (to assess their abilities and readiness for materials), and developed within the child (during their early years) to help him classify, store, order, and work towards his inner needs.The adult goal of observation is to learn about the child from a scientific and objective perspective. This can be a greater challenge to homeschooling parents as their connection to their own children tends to be more passionate and emotional than perhaps a teacher in a school setting might have for their students. As Montessori educators (either at home or in a school setting) we must keep on top of our observation skills and use them regularly.
Skills Required to Observe
We must learn to sit silently and motionless - conscious immobility. In our fast paced world this is something that many of us rarely do. Our constant physical motion means we're missing out on cues (physical, verbal, and social) from the children around us. As well, often times the adult unconsciously becomes the center of the environment; constantly directing instead of allowing the children to direct themselves. As the adult it's important to step back, slow down, and silently view the environment with fresh eyes.We should examine ourselves introspectively; how often would you normally want to interrupt the children while they are in the 3 hour work cycle? Are the interruptions really necessary? It's easy to inject our thoughts and interfere when we see a child struggling with a concept. Our inner impulses to help, to do it faster, to do it more efficiently are unnecessary and take the action away from the child.
Are we speaking to much? Are our voices constantly interrupting the precise work of our hands while presenting lessons? Are we over-explaining materials instead of allowing the child to spend time with the materials and investigate further on their own? Montessori materials are beautiful didactic (self-correcting) learning materials that most often do not require excessive speech/language - unless it's a language lesson!