The diploma thesis explores the impact one type of the Montessori materials, developed by the first doctor in Italy - Maria Montessori, on children of the public kindergarten. Specific Montessori material used in this experiment is Practical Life Exercises. Theoretical part of the thesis comprises a brief presentation of her biography. Maria Montessori had for that time revolutionary ideas and was also one of the prominent females, who had impact on changing the world’s philosophy in which men’s supremacy had dominated. Trough her study of medicine, based on research work with mentally ill children, two French doctors Itard and Seguin, and later with the knowledge of Roussea’s, Pestalozzi’s and Frobel’s pedagogies she developed its own method of working with children. Main characteristic of Montessori Method are prepared environment, special minimal role of adult, allowing the child to become independent, discovering its skills, all with help of the Montessori materials. It is precisely because of these didactic materials, which she developed the method is successful. I used this type of Montessori materials in my experiment, so therefore I described them in details in my work. Montessori pedagogy has a different approach to the child rather the approach of the public kindergarten. Because of that I briefly made a comparison of these two models.
In the empirical part, I presented my experiment where I transferred Montessori material from Practical Life Exercises to the children in the public kindergarten, but just in one part of their playground and then observed impact of materials on children. Above all, I wanted to see if the children would like working with materials and weather the influence of it would be so great, that the positive consequences will be seen in the children play and behavior. Each week I was collecting information with the help of the observations, made during four weeks, when children were either using toys or Montessori materials in for that specially prepared playground, called Home. With interviews of the all twenty-four children, I ended my experiment. I have found that the children had well received this type of Montessori materials and also gained some skills like: tying, filling the jug and many others, which they also used outside the kindergarten.
|