The Role of the Assistant Teacher in a Montessori Environment

“Who’s Job is it
Anyway? Clarifying
Roles &
Responsibilties”
Margaret Combs and Gwen
Harris
Midwest Montessori Teacher Training
Center
Who’s in the Classroom?
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Students
Directress
Assistant
Others: Enrichment Staff / Interns
Important Elements of the
Montessori Environment

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The Physical Environment Itself
The Adults
The Children
What’s Our Goal?

To provide an environment that fosters
children to become lifelong learners,
productive workers, and global citizens
of the world
Who Does What?
STUDENTS must:
 Explore!
 Learn to Concentrate
 Become self-aware learners
Who Does What?
The Adults are:
 The link between the children and the
materials
 The observers of both the children and
the environment
 The ones who prepare the environment
Who Does What?
The Directress must:
 Understand the Montessori method
completely
 Have faith in the method and the
abilities of the children
 Work as a guide, facilitator and
inspiration
Who Does What?
The Directress must:
 Follow the child
 Observe the child
 Give timely lessons
 Promote self-discovery and independent
learning
 Promote critical thinking skills
Who Does What?
DIRECTRESS must:
 Prepare the physical environment
 Be the main role model
 Present timely relevant and appropriate
lessons
 Protect concentration once it manifests
within the child
Who Does What?
ASSISTANT must:
 Aid in the maintenance of the
environment
 Be a role model
 Help children to do it themselves
 Observe
 Protect the lessons given to the children
Who Does What?
ASSISTANT:
 Duty to the teacher
 Duty to the Students
 Duty to the classroom
Who Does What?
ASSISTANT
 Recognizes the unique needs of each
child
 Actively supports peace education
 Manages the classroom
 Only assists when absolutely necessary
 Shares observations with the lead
Who Does What?

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The assistant is a vital part of the
classroom!
She inspires, supports and guides the
children in their daily activities.
Who Does What?

Others: Enrichment Staff/ Interns/
Etc……
“ Be on the same page”
What All are We Observing?
The CHILD’S:
 Curiosity
 Passion
 Self-directedness
 Conceptual thinking
 Motivation for learning
 Creative thinking
What All are We Observing
continued..
The CHILD’S:
 Innovation skills
 Problem solving skills
 Independence
 Cooperative skills
 Commitment to peace, social harmony, service to
others, sustainability
 Appreciation for diversity
 Respectfulness for individual differences
Observing Children as well as
the Teacher
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Observe children as a group and
individually
Observe and note the teacher’s
mannerisms
Write down notes and questions
Ask for a special, regularly scheduled
time to meet with your teacher
We need to be able to……..
COMMUNICATE!
COMMUNICATION IS:
The process of sharing information
between people.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
The GOAL of effective communication is
to create a common perception or share
information
We need to be able to…..
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Honest communication takes trust and
understanding
It is vital to the success of the
classroom
Confidentiality is crucial
”JIBBERISH OR NOT?”
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It may seem like “jibberish” to us, but
they seem to understand each other.
What behaviors indicate they are
attempting to communicate?
What behaviors indicate that they
understand each other?
Communication Indicators
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Non-verbal cues such as nodding, body
posture, facial expressions
Active Listening
Responding to each other
Respectful to each other
What is Good
Communication?

Good communication is the ability to
convey your thoughts to those who
are listening and have those thoughts
understood completely.
Effective Communication

Effective Communication is a twoway process-sending the right
message that is also being correctly
received and understood by the
other person and hearing their
message.
Believe in Yourself and the
Montessori Method by…
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Knowing that you are an important part
of the classroom
Understanding the Montessori
philosophy
Attending workshops like this one
Asking questions
Effective Communication
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Effective communication is at the core of
everything we do
Non-verbal communication can be more
powerful and more genuine than the actual
words spoken – body posture, gestures, eye
contact and facial expressions
How Can Communication Be
More Effective?
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Understand how your message may be
interpreted by the listener
Understand that we all obtain
information through our senses
Understand the importance of all
aspects of visual, auditory and
kinesthetic senses
Effective Communication
Skills
Will enable you to:
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have a better rapport with all the
people in your life
have your messages clearly received
and understood
Benefits (Continued)

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build a rapport with the person you are
interacting with so you understand how
they will perceive your message,
give clear information so that others
understand your point of view, make
the right decision and properly handle a
task.
Effective Communication
Leads to Knowing:

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what is expected of you
why you are being asked to do
something
how to accomplish the task
when to ask for further information
or clarification
Strong Communication Leads
to …
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knowing to not take things personally
a sense of security, loyalty and
community
understanding each other’s
perspectives
Communicating the
Montessori Way
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Talk about your observations
Ask questions for further information
Follow through for effective team work
Believe in Yourself and the
Montessori Method by…




Knowing that you are an important part
of the classroom
Understanding the Montessori
philosophy
Attending workshops like this one
Asking questions
Together We Can
Make It Work!
Together We Can Help
Children Discover How to
Help Themselves!
THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS
IS…

knowing how to have good, effective
communications.
ULTIMATELY IT IS
UP TO
YOU!
Time to Communicate!!
Clarifications? Any questions?
Comments?