Erasmus+ – SfCE

Tiziana Grima Experience

Dalli Roderick — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:31:50 +0000

I have been given the opportunity to visit and shadow a partial Montessori based school.

It was lovely to see children between the age of 3-6 mixed in the same classroom all learning from their own interest. Most of the activities were child led. Be it lacing, letter tracing, free drawing, numeracy through nature the children were able to choose and practice. Considering that there were about 18-20 students in each class, one
might expect chaos of children arguing for the same resource, yet these children know how to share and how to have their little learning space.
Being independent is the main highlight. Children wash and hang their towel on their own. They get to walk around with buckets of water and empty the bucket all on their own.

It was lovely to observe eating time. Children so young already practice proper mealtime etiquette – sitting down properly and eating properly with the use of adult cutlery. All the children eat the same food cooked by the school. They have the first and second plate according to the quantity they wish.

I am very grateful to have been chosen for such an experience. Will surely do my utmost to continue what I have learnt and encourage my students to be more independent.

Tiziana Grima – St Dorothy’s Primary, Sliema.

KA–2023–MT01–KA122-000113115

Sonia Zammit Experience

Dalli Roderick — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 12:27:20 +0000

The scholastic year 2024/2025 started with afour-day visit to the ‘Casa del bambini Montessori San Giusto’ in Trieste, Italy sponsored by the Erasmus Plus programme.

The main aim of this visit was to shadow classes at kinder and primary level which fall in line with my role as Literacy Support Teacher (LST). This was an overall beneficial experience since one could learn by comparing the methodologies used here at this Montessori inspired school with those applied within the Church Schools in Malta. Moreover, it was also within the scope of this visit that the information gathered during this mission would later be disseminated to fellow educators.

Our point of reference was Prof. Eva Vitt, Head of school. During the meetings held with her, she took us through the history of the school along the years to where it stands today. This school has two main sections, the kindergarten and the primary, but also has a very important pre-school section called the ‘sezione primavera’ which hosts toddlers up to 3 years. Despite having a population of 157 students, the school has spacious classes and sizeable outdoor areas.

The kindergarten — Scuola Materna (3 to 6 years)

As the Italian name suggests, the kind of learning the children are exposed to helps them become independent, confident and disciplined citizens. The school provides students with the right tools making the Montessori approach here extremely obvious. The structured material and the monitoring of the teacher is evident. There was a sense of mutual trust between the children and their educators.

The most important thing at this stage was that pupils became curious and could explore the different areas of development when they were ready to do so and at their own pace. Literacy (letter recognition and formation) at this level takes place when children have developed most of the fine motor skills. It is done on a one-to-one basis the educator and the child. Although it is introduced to children when they are ready, it is process to teacher led.

Primary level ( 6 — 1 1 year olds)

At this level and a feature which could be certainly appreciated was that children that are ready to read start the day with a 20/30minute silent reading session, obviously in the mother language. It is Montessori inspired and most of the tools available confirm this. Primary focus is on grammar, especially analysis of sentences and parts of speech. They work on textbooks, copybooks and other printed resources but also learn grammar through rhymes, songs and role play. The ‘Montessori parts of speech symbols’ are part and parcel of their lessons. Listening, speaking and comprehension skills are also present.

Children are also exposed to English too. They have an hour-long session which mostly concentrates on conversation and also have a project in English about important women in history.

It is fitting to conclude this testimonial with one of Maria Montessori’s quotes “Adults must defend children. We adults must see the real humanity in children, the humanity which will take our place one day, if we are to have social progress. Social progress means that the next generation is better than the one before.”

The team of educators from St Dorothy’s Sliema and the Secretariat for Catholic Education with the School’s Principal, Dott. Eva Viti.

Sonia Zammit – Literacy Support Teacher (SfCE)

KA–2023–MT01–KA122-000113115

Patricia Xuereb Seychell Experience

Dalli Roderick — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:46:10 +0000

Casa Dei Bambini Montessori is set high up in Trieste, within a lovely green area, surrounded by lots of trees and nature. This on its own, already provides a calm sense of education within the school community.

Personally, this job shadowing opportunity was a very valuable learning experience for me. Being someone who has always been interested in the Montessori approach, it was very beneficial and enriching for me to observe this type of education in practice. The main highlight in my opinion, was seeing how the children (even from the young age of 3), are treated as little mature adults.

The children are guided along the day by their teachers, with not much direct
teaching. This provides room for the children to explore and self-teach, within safe limits. The children are given achievable responsibilities which work on self-care development.

Such as dressing and undressing (including buttons), hanging their own garments, taking on and off shoes, washing their own cloth and then hanging it to dry, helping during meal time, and much more. This not only provides the children with the opportunity to excel in independence very early on but also indirectly works on significantly improving their fine motor skills.

What also struck me is that when it comes to the primary years of the school, their system does not pose extreme academic pressure on the children. Peripatetic subjects are given the same level of importance as the academic subjects. Examination results are not child specific, but class
specific, but more class specific, worked out via the average score of the class. Furthermore, the results of the peripatetic subjects are included within the average score. This not only elevates pressure from the individual students but also provides a sense of community and teamwork within the class.

From this experience, I am taking back much insight and inspiration. I am pleased to confirm that we have already started implementing some improvements inspired by the Montessori system, within our
Kindergarten 2 classroom.

Patricia Xuereb Seychell – St Dorothy’s Primary School, Sliema

KA–2023–MT01–KA122-000113115

Maria Cristina Caruana Experience

Dalli Roderick — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:17:11 +0000

Job shadowing at ‘Casa Dei Bambini – Montessori’ was an enriching experience where I gained an understanding of the Montessori Method when observing students aged 3-6. I observed how children learn and develop in a child-friendly space. They are independent human beings who are creative, explore and move freely through their self-learning skills with the guidance of their educators as well as resources. It is very interesting to see the students develop life skills in a calm but self-correcting environment. The school itself is calm and welcoming to all who set foot in its doors.

The activities, that students actively participate in, are structured in a way to further their development. I have observed that these activities also link together in a continuous and purposeful manner and result in life-long learning. Students gain a sense of
responsibility in a curious environment where the children are given vitality and importance. This was also observed in the Primary school music lessons where they sang, played instruments and moved to the music. All this is done in a practical and positive way.

Thank you for such an educational experience. Such experiences also allow us, educators, to deepen our own learning.

Maria Cristina Caruana – St Dorothy’s Primary School, Sliema

KA–2023–MT01–KA122-000113115

Bernardette Brincat Experience

Dalli Roderick — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:08:00 +0000

Casa dei Bambini Montessori Trieste caters for children aged 2 to 11 years of age. This co-ed school is modelled on Montessori pedagogy, fostering self-directed andself-motivated learning.

The Early Years wing houses 2-year-olds (Sezione Primavera) and Casa dei Bambini which takes children aged between 3 and 6. Days are characterised by long periods of outdoor play (totalling 90 minutes) and self-directed activities (such as buttoning of coats, gardening, putting on/removing overalls/coats and shoes, laying the table for lunch, putting things in order and in their proper place, or making them clean).

These activities not only encourage self-help skills but also help promote an overall feeling of competence and independence in children. Since the Casa dei Bambini houses children of different ages (in the same class),
teachers can tailor the lessons to meet the unique needs of each learner. It was explained to us that by mixing up children of different ages, younger children are able to absorb intellectual concepts and stimulate their cognitive development simply by observing older peers at work. Through peer teaching, older pupils can take on the roles of mentors/facilitators. It is perhaps no wonder the learners were so calm, confident and eager to explore their surroundings and engage with us!

Unlike the Casa dei Bambini, children of different ages are not mixed in the Primary School. Teaching is very traditional and topic based. The use of technology is not encouraged in class (with learners having no access to
tablets and interactive whiteboards in class). It was explained to us that teachers employed in this school need to be specialised in the subject they teach.Academic and nonacademic are allocated equal importance. Although children have a set timetable and children have different teachers, no bells to demarcate the beginning and ending of lessons could be heard.

Very little cross-curricular teaching was observed except for History/Italian and Art. Reading is prioritised with a daily slot of 30 minutes individual reading session taking place every morning.

Bernardette Brincat – Literacy Support Teacher (SfCE)

KA–2023–MT01–KA122-000113115