Trine Begins Montessori Early Childhood Education Program
A lower elementary classroom at Oak Farm Montessori School in Avilla (photo courtesy: Trine University/Dean Orewiler)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe Center for Montessori Education at Trine University in Angola has launched an early childhood education program. The university says the program, which runs through June 2022, will give 13 adult students the chance to earn Montessori licensing recognized by the state.
Trine’s Montessori program was first announced in January 2020 and is the first program of its kind in the state. The university says students will begin with an academic phase that runs through July 30, followed by a practicum phase, in which they will receive nine months of student teaching experience.
The Montessori teaching method, according to Trine, is designed to build on the way children inherently learn, including self-directed activity, hands-on learning, and collaborative play. The early childhood education program includes seven instructors teaching a variety of Montessori philosophy areas, such as sensory education, child development, and special education.
Bridget Wallace-York, an instructor in the Montessori program, says children are consistently the center of everything that is done in a Montessori classroom.
“The fact that so many children will get the opportunity to learn, to be independent, to be confident and to learn in an incredibly developmentally-appropriate manner, it’s really amazing as we go through the philosophy that every single thing that has become a part of the Montessori method can be directly tied to current brain research, to current educational psychology and research that is being done right now,” said Wallace-York. “There are direct correlations what is, in a Montessori environment, filled with independence, choice, as well as concrete materials…how all of that fits into what we are continuing to learn is best for children.”
When the students complete the one-year program, they will be able to serve as lead teachers in a Montessori early childhood classroom and receive early childhood qualifications. They will also have the option to complete additional requirements to earn a Bachelor or Master of Education degree from Trine.
You can learn more about the program by clicking here.
Wallace-York says children are consistently the center of everything that is done in a Montessori classroom.