In the Montessori educational framework, albums are essentially the teacher’s guide for a specific subject. They contain detailed instructions for presenting lessons or activities to children, often including pictures of the materials, the scope and sequence of lessons, suggested ages for the presentations, and sometimes printable resources for the materials. Albums are traditionally created by individuals undergoing Montessori teacher training and are commonly used as a reference in the classroom[1].
While Montessori albums are similar to traditional textbooks in their instructive function, they differ in that Montessori learning primarily arises from interaction with materials, not from reading texts. The instructions in the albums are for the teachers to use when presenting the materials to the children. However, albums usually do not include the theory and philosophy behind the Montessori method, which is a crucial part of Montessori teacher training[2].
Contents
- 1Montessori Quotes on Albums
- 2Research and Critiques
- 3Comparison to Other Methods
- 4Resources: Free Albums
- 5Glossary of Montessori Terms
- 6Please help to translate this page into your local language
- 7References
Montessori Quotes on Albums
“The teachers…are not the fountain-head from which the knowledge flows; they are there to offer help and guidance… This is the basis of our method.”
— Maria Montessori, “Dr. Montessori’s Own Handbook”