Purposeful Work in Montessori Education

Maria Montessori believed that children's activities should have some kind of a purpose to them. She has been quoted as saying, "Only practical work and experience lead the child to maturity." This means that the more the child is engaged, the more he is going to grow both intellectually and spiritually. Busywork, that is so common in society, does little, if anything, to assist the child's growth.

What is purposeful work?

Purposeful work means that the child is actively engaged in learning while performing the activity. Montessori lessons concentrate on process versus product. More emphasis is placed on the method employed to actually perform an activity than on the final result. Proper implementation of procedure will naturally lead to a desired result.

For example, look at cleaning a table. The desired result is a clean table, but how do you get a clean table? You can scrub, or just spray and let cleaner sit, or wipe with a sponge. But if the process of cleaning is not done correctly, it doesn't matter which method you use: the table will remain dirty. It takes over 50 steps to be done properly.

How is cleaning a table purposeful?

Cleaning a table is one of the many exercises in the practical life curriculum. The child is learning the life skill of cleaning a table, which can translate to cleaning other items in the child's environment. He is learning the independence of taking care of himself and his environment. He is learning how to control his movements while improving his coordination. Big arm movements can help a child regulate his proprioceptive sense and feel calmer. When he feels calmer, he is better able to concentrate on his work. As this concentration develops, it will translate to other areas of his life, allowing him to take in even more information. Also, by following the order of the steps involved, he is internalizing organizational skills that make learning how to read and write easier.

What about other areas of the classroom?

Montessori materials are designed to satisfy the educational needs of children. Few changes have been made in over 100 years of the philosophy being used, which indicates that it was done right in the beginning. Each activity focuses on one particular learning skill at a time to ensure that it is being learned.

Another key aspect about appropriate and purposeful activities in the Montessori classroom is that they actively involve the child in learning. Activities that are a waste of the child's time would be rote memorization, simply for the sake of taking a test. The child learns best when she can practically apply that knowledge to other areas of her life.

How do you know an activity is appropriate?

Appropriate Montessori activities isolate one skill at a time. For example, within the Sensorial curriculum, the sound cylinders, which are used for matching and grading sounds, are all found in wooden tubes. There is a set that is painted red on top, and a set that is painted blue on top. The purpose of the activity is to identify sounds, so they all look the same and all feel the same.

Another measure is the level of teacher involvement. Montessori referred to her teachers as "drectresses." Her purpose is to direct the child through the sequence and in proper manipulation of the materials. Then, she is to step away and let the child work independently. The materials should be self-correcting, so the teacher has little direct involvement, other than actively observing what the child is doing.

Through teacher observation, the child will also be learning materials that are appropriate for his developmental level within the Montessori sequence. The sequence has a prescribed order that builds each new activity upon the previous one.

An activity is inappropriate when the child cannot use it properly. Either he isn't ready for it, or he has already moved past that point in the sequence. It is not an appropriate activity if the child is simply memorizing for rote regurgitation with no practical application elsewhere in his environment. (An example would be "teaching to the test.")

Keeping children engaged in those purposeful activities will lead to great growth in many aspects of their beings. It will also lead to a calmer classroom environment and open the doors for learning.