"Montessori" College? Could it be?

Selfishly, I think my three-year son is the most amazing kid in the world. He is curious, inquisitive, and interested in everything. Just yesterday he asked a series of why questions: why are there trees, why are there clouds, why are there leaves, why, why, why? And at this age, most kids are like this. However, the rate of questions typically decrease and the appetite for right answers increase when children begin traditional school.??

And by and large, I was that kid who grew up only looking for right answers because that’s what I thought “smart people” did. It wasn’t until graduate school that I started becoming comfortable asking questions. One of my graduate school professor said, ‘everything that is, started as a question.’ In essence, questions allow us to explore, experiment and exercise intellectual curiosity that lead to discovery.

As a professor, it is evident to me that not much has changed since I left K-12 education. Many of my students who enter my classroom are most concerned with how many assignments will they have, how much reading must be done, and when are the exam and presentation dates. It feels very transactional; give me this, and I’ll give you that. Rarely, do I start off with students who demonstrate exuberant curiosity beyond the logistics of the course.

So, I ask the question, what if colleges embraced the Montessori approach? This was my thought as I observed a Montessori class for the first time over a year ago. When searching for a preK school for my son, my wife and I visited several schools; some good, some not as good, but nothing compared to the Montessori. Granted, before visiting the Montessori school, I had always heard about them but not enough to fully grasp their methods or their philosophy. During our class observation, my initial impression of the Montessori class was pure chaos; some kids running, some kids playing instruments, some kids drawing, some kids reading, some kids playing with blocks, some kids putting together a puzzle, some kids playing with clay; all the while the teacher is saying nothing just observing; WTH was my thought! Why didn’t the teacher settle the kids down, why didn’t the teacher focus the class on one activity, why didn’t the teacher teach and where the hell are the neatly rowed desks?!?!

But oddly, after 30 minutes of silently observing it dawned on me that this “chaotic class” was actually a cauldron of learning, a blank canvas in which the students created their art, and a true freedom of intellectual expression and exploration so foreign to my traditional education I didn’t know what I didn’t know until I sat there in awe wishing I had this experience as a child.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Montessori schools and/or haven’t seen it for yourself it is hard to capture it in words, but here are the Montessori essential elements:

·?????Mixed age classrooms, with classrooms for children ages 2? to 6?years old by far the most common

·?????Student choice of activity from within a prescribed range of options

·?????Uninterrupted blocks of work time, ideally three hours

·?????A constructivist or "discovery" model, where students learn concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction

·?????Specialized educational materials developed by Dr. Montessori and her collaborators

·?????Freedom of movement within the classroom

·?????A trained Montessori teacher?

Here is a YouTube link of a Montessori class.

As a result of this learning method (not teaching method), student are able to harness and cultivate their innate creativity and curiosity. Their curiosity for what excites them grows exponentially. Their creativity for approaching problems and figuring out problems increases. Students truly take ownership of their learning. Learning, thus is not prescribed or based solely on what a teacher teaches or doesn’t teach. The act of learning then does not become a chore. It becomes embraced. It becomes fun. It becomes a way of life. Students will be equipped to see the world through a different lens; a lens of opportunity, a lens of discovery, and a lens of exploration in which they are the master of their fate and captain of their soul.

But back to my original question, ‘what if colleges embraced the Montessori approach?’ Or better yet, what if colleges do not embrace the Montessori approach? This is something that I often thought about since that class observation. But this is a reality we have to consider given the shift in our economy from knowledge centric to change centric. Think about it, according to what studies you read, 47% of the total US employment is at risk for being displaced by automation within the next 25 years, nearly 65% of school aged students will likely work in jobs that do not yet exist. So take for example, driverless cars. In several states, automobile and tech companies are currently testing driverless cars on the road. Once these cars become the norm it has the potential to not only shock and disrupt the auto industry but every industry that has anything to do with transportation – insurance, manufacturing, delivery (taxi, buses, long haul), construction, public works, etc. In other words, this is a scary new normal, so we (colleges) better get our acts together and do the job our students need us to do; provide them with the tools to be agile learners, to be curious, to be critical thinkers, and to be innovators.

What does a Montessori college class look like? For starters colleges should consider the following:

1.????Reconsider the physical space of classrooms. The physical nature of many college classrooms are built to center all the attention on a single person, the sage on the stage. This is great for the professor, but not so much for the student. Classes need to move toward a studio setting where engagement between faculty & students and student to student can manifest. Learning has to be more than writing copious notes for a 90-minute course. (Below is my Intro to Business Models class engaged in a design thinking exercise)

2.????Rejuvenate Student Curiosity. By and large, students go to “X” college to acquire “Y” skill to do “Z” job. Students are keenly aware that companies need accountants to understand a balance sheet, journalist who can write a story, and engineers who can build. So instead of embracing learning, students are generally focused on content, ‘what will be on the test, so I can pass the class to get a good grade, to get my job.’ And who can blame them? The high stakes testing culture they grew up in has conditioned this mentality of “learning. This type of learning does not foster creativity or curiosity beyond the ‘need to know.’ A new system of rewards and curriculum need to be fostered to break this vicious cycle.

3.????Reconsider the Professoriate. The life of a professor can be pretty sweet. You complete your PhD, become an instant thought leader, and spend seven years promoting your field (research & publishing), earn tenure and have a job for life. However, does this always help student learning? Depends on who you ask. I am not advocating for the continuation or removal of tenure, I just think we should discuss the importance of a professor as a facilitator to encourage learning, and how they engage students.

Are these all the answers, no, not at all. But it is a start of a conversation, a conversation based on ‘what if,’ which allows for exploration, possibilities unknown, and perhaps a better future if we release our grip of the status quo of higher education.

So please join me in this discussion. I’d love to hear from higher education administrators, faculty, former Montessori students and all those interested.

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About Dr. Vaughn A. Calhoun

Vaughn Calhoun, Ed.D, is the Director of Business Programs and Assistant Professor at Becker College. He has the responsibility of revamping and relaunching the business program to meet the needs of the 21st century, infusing the Agile Mindset.

Dr. Calhoun is a graduate of Rutgers University where he earned his bachelors degree while also participating as a full scholarship Division I student-athlete on the football team. Likewise, he earned his Master’s of Public Policy and Administration from California State University Long Beach and his Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) from Northeastern University.

Dr. Calhoun is avid on social media blogging and musing about innovation, entrepreneurship, success and sports.