The absorbing mind of the child according to Maria Montessori

The absorbent mind of the child is one of the key concepts in the pedagogical method developed by the Italian pedagogue and doctor Maria Montessori.

It arises from research where Montessori observed that, between 0 and 6 years of age, children learn instantly, as if their mind were a sponge that unconsciously absorbs information from external stimuli in response to the needs of each stage of the development.

For her contributions to psychology and pedagogy, the absorbent mind of the child is a concept that has been constantly studied.

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The mind of children according to Montessori

Young children tend to show fascination with almost everything around them. It seems that almost any stimulus can get your attention, and that no matter how many times it is presented, the stimulus can still be as attractive as the first time around. Also, they never seem to get tired and are constantly drawn to novelty and adventure.

According to Montessori, this is so because the main characteristic of children is that, unlike Adults can absorb in a natural, involuntary and progressive way the information that surrounds.

For this reason, for Maria Montessori, the fundamental thing in learning during childhood is allow children to live experiences according to their own rhythms and needs, since it is these experiences that will later become organized perceptions of the world, and they are also the ones that are the foundation of the child's psychic maturation.

Technically, the absorbing mind is a mental state that allows the child to assimilate experiences and later analyze them and integrate them, which she does unconsciously during the first 3 years, and gradually becomes conscious towards the next 3.

From there, Montessori proposes that the absorbing mind of the child is also the moment in which the child lays the foundations for the development of an identity which is not only psychological, but also social, because it allows them to organize their experiences according to what the environment offers and demands.

For example, without going through formal learning, the child absorbs a language, customs, practices and norms of those around you, which creates a first feeling of belonging and therefore of security.

For Maria Montessori, childhood is the crucial stage in the development of human beings., and it is the task of education to encourage and offer the appropriate means for children to build an autonomous identity that is also respectful of those around them.

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How does the absorbent mind develop? sensitive periods

What Maria Montessori also observed is that the mind does not absorb the same in all ages, but there is a series of predispositions that make the child focus his attention on some stimulus based on what is necessary for his growth. In other words, depending on their needs, children focus on some things and not on others. In a natural way they show interest and approach them, which allows them to acquire the necessary knowledge with pleasure and almost without effort.

This interest varies according to the stage of development, with what Montessori called “sensitive periods” in transitory and successive moments. Although he divided them by age, he clarified that they sometimes overlap, and that the duration of each period can vary, as well as its intensity. The main periods he described are as follows.

1. Sensitive period of the order (0 to 6 years)

Especially during the first two years of life there is a disposition and an important interest in classify and categorize everything around them, which is favored through the order.

2. Sensitive period of movement (0- 5/6 years)

They show special interest in moving from one place to anotherespecially if they have learned to walk.

3. Sensitive period of language (0 to 7 years)

Virtually no need for direct teaching tend to acquire a large vocabulary.

4. Sensitive period of sensations (0-6 years)

It involves the development of the senses. Although both hearing and vision are active from birth, as their development progresses they acquire a special sensitivity and a facility to learn through touch, taste and smell.

5. Sensitive period of small objects (1 to 6-7 years)

Silk a special interest in small objects related to the need to pay special attention to detail

6. Sensitive period of social life (from intrauterine life to 6 years)

It refers to the need to relate to their peers and the process of acquire certain important rules for coexistence.

Impact on education

Although it is easier to learn certain things according to the moment of development, it can also happen that a sensitive period ends before the learning that corresponded to it had been reached, which can make it very difficult to teach it in the following stages.

To prevent this, educational methods should offer not only the development of intellectual abilities, but of the appropriate elements to promote learning according to each sensitive period.

From there, Montessori also developed an explanation for children's "tantrums" or "tantrums," which sometimes seem inexplicable, but that could actually mean significant intellectual frustration for not being able to respond to the stimuli that interest.

For example, when children have spent a long time doing the same activity and adults tell them that it is time to move on to another, because it seems unimportant to us, or because it takes a long time, or because we tend to prioritize quantity over quantity. quality; even when the child's need is still to pay attention to that specific stimulus.

The pedagogy of Maria Montessori even has been described as a pedagogy of attention and concentration, precisely because it drives the need of children to maintain their attention on certain stimuli of accordance with the stages of development, respecting their own interest and avoiding interference from others. Adults.

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What has neuroscience said?

In the field of neurosciences, the proposals of Maria Montessori have been studied and several empirical foundations have been found. For example, that the development of neural connections and networks in the human brain reaches its peak between 0 and 3 years of life (synaptogenesis), which suggests that indeed, During its early stages of development, the brain works like a sponge. that almost automatically absorbs everything around it.

As this development progresses, some neural connections are prioritized according to the information that is most necessary to acquire and organize. That is why, towards puberty, the child has already consolidated a more concrete learning: she has discriminated on what is useful to know, attend to and experience and what is not, according to what the environment itself has offered or denied.