The Program
The UMA Montessori teacher certification training program is a distance-learning program, whereby participants correspond through lessons by both email and video tutorials. Students will receive the lesson responses in online forms and Acrobat PDF/MS Word attachments. Each assignment may be downloaded and printed up as hard copies for use in personal manuals. Online training videos and the online UMA Teacher's Manual are included in the cost of tuition. Books required for reading assignments may be purchased separately and are the sole responsibility of the student (see Materials and Costs page).
There are 26 written lessons, which will be emailed in six sections, as follows:
SECTION 1. Introduction to Montessori
• Montessori vs. Traditional
- A Comparison
Lesson 2.
• Maria Montessori, Her Life and Work
- Biographical Timeline
Lesson 3.
• A Beginning Observation
- Montessori School
Lesson 4.
• A Beginning Observation
- Traditional School
Lesson 5.
• The Secret of Childhood
- Book Review
SECTION 2. Montessori Principles and Early Childhood Development… Includes an inner look at our own early childhood years.
The Psychology of Development - Section Outline
• Social Interaction
• Emotional Development
• Sensitive Periods
Lesson 7.
The Significance of Movement in Education - Chapter Outline
• Intelligence Development
• Personality Development
Lesson 8.
The New Relationship - Chapter Outline
• Freedom, Individual Liberty, Independence
• Self Discipline
• Order and the Prepared Environment
• Respect
Lesson 9.
Montessori and Froebel - Chapter Outline
• Behavioral Tendencies
-Deviations, Fugues, Possessive Instincts
• Fantasy/Reality
Lesson 10.
• Concentration, Point of Contact
• Joy of Learning
• Normalization
SECTION 3. The Adult-Child Relationship in the Classroom… Evaluating various behavior scenarios.
• Handling Misbehavior
Lesson 12.
• Observation and Communication
Lesson 13.
• Environment Preparation
Lesson 14.
• Learning Through Discovery
Lesson 15.
• "Circle" Time and the Adult's Objective
SECTION 4. The Montessori Academic Apparatus…Classroom setup, Montessori material presentations, and album projects.
• Practical Life
-Social Graces
• Album Project
Lesson 17.
• Sensorial
-Isolation of Stimulus
• Album Project
Lesson 18.
• Language
-Language Explosions
• Album Project
Lesson 19.
• Math
-The 3-Period Lesson
• Album Project
Lesson 20.
• Culture
-Cosmic Education
• The Arts
• Album Projects
-Science, Geography, History
SECTION 5. Parent-Teacher Relationships. Includes Parent Handbook for school handout and child evaluation samples for parent conferences.
• Child Observation Report
• Parent Conference
Lesson 22.
• Parent Expectations and Teacher Responses
Lesson 23.
• Parent Interviews
SECTION 6. Course Review
• Final Classroom Observations
-Montessori School
Lesson 25.
• Final Review
Lesson 26.
• Personal Goal Setting and Self Evaluation
