Introduction to Montessori learning approaches:
The Montessori school program was developed in the 1890's by Maria Montessori, who went on to open her first school in the early 1900's. She held very unique beliefs towards approaches for teaching and learning. In her honour, Montessori schools are still successfully running in many parts of the world today. Montessori’s key beliefs were that children should be highly independent learners, who are entitled the freedom to make choices about their learning, working as they wish. With the support of the teachers to encourage and provide an enriching environment, as the children progress through aspects of their natural development. (Isaacs, 2012). Students are encouraged to lead their own learning based around their interests. However, there are still numerous expectations of students. Students still must cover various learning areas, including English, mathematics and science, with key means of assessing children through aspects of observation. (Isaacs, 2012).