montessori ed » Speakers

Good At Doing Things

stanforded — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 22:37:21 +0000

On Friday, September 18, 2009, Dr. Steve Hughes inspired hundreds of Montessori parents and professionals at the Auckland University Campus with a presentation he calls Good At Doing Things.

Dr. Hughes began by sharing the simple story of how he first heard about Montessori, in passing, from a friend over dinner. This simple story, complete with slides, engaged everyone in the audience from first time parents seeking to learn more about this Montessori-thing, to professionals with decades of expertise, because everyone has a similar story about being introduced to Montessori or sharing it with others. Stories are a powerful tool that Dr. Hughes utilized here to engage the entire audience, which is crucial for maximum effect as a public speaker, before he shared more specific scientific information. His story, and the triggered personal memories, created an emotional context that helps focus a listener’s attention and gives the extra incentive to stick with academic material that may become challenging.

Dr. Hughes however, did not present challenging academic material. Instead he presented solid scientific evidence in a clear and direct way that was comprehensible for everyone. As anyone who has ever attempted to describe the Montessori Method can attest, it is very difficult to condense complex ideas into digestible bits, but this is exactly what Dr. Hughes managed with a seemingly effortless charm and humor.

I won’t discuss too many specifics of his talk, as a screencast is available on his website. However, I did want to specifcally mention two things.

Dr. Montessori described “Normalization” a century ago, at the birth of the field of psychology and before the invention of MRI and brain imaging technologies, and Dr Hughes, modern neuropsychologist would call this phenomenon “mature executive function”.

There was a palpable buzz of energy in the room as the lecture let out, a shared feeling that anything is possible. As wonderful as the screencast is, the internet is as yet incapable of communicating the electricity that was in the air as we poured out to our cars.

Is Micheal Merzenich speaking Montessori with a Neuroscience accent?

stanforded — Thu, 28 May 2009 04:15:05 +0000

In his TED Talk, Neuroscientist Micheal Merzenich doesn’t ever say “Absorbent Mind”, but he describes the phenomenon well. This is an excellent example of an opportunity for more meaningful dialogue between the Montessori Community and the Scientific Community. Merzenich actually uses the term “normalize” in a sense very similar to the Montessori definition, though I would be surprised if he was familiar with the Montessori method at all.

How do we demonstrate to the world that Montessori is truly a revolutionary approach to education? That all the current reforms to traditional education are like making a better abacus while Montessori education is a supercomputer? I think that contemporary neuroscience presents the tools for demonstrating tangible, significant differences resulting from the Montessori method.

I would love to see a neuron mapping comparison between Montessori children and non-Montessori children. What would be the consistent differences?

Sir Ken Robinson

stanforded — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:36:01 +0000

The featured keynote speaker at the 2009 AMI-USA Referesher Course is Sir Ken Robinson, described by AMI-USA as an

internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation, education, and human resources. In 1998 he led a national commission on creativity, education, and the economy for the UK government, bringing together leading business people, scientists, artists, and educators. His report, All Our Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (The Robinson Report) was published to huge acclaim. In 2003 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts.

Here is a video of a speech entitled “Do Schools Kill Creativity” that Sir Robinson delivered at a TED conference in 2006. If the embedded vidoe player is not functioning properly in your web browser, you can follow this link to see the video.

If you are attending the Refresher Course, this is a preview for you. If you will not be attending, this is your chance to see Sir Ken Robinson for free.

Sir Ken Robinson has also recently published a book entitled The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything.

Enjoy.

Dr. Steve Hughes, Montessori Speaker

stanforded — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:36:07 +0000

Dr. Steve Hughes is imminently qualified as a scientist to evaluate the Montessori Method. His credentials include a PhD, LP (Licensed Psychologist), ABPdN (member of the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology). He serves as Director of Education and Research for The TOVA Company, and as an assistant professor of pediatrics and neurology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Although I doubt Dr. Hughes will remember, I met him in 2004 when I was working as an assistant at Highland Park Montessori in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Hughes was just another parent, though I remember meeting him because he was delivering a case of honey jars for a school fundraiser. The honey was the product of his own apiary, and I thought that was pretty cool.

A year later I attended a workshop at Oakhill Montessori presented by Dr Hughes entitled “Your Capable Child”. I was impressed with his expert knowledge and comfortable speaking style. He was a featured speaker at the 2008 AMI-USA Refresher Course in Atlanta, Georgia and I am very sorry that I missed his speech.

Dr. Hughes has developed several presentations for Montessori schools and parents, and these are described in detail on website. I invite you to take a few moments to look at his site, you might want to consider bringing him to your school.

TED Talks

stanforded — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:00:20 +0000

I’ve been looking into the TED: Ideas Worth Sharing website.

TED describes itself in the following words…

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

This site makes the best talks and performances from TED available to the public, for free.

I mention TED for several reasons…

TED is an extremely influential Internet soapbox for sharing ideas. If you have read my posts regarding the search for a Tipping Point for the Montessori movement, you will remember that the Early Adopters are “the opinion leaders in the community, the respected, thoughtful people who watched and analyzed what those wild Innovators were doing and then followed suit” (Gladwell, 2002). TED is an excellent venue for reaching world opinion leaders.
There are already 2 TED talks that at least mention Montessori. 2 out of 210 talks. These talks are described below.
Angeline S. Lillard, PhD would be a phenomenal speaker for TED. More about this below.

These 2 TED speakers mention Montessori Education as a significant influence in their lives.

Will Wright, explains in the first few minutes that his Montessori Education in Atlanta was the high point of his education, and that he conceives of his highly successful computer games (SimCity, Sims, and more) as modern Montessori “toys”. This is a very interesting concept and I personally think that Montessori Auto-Didactic computer materials would be an interesting approach to more advanced studies such as higher mathematics and theoretical science.
Sergey Brin and Larry Page: Inside the Google Machine explain google and briefly mention their Montessori education about 8minutes 50 seconds into the speech. It is interesting to watch the video and consider how a Montessori education may have influenced their decisions and approach to business.

If Angeline S. Lillard PhD was invited to speak at TED, her speech could throw a bright light on the Montessori method are rekindle interest in the academic and world communities.

Please help nominate Angeline S Lillard PhD by completing this simple web form at the TED website. Click here.

I have included the information that I typed into the form. You are welcome to use it as a starting point for your answers if you like.

First Name of the Nominee

Angeline

Last Name of the Nominee

Lillard

Telephone No.

(434) 982 4750

Email Address

Lillard@virginia.edu

Tell us briefly about the speaker: Occupation? Honors or distinctions? Recent work? Why are you recommending them? *

Professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. Here is a link to her online CV http://people.virginia.edu/~asl2h/CV/CVIndex.htm.

She has recently published a best-selling book Montessori: The Science behind the Genius that takes a fresh look at the Montessori method through the critical lens of contemporary psychology.

After noting the influence of the Montessori method expressed in the TED talks of Will Wright, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and after listening to Sir Ken Robinson’s TED talk, I believe that the pedagogy developed by Maria Montessori is worth sharing with the TED community. Robinson describes the problems resulting from an educational system developed on industrial revolution principles, and the Montessori method is an alternative developed a century ago through scientific observation of the developmental needs of children. He has illuminated a problem in education, and Montessori may very well be the answer. In her book and speaking engagements, Dr. Lillard has done an excellent job explaining through current psychological research, why the Montessori method is so effective.

Please provide links to any articles or web pages about the speaker.

http://people.virginia.edu/~asl2h/

http://www.montessori-science.org/

Please provide links to any online audio or video featuring the proposed speaker.

http://www.montessori-science.org/montessori_science_dvd.htm

How do you think this person would best fit with the conference theme, “The Great Unveiling”?

Montessori’s work has largely been forgotten by history. She was a mentor and predecessor to Jean Piaget. Much of his research was conducted in Montessori classrooms and he was President of the Swiss Montessori Society. Erik Erikson was a Montessori trained teacher and once can see his Psycho-Social stages of development as an expansion of Montessori’s Planes of Development. Dr. Montessori was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949, 1950, and 1951 before her death in 1952. It is difficult to say why her work has been largely forgotten, perhaps because she chose to travel and lecture rather than sit as a professor at any one institution, perhaps because she was a pioneer in Education who shifted into that field from Medicine bringing a fresh but outside perspective. Perhaps because she was a woman, or because WWII shook the world and she died shortly after it’s conclusion. In her lifetime her work was supported by Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel, who founded the Montessori Educational Association, Thomas Edison, Mahatma Ghandi, and Helen Keller. If TED had existed a century ago, Dr. Montessori would have been invited along with these influential thinkers who supported her ideas. Dr. Montessori is gone, but Dr. Lillard’s work is an effort to Unveil the lost treasure of Montessori’s work.

Gladwell, M. (2002). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York: Back Bay Books.