{"id":6725,"date":"2024-05-31T22:20:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T22:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/?p=6725"},"modified":"2024-07-08T22:38:47","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T22:38:47","slug":"montessori-planes-of-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpfulprofessor.com\/montessori-planes-of-development\/","title":{"rendered":"Montessori’s 4 Planes of Development, Explained!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\u27a1\ufe0f Study Card<\/summary>\n
\"Montessori<\/figure>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n
\u27a1\ufe0f Introduction<\/summary>\n

Maria Montessori’s approach to early childhood education is underpinned by a stage-based constructivist method. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Montessori, like other constructivists like Piaget and Froebel, developed a series of developmental stages that children should move through one after the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She called her stages the “four planes of development”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four planes are:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Infancy (0 – 6 years)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Childhood (6 – 12 years)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Adolescence (12 – 18 years)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Maturity (18 – 24 years)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Montessori believes that the infancy and adolescence phases are turbulent times with rapid change, while childhood and maturity are times of smooth, calm change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Furthermore, the first half of each stage involves most of the development while the second half of each stage involves consolidation of knowledge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The planes of development are the theoretical underpinning for Montessori’s approach. If you need a general overview of other aspects of the Montessori method, see here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \"montessoris<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The Planes of Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    1. Infancy (0 – 6 years)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \"girl\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The “infancy” period spans from 0 to 6 years, but so much happens that Montessori splits it into two sub-categories: the unconscious absorbent mind (0 – 3) and the conscious absorbent mind (3 – 6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u27a1\ufe0f Phase 1: The Unconscious Absorbent Mind<\/summary>\n

    The Unconscious Absorbent Mind<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    During this phase (0 – 3 years), children develop basic sensory powers, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n