Discover how to support children with learning differences in the Montessori 3-6 years environment with a course that takes a neurodevelopmental approach. This Blended Format course (online and in-person evening sessions in London) is led by our Head of Training Louise Livingston.
About the Course
By their very nature, many “special needs” courses try to mandate what you can do if a child has a “special need”. This suggests that the same approach can help all children with a particular developmental disorder. However, developmental disorders are spectrum disorders and there can be a world of difference between one child and the next.
This course, grounded in a neurodevelopmental approach, aims to address this issue. It will help participants understand how to observe differences in children and respond in a way that supports each unique child to thrive, irrespective of their learning difference.
It will also address how we can enable and celebrate difference whilst also supporting development, touching on when inclusion is suitable for the child and when other solutions may be more beneficial.
Who is this course suitable for?
This course is for those with any Montessori Diploma at 3-6 years stage who have an interest in children with learning differences. You may be working in a Montessori Children’s House, a parent supporting a child between the ages of 3-6 in the home or a professional interested in the support of learning differences using a neurodevelopmental approach.
Whilst the course will impart a lot of information, it is also discussion based. Participants will carry out an observation and intervention for a child with learning differences in their own class (or home) across the academic year. These case studies will form the basis for discussion and sharing with the whole group. It is intended that this will enable the participants to draw on the experience of many with many different children, helping them to develop a way of working with children that can be applied in a myriad of situations.
What Students Say
“The course included everything from how broad the spectrum of learning differences can be to the neuroscience that underpins these differences.”
“I can’t wait to implement the strategies we have learnt about and discussed in my classroom next year!”
“Listening to Louise (the trainer) talk so passionately reignited our commitments to being a Montessori directress. She did a wonderful job of pulling together the concepts proposed by Montessori that neuroscience is now confirming.”
Apply for Montessori and Learning Differences Course
Themes and Topics Covered on the Course
- Development as an outcome of an altered developmental trajectory
- Neuroscientific approaches to understanding developmental disorders
- Educational neuroscience and neuro-constructivism
- Dispelling neuromyths about how we learn
- Enabling difference whilst supporting development
- The importance of motor skills and movement in development
- Observation as a tool for supporting development
- Record keeping as a support to observation
Learning Differences Covered on the Course
The course will focus on considering each child as an individual but learning differences that will be addressed on the course include:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Autism Spectrum disorder
- ADHD
- Developmental language delay
- Dyslexia
- Dyscalculia
- Developmental coordination disorder (Dyspraxia)
Entry requirements
Any Montessori Diploma covering the 3-6 years age group.
Application
Applicants must write a short personal statement (500 words) covering the following:
- The reasons they wish to do the course
- The school or environment in which they will do their case study
- A brief profile of the child they will use for their case study
Details of how to submit the personal statement are included in the application process.
Please note that the intention of this course is to facilitate participants in a practical way as well as to gather and share knowledge and understanding about supporting children with learning differences. For this reason, priority will be given to those students who intend to do a case study. If there are places available, some places may be offered to those who only wish to audit.
Apply for Montessori and Learning Differences Course
Next course starts 3rd October 2024
Course Format
The course will be in a blended format with evening in-person sessions in London as well as students undertaking a case study of a child in their own time.
Module 1: Thursdays 6-9pm from 3rd October to 12th December 2024 in-person at our London training centre, plus recorded lectures to be viewed in your own time.
Module 2: January to June 2025 – you will undertake your case study in your own time as well as attending five sharing and discussion sessions at the London training centre – dates will be coordinated with students once the course starts. During this time you will also have access to an online sharing platform which will be monitored by the course leader.
Module 3: July 2025 – 2 or 3 evening sessions at our London training centre (depending on number of participants) where students will share case studies and learn from other’s experiences.
Course Fee: £1200
There is an option to pay in instalments, please contact course@mariamontessori.org for more information.