Project Highlight

• Finalist, 2020 Epoch Talk Graduate Student Competition

• An engaged and happy young learner at home during a very uncertain and traumatic time.

Montessori-inspired at Home Lesson Plans

Project Type: Learning Design, Community Service-Learning Project (independent)
Themes: Montessori Education, Project-Based Learning, Homeschooling, Educational Continuity

The Challenge Space

What is a "good" education during a global crisis? With many parents working from home and schools closed, what is the best way to keep a learner engaged intellectually while meeting their social-emotional needs during a time of crisis?

The Response

I designed a study plan for my 11-year-old son during the 2020 pandemic shutdown. Inspired by Montessori Pedagogy and Philosophy, the study plan offers a weekly framework for learning with structure and freedom. Using Backwards Design and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) frameworks, while keeping Montessori principles in mind, I designed the lesson plan and schedule to allow freedom of work choice and freedom of movement within a structure. A recommended schedule is provided to organize his day with the flexibility to delve deeper into a topic that captures intrinsic interest and liberty to choose the sequence of lessons. The plan required engagement with other learners (older siblings and parents), to take care of his environment (our home), develop capacities for self-care (practical life skills) as well as survival skills to boost his confidence in his own resiliency.

The Artifacts

The weekly lesson plans, designed for the Montessori upper elementary level (4th-6th grade), provided the flexibility needed for a learner’s level of feasible focus given we were living through a time filled with many uncertainties and concerns.

The lesson plans included the discipline areas found in the Montessori curriculum (Science, Math, History, Language, Practical Life) as well as other pedagogical approaches, including Maker-Centered Learning (Agency by Design 2015) and Digital Pedagogy. Each weekly plan included one or more "design and make" projects that aim to exercise imagination and creative mean-making of interdisciplinary knowledge while providing opportunities to engage the whole family. The first week involved designing an escape room for the family to do over the weekend. During the second week, the challenge was to design and build an obstacle course for the family.

The lesson plan was shared with Montessori parents in my community.