Upcoming MTAWA Events

Upcoming Events from Sydney Montessori Training Centre:

Recent MTA Events:

Neurodiversity in the Montessori Classroom

The Montessori Teachers Association of Western Australia (MTAWA) professional development session with Aleks Zajacs on Neorodiverse Learners in a Montessori Classroom.

Over a hundred participants from Montessori schools in Perth (and a Montessori teacher from Thailand currently visiting Perth!) attended this informative presentation, where Aleks discussed what neurodiversity means and examined the statistics involved. For instance, 1 in 14 of Australia’s 5 million children have some form of disability, and this is more likely to be intellectual, sensory or psychosocial than physical. With 14% of children in Australia having a mental condition, we are likely to need to provide significant support to at least three students in each of our classes.

Aleks, as a trained and experienced Montessori teacher and school leader, registered psychologist and registered assessor with SPELD NZ, shared her knowledge and expertise regarding our role in assisting neurodiverse students in  Montessori schools- to focus on The Scientific Method (in particular to observe and experiment), to gather the information we need (from observation, parent interviews and collaboration), and to appropriately prepare the environment (where support is built in for all children through our understanding of their needs).

Aleks spent time discussing the most common childhood conditions that we would come across in schools, Anxiety, ADHD, Autism and Sensory Processing (often comorbid with the previous three conditions), with some specific examples and strategies for each. She concluded by reminding us of the art of balance between the child, the environment and the teacher. That as Montessori teachers we need to respond to each child’s needs by bringing our attention and solutions where they are needed by carefully observing the children and the environment and acting on those observations.

After a most delicious and ample morning tea which also provided the opportunity to chat with fellow Montessorians, we had a Q & A session with Aleks followed by breakout groups of 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-18 and school leasers to talk about neurodiversity in that age group and how we can utilise the information from the presentation to benefit our students.

The MTAWA received very positive feedback after the professional development session, which also resulted in an increase in our membership to over 120 Western Australian Montessori educators! We sincerely thank Aleks for sharing her time and expertise with us.