Montessori Teacher Trainees Build Community Virtually

The Houston Montessori Institute (HMI) is a Montessori teacher training institute founded in 2012 at The Post Oak School and affiliated with Association Montessori Internationale, Amsterdam. HMI offers courses for adults who wish to become teachers and assistants at the Primary level (for children between the ages of three to six) and also holds workshops for Montessori educators.

HMI has just concluded a very successful training as part of our AMI Primary Teacher Training course with 22 students from various parts of the United States.

The HMI team and the Class of 2021 cohort of trainees jointly participated in creating a dynamic and cohesive virtual learning environment. Montessori education is meant to be a hands-on, prepared environment experience for both children and teachers-in-training. As much as we would have liked working with students in person, current circumstances left us with no option other than to use the wonders of technology and virtual training.

Last summer, our current cohort of students were able to meet together at the Bissonnet Campus. This year, due to COVID-19, all classes were delivered virtually, beginning with a spring webinar. Between the dates of June 10 and July 29, students met for an average of three to four hours daily, via Zoom, to receive lectures and presentations.

HMI was able to adapt this year’s program to create an online learning experience that included both live and recorded Zoom sessions; live Zoom breakout rooms for small group activities and collaboration; additional video recordings available for students; online submissions; and opportunities for hands-on practice with materials at local classrooms, including the model prepared environment at HMI. Students were also provided guidelines for making their own sets of Montessori materials at home. This new online approach has proven to be quite successful.

Of significant note is the cohesive community built among the students as they participated in the live Zoom sessions, and they furthered this sense of community as they worked and practiced together in smaller groups. HMI will continue to stay closely connected with this cohort of trainees as they work with children during the coming academic year, continue to attend webinars and workshops, and complete and submit assignments.