A Montessori teacher has particular skills in understanding where each child is in his/her development, needs and interests. Different from traditional teaching where all children are generally at the same level, Montessori children progress at their own pace. It is the power of specialized observation by the Montessori teacher that provides the unique information for each child.
Teachers use ongoing unbiased observation to design child-specific lessons appropriate for each child. Observing children interacting, exploring and naturally working reveals developmental readiness for new lessons, learning styles, need for review of a lesson, and of “sensitive periods” where children are open to specific skill mastery.
Teaching teams are particularly structured for allowing one of the teachers to take time each day observing and documenting her notes in order to share with the team. Taking time to quietly sit and observe children reaps great benefits for each child and the classroom at large.
Even when helping and serving the children, she (the teacher) must not cease to observe them, because the birth of concentration in a child is as delicate a phenomenon as the bursting of a bud into bloom.
— Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind
