Humanities college instructors study Montessori method

On November 27-30, 2017 in Aktau, a regional training course on the Montessori methodology was held for teachers of liberal arts colleges in Aktau, Zhanaozen, Fort Shevchenko and Beineu village specializing in preschool education. The training was conducted by EFCA as part of the final phase of the "Growing Together!" project in the field of pre-school education, implemented with the support of ERSAI Caspian Contractor LLC.

After studying the  "Sensoriki" and "UPZH" zones, the group began to learn the zones of "Language" and "Space." Within the first component, 24 participants of the training studied the peculiarities of the "Language" zone in the Montessori environment, learned how to expand vocabulary in children, and teach children writing and reading with the help of Montessori materials. The participants also became acquainted with the "Space" zone, which helps children to create a holistic picture of the world for themselves and to realize themselves and their place in it, master the basics of history, botany, zoology, anatomy, geography, physics, astronomy, and also teach children how to find information on the surrounding world, its comparison, comparison, analysis, experience, and order.

The next two trainings will be devoted to Montessori mathematics, which introduces the child to the subject visually and tactile, which facilitates the perception of mathematical concepts in consciousness in the form of abstraction.

The training was conducted by Montessori trainers from the kindergartens in the village of Kuryk (Aygolek, Kulynshak, Zhanshuak, a mini-center at the Regional sanatorium boarding school) - educators, working in accordance with the methodology from 2014 and having passed an advanced level of training for trainers. According to the organizers, this will help further build the capacity of local experts.

The training was held within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the Akimat of Mangistau Oblast, the Education Department of the Mangistau Oblast and EFCA on the Implementation of Social Projects in the Mangistau Oblast of May 24, 2017.

"I learned a lot of useful things at this Montessori training. This system helps to develop children's thinking, creativity and consider each child as a separate person. I will apply all the knowledge gained in my future work," said one of the participants in the training, Nurgul Kayboldieva.

The "Growing Together!" program has been implemented since 2013 and is aimed at improving the quality of pre-school education in the village of Kuryk. The main objectives of the program are to improve the qualifications of educators to meet the developmental needs of children in a qualitative way, prepare children for life through building necessary skills, use humanistic approaches and effective methods for the development of children, involve parents in the educational process, ensure the continuity of kindergartens and primary schools, local experts in Mangistau oblast. The program covers 7 kindergartens of the village, in which 9 "Step by Step" groups and 5 Montessori offices are open.