Khalsa Montessori Middle School Program Overview
- See also our Middle School Courses of Academic Study.
In our Middle School classrooms. More photos»
The Khalsa Montessori Middle School program is an integration of the current research in human development, proven educational methods and materials, and the Montessori philosophy. The mission of the program is to empower early adolescents by providing opportunities to be self confident and gain self-knowledge, to belong to a community, to learn to be adaptable, to be academically competent and challenged, and to create a vision for their personal future.
The early adolescent is:
- an active, self-directed learner
- a vital member of the class, school, city, global community
- a vital member of the teacher-student-parent team
- responsible for keeping commitments, being honest and respectful
The teachers are:
- facilitators for learning
- consultants for the students
- creators of a positive climate for learning
- communicators with parents and community role models
The school structure offers:
- a learner-centered environment
- a developmentally-responsive curriculum
- a Montessori teacher with additional adults as resources
- parents-teachers-student partnerships
- multi-aged grouping of 12-15 year olds
- large blocks of uninterrupted learning time
- peer and cross-age teaching
The curriculum and instruction includes:
- trans-disciplinary themes
- learning how to learn strategies
- personal learning plans
- mastery, coaching and exploratory activities
- long term cooperative learning projects
- sense of community and social interaction with peers
- meaningful and challenging work
- activities for self-expression, self-knowledge, and self-assessment
- activities that value all nine intelligences and a variety of learning styles
- activities to foster interdependence
- activities for learning economic independence
- school and community service projects
- activities that allow work on and with the land
Khalsa Montessori Middle School Program
In our Middle School classrooms. More photos»
Cycles of Work
Each year in the Khalsa Montessori Middle School Program there are five cycles of work followed by weeks for land laboratory, internships, and testing. Each cycle is five weeks. At the beginning of each cycle, students complete a contract identifying the work they are going to accomplish during the cycle. At the end of the fifth week, there is a product presentation and written and self-assessments of the thematic project work. The cycle format is designed to help students learn organizational, decision-making, and time-management skills.
Mastery Learning
Mastery learning is a form of personalized learning that gives students the necessary time to master particular skills before progressing to the next level of work. The student takes on the responsibility of learning a skill versus merely accepting a low grade and never really learning the information. The teacher's job is to break down the learning steps, to offer suggestions for internalizing the knowledge, and to give the time necessary to learn the information. According to research, the advantage of mastery learning is that it offers clear expectations, fosters mastery of a unit of study, is not competitive, and encourages student responsibility. The student's transcript indicates that courses have been completed with at least 90% mastery. The procedure is to offer information, provide learning strategies and activities, provide a variety of assessments – performance assessment with rubrics scale, quizzes, written tests, and self-assessments - and re-teach and retest if necessary.
Classroom Work
The school day is divided into two kinds of work: individual and group. Individual work is designed to make a match between the skills, abilities, and interests of each student, and there are a variety of work choices in every academic area to be done alone or in small, self-chosen groups. Individual work is assessed individually with mastery tests that may be written or oral. There is opportunity to do modified, basic, and advanced work in most areas.
Group work is done in randomly chosen groups in which individuals learn to work together for five weeks. These groups work together on physical tasks such as the snack bar fund raising, physical education, and academic tasks in the thematic units, which integrate all subject areas. Individual written tests, group presentations, and self-assessments of the group process assess the thematic units.
Independent Study
Students do two independent studies a year, one focusing on history or science and the other on a personal topic. In the fall, the focus is a topic of personal interest. In the spring of each year, students will create a project to present to the class on history (even years) or science (odd years). There are specific guidelines and due dates along the way. A research paper is expected. This work is to be done individually
Internships and Service Projects
In December, seventh grade students spend four days as assistants in a Montessori classroom and eighth grade students spend four days working in a business of their choice. Students prepare a business letter stating their goals and verifying arrangements. Students also prepare a resume' to send with their letter. In the spring, students spend three days on a service project outside of school. Students do other service projects throughout the year based on need and interest
Service learning goes beyond community service. It is a method by which young people learn through active participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet a genuine community need and are coordinated in collaboration with the school and community. The young people participate in the planning and decision-making. It is integrated into the academic curriculum and includes time for thinking, talking or writing about their experiences. It provides opportunities to use newly acquired academic skills and knowledge in real life situations in their community. It extends student learning beyond the classroom and helps to foster the development of a sense of caring for others.
Outdoor Education
Land Laboratory/Erdkinder
"Men with hands and no head, and men with head and no hands are equally out of place in the modern community."….. Therefore the work on the land is an introduction both to nature and civilization and gives a limitless field for scientific and historic studies….The rural atmosphere offers students a kind of "place apart"-- a safe and healthy environment to promote their transition to adulthood".
(From Childhood to Adolescence, Montessori).
The Khalsa Montessori Middle School program offers opportunities for the students to work with the land. Students will maintain gardens, the pond, and horticultural projects at the school campus in conjunction with the younger children. Throughout the year, students will spend many days during immersion weeks studying various topics at different land lab sites. In the past, students have visited the San Pedro River basin in Southern Arizona basin to study this unique eco-system and the water issues involved with its preservation. They have participated in Nature Conservancy educational programs at wildlife preserves, studied the results of forest fires in the Heber/ Showlow area, and experienced leadership training and ropes courses in Prescott. Trips away from the school campus offer practical life experience as well as academic application to real life situations. New academic information is introduced in coordination with projects on the land. Projects are done in cooperative groups allowing the students to work with others towards a common goal.
Personal Reflection
As part of the health curriculum, students spend thirty minutes each day after lunch in personal reflection. Dr. Montessori felt that early adolescents have a quest for self-knowledge which in turn helps adolescents develop their identity. In our hurried society, we want the students to learn to spend time reflecting on goals, reducing stress, and creating a personal vision. At this time students will work by themselves on guided self-knowledge activities that are recorded in a journal as relaxing music is played, take a power nap, do yoga guided by a video tape, do creative arts, or participate in the heroic journey activities. A student must choose a balance of these activities during the cycle.
Integrity, Respect, and Responsibility
The classroom is based on the premise of integrity, respect, and responsibility. The Montessori classroom provides many opportunities at all levels for the development of these universal values. Integrity involves trust and honesty. The ROPES trip begins each year with activities for the students and teachers to learn to trust each other. Learning to trust oneself, peers, and adults is the first step in establishing a community of learners. Trust is an important factor in early adolescent development. Honesty in personal relationships and academic work is a cornerstone of the classroom rules.
