The Montessori and IB Approach

Dr. Maria Montessori developed a methodology and materials to respond to the evolving needs and characteristics of unique individuals as they mature through distinct stages of development. These Planes of Development are at the very heart of the Montessori educational experience at MSR.

Each six-year Plane is divided into three-year cycles, with the third year in each sequence being a capstone year—a culminating experience academically, emotionally, socially, and developmentally. This means that Kindergarten, Grade 3, and Grade 6 are pinnacle years for students at MSR, aligning intentionally with children’s developmental stages.

Our Kindergarten, Grade 3, and Grade 6 students are the oldest and most mature in their groups, rather than the youngest. We give them age-appropriate responsibility and make them educational and civic leaders in our community, allowing the oldest children in each cycle to confidently share their knowledge and expertise with the younger students. Giving these lessons requires them to reduce complex concepts to their simplest elements and then convey them with clarity and understanding, ensuring the highest level of mastery and revealing any gaps in comprehension that teachers need to address before students progress.

To grasp the essence of an MSR education, just step inside one of our classrooms.

Beautiful, inviting, and thoughtfully arranged, our campuses and classrooms are the modern embodiment of Maria Montessori’s revolutionary approach. She called it “the prepared environment,” and it’s an essential aspect of our pedagogy and curriculum.

Natural lighting, natural colors, and uncluttered spaces set the stage for focused and calm activity, everything designed to convey a sense of harmony and order that both structures and inspires self-directed work. Learning materials are displayed on child-accessible shelves, inviting independent exploration and experimentation. Every space is arranged to support the natural flow of learning and geared for all the different kinds of engagement students require. You see students in quiet, serene corners for reading or thinking, at tables set with tools for hands-on learning and creation, and in spaces made for energetic movement and physical play.

Our teachers ensure each classroom is prepared for learning this way every day. They look ahead, design, organize, and plan, anticipating ways to create beautiful spaces that are warm, inviting, and inspire each student’s next fascination.

AT MSR, WE TAKE A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH.

MSR assesses student growth constantly using a variety of tools such as portfolios, student records, observations, scope and sequence charts, testing,* and informal in-class assessments such as the I-Ready and DIBLES. We incorporate testing and other standard assessments when the time is right developmentally (e.g., testing begins in Elementary School when documented progress helps inform instruction and showcase growth; grades begin in Middle School when students are ready for more formal commitments, responsibilities, and accountability). At every level, we closely observe, assess, and report each student’s advancing progress. We also involve them in the process.

From the very start, children practice directing and evaluating their own learning. By the time they reach college, MSR graduates are comfortable with meeting performance requirements measured by tests and grades, but they’re not motivated by these external markers. They’re driven by a self-sustaining and irrepressible desire to learn.

*For required standardized testing, MSR administers the Comprehensive Testing Program (CTP-4) to all students in grades 3 through 9 in the fall. Students are tested within their classrooms by their teachers on the content from the year before. The testing window lasts one week and the results are used as a data point for teachers to understand what student know and what they need to work on. Parents also receive copies of their child’s scores.

YOUR CHILD WAS BORN READY—TO CONTRIBUTE, TO EXPERIENCE, TO EXPLORE, TO LEARN, TO KNOW, AND TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AND HOW IT WORKS.

School, as most of us think of it, is meant to help students get ready, to prepare them in many different ways for each advancing step toward success in college and, ultimately, life. But a child’s school years are much more than just preparation for “real life.” This is already real life. And the ways in which our students learn and live today shape the people they will become tomorrow.

Each stage of learning and life brings its own particular opportunities, capacities, and potential for growth. At every level at MSR, we closely observe, assess, and report each student’s advancing progress as a whole person. Standard assessments—like grades and testing—are a useful and integral aspect of this when developmentally appropriate, but our comprehensive approach to student evaluation goes deeper, involving close, carefully recorded observations and individual assessments in which the student is an active participant.

At MSR, our mission is to ensure that our students are ever more ready to live their lives to the fullest — intellectually, interpersonally, and with independence — not only in the future but now and at every age and stage of their development.

The IB develops internationally minded individuals who recognize our shared humanity and responsibility for the planet. Central to this goal is "international-mindedness," a concept encompassing a broad, interconnected worldview. IB programs promote this by encouraging students to explore local and global issues, reflect on diverse perspectives, and engage with different cultures and disciplines. Multilingualism is also emphasized, as studying multiple languages fosters intercultural understanding and respect. 

Additionally, IB programs focus on global engagement and meaningful community service, encouraging students to think critically about power, privilege, and sustainability. Overall, these components work together to nurture international-mindedness and drive meaningful change for a more peaceful and sustainable world.

The IB learner profile places the student at the center of an IB education with ten attributes reflecting the holistic nature of an IB education. These attributes highlight the importance of nurturing dispositions, developing knowledge and skills, and highlight that, along with cognitive development, IB programmes are concerned with students’ social, emotional and physical well-being. This ensures that students learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.

IIB educators help students to develop these attributes over the course of their IB education, and to demonstrate them in increasingly robust and sophisticated ways as they mature. The development of these attributes is the foundation of developing internationally minded students who can help to build a better world.

Through the development of these learner profile attributes, an IB education seeks to empower young people for a lifetime of learning, both independently and in collaboration with others.

Grounded in contemporary educational research, the IB’s six approaches to teaching and five approaches to learning guide and focus educators and students in IB World Schools. They play a crucial role in ensuring that the aspirations of an IB education become a reality in the classroom.

The approaches are centered on a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection—an interplay of asking, doing and thinking—that informs the daily activities of teachers and learners. They also place a great deal of emphasis on relationships. This reflects the IB’s belief that educational outcomes are profoundly shaped by the relationships between teachers and students, and celebrates the many ways that people work together to construct meaning and make sense of the world.