The Montessori method was created by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952), an Italian physician and anthropologist, and one of the first women in Italy to earn a medical degree. Dr. Montessori dedicated her life to understanding child development. In her observations of children and their responses to the environment, she determined that children exceeded expectations when given the tools to be independent, self-guided learners. She also insisted that children have a natural curiosity and love of work, if encouraged properly.
Over the course of many years, Dr. Montessori developed the various structures and concepts found in today’s Montessori classroom, and in order to ensure that the quality of her methods remained intact, she founded the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) in 1929, which continues to provide teacher training today.