Developing resilience in children and the “error management” development of a child’s brain. Any other parents as curious about this as I am?
A Lausanne based “CHUV” study launched in 2014, dived into the benefits specifically of the Montessori pedagogy on children’s neural networks and on their ability to manage unforeseen situations.
We learned about the Montessori approach in an earlier article this year in collaboration with the Deux Mille Feuilles, the trilingual Montessori school in the heart of nature in La Rippe.
What is the influence of the school experience on brain development?
A recent RTS article highlights the CHUV study. The research measured students’ brain activity and found that executive functions – such as the ability to conduct and complete a task – do not vary drastically between students from traditional or Montessori schools. It does however impact other areas, specifically neural networks called “error management”.
This part of the brain develops an adequate response to unforeseen circumstances.
The results show that students from Montessori structures have better abilities to deal with unexpected situations. The researcher found students in traditional schools will instead connect their brains in order to memorize the correct answer, whereas the Montessori method favours learning from mistakes, until arriving at a correct answer.
Traditional approaches are focused on grades and “correct” answers favouring learning your lessons by heart, without necessarily activating the neural networks linked to questions and the search for solutions.
The Montessori Method encourages the learning process, rather than the response. It’s about the path to success rather than the outcome, thereby proceeding step by step to solve the problem.
Public institutions are attentive to this information and are adapting teaching and learning styles too.
The study carried out by Solange Denervaud received the Biaggi de Blasys Prize on May 7, which rewards the best thesis in neuroscience defended at the Universities of Geneva, Lausanne and EPFL.
If you want more information on Deux Mille Feuilles in la Rippe, you can find the contact information for the Director, Cornelia Tosch here.
