ABSTRACT
A Montessori early years classroom is distinguished by open shelves displaying carefully arranged sets of didactic objects. The design of these objects follows precise specifications that control variation in the materials used, as well as the colour, shape, size, texture and possibilities for manipulation. The objects accurately represent educational knowledge, while making this knowledge accessible to young children in ways that leave lasting impressions on which future knowledge can be reliably built. When children manipulate Montessori objects, in response to modelling provided by the teacher, their movements weave the objects into a unified multimodal ensemble, a unit of meaning or text, which opens up an instructional pathway that links, in the service of children’s development, the material and semiotic realms of human experience, leading children towards mastery of the knowledge encoded in the objects. The Montessori objects designed in the early twentieth century exemplify what teachers have been doing forever, that is, representing educational meanings in multiple ways to place them within reach of learners. This chapter argues that the durability of the Montessori objects presents an unusual opportunity in the field of pedagogy to explore the educational potential of multimodal representation.
