Las Vegas Montessori | Affordable Private School Las Vegas

IA’s Curriculum Brings Montessori into the Modern Age

A lot of people have heard of Montessori, but might not fully understand what it is all about. Certainly, we have heard from many parents who were misinformed or just weren’t sure what “Montessori” was all about. At Innovation Academy, Montessori is a foundational piece of our teaching philosophy. However, IA is much more than just another Montessori.

What is Montessori?

The American Montessori Society says that Montessori education is a “child-focused” approach to teaching. What does that even mean? There is a lot about a Montessori approach that is different than you will find in a typical public school. Innovation Academy blends some of what we believe to be the best parts of Montessori with the rest of our curriculum. Essentially, we create a learning environment that engages our students and promotes curiosity, leadership, and community.

For example, some Montessori based aspects of our curriculum include:

Multi-age classrooms
Student-led, self paced learning
Learning modalities that are mental and physical
Focus on cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development
Freedom to explore their education, with limits
Teachers that move from group to group to interact with students, rather than lecture from the front

The Innovation Academy Difference

IA utilizes Montessori principles because we see that they truly help engage students in their learning. This creates a deeper understanding of the lessons, as well as fosters their natural curiosity to continue learning. In addition to the Montessori approach, Innovation Academy has adopted a very well reputed S.T.E.A.M. based curriculum. “STEAM” stands for:

S-science

T-technology

E-engineering

A-arts

M-mathematics

The importance of this type of curriculum cannot be overstated in today’s world. It is a focused and concerted curriculum that helps develop the knowledge base as well as the critical thinking skills necessary to thrive in all social and work environments.

Traditionally, subjects like math, engineering, and science were cringe inducing for students. These subjects were often based on long, confusing lectures and a lot of rote memorization. The beauty of the Innovation Academy approach to education is that these subjects suddenly become interesting to students by incorporating hands-on projects, teach-back opportunities, and real world application.

Is This Right For My Child?

So how does all this impact a student? Let’s take a look at some specifics.

The Learning Environment:

The first thing you will notice about Innovation Academy is that it looks NOTHING like a traditional school. No rows of desks facing a chalkboard. No harsh, sterile lighting. Instead, you will see group work stations, art projects everywhere, subject learning centers, comfortable reading and study nooks, an outdoor area with a student-made garden, performance amphitheater, and field. All of this creates an environment of inclusion, energy, and focus.

Student-led Learning:

This does not mean that students run the show. However, it means that our Educators empower our students to take the lead when it comes to the pace of learning. The fact is, every student learns at a different pace. And this can vary between topics and subjects. No student should be rushed through a lesson if it hasn’t “clicked” for them yet, and likewise, no student should be held up when they are able to quickly grasp content. Material and lessons are presented to the group, and then students are guided through an array of projects and skills practice to deepen and fortify understanding.

The Core Knowledge curriculum that we use is unique in the way it presents lessons. Instead of teaching a topic, and then moving on from it, Core Knowledge reteaches each topic as students progress. Each “reteach” expands on the previous lesson while reiterating the foundation and information from the previous block. In this way, students always have the chance to deepen their understanding, or see things from a different perspective that might resonate with them better.

Learning Modalities:

There are many different learning styles. Traditional education is largely visual and auditory, but lacks in the kin

esthetic side. That would be the “hands-on” application of lessons. If a student is lucky, maybe their school has a “lab” portion for science. Or maybe they have some art supplies (if those haven’t been phased out by budget cuts).

Innovation Academy believes in presenting all our students with a balance of learning modalities, for all of our subjects. English Language Arts (ELA) is truly about the “arts” at IA, not just about writing essays and book reports. That means that english lessons are fortified with theater performances, music, chorus, and art projects. Math is very naturally combined with science and engineering, and students are given the opportunity to apply actual math and science concepts with tangible, functional projects. For example, bridge building projects using various materials allows students to apply what they learned in math (measurement and geometry) and physics to design and build model bridges.

Come Down and Learn More!

Essentially, what it comes down to for your child is if you think they would benefit from this style of education. No one style fits every child. However, we believe that our approach applies to a much broader spectrum of child than traditional education. We are hands on, involved, engaging, and fun. We promote independence, critical thinking, accountability, and ownership of education. We help develop high integrity, compassionate humans that are well equipped for the challenges of high school, college, and adult life.

However, this is just a small sampling of Innovation Academy. If you are curious to learn more, then please contact us for a campus tour!

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