Have you ever considered moving beyond being a classroom teacher?  Ever thought about sharing your experiences as a teacher to help others understand Montessori?

The AMI Training of Trainers Programme might be an option for you.  This programme is designed to help a participant deepen their knowledge about basic Montessori principles, to connect every presentation to some theoretical principle and to share Maria Montessori’s ideas about child development – all as a preparation to train others in becoming a Montessori teacher.

AMI’s Training of Trainers Programme is unique in the Montessori world as no other Montessori organization has a programme as rigorous in preparing new trainers as AMI does. The Training of Trainers Programme is one of the ways AMI has of maintaining course standards, of ensuring that diplomas issued globally indicate that students have been introduced to the same information and have been evaluated using the same systems.  During the courses required as a part of the training programme, there is an Assessment done by the trainer-in-training and their Guiding trainer at the end of each course.  Lectures and Presentations given are evaluated following delivery so that gradually improvement in lecturing style, in clear, precise presentations, in a logical, scaffolding of presentations of Montessori theoretical principles can be improved upon.  

As you may be aware, every course proposal is examined, every lecture schedule is read for completeness and logical progression of topics, written examination questions are chosen from a list of proposed exam questions and the oral examination committee is headed by an AMI trainer appointed by AMI.  AMI sees all of these steps as ways of maintaining its global standards – whether the school is located in a displaced person’s camp or in a large city, rural or urban – the standards are the same.  Children’s development is understood and catered to according to Montessori’s insightful crafting of her principles more than 100 years ago.

Supported by the various requirements of the Training of Trainers Programme, becoming a trainer is a process that allows one to question, to place current research into our Montessori context, to develop or hone one’s lecturing skills and to be part of a cohort of supporting individuals on the same path.

The AMI global trainers’ community is powerful.  It is strengthened by the power of its individual members, each supporting the other to become better and better in the process of becoming a trainer.  Our global trainer community is connected in a variety of ways, each supporting individual and community growth and strength.

In addition to the normal age level seminar (a series of 5 or 6 two-week seminars, some online, some in-person over 3 years), attendance at an additional seminar will be required at some point during the Programme.  This series of 7 three-hour sessions will be offered online annually and will cover a variety of topics pertinent to all levels of training.  It will be a requirement for everyone in the Training of Trainers Programme, whether the person is pursuing a seminar or traditional training format.  This series will, additionally add to the global nature of the AMI Training of Trainers Programme as participants will be from all parts of the globe and cover all age levels.

As a trainer-in-training you will be invited to attend 5 zoom meetings annually catering to the needs of your journey.  Once you become a trainer, there are also age-level zoom meetings (5 annually) and an International Trainers’ Meeting every 3 years.  You can become an AMI Ambassador as an AMI Examiner, you can attend Professional Development Certificate courses, you can join a cohort undertaking the Montessori Awareness Programme (MAP), you can be a school consultant.

For an overview of the Pathway to Trainer, click here.

Judi Orion, 0–3 Trainer and AMI Director of Pedagogy