Freethinking Foundation

In India, data on enrollments suggest that 8 out of 10 children aged 3-6 year olds have enrolled in some Early Childhood Care and Education program. However, UNICEF highlights disparities in enrollments as most children from the lowest wealth quintile (51%) attend Anganwadi centers, while the children from the highest wealth quintile (62%) attend private institutions. Despite this increased access to early learning initiatives, there exists a severe learning crisis. While Anganwadi centers fare well with respect to healthcare and nutrition of mothers and infants, educational committees have found it to be deficient in educational supplies, infrastructure and have a few teachers that are trained in delivering an Early Childhood Education curriculum. According to the National Education Policy (2020), an estimate of 5 crore children who are currently in elementary school have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy.  The onset of the pandemic only exacerbated this learning loss and added pressures to an already strained system. To bridge these gaps and address India’s educational emergency, our proposed solution is the Montessori on Wheels initiative.

The Freethinking Foundation is a nonprofit that has set up the World’s first “Montessori School on Wheels” in partnership with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Government of Karnataka. This initiative is designed to take early learning to the doorstep of marginalized children aged 2.5 to 6 years who reside in slums within Bengaluru. The Montessori School on Wheels initiative is radically different as schooling is not bound by four walls of a classroom. Freedom underpins the program’s design as children can choose to explore nature in a park nearby or learn in a scientifically designed learning environment on the bus. This model really freethinks the way public spaces can be utilized, especially for the underserved communities. 

Research has shown that the Montessori method can break class barriers as the school equalized outcomes among sub-groups that typically have unequal outcomes. It has emphasized that when the philosophy is taught faithfully, there are numerous developmental benefits on individual children and society at large. However, across the world, this method is exclusively accessible to the elite. The Montessori on Wheels initiative breaks the mold by offering it to children in dire need. The program aims to provide a multi-faceted, inquiry-based and play-based education. 

To do this, a three R Framework has been identified-

 i) Reimagined Montessori education for today's contextual needs

 ii) Researched hands-on experiences for daily life 

iii) Reflective practice at every stage to ensure continuous improvements to the program. 

By reconceptualizing this 100+ year old method, the Montessori on Wheels initiative aims to create a stimulating experiential learning environment for all learning levels that recognizes children’s unique interests and nurtures their creativity to realize their full potential.

Prior to introducing buses, interviews and orientations with the parents were done to understand their learning needs and aspirations. Accordingly, the program was tailored to address their three primary contextual requirements:

Firstly, parents requested a safe learning space that was close to home as they are occupied with work and the children are really young. Thereby, the buses offer a quality Early education solution adequately addressing this need by being available right at their doorstep. The added benefit of this model is that parents can walk by and observe their children learn, which builds trust and security. 

Secondly, a key problem within this community is that a significant number of children dropout from school in the long run. To create a love for learning from an early stage, we introduced a Montessori and theme-based curriculum that gives children the freedom to explore, play and learn at their own pace. This content is offered in 2 regional languages and English. The parents specifically requested that a multilingual education, which includes these languages, be encouraged. They find that the government schools adequately do not include English, which is believed to be a crucial factor in gaining access to higher education and jobs. 

Thirdly, Montessori on Wheels did several site visits to scope for public spaces that could be available to children. The findings  from these conversations were enlightening as it was found that public parks are locked during the day. As a result, children could only play on the roads, which are extremely concerning for child safety. Thereby, by partnering with the government, permissions were granted to park buses near these park areas, which would be accessible to all children from these communities. 

Going forward and based on feedback, we plan to have supporting teachers who are a part of the community itself. Central to the idea is to have these teachers who are trained by our team on the Montessori principles and thematic learning. These teachers would act as the voice for the children’s needs based on their direct interactions with the children and their own experience with the communities.

Activities:

1. Montessori on Wheels provides self correcting Montessori materials in all the areas of development. They broadly include- Exercise of Practical Life, Sensorial, Mathematics, Language and Cultural Studies. Children use these hands-on learning materials both individually and in groups. The didactic nature of the materials help simplify abstract concepts and allow children to master concepts independently through repetition. Children have the freedom to choose to work with any of the materials in the environment. Further, the teachers and older peers facilitate presentations of the same. 

2. Teachers introduce thematic content on topics surrounding the environment, culture, creative arts, health and so on to further their understanding of life. These topics are decided according to the children’s interests and their learning needs. The children also play out in the park daily. 

3. To further create rich learning experiences, we take children on nature walks and field trips based on the monthly theme. For instance, seeing where silk is made, visiting and doing activities in an old age home, meeting a firefighter etc.

Outputs:

1. The learning environment created with the Montessori materials, park activities and thematic content will ensure school readiness. In fact, based on other programs conducted, we have found internally that these children far exceed the learning outcomes of children from other schools when they are given this freedom of choice.

2. Value centered education through thematic and Montessori work allows children to self-develop. Children learn to be confident, develop social graces, be responsible, sensitive, and committed to their personal growth and their environment. 

3. The learning environment in Montessori on Wheels allows children the freedom to fail and have a love for learning, which are vital attributes for lifelong learning.

Short-term outcomes:

1. By using the Montessori materials, there will be a training of all the senses to aid children as they go about understanding themselves and the communities that they live in. According to their developmental needs, this will also allow them with their conceptual understanding about all the materials that exist in their environment.

2. The multi-age group thematic activities allow for sharing that encourages them to be reflective, make connections, further their language and social skills.

3. Children will get to experience new and exciting learning opportunities through field trips. These would not just help them academically, but build their social emotional skills as they become active participants in exploring topics together.

Long-term outcomes:

1. The Montessori method is found to develop children’s Executive functions. The decision and plans they make on what to play with, particularly, aid their critical thinking and focus. The movement that is allowed whilst working with the materials and other children, allows for cognitive flexibility, emotional regulation and inhibitory control that are required for all aspects of life.

2. The experiential learning environment incorporates a holistic take on creativity by including it in their everyday learning. This skill is essential given the nature of the workforce is ever changing. 

3. Peace education is a major component of the Montessori on Wheels learning activities. Children learn about conflict resolution, problem solving and engage in community service- within the buses and outside their daily environments. In this way, these children learn to become more resilient.

As a result, children will grow up to become independent and responsible world citizens of tomorrow.

All the Montessori on Wheels activities are supported by the extensive research done by Dr. Maria Montessori. Moreover, they are corroborated by psychologists and early years experts on the longitudinal benefits of the method. Domain specific activities are also defined based on developmental scales made by developmental psychologists according to the needs of a child based on their age.

Our program began only a month ago, thereby, we are currently at Level 1 according to Nesta’s Standard of Evidence integration. This means that we can describe what we do and why it matters, logically, coherently and convincingly. Currently the evidence we integrate throughout our program is done through the following:

• Daily observations are recorded of every child by teachers.

• Weekly on ground site visits for qualitative assessments, particularly through interactions with children and parents.

• A central team monitors the progress and gives inputs to the teachers.

We primarily measure the impact of our solution using a Montessori app where teachers document their observations through videos, photographs and written records. 

The main indicators to track the children’s progress are as follows:

• Number of children who have been introduced both formative and summative activities in the following areas-  Practical Life, Mathematics, Culture, etc.

• Number of children who have practiced both formative and summative activities.
  

• Number of children who have completed both formative and summative activities that can be marked as 'achieved.'

• Number of children who have improved their language levels.

• Improvement of educational outcomes through pictures and videos.

• Peer learning competencies 

Montessori on Wheels is a child-centric program aimed at taking scientific learning environments to the doorstep of marginalized young children.

The research question we would want to be answered is- “How can we demonstrate that our solution of Montessori and thematic content on the bus effectively aids in bridging the social divide?”

Potential deliverables-

• Identify a technological infrastructure that can support in assessing children’s learning outcomes and behavioral change over time.

• Design an RCT using a control and a treatment group of children who are a part of our pilot to understand the effectiveness of the program.

• Partnerships to aid in expanding this initiative to more rural areas in India. A strategy can also be created to scale this program.

The vision of the LEAP partnership will be to assist us in taking our Montessori on wheels program to the masses.