What is the AMI Training of Trainers Program?

One of the strengths of AMI teacher and assistant training is the depth and breadth of the preparation of the Trainers who lead AMI diploma programs and certificate courses. A wide body of contemporary research shows quality instructors affect learning and achievement; some indicate this is the most important factor. Unlike other types of Montessori training programs where the instructors move directly from administration or teaching children straight to giving adult training courses, AMI Trainers spend a minimum of two to three years working and learning in the AMI Training of Trainers Programme before they are qualified to lead programs for adults. The quality of AMI Trainers is reflected in the quality of AMI training.

During their training, trainer "apprentices" work alongside experienced AMI trainers, learning the ins and outs of program design and delivery, working with adults, adhering to government licensing regulations, and deepening their understanding of Montessori pedagogy and practice. They research and write all their theory papers by exploring Montessori primary sources and contemporary research in child development. They submit their theory papers to the AMI Training Group then the papers are read and vetted by experienced trainers worldwide. These papers will then become the basis for their training lectures on AMI diploma programs and certificate courses. As their final research project, they complete a thorough literature review or research paper on a topic of personal and pedagogical interest, thereby contributing to the knowledge base of AMI Trainers.

Trainer apprentices also re-write all of their reference albums to incorporate other perspectives on how materials and presentations are given and notes on how to best convey this learning to adults. They practice giving presentations and lectures on a program under the guidance of the Director of Training, and they receive constructive feedback and complete personal reflections and analyses. Participants in the AMI Training of Trainers Programme meet regularly together as a cohort, some through a series of seminars led by the most skilled AMI Trainers in the world, and all through regular cohort meetings led by the AMI Director of Pedagogy. Working as a cohort builds the relationships that sustain and nourish their continued growth and development long past the apprentice years.

At Montessori Northwest, we are honored to contribute to the AMI Training of Trainers Programme by supporting recent new Trainers Ieda Torres-Holyoak, Jing Zhang, and Shriee Srinivas. We congratulate Jess Fraley, who has just completed the Training of Trainers Programme with her third and final apprentice program at MNW and a literature review on the Science of Reading, and we are pleased to welcome Mariana Bissonnette, who is just beginning the Programme.

– Sarah Werner Andrews, AMI 3-6 Trainier

• Visit AMI’s New Training of Trainers Programme Website