The Montessori approach to education was developed a century ago by Maria Montessori. She was an Italian doctor and educational visionary who took on educating society's poorest and challenging children. Drawing from learning theory and developmental psychology, Montessori created an educational method that was so successful that her students surpassed well-off students in traditional education. In all aspects: self-control, manners, sociability and academic learning her students showed amazing strides. Project based learning and social-emotional learning are two educational trends gaining continuous traction in today's educational systems and have always been a part of the Montessori approach.