The twenty protocols of Montessori teaching indicate how to apply the various techniques. They serve essentially as a control and guide your use of the techniques with children. Applying these protocols therefore amounts to the functional equivalent of following laws of nature.  They are listed here in order of their general importance, starting first with the two most important ones, which have the widest, most frequent use with children. The protocols at the end of the list have more limited, specific use.
1. Well-being of Total Environment
2. Least Amount of Adult Involvement
3. Present Moment
4. No Negative Attention to Misbehavior
5. Don’t Correct Child
6. Basis of Interest (ask; touch/look)
7. Model Good Behavior
8. Eye contact before Talking
9. Don’t Interrupt Concentration
10. Be Friendly — Get Acquainted
11. Enhance Independence
12. No Rules for Children
13. Emphasize Main Point(s) — Isolate Variable
14. Child Watching
15. Same Routines all the Time
16. Take out Everything
17. From the Shelf
18. Lay out Randomly
19. Simplify Complexity — Hint
20. Confirm Accuracy — Clarify/Expand