Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Recommended Reading: Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Carol Copple and Sue Bredekamp

NAEYC, 2006

What is it?

Developmentally appropriate practice means teaching young children in ways that:

·  Meet children where they are – both as individuals and as a group

·  Help each child reach challenging and achievable goals that contribute to his or her ongoing development and learning

How does it apply to teaching practices?

·  Teachers will take into account each child’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development and characteristics in order to meet their needs as a group and individually

·  Teachers will identify goals that are both challenging and achievable for each individual child

·  Teachers will recognize that what makes something challenging and achievable will depend on the individual learner’s development, experiences, knowledge, skills, as well as the context in which the learning takes place

·  Teachers will plan activities and experiences for children that intentionally target the goals identified for children as challenging and achievable

How do we know what is developmentally appropriate?

·  Consider what is age-appropriate – that is, based on what we know about the typical development and learning of children within a particular age range.

·  Consider what is individually appropriate – that is, particular to each child given his individual needs and characteristics

·  Consider what is appropriate to the social and cultural contexts in which

children live

How do young children learn?

·  Through relationships with responsive adults

·  Through active, hands-on involvement

·  Through meaningful and relevant experiences

·  By constructing their understanding of the world

What is good teaching?

·  Creating a caring community of learners

·  Teaching to enhance development and learning

·  Planning appropriate curriculum

·  Assessing children’s development and learning progress

·  Developing reciprocal relationships with families

Community of Learners

Teaching Families

Assessment Curriculum

How do I create a caring community of learners?

·  The classroom is inclusive – ability, culture, special needs, preferences

·  The classroom is safe – allows for exploration with minimal restriction

·  The environment and schedule are comfortable, organized, predictable

·  The materials, spaces, routines, and activities meet the developmental needs of all children as they grow and develop

·  The teachers get to know and understand each child’s personality, temperament, abilities, and ways of learning

·  Children work and play in a cooperative atmosphere

What are recommended teaching strategies?

·  Acknowledge and give attention to the behavior you want more of

·  Encourage children by commenting on effort or persistence

·  Give specific feedback by describing performance and outcomes

·  Model the behavior and skills you want children to achieve

·  Demonstrate how you want children to perform when something must be done in a certain way

·  Create challenge, extend tasks and activities by adding new materials or ideas that help children push beyond what they have mastered

·  Give clues, hints, hand guidance, and prompts to help children attain a new skill or understanding that is just past their ability

·  Label and describe objects, actions, and processes so that children can understand and begin to use new vocabulary and grammar as well as sequences and cause/effect

·  Give directions that are appropriate to the level of ability of the child

·  Scaffold children’s learning when they show curiosity toward a new activity

·  Vary learning experiences by group size, choices, exploration vs. teacher direction, materials, and routines

What is good curriculum?

·  Curriculum is the knowledge and skills to be taught in the educational program as well as the plans for experiences through which learning will take place

·  Curriculum should be based on an organized framework that reflects research-based, developmentally appropriate standards and content

·  It addresses learning across all domains of development – physical, cognitive, language, social/emotional, creative/aesthetic

·  It identifies age appropriate benchmarks by which to assess progress

Why does children’s learning and development need to be assessed?

·  To monitor progress in learning

·  To guide planning and decision-making regarding children

·  To identify children who might benefit from additional support

·  To report and communicate accurately with others

How should young children be assessed?

·  Using age-appropriate methods and materials

·  In natural contexts over time

·  Using a variety of tools and strategies such as observation and documentation, interaction, and play in addition to formal standardized assessments where necessary and appropriate

How do strong relationships with families develop?

·  Regular informal interactions that focus on the needs and progress of the child

·  Collaborative dialog that respects that parents have valuable knowledge and insight into the needs and development of their children

·  Welcome parents into the classroom and invite participation at many levels of comfort – volunteering, family activities, joining workgroups and committees, or simply to observe and ask questions

·  Acknowledge and respect parent’s choices and preferences for their children and react with sensitivity when parents make requests or express concern.