Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

The program’s philosophy is based on the NAEYC’s guidelines on developmentally appropriate practices and Froebel, Piaget, and Gardner’s early learning theories. We believe that every child can learn and grow with the proper care and instruction. The NAEYC defines practices as developmentally appropriate when they consider age and stage related differences, individual differences in learning style and preferences, and social and cultural differences among children (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2011). For this reason we believe that the best way to ensure positive development is to adapt the materials, activities, and the mode of demonstrating learning to meet the varied needs of our students.

Demonstrating DAP, the teacher has established a warm and friendly environment often referring to the students as “friends,” and encouraging students to high-five their neighbor (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The educator in this classroom was intentional about including in the learning experience a child with special needs. She asked the student if he wanted to stand or have her

I believe that as an early childhood educator my goal will be to promote the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of each child. I also believe that play should be the base of learning since children learn best by doing. I believe that a balance between teacher-directed and child-initiated activities is essential balance can be developed by using the developmentally appropriate practice approach, which means that activities should be “appropriate for each child and relevant to the child’s ability, needs and interests, also including the child’s family and being respectful to the child’s culture.

Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) is a method of teaching that is based on the research about how young children grow and learn and includes standards for high quality care and education for young children. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) established these guidelines more than 20 years ago. Authors Gordon and Browne state, “The DAP approach stresses the need for activity-based learning environments and is based on what we know about children through years of child development research and what we observe of their interests, abilities, and needs” (40). The three core components of DAP are: 1) what is known about child development and learning, 2) what is known about each child, and 3) what is known about social and cultural contexts in which children learn. A DAP classroom is a busy classroom where students are engaged and interacting physically with objects and persons. This classroom is full of materials, activities, and direct interactions that lead the student into active learning. The observations for this report were conducted at the Laredo Community College Camilo Prada Early Child Development Center in the blue classroom.

1. A developmentally appropriate practice to help and 18 month old to understand be safe rule is presenting a puppet show. For example I would present 3 puppets, One teacher puppet and two toddler puppets. One of the toddler puppets would demonstrate running back and forth in the classroom. The teacher puppet would then explain to the two children the basic ground rules of being safe. Teacher puppet would also mention to the toddler puppets that running in the classroom can give us ouchies. And now the toddler puppets would have a better understanding of being safe.

Since the No Child Left Behind Act, also known as NCLB, has come into effect, it has caused some concerns with teachers and parents alike on how well it is working for the students. There have been issues that have arisen that needed to be addressed and instead been overlooked when a child does not meet with the school’s standardized testing and is pushed onto the next grade level.

To understand the whole child you have to understand the pieces which create a whole and balanced child. Development of social and emotional needs, physical needs, language learning needs, and cognitive development needs all come together cohesively to create a whole child. The best way to encourage and educate the whole child is through play because all needs for developing the whole child can be met during play. The keys to creating a whole child play environment is by incorporating age appropriate toys and materials into centers created by using development appropriate practices. The DAP’s (development appropriate practices) are created by investigating and identifying the child’s current stage of development. Once you identify where they the child is developmentally, you encourage and aide the child in learning and growing through play by using the DAP’s. Each part of the whole child’s needs must be investigated and identified before you can create a successful whole child environment. The child’s present cognitive abilities and struggles must be identified, you should know what physical abilities or struggles the child is facing, the child’s language needs must be identified, and last but definitely not least is the social and emotional needs. To

NAEYC has 10 effective DAP teaching strategies I will go through them and determine if

In order to respond this question, we must first review the history of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Early Childhood Education (ECE). Although ECE has been around since the creation of kindergarten in the 1800’s, the decade of the 1980’s was an important period for ECE. “By the 1980’s, meta-analysis of the well-designed US projects offered compelling evidence on the positive outcomes of [early childhood education and intervention]” (Woodhead, 2007). Therefore, there was much pressure to improve the state of education, including ECE. “The decade of the 1980’s saw numerous calls for widespread school reform, with changes recommended in teacher education, graduation requirements, school structure, and accountability measures” (S. Bredekamp, R.A. Knuth, L.G. Kunesh, and D.D. Shulman, 1992). At this time, there was an increasing concern about the quality of early childhood education for the influx number of families that needed it. This led the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) to “begin planning a national voluntary accreditation system for early childhood programs”(NAEYC, 2014). With this planning came a need for a more specific description with regards to accreditation guidelines. Therefore, NAEYC issued a formal statement defining DAP.

The first area is, “Reducing learning gaps and increasing the achievement of all children.” The learning gap between low-income families and more fortunate families continues to increase as a child grows older. This is due to the child being exposed to fewer experiences. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) made schools accountable for teaching all of their students efficiently. Some believe NCLB is causing negative consequences for students, nevertheless NAEYC acknowledges the importance to close the gaps.

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) refers to those teaching practices that ensure that young children learn and develop to their fullest potential. As most early childhood educators know, however, developing practices that promote optimal learning and development for all children can be an elusive goal. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs (Copple&Bredekamp, 2009) makes clear, “whether or not what actually happens in the classroom is, in practice, developmentally appropriate is the result of myriad decisions at all levels by policy makers, administrators, teachers, and families about the care and education of young children. In order for educators and families to make the best decisions possible for the children and families they serve, it is critical that they have the support and resources of a proven curriculum model one that has research-based evidence of effectiveness.

This article provide a new view of understanding children learning stages, and recognize the importance of leading students with right direction as a teacher. And, it also encouraging teachers try to use varied types of concept to improve students learning ability without sticker with Piaget learning stages. Willingham support his suggestion with explanation, “Children’s performance as they learn seems better characterized by variability than by consistence”. Willingham provide supported his theory by showing other psychology studies that lead question Piaget learning stage theory. Based on that, I learned a new view to see children cognitive development, and also with practical suggestions to face the real classroom situation in the future. However, it is interesting that the similar theory can be found in Chinese teaching and learning knowledge.

1. Developmentally appropriate practice as defined by NAEYC is a “framework of principles and guidelines for best practice in the care and education of young children, birth through age 8. Children cannot perform tasks that they are not yet developmentally capable of doing and teachers have to be aware of this. One would not expect a one year old child to be able to write their name, not only because they are not cognitively able to understand this task, but also because their fine motor skills have not developed enough to hold a writing instrument. Therefore, most adults would realize this task is not developmentally appropriate. A kindergarten teacher, for example, can able to expect his or her students to know why it is necessary as

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) suggests recognizing the importance of positive, supportive, and caring relationships (Gallagher, 2005). It is creating an inclusive and caring community that extends from the classroom to the community, and fostering respectful and collaborative relationships among

"Developmentally-appropriate practice, often shortened to DAP, is an approach to teaching grounded both in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about effective early education" (DAP, 2013, NAEYC).The NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) makes the principles of developmentally-appropriate practice one of its cornerstones. Developmentally-appropriate practice ensures that children do not become frustrated or bored with what they learn. It enables students to successively build upon past knowledge without any gaps. It ensures that learning remains fun and engaging: very young children are not forced to memorize facts, sit in their desks for too long, or otherwise taxed beyond the emotional and intellectual limits of their present capacities. All children can learn, but depending on the developmental stage of the child, the ways in which the learning process takes place must often be altered. It must also be remembered that not all children are functioning at their chronological age: some may need additional support while others may be more advanced. It is necessary for the teacher to understand each student's limits and strengths, developmentally.