Developmentally Appropriate Practice Analysis

Understand the stages of child development- This is very important, you need to know for a number of reasons. Nursery teachers need to be able to see the child's level of ability. Abilities can differentiate at preschool age and an effective nursery teacher will meet each child level and guide them on their pathway to achievement. It is also important so they know understand the children that they are working with

Developmentally appropriate practice is based on knowledge about how children develop and learn, what is known about the needs of individual children in a particular group, and on knowledge of both the social and cultural contexts in which children live. (Bredekamp & Copple, 1997, pp. 8–9)

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.

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.

In order to apply theories and models of child development to support children’s development we must get to know each individual child by building a good relationship with the children through play, communication and answering to their personal needs. Observation and assessment is also key so that we know what each child is capable of and what they are working towards/could be encouraged towards. Good communication with parents is also beneficial as it helps the carer to see what the child is doing at home and to identify if there are things they do or don’t do at nursery that is different from home. It also helps to work out ways of encouraging development at home and at nursery.

Developmentally appropriate practice is a method where the instructor teaches to the level of the child’s mental capability based on research. I am majoring in Speech Language Pathology and this method is absolutely huge in this field. Everything we do is based off of where the child is supposed to be developmentally. I have had already a full semester class and two more to come full semester classes just on the development of language in children. Every assessment is done based off of the developmental milestones of the child. For example, by 22 months of age a child should have around 200 words in their vocabulary. If this child comes in and is still babbling and produces maybe 12 words this would give us a huge red flag. We know this because

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.

The purposes of early childhood education are; teaching the kids what they need to know in order to go kindergarten. Giving them a voice, and letting them be heard with what they want to say. By letting them know they have a voice, lets them feel a sense of comfort and safety. Motivating and encouraging them to do what is right. Having a yes I can attitude about wanting to do things.

While engaging in the advocacy in young children they have to have a learning standard so that they can know what they are getting out of the learning program that is provided for them.Having practice in the learning environment it develops the basic knowledge of the individual child's learning styles.What strengthen the learning is through practice with daily questions.Having different activities can help with the environment of the children because some children learns through the way the environment is set up.When children are having an opportunity to learn different things the environment has to be set to where the children are able to learn a variety of programs so that they can learn there development skills, having different programs

The Ministry of Education (2008), Singapore curriculum guide base their Child development and learning principles on Developmentally appropriate practice (Kindergarten Curriculum

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.

Educators can facilitate the children with different materials and environments in the classrooms that are in the early learning centres. The children need to develop their minds cognitively. “Children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate and explore their world” (Berk 2007). Children are needing to develop their abilities through their play experiences, and also through their play experiences, they can develop appropriately. Early childhood education plays a large part in a child's early development.

I believe it is important to have developmentally appropriate curriculum in classrooms because we want children to be actively involved in fun and interesting activities to help promote emerging skills. Being able to know each child’s interest and abilities, we are capable of creating effective curriculum to help each child to reach every area of the domain. We will also be able to determine each child’s strengths and growths through these appropriate activities. It is also important to create an environment in the classroom for exploration to keep each child busy and to allow them to discover and try out new things on their own.

Early Childhood Education has been and always will be an interesting and the most important field of study in the education. I believe that building a foundation of learning and interacting with their peers at such a young age will greatly impact their behavior, and their future learning. To teach a young child as an educator, you need to teach the children with love, understanding each other, respect for each other and their peers, and be valued. In this field of education, it is very important to have educated,

DAP stands for developmentally appropriate practices (Kostelnik). This means that the activities exposed to the children in the classroom are not overwhelming, or too difficult, for their skill level, but they are achievable, interesting, meaningful, and worth knowing for each individual child (Olsen). The resources I will use will be relevant to the children and appropriate according to the different families they come from and the community they live in (Olsen). My future DAP classroom will be safe for all children, look desirable, and have a stimulating atmosphere (Kostelnik). I seek to build wholesome relationships with the children and their families, so they are able to feel cared for and comfortable in the classroom, helping them progress as best they can (Olsen). The children will learn through self-directed play, centers, hands-on involvement, large/small groups, and routine (Olsen). Different activities are provided for the children on a daily basis where they can make choices, use their creativity, and have opportunities that help them understand the world around them (Olsen). It is my job as the teacher to provide diverse activities, strategies and teaching layouts that focus on the development of the whole child to help each individual learn in a plethora of ways (Olsen).