Developmentally Appropriate Practice Analysis

What are the key principles of developmentally-appropriate practices? Explain the importance of NAEYC and share some of its goals.

Several issues are discussed in the NAEYC position statement about Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). The section points out three main areas that policymakers have addressed because they realize how important these areas are to an early elementary child.

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.

Developmentally appropriate practice means that teachers need to take the decision based on the children’s need. Also, it is guidelines about what it is appropriate to teach the young children. The teacher who practices developmentally appropriate practice take into consideration all the developmental areas of the whole child (cognitive, socio-emotional, and physical development). According to the author of the Administration of Programs for Young Children” (Click, Karkos, & Robertson, 2014, p. 134) the developmentally appropriate practice is when the teachers understand that the children have different background, experiences, and interest. Each child is unique in what his capacities are, how he/she learns, and what she/he needs to help him

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), was designed to ensure that youngsters are provided optimal development and learning. This is done by teachers working with young children wherever a child is developmentally and working with them in both a group setting and as individuals. When working with children, the teacher needs to make sure that all children are meeting achievable and challenging goals. The NAEYC developed twelve principles of ensure that children are being provided DAP (“Developmentally Appropriate Practice,” 2009).

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.

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.

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

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.

How can care be provided for young children while fostering their growth and development? The answer can be found in curriculum. The curriculum that is implemented and the way the curriculum is executed affects the quality of care for those infants and toddlers. There are multiple types of curriculum, and it depends on what type of environment and learning the caregiver is wanting to provide. A curriculum that has been proven to be effective for infants and toddlers, is play based curriculum. Play based curriculum is recommend for young children to help them learn and develop through play. Curriculum based on play supports learning and development with the use of engaging activities.

It important to always have activities that are developmentally appropriate or can be altered to be appropriate for the child

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.

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