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Developmentally Appropriate Practice Essay

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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. In other words, its practices have been proven by research to work, resulting in positive outcomes for young children. Using a proven (validated) model, “means you get all of the following ingredients and instructions: a set of appropriate …show more content…

specific strategies teachers can use to foster supportive adult-child relationships in the classroom, such as sharing control with children by participating as partners in conversation and play (e.g., taking on roles children assign to teachers and following their directions); focusing on what children can do rather than on their “deficits” by planning around their strengths and interests; and forming authentic relationships with children by responding attentively to them, asking and responding to their questions honestly, and giving each child specific feedback (e.g., I see you made red and yellow strips at the top of your painting) and

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