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Running head: Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Developmentally Appropriate Practice


in Early Childhood
Programs

Author Note
Kelcey Miller, Education Major, Seton Hill University

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

2
Abstract

This paper defines developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). The five guidelines of
DAP creating a caring community of learners, teaching to enhance development and learning,
constructing appropriate curriculum, assessing childrens learning, and establishing partnerships
with families are explained. The paper discusses the importance of DAP and how these
guidelines are evident at the Child Development Center at Seton Hill.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs


Developmentally Appropriate Practice, or DAP, occurs when a teacher nurtures a childs
social/emotional, physical, and cognitive development by basing all of their decisions on the
theories of child development, the strengths and needs of each child, and the childs culture.
NAEYC is committed to developmentally appropriate practice and promoting the importance of
DAP in early childhood programs. After a thorough observation, it was discovered that the Child
Development Center at Seton Hill follows the guidelines of developmentally appropriate
practice.
The first guideline of developmentally appropriate practice is to create a caring
community of learners. Teachers do this by setting reasonable expectations and listening and
responding to childrens feelings. I saw this principle at work at the Child Development Center.
All of the students, who the teacher refers to as friends, are involved in each activity. They sing
songs about good behaviors like paying attention and sitting cross-legged. The children listen
when the teacher talks. They also use their manners when they politely ask before going to the
restroom. Lastly, the teacher shows the students how to take turns. The children were doing a
craft, but only a few of the children completed the craft at one time. They took turns going to the
craft table to do the craft. This aspect of DAP is important because good behavior and manners
are things that will benefit children all their lives.
The second guideline of DAP is to teach to enhance development and learning. Teachers
accomplish this by setting reasonable goals for children and practicing scaffolding learning. The
activities done at the CDC emphasize the childrens social and creative development. Their
social development is strengthened when they play games as a group. Children are able to
develop creatively through the completion of crafts. Additionally, the teacher realizes that each

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

child has a different level of development. Some of the students can completely write their name,
while others need assistance. She accommodates for this by using scaffolding; she provides name
cards or helps the child by using the hand-over-hand method until they learn to write their names
on their own. Children will be more confident in their school work if they do not feel
overwhelmed by a certain goal.
The third guideline of developmentally appropriate practice is to construct appropriate
curriculum. This is accomplished by designing a curriculum that follows state standards and
includes learning goals. At the CDC, the teacher uses anticipatory sets and transition activities.
The activities that the children participate in are appropriate for their age. The lesson that I
observed involved shapes, colors, and animal noises all things that are familiar to children who
are four and five years old. They also read a book that was age appropriate. The book was about
firefighters. This is something that most children have some background knowledge of. Lastly,
the teacher clearly explained the directions for the craft, and the materials for the craft were
already cut out. This guideline of DAP is important because children will perform better when
they are able to understand the material and participate in the activities.
The next guideline of DAP is to assess childrens learning. Teachers can assess childrens
learning by checking the childrens progress towards goals in ways that are appropriate for their
age and development. The teacher at the child development center assesses the childrens
learning by telling each child where to sit. She can see if the children know their shapes and
colors by doing this. In addition, the teacher asks the children questions about a subject or about
the plot of a book they read. Lastly, the children are assessed individually when they break into
smaller groups. For example, when the children completed the craft, the assistants were able to

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

see if the children could remember the directions and complete the craft correctly. Similar to the
third guideline, children do better when they are assessed with questions they understand.
The last guideline of developmentally appropriate practice is to establish partnerships
with families. This involves mutual respect and shared responsibility between teachers and
parents. This was evident at the CDC in the Top Banana activity. The teacher asks parents to
submit photographs for the Top Banana, or student of the week. Families are also included in
field trips and parties. They are invited to the childrens graduation ceremony, where the teacher
presents a slide show of pictures of the children. Finally, the teacher involves the parents by
sending home daily notes about what the children did each day. It is imperative to involve
parents because when they are involved, they are more supportive toward their child. When they
support their child, the childs self-confidence grows.
In the end, developmentally appropriate practice contains five guidelines: creating a
caring community of learners, teaching to enhance development and learning, constructing
appropriate curriculum, assessing childrens learning, and establishing partnerships with families.
Seton Hills Child Development Center incorporates all of these guidelines. It is important that
DAP is implemented in early childhood programs because it has life-long effects.
Developmentally appropriate practice will cause children to be more motivated and more
interactive with adults and other children throughout their entire lives.

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