This document discusses developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood education. It defines DAP as programs that contribute to children's development based on goals for children's present and future lives. When creating learning environments, DAP considers what is known about child development, individual children, and their social and cultural contexts. The document also discusses creating environments that support learning across domains for children of varying ages from infancy through the primary grades.

1. Capstone 457
Danielle Hulser
Haley Tank
Jen Wamsley
Competency:

2. DAP
(Developmentally
Appropriate Practice)
Competency:

3. Developmentally appropriate programs are
programs that contribute to children’s
development.
The principles of this practice are based on a
set
of goals for children:
1. What we want for them, both in their present
lives and as they develop to adulthood
2. What personal characteristics should be fostered
because these contribute to a peaceful,
prosperous, and democratic society
Competency: 3.1

4. DAP
 -Creates an appropriate environment for
diverse learners. This includes diversity
in families, cognitive function, physical
differences, children in agencies, and
everything else that makes each child
unique and special.
Competency: 4.5-4.7

5. When creating a developmentally appropriate
learning environment consider the following:
1. What is known about child
development and learning—
◦ Knowledge of age-related characteristics that
permit general predictions about what
experiences are likely to best promote
children’s learning and development.
Competency: 5.4

6. When creating a developmentally appropriate
learning environment consider the following:
2. What is known about each child as
an individual—
◦ What practitioners learn about each child that
has implications for how best to adapt and be
responsive to that individual variation.
◦ Assessment
Competency: 5.6, 3.1, 3.2

7. When creating a developmentally appropriate
learning environment consider the following:
3. What is known about the social and
cultural contexts in which children
live
◦ Know the values, expectations, and behavioral
and linguistic conventions that shape children’s
lives at home and in their communities.
Educators must strive to understand these
factors in order to ensure that learning
experiences in the program or school are
meaningful, relevant, and respectful for each
child and family.
Competency: 4.6, 4.7

8. Domains
 Domains of children’s development—
physical, social, emotional, and
cognitive—are closely related.
Development in one domain influences
and is influenced by development in other
domains
 We must teach across all domains, and
relate them.
Competency: 9.1-9.6.6

9. Rate of Development
 Development proceeds at varying rates from
child to child as well as unevenly within
different areas of each child’s functioning
◦ We must utilize our knowledge of each child in
every domain and assess the best course of action
for each individual.
◦ Children develop at different rates because of many
factors: culture, family, genes, environment, etc.
We must accept these things and use them to our
advantage in the child’s education.
Competency: 2.3

10. PLAY!
 Play is an important means for children’s
social, emotional, and cognitive
development.
 Play also functions as a reflection of their
development.
◦ Children test the skills they require during the
‘learning’ time while they are playing.
 For example: language, dramatic play, (fine,
gross) motor skills.
Competency: 3.1, 5.10

11. Current Jobs Opportunities
 Head start positions
 Early childcare centers
 Child Care Centers
 Preschool through 3rd grade positions
 Public school positions
 Private school positions
 Daycare centers
 School program administrators

12. Opportunities
 Employment opportunities in this field are
expected to increase by around 18% through
2018 this has been the highest growth rate in
the area of education.
 Most entry level positions in this field also pay
better than other positions in education, with
average wages for entry level professionals at
$87,000 per year
 Wages and benefits also continue to increase
through the years you work and gain
experience.
http://www.excite.com/education/education-teaching/early-childhood-
education/careers

13. Early Achievers Opportunity
Grants
 Awards: 4000$ tuition not to exceed 47
credits
 1000$ a year for books
 Student responsibilities: 2.0 GPA
 Completes FASFA application

14. Race to the Top Early Learning
Challenge
 In Washington alone the federal
government gave 60 million dollars for the
early learning program.
 This grant helps 73,000 who start
kindergarten each year get a better early
learning education.
 Higher quality learning opportunity means
greater success.

15. Family Involvement
Competency:

16. Why Engage Parents?
 An ongoing challenge for every educator is
to develop and enhance skills that will offer
students the best possible learning
experiences and opportunities, in school, at
home, and in community settings. It is
therefore essential that every effort be
made to ensure that ongoing and effective
communication and partnerships be
established and maintained with parents.
Competency: 1.0-2.0, 6.0

17. Key Findings about Parent-School
Partnerships
 Researchers at the University of Oxford found
that children whose parents participated in the
Peers Early Education Partnership (a program
geared towards supporting families of children
ages 0-5) "made significantly greater progress in
their learning than children whose parents did
not participate.“
 A study published in the Journal of Instructional
Psychology reported that improving parental
involvement in the classroom can also improve
schools in general (Machen, Wilson &Notar,
2005). The authors describe how everyone within
the school community can benefit when parents
and teachers work as partners.
Competency:3.0

18. What do PARENTS want to know?
 In order to effectively engage parents, it
is important to know their specific
questions and concerns with regard to
their child's learning and transition from
home or day care to other educational
settings
 ASK…
Competency:1.0-2.0, 4.0

19. Feedback is Important!
 While two-thirds of the parents viewed their child's transition into
kindergarten as generally smooth, nearly 35% of parents
mentioned a disruption to family life" - marked by having
difficulty adjusting to a new schedule and not having a playmate
available for a younger sibling.
 53% of parent responses contained positive feedback regarding
their child's ability to adjust well, the benefits of prior experience
to school setting, proactive transition planning by the school,
positive qualities in the teachers, communication with the school,
and the quality of the curriculum/program.
 Negative feedback shared by parents reflected the child's
emotional/behavioral difficulties during transition (e.g., "not
handled well by the school,"), family adjustment difficulties (e.g.,
sleep/work schedule), reluctance or refusal of child to attend
school, unrealistic expectations of the school (e.g., curriculum too
advanced), and communication difficulties between parents and
school personnel (e.g., lost notes, missing money, skipped meals,
hygiene difficulties)
Competency:3.0,8.0

20. Why “Letters Home”
The letters home concept comes
from a recognition that, from the
earliest years, family-school
interactions need to get started on
the right foot and develop around
trust; ongoing, shared
responsibility, and reciprocal,
strengths-based partnerships
Competency:3.0

21. Children who have involved and engaged
parents are more likely to:
* Earn higher grades and better test scores.
* Attend school regularly.
* Demonstrate good social skills and
behavior.
* Adapt well to the school environment.
* Pass their classes and be promoted.
* Graduate and enroll in higher level
education programs
Competency:1.0-3.0

22. How can teachers encourage parents to be involved
and engaged ?
1. Recognize that all parents can be involved in their
children’s learning and want their children to do well.
2. Create a program that will help families support and
guide their children’s learning.
3. Develop programs within the school to provide staff
training on techniques, methods and parent involvement
activities that will promote parent engagement.
4. Work to build trusting and respectful relationships
between the family, the community and the school.
5. Establish partnerships and shared power with families,
encouraging all to understand the importance of their
participation in children’s educational growth and
development.
Competency:3.0

23. ECE Flyer
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. "Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development
occurs by the age of five. If we don't begin thinking
about education in the early years, our children are
at risk of falling behind by the time they start
Kindergarten."
- Robert. L. EhrlichEastern Washington University

24. Posters to Promote ECE!!!

25. DAP
(Developmental Appropriate Practice)
3 Core Considerations for DAP
• Knowing about child development and learning.
Knowing what is typical at each age and stage of
early development is crucial
• Knowing what is individually appropriate.
What we learn about specific children helps us teach
and care for each child as an individual. By
continually observing children’s play and interaction
with the physical environment and others, we learn
about each child’s interests, abilities, and
developmental progress.
• Knowing what is culturally important.
We must make an effort to get to know the
children’s families and learn about the values,
expectations, and factors that shape their lives at
home and in their communities. This background
information helps us provide meaningful, relevant,
and respectful learning experiences for each child
and family.
Infants and toddlers
Partnerships grow when teachers value the
family as the primary source of information
about the child and as the constant in the
baby’s life, and when families value the
knowledge and personal characteristics of
their child’s teachers. Good communication
is essential.
• Young infants (0 to 9 months) seek
security.
• Mobile infants (8 to 18 months) are eager
to explore.
• Toddlers (16 to 36 months) are working
on their identity; they want to know who
they are and who’s in charge.
Preschoolers
Preschool children learn best when they
have positive and caring relationships
with adults and other children; when they
receive carefully planned, intentional
guidance and assistance; and when they
can safely encounter and explore many
interesting things in their environment.
• thrive when they can experience new
materials, roles, ideas, and activities—
especially in pretend play;
• take great interest in feelings and
become better able to express their
emotions and identify those of others;
• make important cognitive gains that
invite them to represent their world in
pretend play, symbols, objects, drawings,
and words; and
show astonishing gains in language skills.
Kindergartners
Kindergarten is a time of change,
challenge, and opportunity. In many
ways, kindergartners are still like
preschoolers. Yet with the increasing
focus on school readiness, many
kindergarten classrooms
unfortunately bow to pressures and
begin to look more like a primary
classroom than a kindergarten.
Five- and 6-year-olds make great
intellectual leaps. They go through a
major shift, allowing them to develop
more
• personal responsibility,
• self-direction, and
• logical thinking.
Early Primary Grades
Best practices in first, second, and third
grades involve balancing children’s need
for focused instruction with their need
to build on what they already know.
Primary grade children benefit from
concrete hands-on experiences. They
need to see and make connections,
especially across subjects.
• explanations;
• direct instruction on about a new
concept, word, or event; and
• opportunities to practice a new skill

26. Family Involvement
Why Engage Parents?
An ongoing challenge for every educator is to develop and
enhance skills that will offer students the best possible learning
experiences and opportunities, in school, at home, and in
community settings. It is therefore essential that every effort be
made to ensure that ongoing and effective communication and
partnerships be established and maintained with parents.
WHAT DO PARENTS WANT TO
KNOW???
ASK.
• While two-thirds of the parents viewed their child's
transition into kindergarten as generally smooth,
nearly 35% of parents mentioned a disruption to
family life" - marked by having difficulty adjusting to a
new schedule and not having a playmate available for
a younger sibling.
• 53% of parent responses contained positive
feedback regarding their child's ability to adjust well,
the benefits of prior experience to school setting,
proactive transition planning by the school, positive
qualities in the teachers, communication with the
school, and the quality of the curriculum/program.
• Negative feedback shared by parents reflected the
child's emotional/behavioral difficulties during
transition (e.g., "not handled well by the school,"),
family adjustment difficulties (e.g., sleep/work
schedule), reluctance or refusal of child to attend
school, unrealistic expectations of the school (e.g.,
curriculum too advanced), and communication
difficulties between parents and school personnel
(e.g., lost notes, missing money, skipped meals,
hygiene difficulties)
Researchers at the University of
Oxford found that children whose
parents participated in the Peers
Early Education Partnership (a
program geared towards
supporting families of children ages
0-5) "made significantly greater
progress in their learning than
children whose parents did not
participate."

27. Professionalism in ECE
Interaction with Students
When it comes to interacting with students, teachers understand
there is a fine line between being a caring adult and being a friend.
Professional teachers do not let their desire to be liked by students
get in the way of enforcing classroom and school rules. They do not
show favoritism or discriminate against students. When it comes to
instruction, the teacher believes all students have the ability to learn
and succeed, and fills lesson plans with strategies and materials to
help make that happen
Appearance
A teacher's appearance plays a role
in conveying professionalism. A
male teacher should wear dress
pants and a polo shirt or button-
down shirt, adding a tie or jacket for
special occasions. Female teachers
should wear conservative clothing,
avoiding short skirts and revealing
tops. Most schools do not allow
teachers to display facial piercings,
tattoos and brightly colored hair
during work. In addition, teachers
should refrain from drinking alcohol
or smoking where they can be seen
by students, and avoid using foul
language or acting inappropriately
with colleagues in view of students.
Interaction with Colleagues
Professional teachers strive to interact
effectively with one another. Teachers in the
same department may collaborate to share
teaching strategies, analyze data and discuss
issues with the curriculum. Those who teach
the same students meet regularly to discuss
ways to improve student performance and
make connections between subjects, as well as
to discuss specific behavior problems.
Teachers who are focused on professionalism
are not solely focused on their own students
and classrooms. They are also concerned with
the school community and how they can work
with their colleagues to create an environment
that is focused on learning and success. They
do not engage in gossip, arguments and other
inappropriate behavior with colleagues.
Professional Interests
Many states require teachers to
participate in ongoing professional
development programs to maintain their
certification. Teachers who are focused on
professionalism participate in these
events regardless of the requirements.
They are committed to staying up-to-date
on best practices and other strategies for
teaching. They regularly read books,
magazines and blogs about education and
leadership, and conduct research to help
improve their teaching methods and the
performance of their students. They
attend conferences, sometimes even as a
presenter, and join professional
organizations to connect with others in
the field.