DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES WITH YOUNG CHILDRENppt

Department of Education
1
Developmentally
Developmentally
Appropriate Practices
Appropriate Practices
With Young Children
With Young Children
Dr. JOCELYN S. TUGUINAYO
Supervising Education Program Specialist
DepEd Central Office (TLD-BLD)

Learning Objectives
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At the end of the session, the
participants should be able to:
1.understand the concept of DAP
2.realize the importance of DAP
3.identify implications of DAP for Kto3

Outline of Presentation
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1. Core Considerations of DAP
2. Principles of DAP
3. Guidelines for DAP
4. Effective DAP Teaching Strategies
5. Implications of DAP for Kto3

Department of Education 4
“Show me and I forget;
Teach me and I remember;
Involve me and I learn.”
- Benjamin Franklin

Think About
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1. Do you agree or disagree with the quotation?
What are your thoughts about this?
4. What are the implications to Kto3?
2. Do you think that if you involve the students
in doing the activities, everyone will learn?
3. What do you think are the principles/
considerations behind learning of young
learners?

Think About
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• What is DAP?
• What are the core
considerations of DAP?

Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP)
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Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP):
-an approach to teaching that is grounded on
research on child development and learning which
seeks to promote optimal learning and development
- involves teachers meeting young children
where they are (by stage of development),
both as individuals and as part of a group; and
helping each child meet challenging and
achievable learning goals

Child
development
How children
learn best
The role of
families,
relationships
and culture
An understanding of

Core Considerations of DAP
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• Age-appropriateness
• Individual-appropriateness
• Socio-cultural-appropriateness
DAP has three important distinct
yet interrelated aspects:

Age Appropriateness
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This refers to the fact that there are
recognizable predictable sequences of
growth and change in human
development from infancy up to
adulthood.
These predictable changes take place
in terms of all aspects of human
development – physical, emotional,
psychosocial, cognitive.

Age Appropriateness
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Teachers must be knowledgeable about
what is known on child development and
learning - knowledge of age-related human
characteristics that permits general
predictions within an age range about what
activities, materials, interactions, or
experiences will be safe, healthy,
interesting, achievable, and also challenging
to children.

Individual Appropriateness
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This is based on the recognition of
the child as a unique person with
an individual pattern and pace of
growth. The child is an individual
with his or her own personality,
learning style, family and cultural
background.

Individual Appropriateness
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Teachers need to know about the
strengths, interests, and needs of
each child in her/his class to be
able to adapt and be responsive
to variations in rate of
development

Socio-Cultural Appropriateness
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This is based on the recognition that
children live within a social and cultural
context and that their needs need to be
addressed in relation to this.
Teachers need to provide learning
experiences which are meaningful,
relevant, and respectful of the students
and their families.

Think About
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• What are the principles of DAP?

Principles of DAP
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1. All domains or areas of development and
learning are important. These include
physical, social, emotional, cognitive
(or thinking), language and communication
domains. What happens in one domain
affects the others.
2. Many parts of children’s learning and
development follow predictable sequences
that have been recorded. Skills knowledge and
abilities that children have, become the
foundation for later learning.

Principles of DAP
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3. Development and learning happen at
different rates from child to child. Also,
within a particular child there are
uneven rates of development in the
different domains.
4. Within each child there is an ongoing
interaction between what that child is
born with and what experiences that he
or she has.

Principles of DAP
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5. The experiences that a child has in
early life, be they good or bad, have later
effects on development and learning.
We also know that there are best times
for learning many things, such as speech
and social skills.
6. Development goes from the simpler to
the more complex and difficult in all
domains or areas of learning.

Principles of DAP
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7. Children develop best when they feel
warm and secure in relationships with
adults who take notice of them. They
also need time for happy relationships
with other children.
8. Children grow and learn in a number
of social and cultural contexts such as
family, community, religion, school etc.

Principles of DAP
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9. Children are always active in their
minds and trying to understand their
world. They also learn in many different
ways. Therefore a wide variety of
teaching approaches and ways of being
together is best for learning.
10. Play provides an important way to
build thinking, language and, most
importantly, social skills.

Principles of DAP
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11. Development and learning happen
best when children have a challenge that
is just beyond where their skills are at
the moment. They also need the time
and place to practice these new skills
many times. Play is good for this.

Principles of DAP
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12. What children experience at home and
especially at school affects how they think
and feel about learning. Happy, challenging
and successful experiences make for good
feelings and ideas about learning. This is
how children develop positive dispositions
towards learning.

Think About
23
• What are the guidelines of DAP?

Guidelines for DAP
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1. Create a caring community of learners.
2. Teach to enhance development and
learning.
3. Plan appropriate curriculum.
4. Assess children’s development and
learning.
5. Develop shared/mutual relationships with
families.

In a Caring Community of Learners,
Everyone Feels . . .
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 I belong here.
 I am safe.
I matter, and everyone else in the group
matters too.
When we have problems we can work
them out.
 Together we can do great things.

1. Caring Community of Learners
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 Developmentally appropriate practice occur
within a context of RELATIONSHIPS between
adults and children, among children, among
teachers and between teachers and families.
 How we interact with children shapes how
they approach others, how they feel about
themselves, and how they develop and
learn. Our expectations for children’s
behavior affects them also.

CELEBRATE children and what they can do.
Take pride in their achievements. Give each
one a chance to discover their strengths and
talents. Remember that everyone can be
SMART in different ways.
Provide opportunities for children to play
and work together, talk with one another,
problem-solve together, make plans and
execute them together.

Each child has strengths and interests
that contribute to the overall functioning
of the group.
 Interacting with children in SMALL
GROUPS provides a context for children
to operate on the edge of their
developing capacities.

The learning environment must be
physically and emotionally safe for
children.
Children feel relaxed, safe and
comfortable rather than disengaged,
frightened, worried or stressed.

How teachers will teach will greatly
affect how children will learn, how
much they will learn, how they will
view learning and themselves as
learners.
2. Teach to Enhance Development
and Learning

and Learning
Adult-Child Relationship
Positive Relationships
Teachers respect, value, and accept
children and treat them with DIGNITY
Scaffolding
Enable children to perform a task beyond
the level of independent functioning
Incremental Challenges
Believe in Children

Learning Experiences
Playful and Hands-On experiences with
materials, the natural world and engaging,
caring adults balance between self-initiated
and adult guided.
Practice
Novelty
Choice
and Learning

Rich variety of experiences, projects, materials,
problems and ideas to explore and investigate that
are worthy of children’s attention.
 Opportunities to make meaningful choices and
time to explore through active involvement.
Activities that will suit their learning needs.
When children’s learning experiences are not
suited to their learning needs, it can cause
them great harm. It can leave children feeling
inadequate, anxious and confused.
What Children Need

 Developmentally appropriate curriculum
provides for all areas of a child's development:
physical, emotional, social, linguistic, aesthetic,
and cognitive.
 Choose curriculum strategies that do not
demand much of the wrong thing and too
little of the right thing.
 Whole group and teacher-led instruction
should not be the dominant teaching strategy.
3. Construct Appropriate Curriculum

4. Assessing Children’s Development
and Learning
Developmentally appropriate programs
assess in order to . . .
Monitor children’s development and
learning.
Guide our planning and decision making.
Identify children who might benefit from
special services or supports.
Report and communicate with others.

In order to make developmentally appropriate
decisions for children you must know them as
individuals and as members of their families and
their communities.
Parents must be viewed as partners in
supporting children’s development.
Strengthening home-school partnerships must
be an important feature of an educational
program. Good relationships with families
communicates respect and team effort.
5. Family Relationships

Think About
37
What are the
characteristics of a
developmentally
appropriate classroom?

In a Developmentally Appropriate
Classroom, you will see. . .
 Respectful, frequent and responsive
interactions
 Children offered choices, given
opportunities to make decisions, and are
active participants
 A print-rich environment with many
opportunities for children to interact and
explore the written word (including a
writing area)

 Media/Sensory Tables open daily
 Multi-cultural materials incorporated
throughout the environment
 Pictures of “real” objects and people (vs.
cartoons)
 Children employing problem-solving skills
 Learning areas that are well-defined and
inviting

 Woodworking experiences available and
utilized
 Self-help skills and independence
encouraged
 Adults capitalizing on “teachable
moments”, and what the children express
an interest in learning about
 Age-appropriate expectations
(ex: Mistakes and accidents- ok)

 Children’s individual needs and skill levels
taken into account
 Many opportunities for children to
experience success
 Smooth transitions with minimal waiting
and lining up
 Children’s feelings acknowledged and
validated

 Role of the family acknowledged, with
participation encouraged and valued
 Activities facilitated in small groups instead
of large groups with forced participation
 Physical needs of children incorporated,
with opportunities for large motor
experiences available daily

 The goal of guidance and discipline
with the children being to develop
self-control and to make better
choices
 The presence of music and laughter

Think About
44
What are the
effective DAP teaching
strategies?

10 Effective DAP Teaching Strategies
1. Acknowledge what children do or say. Let children
know that we have noticed by giving positive
attention, sometimes through comments, sometimes
through just sitting nearby and observing. (“Thanks
for your help, Angel.” “You found another way to solve
. . .”)
2. Encourage persistence and effort rather than just
praising and evaluating what the child has done.
(“You’re thinking lots of words to describe the main
character in the story. Let’s keep going!”)

3. Give specific feedback rather than general
comments. (“Your solution is almost right, how
about trying to solve the X and Y with . . .”)
4. Model attitudes, ways of approaching
problems, and behavior toward others, showing
children rather than just telling them (“Hmm,
that didn’t work and I need to think about why.”
“I’m sorry, Ben, I missed part of what you said.
Please tell me again.”)

6. Create or add challenge so that a task goes a bit
beyond what the children can already do. (For
example, you lay out a collection of chips, count
them together and then ask a small group of
children to tell you how many are left after they see
you removing some of the chips)
5. Demonstrate the correct way to do something.
This usually involves a procedure that needs to be
done in a certain way (doing investigatory
project).

7. Ask questions that provoke children’s
thinking. (Analysis questions: What would
happen if . ./How else could be another way
to solve . . .
8. Give assistance (such as a cue or hint) to
help children work on the edge of their
current competence (“Can you think of a
word that rhymes with your name, Matt?
How about bat . . . Matt/bat? What else
rhymes with Matt and bat?”)

9. Provide information, giving verbal labels, and
other information. (It has 3 letter word composed of
CVC, a kind of Asiatic animal like an ox. What is
this?)
10. Give directions for children’s action or
behavior. (“Touch each block only once as you
count them.” “You want to move that icon over
here? Okay, click on it and hold down, then drag
it to wherever you want.”)

Think About
50
What are the
characteristics of
children in a
developmentally
appropriate classroom?

Classroom, Children:
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Create rather than duplicate.
Move rather than wait.
Attempt to solve their own problems
rather than tell the Teacher, to have
her solve them.
Speak rather than listen passively.
Explore their interests, rather than
just learning about what the Teacher
thinks they should learn.
Make choices rather than just being told.

Make their own lines instead of
coloring within the Teacher’s lines.
Write their own books rather than fill
in workbooks.
Create art rather than do pre-planned
crafts.
Decide rather than passively submit.
Learn through experience rather than
by rote.
Appreciate the process rather than the
end product.
In a Developmentally Appropriate Classroom, Children:

Ask questions rather than being told
facts by adults.
Then - Figure out the answers rather
than being told facts.
Learn and Use skills that are of
interest and meaningful rather
than vague, abstract concepts that
have no real significance to them.
Have a schedule based on their
needs not the needs of the adults
or the program.
Adapted from “The Butterfly Garden” by Sandra Cosser
In a Developmentally Appropriate Classroom, Children:

Think About
54
What are the
implications of DAP
for K to 3?

Implications For K to 3
Serious investment in capacity building
activities that will include continuing
study of child development and learning
in addition to curriculum development
Note: Inappropriate approaches to early childhood
education especially when combined with ineffective
teaching and inappropriate curriculum in the
primary grades will be even more damaging than
not having access to preschool education.

Set up resource schools or schools with
“model K-3 classes” that demonstrate
best practices in early childhood and
primary education (K-3)
e.g. developmentally-appropriate,
culturally and contextually-appropriate as
well as effective program management
and processes of supervision by school
heads and division educational
supervisors.

Systematic effort to improve the
primary school curriculum (Grades One
to Three) to ensure that appropriate
scope, coverage, materials and
teaching approaches and methods are
truly effective for children from ages 6
to 8.

Increase physical activity
Although primary age children gain
control over their bodies and can sit
through longer periods, they are far from
mature physically and need to be in action
Physical action is essential to refine
developing skills; expressing newly acquired
physical power and control enhances self-
confidence

Increase physical activity
Physical activity is vital for cognitive
growth. Children need physical action to
help them grasp more abstract concepts like
place value and fractions
Children need to engage in active rather
than passive activities

Provide more opportunities for
cooperative small group projects and
activities.
These include activities that provide:
rich content for conversations
opportunities for shared exploration,
investigation and discovery
opportunities for planning, negotiating,
problem-solving, evaluating

Provide a wide range of concrete
materials from open-ended ones like
blocks, playdough, sand, construction
toys to more structured ones like
puzzles, board and card games which
children can explore, investigate and
think about

Use positive approaches to help children
learn appropriate behavior through:
Employing positive discipline anchored on
basic respect for children and consideration
of children’s developmental characteristics
Role-playing of problem situations

Involving children in establishing and
enforcing few basic rules necessary for
harmonious group life
More constructive ways of resolving
conflicts

 Curriculum and teaching methods
must enable children to acquire not
only skills and knowledge but also
the disposition or inclination to use
this
 Essential dispositions towards
learning and school: curiosity, humor,
helpfulness, persistence

Revisit and redefine all national
policies, Department orders and memos
and school level interpretations of such
policies in order to update and reconcile
with effective and developmentally-
appropriate practice.

Lets Apply: DAP/Not DAP
Check()the activity if DAP and cross (X) if Not DAP
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Activity Appropriateness
DAP Not DAP
1. Hands-on experiences with real objects
2. Activities with right or wrong answers
3. Rote learning and memorization
4. Flexible grouping activities based on interest
5. Adult-oriented decorations
6. Accessible materials
7. Teacher-directed activities
8. Introduction of Math concepts/lessons using
flashcard
9. Problem-solving
10. Open-ended art activities

Let’s Apply: DAP/Not DAP
Check()the activity if DAP and cross (X) if Not DAP
67
Activity Appropriateness
DAP Not DAP
1. Hands-on experiences with real objects 
2. Activities with right and wrong outcomes X
3. Rote learning and memorization X
4. Flexible grouping activities based on interest 
5. Adult-oriented decorations X
6. Accessible materials 
7. Teacher-directed activities X
8. Introduction of Math concepts/lessons using
flashcard
X
9. Problem-solving 
10. Open-ended art activities 

Keep in Mind
Age Appropriate
Individually
Appropriate
Socio- Culturally
Appropriate
Core
Considerations
of DAP

“The way we teach must be in synch
with the way children learn.”

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICES WITH YOUNG CHILDRENppt