Guided Response: Respond to at least two of your peers by sharing how one of the things they learned provided insight into your understanding of developmentally appropriate practice. For each response, suggest one resource on the website that you feel would be beneficial for your classmate to further explore, and explain why.

Sasha Jackson

In your own words, explain what the term developmentally appropriate practice means to you.

Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in my opinion means the teaching skills to determine how young children learn and develop. This is important because it is known that not all children learn and develop skills at the same point in their young lives. Some children learn very fast and others are slow learners which is perfectly fine as well. It is very important for teachers and other care providers to understand this and not push children beyond their limits of learning during the current development stage.

Describe at least two personal connections you made with the DAP

This topic opened my eyes a little bit more because I have twin daughters and one of them pick up information very quickly and the other she takes some time to get information and before I used to get so frustrated because I wasn’t understanding why she wasn’t learning at the same pace with her sister, but now I have a better understanding.

Summarize three main things you learned from exploring the site. How will they impact your career in early childhood education?

These are the things that stood out to me while I was on the website,

10 Effective DAP teaching strategies:

Acknowledge, Encourage, Model, Demonstrate, Give specific feedback, Create or add challenge, Ask questions, Provide information, Give directions.

The 3 Core Considerations of DAP was very interesting as well.

Knowing about child development and learning.

Knowing what is individually appropriate.

Knowing what is culturally important.

Reference:

(n.d.). Home | NAEYC. Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) Introduction | NAEYC.Retrieved November 30, 2017, from http://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/dap

Laurie Jenkins

To develop the ideal learning outline for children in early childhood education is an approach know as Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), which is rooted in research that requires teachers to meet the kids where they are. Both the instructor and child interact in groups and individually to help the child meet goals even if they are challenging. The key is to make those goals attainable, but thought-provoking and not just simple tasks.

My approach to teaching is to make learning interesting and to give children the opportunity to explore their minds, while participating in a setting where they feel empowered to sample colors and pictures in the pages of books or play with toys and each other; to interact when needed and to give assistance to those children who may find it had to share and play with others. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) website allowed me to see that young minds, mainly those of preschoolers love to pretend play and are willing invite others into their world. Another DAP connection I found with the site is that 3-5-year-old children succeed in an environment of positive caring peers and adults. Teachers that use inventive assistance along with specific, deliberate and premeditated direction helps to produce the will to learn in preschoolers.

One thing that I learned that the NAEYC has been around for 90 years and that the DAP approach through the organization is dedicated to helping to strengthen early childhood educators. The website has influenced me to pay close attention to what children say because they have their own kid logic. Another thing that I found is young students react more positively to direct feedback and not general terms. I plan to be more thought-provoking to my youngsters by asking more specific questions, but also helping them to achieve reachable challenging goals. Developmentally appropriate practice will impact me to think of how I can apply these concepts to help me to create winning, thoughtful and successful children.