Sarah Catron

ED 213-2SC
Assignment 2

1.) (15 pts) Does the concept of developmentally appropriate practice make sense? What features of
developmentally appropriate practices do you believe are especially important? Why? Would you
be comfortable promoting it with parents? Discuss your questions, likes, and dislikes regarding
developmentally appropriate practice.
I believe the concept of developmentally appropriate practice makes sense and is important to
implement in the classroom. The most important feature of this theory is that all children will
grow and develop on their time, meaning they wont be overwhelmed by being pressured to
achieve something they may not be able to achieve yet. Becoming overwhelmed can quickly lead
to a person giving up. This is so important because all children need to know that they can
achieve their goals and need to be encouraged instead of let down. I do implement DAP in my
classroom and send home activities based on DAP for parents to do with their child. This helps
parents not only understand what their child is learning, but it makes them feel like a part in their
childs education, as well as gives them a sense of pride when they see their child reach a goal
that had been set.

2.) (20 pts) Revisit the NAEYC website (www.naeyc.org) and read the position statement
Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Eatly Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth
through Age 8 (Bredekamp, 2009, NAEYC). Write a two-page reaction paper. What new
information did you gain from the reading? What did you like in the reading? How will you use
the information in your teaching?
Being an Early Head Start teacher, NAEYCs position statement really hit home. A lot of
the information was a repeat of things I had already learned, but I did pick up some new
information. I always looked at Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) as something
everyone just already did. I never realized the impact that it actually has on young children.
Because of continued immigration, decrease in jobs and job security, and the continual
increase in our general population, the lower-income class is growing faster than ever. DAP helps
apply cultural differences to the curriculum taught in the classroom, to better fit the needs of its
students. Not only that, but it also helps better meet the needs of children from lower-income
families, as these families slip through the cracks much easier. In the position statement, it says
that children from a low-income family general lack skills in vocabulary and literacy. I see this
everyday in my classroom. Planning according to each childs individual developmental needs
helps not only me to teach the child what they need to learn, but helps the child to enjoy learning
and pick up on these skills more quickly.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice was planned out to meet three needs seen in
todays school system: to reduce learning gaps in the classroom, to create improved education for
all children, and to recognize the teachers knowledge and ability when it comes to planning and
decision making. By reducing the gaps, as I stated before, DAP will help children want to learn.
When children feel like they are failing or are behind, they lack motivation and the
encouragement needed to succeed. When a child has a goal they can reach, they feel
accomplished and more confident about continuing to meet those needs. By creating improved
education, DAP is hoped to take some of the pressure off of young educators to prepare children
for the standardized testing that comes in early elementary school. Current standards without

DAP in place may be eliminating key experiences necessary for children to grow and develop
properly, such as: problem solving, opportunities for social and emotional development, physical
activity and outside time, and art. By recognizing teacher knowledge, DAP will give teachers
more input on the curriculum they use in their classroom, as well as allow them to set a routine
based on the needs of their individual classrooms, instead of a mandated routine and curriculum.
Teachers know best what individual students like, dislike, and how they learn best.
In my teaching, I use DAP every day. As an Early Head Start teacher, I must plan my
lessons according to what each child needs. Throughout the year, I conduct screenings to see
where each child falls on the spectrum of development. When I figure out where each child is, I
can decide with the parents what goals we think the child needs to meet. From there, I figure out
what objectives I need to add into my lesson plan to help that child achieve their goals. Every
child has a Goal Binder. In that binder I write down all of the above information and store their
screenings. When I create lesson plans, I refer to that binder to make sure that each childs
objectives are included in the lesson plan. I also document the likes and dislikes of each child by
writing anecdotal observations. In doing so, I can decide which activities will best attract
children to learn and cooperate. For example, if Student A needs help counting but has difficulty
focusing and counting with me, I can look at their observations and see that they frequently play
with the colorful sorting bears. I can get out the sorting bears, and while sorting, encourage
Student A to count them out loud with me. This activity could meet other goals as well. If
Student B needed some help remembering colors, they could do this activity as well.
One thing to remember is that DAP is a necessity in the classroom to help children learn
and grow. Children will fall behind if they are pressured and forced to do something that they are
unable to do. DAP will help children and families to be encouraged and to look at education as a
good, fun, and useful tool to someday be a productive member of society.

3.) (50 pts) Review Table 2.3 on page 39 of your text. Do a bit of further reading about each of the
theorists in the table. Choose a concept appropriate for young children to learn. Describe how
each theorist would teach the concept. An example of a mathematical concept is knowing what
fiveness means. You may use this concept or choose one of your own.
Concept: Color Recognition

Multiple Intelligence theory, Howard Gardner: To teach color recognition, Gardner would incorporate
colors into every area of intelligence: music (he could sing about colors or add colored streamers to
dances), visual-spatial (he could add colors to the classroom, as well as add colors in the art area of
the room), verbal-linguistic (he could read books about colors or write the names of colors on labels
and place them on different colored objects around the room), logical-mathematical (he could add
colorful puzzles or blocks to the classroom), bodily-kinesthetic (he could talk about the colors of
clothes children were wearing or add colorful scarves to dances), interpersonal (he could have
children draw with colorful markers and ask them what they drew), intrapersonal (he could have
children talk about the colors their friends were wearing), and naturalistic (he could talk about colors
in nature).

Socio-cultural, Lev Vygotsky: To teach color recognition, Vygotsky could add lots of group activities
having do to with colors to the lesson, such as a group art project. He could also remind parents to
talk to their children about colors at home, in the store, and in nature.

Constructivist, Jean Piaget and Maria Montessori: To teach color recognition, Piaget and Montessori
could add lots of hands-on, sensory activities to the classroom, and repeat the activities often so
children could learn by experience. Such an activity could be colorful rice in the sensory box, or
paint at the easel.

Reggio Emilio: To teach color recognition, Emilio would add lots of natural colors to the classroom
for children to observe. He could put white flowers in cups of dyed water to show the different colors
being soaked up into the flowers.

Behavioral Theory/Applied Behavior Analysis: To teach color recognition using this theory, one could
give encouraging feedback when children got a color correct.