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Hannah Schaefer

Mrs. Stupeck

ECH 200

November 24 2017

Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Classroom

Over the past three months, I have had the opportunity to observe and learn from Miss.

Lindsey, a teacher at Louisville Elementary School. My time in the classroom has taught me a lot

about what it looks like to have a great “Green Light” classroom and what it truly means to teach

to the moment. Miss. Lindsey continually considered the uniqueness of each of her students and

considered the different cultures of those in her class. I had the perfect opportunity to learn and

grow from her developmentally appropriate classroom.

As mentioned before, I did my observations at Louisville Elementary School in Miss.

Lindsey’s third grade reading class. Louisville is a suburban town surrounded by some rural real

estate so the students in the classroom came from both settings. Louisville Elementary has a

very interesting system in which students change classes as if they were in a high school. The

students are on “teams” which is a cluster of teachers that they rotate to throughout the day. This

system gave me the opportunity to observe two very different classrooms. The first was a class

full of all typical and gifted students. The second was made of typical and atypical (IEP)

students. The second class was also co-taught This gave me the chance to really see

developmentally appropriate practice at work.

The classroom I was in seemed to be set up well in order to support learning and

development. The desks were arranged in three clusters and the people who sat at each desk
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seemed to rotate often, making sure that each student had the opportunity to sit with someone

new each week. On the other side of the room, there was a nice fluffy carpet, a big couch, and

shelf full of cushions that the students could use. There were also cubbies at the back of the

room that the homeroom classroom kept their backpacks in. These all were considered work

spaces that students would be able to work in throughout the period depending on the activity at

hand. Each day, the students would come in, sit at their desks, and get out their red reading

folder so signify that they were ready to learn. The first class of students did this consistently,

with ease, every time. The second class, however had a lot more trouble with coming in, staying

quite, and doing what they were told. This triggered Miss. Lindsey to make some changes to her

routine for this class period which was one of the first developmentally appropriate change I

noticed.

The second class of third graders was much more diverse than the students in the first

class. The first class had an age range from 8-9 but the second class was 8-11 year olds. This

was because some of the students had been held back a year or two. Also, the second class had

students of different races, but the first class only had students that were Caucasian. Also, as said

before, the second class had two teachers, an Intervention Specialist and a General Education

teacher, but the first class only had a General Eduction instructor. The class rooms both had

about 20 students but the second class was the majority boys opposed to the evenly split first

class. All of the students were fluent in english except for one, and as the months progressed,

they considered the possibility that the student may have a specialized learning disability and

may need to be moved to the second class. There were 9 students with IEP’s in the second class

and 0 in the first class. There were also 6 gifted students in the first class and 0 in the second
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class. Finally, about 15% of the students were eligible for free or reduced lunches. Having such

a diverse group of learners gave me the perfect opportunity to learn from Miss. Lindsey about

developmentally appropriate practices and how they can vary from class to class and person to

person.

One of the initial characteristics of a developmentally appropriate classroom that I found

was in the classroom environment. It was evident from the first day on, that the students trusted

and felt safe with Miss. Lindsey. This became clear to me when they all spoke freely, giving

their opinions without hesitation. It also was apparent when Miss. Lindsey was explaining a

class project in which a poster board would be needed. Soon after explaining she was sure to

mention that if they were unable to get a poster on their own or if the could not afford one, they

should feel free to approach her and ask and she would purchase one for them. The classroom

was also visually pleasing. It was very well organized and all the materials that students would

need were easily accessible and at eye level. The class had a good routine for the beginning of

every class and was able to execute it very well. However, the routine varied from class to class

because the students in each class were very different. The first class was very organized, came

in silently, got out their red reading folders and waited to begin; the second class only had to sit

and become quiet in order to signal that they were ready to begin. If they were not silent, class

would not start, and this proved to be very effective, thus prompting Miss. Lindsey to consider

moving their responsibilities to that of the first class because they were making good progress.

Along with having a good and strong environment, Miss. Lindsey incorporated multiple

developmentally appropriate strategies into her classroom. She always acknowledged students

by giving positive feedback for their accomplishments, no matter how big or small. She also was
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a great model in displaying skills on the board for her students to learn from. She would

encourage them to come up with examples of their own but also come up with some of her own

so that they would get the right idea. Also, for every project and task, she would use

demonstration and have a completed example, with different answers, for the students to look at

as a reference. She also was a large advocate for scaffolding. Although the activities from class

to class may have been different, each lesson pushed students to work at their highest levels and

also left room for them to ask questions when help was needed. Extra assistance was needed at

times, in both classes, but Miss. Lindsey did what I would consider very successful scaffolding.

Along with all of these uses of developmentally appropriate practice, Miss. Lindsey

incorporated the ideals in curriculum and assessment. Being in this classroom was I thought to

be, one of the best experiences. I had the opportunity to learn about many different types of

learners and how to teach them. Going into the classroom, I had no intention of becoming an

early childhood teacher but throughout my time in the classroom, my opinion has changed

significantly. I have been thrown a curve ball in terms of my plan but I personally believe it was

for the better. I also learned a lot about DAP without even realizing it. Going in, the simplest

things like having tools at eye level would have never occurred to me as a practice but it is. I

would most certainly use developmentally appropriate practice in my classrooms because I think

it is imperative in the learning experience. I have learned that not one size fits all and that all

children are unique in their needs. Being in this particular classroom really helped me to

understand this and provide me with plenty of example of what to and not to do. I would hope

that in the future my classroom is a safe environment for all my students. I also hope that my

students would feel like they have some control and responsibility in the classroom. As well, I
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would have assessments that show progress, enhance curriculum, and provides useful

information about students strengths and weaknesses. I can’t wait to use all of this new

information in my classroom to help make my classroom and my ability as a teacher the best it

can be.