Developmentally Appropriate Practice (also known as DAP) is a teaching perspective in early childhood education where a teacher nurtures a child’s development (social, emotional, physical, and cognitive) based on the following: Show
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) adopted this approach in 1987. NAEYC outlines five key areas of early learning practices for effective teaching, which include: creating a caring community of learners, teaching to enhance development and learning, planning curriculum to achieve important goals, assessing children’s development and learning, and establishing reciprocal relationships with families.
Three core considerations of Developmentally Appropriate Practice1. Knowledge of childhood developmentKnowing typical development and learning at different ages provides you with a benchmark that will help prepare you to make decisions on the environment, interactions, activities, and materials. This knowledge should be based on research. You could try building a PILES child development chart using this guide. 2. Knowing what is individually appropriate for each child through assessmentObserving children at play, their interactions with their peers and environment helps you learn each child’s interests, skills, and developmental progress. These observations are crucial in refining how and what to teach each child as an individual. Having this knowledge allows you to know each child’s individual skills, needs, strengths, abilities, challenges, and interests. For tips specific to observation, download our free guide: 3. Knowing what is culturally importantEach child has their own cultural and family background. Having this knowledge ensures that each experience is respectful and meaningful for each child and family. There are many basic principles of development that inform DAP, which include: the domains of development, observations/documentation, seeing each child as unique, and knowing the impact of early experiences, relationships and play has on the early years. Here are the basic principles of development:
Incorporating DAP into Your Programming
Examples of Developmentally Appropriate Practice – Setting up Your Classroom
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What are three guidelines for DAP?Guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Action: Using Knowledge of Child Development and Learning in Context. - Creating a Caring, Equitable Community of Learners.. - Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and Fostering Community Connections.. Who created developmentally appropriate practice?NAEYC released its original position statement on developmentally appropriate practice in the mid-1980s in response to two specific issues.
What are the steps that you will do to practice DAP?The five essential guidelines for effective teaching in DAP are: Creating a caring community of learners. Teaching to enhance development and learning. Planning curriculum to achieve important goals.
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