The Connection Between Developmentally Appropriate Practice and Curriculum There is a strong connection between developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and planning curriculum. “DAP provides guida
TABLE 2.2 Connecting Knowledge of Development and Learning to Teaching Practices
Principles of Child Development and Learning
Developmentally Appropriate Teaching Practices
Children develop holistically
• Teachers plan daily activities and routines to address aesthetic, emotional, cognitive, language, physical, and social development.
• Teachers integrate learning across the curriculum (e.g., mixing language, physical, and social; combining math, science, and reading).
Child development follows an orderly sequence
• Teachers use their knowledge of developmental sequences to gauge whether children are developing as expected, to determine reasonable expectations, and to plan next steps in the learning process.
Children develop at varying rates
• Teachers give children opportunities to pursue activities at their own pace.
• Teachers repeat activities more than once so children can participate according to changing needs and abilities.
• Teachers plan activities with multiple learning objectives to address the needs of more and less advanced learners.
Children learn best when they feel safe and secure
• Teachers develop nurturing relationships with children and remain with children long enough so children can easily identify a specific adult from whom to seek help, comfort, attention, and guidance.
• Daily routines are predictable. Changes in routine are explained in advance so children can anticipate what will happen.
• There is two-way communication between teachers and families, and families are welcome in the program.
• Children have access to images, objects, and activities that reflect their home experiences.
• The early childhood environment complies with all safety requirements.
• Adults use positive discipline to enhance children’s self-esteem, self-control, and problem-solving abilities.
• Teachers address aggression and bullying calmly, firmly, and proactively.
Children are active learners
• Activities, transitions, and routines respect children’s attention span, need for activity and need for social interaction. Inactive segments of the day are short.
• Children participate in gross motor activities every day.
Children learn through a combination of physical experience, social experience, and reflection
• Adults encourage children to explore and investigate. They pose questions, offer information, and challenge children’s thinking.
• Children have many chances to document and reflect on their ideas.
Children learn through mastery and challenge
• Practitioners simplify, maintain, or extend activities in response to children’s functioning and comprehension.
Children’s learning profiles vary
• Teachers present the same information in more than one modality (seeing, hearing, touching) and through different types of activities.
• Children have opportunities to play on their own and with others; indoors and outdoors; with natural and manufactured materials.
Children learn through play
• Teachers prepare the environment, provide materials, observe and interact playfully with children.
• Play is integrated throughout the entire day and within all aspects of the program.
Until now, we have focused on the characteristics of the children you will be teaching. Now it is time to consider what you will be teaching. That dimension of teacher knowledge addresses content—the information and skills children will learn in your classroom.
