Young Children - May 2008 - (Page 46) Applying developmentally appropriate theory Looking at the global definition of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) as age, individually, and culturally appropriate (Bredekamp & Copple 1997) didn’t help us answer Pam’s question directly. However, looking at the core of the DAP principles in terms of three underlying components—safety, ownership, and conceptual understanding—seemed to be useful (see “A Framework for Applying the Principles of Developmentally Appropriate a Framework for applying the Principles of Developmentally appropriate Practice (DaP) Safety Physical and psychological • Support individual diversity (personal, gender, cultural, linguistic). • Use bias-free strategies, materials, and communication. • Accept learners’ ideas, interests, and explanations/justifications of answers. • Support and encourage learners to see themselves as able people who learn from mistakes and are not afraid to make them. • Promote intrinsic motivation rather than using extrinsic rewards, corporal punishment, comparisons, and ridicule, or withholding food, bathroom use, or outdoor time. Ownership Self-regulation versus reliance • Integrate technology and other materials/equipment into the activities as tools that can be manipulated/controlled by children. • Use guidance and reason rather than extrinsic rewards or other forms of exertion or control to help children understand why they have to comply. • Offer children problems to solve that are worth their time to figure out, and encourage them to reflect on their learning. • Involve children in generating ideas for activities and how they might go about an activity. • Give children opportunities for shared learning. • Provide intrinsic motivation for children to learn strategies for effective thinking and problem solving rather than specific procedures for completing assigned tasks. DAP Activities Meaningful and relevant from the children’s point of view Conceptual Understanding Active questioning, perspective taking, reasoning, and higher-order thinking • Promote the development of understanding rather than expect children to learn predominantly by rote. • Build in enough time for children to explore and figure out things for themselves with guidance as needed. • Plan enough time for children to figure things out rather than interrupt their thinking or rush them to produce a finished product. • Promote higher-order thinking, questioning, and decision making. • Encourage problem solving rather than expect children to passively follow adult directions, color in predrawn forms, or learn a prescribed method of getting the right answers. • Evaluate children by their progress rather than their ability to produce correct answers. • Adjust teacher plans based on ongoing assessments of learners’ interests, needs, understanding, and abilities. Source: Consolidated from Hyson, Hirsh-Pasek, & Rescorla (1990); DeVries & Zan (1994); Bredekamp & Copple (1997); Hemmeter et al. (2001); Seefeldt (2005); INTASC (2007); and NBPTS (2008). 46 Young Children • May 2008
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