Best Practices

Chapter 2 of "The Intentional Teacher" outlines what is called best practices-approaches used to "foster children development and produce real and lasting learning." (Epstein, 2007). The author briefly but thoroughly covers the physical learning environment, scheduling, interacting with the children and building relationships with families. There is an especially useful insert provided gleaned from a High Scope article regarding children with special needs. This includes a great group of suggestions for seven types of categories from Learning Disabilities to Emotional Disturbances.

New Focus: The Intentional Teacher by Ann Epstein

In Chapter 1 of Epstein's book she walks us through the terms she uses throughout her book and which are used in the new Developmentally Appropriate practice edition. She clearly defines and describes child-guided experience, adult-guided experience, intentional teaching and content.

Outlining and defining these terms can help assure that we are all talking about, visualizing and carrying out the same approaches. The author also brings up the need for a term that describes the need for balance in educational programs for children and lack of an adquete term to describe this. We balance age appropriate, individually appropriate and appropriateness for language and culture. We balance the many educational philosophies. We balance vertical and horizontal learning. We balance child and adult guided experiences. The list goes on and on.

Intentionality by Age

The last section of the Intentionality online course focuses on specific age groups and how intentionality may differ. The video footage is especially interesting for the infant toddler group. There is a clip of approximately eight toddlers removing pegs and peg boards from a large storage container. It is interesting to view how the toddlers carry out the task and how the teachers facilitate and support that process. Upon completion of the course you recieve a completion certificate. I wish this certificate included the new cover design of the book to make it more interesting. It is just a white paper with your name, the course and date of completion.

Intentionally Building on Children's Learning

Section Four of the Developmentally Appropriate Practice training focuses on learning formats large and small groups, learning centers and routines. It very adeptly introduces how and why an intentional teacher would pick a particular format and the sequential building of ideas by presenting these ideas in different ways, with a minute adjustment in depth. There is exceptional video footage of learning formats for all of the early childhood age groups from infant to school age.

Intentionality In Teaching Approaches

Section Three of the NAEYC course focuses on the importance of flexibility and observation in determining the use of teaching approaches in the classroom. There is an exciting video clip of a teacher utilizing the play that children have been carrying out in the classroom to introduce the scientific concepts of levers and fulcrums to preschoolers. This clip also shows a teacher skilled at helping the children use the scientific method of coming up with a hypothesis, testing the hypothesis and determining if the hypothesis is correct.

Real Object Along with Pictures

Section Two of the DAP online course has a wonderful videoclip of a teacher describing the advantages of using real starfish and shells along with magnifying glasses and a microscope with pictures. Children are also shown using the real objects and tools. This videoclip is an excellent way to illustrate the importance of using real objects or three dimensional representations when real is not possible as opposed to using two-dimensional pictures alone.

Real Time Interactions

An interesting component of the DAP online training is what NAEYC calls "Webseminars". This provides participants in the training program to hear the voices of staff from the training department and invited presenters in real time, have the opportunity to ask questions via an email like format and share information with the presentors and other listeners by voting with multiple choice options. The seminars are focused on three groups within the field: Teachers and Child Care Providers, Program Administrators and Faculty and Trainers.

The seminar I participated in provided some new perspectives and thought provoking examples to the ideas presented. A PowerPoint presentation print out is available for each seminar. Unfortunately, there was a mix up in the one for our group and I'm still hoping to get the correct print out soon.

The seminar lasts 45 minutes is user friendly and defintely worth your time!

Teaching with Intent or Purpose

One of the major ideas that has been added in the new edition of the Developmentally Appropriate Practices book is making sure that everything that you do in the classroom has a purpose. There should be purpose in how your classroom is organized and for the materials in your classroom. There should be purpose in the activities that are carried out in your classroom and in the adult interactions with the children.

If documented on a regular basis this purpose fits nicely with the need for accountability today in our teaching. The first section of the online course on Developmentally Appropraite Practices focuses on purpose called "intentionality". Text, interviews and video examples clearly outline what is meant by this new idea. So far I believe this training is well worth the expense and time invested to complete it.

DAP Online Training

NAEYC is offering a "five-part, web -based, interactive learning opportunity" that compliments the new edition of the DAP book. Members are able to gain a coupon to discount the $60 cost to $48. Check it out at http://www.naeyc.org/DAP/pdt

I have signed up to go through the program. I will keep you updated on my progress and let you know what the course includes. You are given a window of three months to complete the program.

A New Edition of the Developmentally Appropriate Practices book!

The new third edition of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is an exceptional resource for those of us who believe in developmentally appropriate practices. If you have read the previous editions you will recognize the familiar position statement at the beginning of the book. However, the support materials offered in the rest of the book have changed. The use of the term "intentional" appears over and over throughout the new edition. The dictionary defines intentional as resulting from a purpose. Of course our purpose here is to make sure that our endeavors with children are presented in developmentally appropriate ways.

Another major change is in the example sections for each age group. The table is organized with "developmentally appropriate" in one column and "in contrast" in the other column as opposed to "inappropriate" which was found in previous editions.

The book also comes with a great CD to use on your computer with summaries of the basic ideas of dap and video clips used as examples. If you have never read this book I would strongly suggest you do so. If you have read previous editions I would strongly recommend investing in securing this new edition. You will be glad you did! The website for the National Association for the Education of Young Children is located to the right of this post.

The Goal of This Blog

I have been assisting aspiring teachers in understanding and implementing developmentally appropriate practices in the classroom for close to thirty years. When I began I was working on a Certificate in Early Childhood Education at a junior college level myself and over the years have continually expanded my academic knowledge to further develop my skills in assisting others.



I have been fortunate in the aspect of my career where I worked with children to hold positions in environments where my supervisors and colleagues shared my passion for developmentally appropriate practices. Unfortunately, not many of those I have strove to assist have had that luxury. Many have supervisors and colleagues who say developmentally appropriate practices do not work in the real world only in theory in a college classroom and on paper.



I know developmentally appropriate practices works in the classroom. I have applied it for close to thirty years working with children of all ages from infants to adolescents.



The goal of this blog is to provide support for those who are working in environments where developmentally appropriate practices are not respected or implemented. Don't give in and don't give up. Hang in there! I will be here to listen, provide suggestions and resources where I can. My hope is that other readers will listen and provide suggestions also where they can.



Remember the future is in our hands.