1. Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP)

2. Developmentally Appropriate Practices
Social and cultural
Age
Individual

3. Excellent teachers know
It’s both what you teach and how you teach.
It’s both teacher-guided and child-guided.

4. Dimensions of EC Practice
Assessing children’s learning and development
Establishing reciprocal relationships with families
Creating a caring community of learners
Teaching to enhance development and learning
Planning curriculum
to achieve goals

5. Caring Community of Learners
Everyone considers and contributes to well being and learning
Each child is valued, children learn to respect and acknowledge strengths and differences
Opportunities provided to play together
Balance of rest and active movement, provides for safety, security and comfort
Dynamic, changing, predictable, comprehensive environment with variety of materials and meaningful experiences

6. Teaching to Enhance Development and Learning
Providers respect, value and accept children
Providers get to know each child and establish positive relationships with families
Providers create intellectually challenging, responsive environment
Providers make plans to enable children to attain key curriculum goals across disciplines

7. Teaching to Enhance Development and Learning
Providers plan environment and activities for each child.
Providers develop, refine and use wide repertoire of teaching strategies.
Providers facilitate development of responsibility and self-regulation.
Providers know how and when to use learning formats.

8. Teaching to Enhance Development and Learning
Providers provide intensive and enrichment experiences.
Providers ensure experiences are accessible and responsive for all.

9. Planning Curriculum to Achieve Goals
Goals identified and articulated
Comprehensive and socially relevant programs planned
Providers build on what children already know
Curriculum integrated across subject matter divisions to make connections

10. Planning Curriculum to Achieve Goals
Promotes development of knowledge and understanding, processes and skills
Supports children’s home culture and language
Curriculum goals are realistic and attainable

11. Assessing Children’s Learning and Development
Assessment is ongoing, strategic, and purposeful
Assessment content reflects progress toward learning and developmental goals
Assessments are appropriate to age and experience
Decisions are based on multiple sources of information

12. Assessing Children’s Learning and Development
Developmental assessments and observations used to identify children who have special learning or developmental needs
Assessments recognize individual variation and allow for differences in learning
Assessments match purpose in order to produce reliable and valid information

13. Assessing Children’s Learning and Development
Providers utilize various assessments to determine what individual children can do.
Appropriate follow-up with family involvement is identified for children who have learning and development needs.

14. Establishing reciprocal relationships with families
Relationships require mutual respect, cooperation, shared responsibility, negotiation
Providers work in collaboration with families
Family members are welcome in programs and participate in decisions
Providers acknowledge family choices and goals are respectful of family preferences and concerns

15. Establishing reciprocal relationships with families
Providers and parents share knowledge of child and continue to communicate
Providers involve families for assessing and planning
Providers link families to social services
Providers share information as children move from one program to another

16. Activity
List concrete activities that you do in your programs to address the five guidelines for practice creating a star.

17. Activity
Individually or with a partner, please complete the DAP self- reflection!