DAP Study Guide

105-1 Developmentally AppropriatePractice

Commitment to Professionalism-100

2 105-1 Developmentally Appropriate PracticeLCG Master Teacher Certification Program

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

Study Guide

Read pp. xii-xiii and answer the Study Guide Questions: 1. What is developmentally appropriate practice? (Complete the statements below that define

developmentally appropriate practice)• Developmentally appropriate practice requires

• All teaching practices should be

• Developmentally appropriate practice does not mean

• Best practice is based on

2. Explain what this statement means:

“A teacher’s moment-by-moment actions and interactions with children are the most powerful determinant of learning outcomes and development. Curriculum is very important, but what the teacher does is paramount.”

• Print or type into this Study Guide. If you type, you must save the file to your computer.• The information you need to answer the Study Guide questions will be found in the text book:

Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs by Carol Copple and SueBredekamp, editors.

• Read the text book and answer all the Study Guide questions so you will be prepared for the Final Test.• Each section of the Study Guide references the page numbers from the textbook that you need to read

in order to answer the questions.• When you see a stop sign in the Study Guide, log in to the LMS and follow the instructions for

completing the corresponding quiz. You will complete a total of 4 quizzes for course 105-1.• Once this Study Guide is completed, upload to the LMS (see instructions on page 15).

Instructions:

Key Messages of the Position Statement pp. xii-xiii

3 105-1 Developmentally Appropriate Practice LCG Master Teacher Certification Program

Read the NAEYC Position Statement and answer the Study Guide Questions:

1. What is the purpose of the position statement?

2. Why is early exposure to language important for young children’s development?

3. All domains of development and learning—physical, social and emotional, and cognitive—are important, and they are closely interrelated. How are children’s development and learning in one domain influenced by what takes place in other domains?

4. Why does development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as at uneven rates across different areas of a child’s individual functioning?

5. Explain why children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive relationships with peers:

6. Why is play important for a child’s development?

7. One of the guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice is ‘creating a caring community of learners.’ What is the role of this community?

NAEYC Position Statement pp. 1-24

4 105-1 Developmentally Appropriate Practice LCG Master Teacher Certification Program

Read chapter 1 in your textbook and answer the Study Guide Questions:

1. What does it mean to be an ‘intentional’ teacher?

2. What are teachable moments?

3. Excellent teachers are intentional in all aspects of their role. The position statement identifies these five areas as: a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

4. What is a caring community of learners?

5. When is guidance effective?

6. Excellent early childhood teachers recognize children’s conflicts and “misbehaviors” as _____________________________________________. (2 words)

1-To Be an Excellent Teacher pp. 33-50

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7. What are the ten teaching strategies that excellent teachers have at their disposal? List and briefly explain. 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

8. Why is it essential for schools to have a high-quality curriculum in written form for teachers to

use as a guide for their planning and implementation of learning experiences?

9. To be effective, a curriculum must have __________________ that are clearly defined, shared, and understood.

10. Explain how our School Readiness Pathway represents the following statement from the DAP textbook:

“Well sequenced curriculum is important…Each skill or concept should be introduced when prior learning has prepared children for it.”

6 105-1 Developmentally Appropriate Practice LCG Master Teacher Certification Program

11. Why is thoughtful attention to assessment essential to developmentally appropriate practice?

12. What are some of the intentional steps that good teachers take to build partnerships with families?

13. Through the decisions they make, excellent teachers translate the DAP framework into high-

quality experiences for children. These guidelines address five key aspects of the teacher’s role. Explain how these aspects (shown below on the points of a star) are closely interrelated, and why none can be left out or shortchanged without seriously weakening teaching excellence:

Log in to the LMS and complete Quiz 1 for course 105-1, Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

7 105-1 Developmentally Appropriate Practice LCG Master Teacher Certification Program

Read chapter 2 in your textbook and answer the Study Guide Questions: In this section of the DAP textbook, ages 0-3 years are discussed and defined as follows:

• Young Infants—Birth to 9 months • Mobile Infants—8 to 18 months • Toddlers—16 to 36 months

1. What do young infants need most of all?

2. Babies enter the world ready for _____________________.

3. Describe some of the ways very young infants participate in relationships:

4. Babies delight in hearing language. Before they are able to undertand word patterns, they are able to:

5. List some of the infant care teacher’s tasks:

6. How can routine care times such as diapering or sanitizing be made more interative for the young infant?

7. Both during and between care routines, young infants need many opportunities to sample a variety of sensory and motor experiences. List and explain what some of these experiences are:

2—Development in the First Three Years of Life pp. 53-73

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8. Why is it important to form an alliance between the infant care teacher and the family of a young infant entering child care?

9. Mobile infants thrive on ____________________ and ______________________.

10. Explain how mobile infants react to other children and the adults around them.

11. Explain why a mobile infant would express some degree of fear around strangers, or the temporary absence of a person they trust.

12. As they play and use their new physical skills, mobile infants learn the rudimentary rules of ________________ and _________________. What type of learning experiences can teachers provide to facilitate these skills?

13. How can an infant care teacher encourage a mobile infant’s interest in language?

14. Why is the infant care teacher-family alliance so critical at the mobile infant age?

15. What is the dominant theme for toddlers at around 18 months?

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16. What should a well-designed environment offer toddlers?

17. Explain some of the ways to foster the cognitive growth of a toddler:

18. Explain the role of the teacher in the toddler classroom:

19. Why is a strong relationship between families and toddler teachers important for the development of the child?

Log into the LMS and complete Quiz 2 for course 105-1, Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

10 105-1 Developmentally Appropriate Practice LCG Master Teacher Certification Program

Read chapter 4 in your textbook and answer the Study Guide Questions:

1. Why are the preschool years no longer referred to as the years before the ‘real’ learning takes place in elementary school?

2. Optimal development and learning is most likely to occur in the preschool years when what conditions are present?

3. How much of their school day should a preschooler spend in physical activity?

4. List some ways that regular physical activity helps children:

5. Describe some ways preschools use their developing gross motor skills:

6. Describe some ways preschoolers use their developing fine motor skills:

7. Give examples of what a preshooler’s relationships with peers and teachers might look like:

4—Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Preschool Years—Ages 3-5 pp. 111-148

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8. Define prosocial behavior and describe how a preschooler may display this behavior:

9. How does the development of emotional competence impact children’s school readiness and school success?

10. How does a preschooler’s pretend play differ from that of a toddler?

11. During the preschool years, as children have more instruction and opportunity to practice information processing skills related to attention and memory, their executive functioning skills improve. Beginning on page 132, you will find a list of the skills associated with executive functioning. Beside each one listed below, describe what teachers can do to facilitate the development of these skills:

a. Attention

b. Memory

c. Mental Representation

d. Logic and Characteristics of Thought

e. Reasoning

f. Concept Acquisition and Classification

g. Magical Thinking

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12. After reading ‘Math for Preschool “Curriculum Focal Points”’ on page 139, explain each of them as they relate to Preschoolers:

a. Number and Operations: Developing an understanding of whole numbers, including concepts of correspondence, counting, cardinality, and comparison.

b. Geometry: Identifying shapes and describing spatial relationships.

c. Measurement: Identifying measurable attributes and comparing objects by using these attributes.

13. Define the characteristics of a high-quality preschool science program.

14. Describe how preschool teachers can promote oral language and vocabulary knowledge.

15. Describe how preschool teachers can promote early literacy interest and skills.

Log into the LMS and complete Quiz 3 for course 105-1, Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

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Read chapter 6 in your textbook and answer the Study Guide Questions:

1. Why is Kindergarten now regarded as the first year of school instead of an optional program?

2. What is the “5 to 7” shift in children?

3. What are some ways that teachers can promote physical development in Kindergarten?

4. Explain what prosocial behavior includes for Kindergarten children.

5. Under what conditions do Kindergarteners learn best?

6. Exlain how adults impact a Kindergartener’s self-concept.

7. What is self-regulation?

6—Developmentally Appropriate Practice in the Kindergarten Year—Ages 5-6 pp. 187-216

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8. How is self-regulation different for a Kindergartener than a Preschooler?

9. Read the section on Cognitive Development on pages 200-206. Describe how cognitive development in the kindergarten years differs from cognitive development in the preschool years.

10. After reading page 209 ‘Literacy: What Happens in Kindergarten’, explain each of the following:

• Book and print awareness—

• Phonological awareness—

• Language, comprehension, and response to text—

• Letter recognition, decoding, and word recognition—

• Spelling and writing—

11. A smooth transition from Preschool to Kindergarten is important. What can teachers do to ease this transition?

Log into the LMS and complete Quiz 4 for course 105-1, Developmentally Appropriate Practice.

After completing Quiz 4, scan and load this completed Study Guide into your Online Portfolio.

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Instructions for Uploading Assignments on the LMS

1. Click on the Assignment in your Class Syllabus

2. Click on Add Attachment

3. Click on Choose File

4. Locate the saved assignment on your computer and click on Open

5. Click on Upload

6. In the Progress Drop Down Menu, select Completed

7. Click on Save

The assignment is attached and the component is complete in the Class Syllabus.