Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Education

Study Notes

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)

DAP is a method that fosters each child's optimal development and learning, grounded in a strengths-based and play-based methodology.
It emphasizes joyful and engaged learning, acknowledging the diverse strengths of young children.
Educators who implement DAP recognize children as unique individuals and integral members of their families and communities.

Key Aspects of DAP in Preschool Curriculum

Age appropriateness: The curriculum must align with the typical developmental milestones of the age group it serves.
Individual appropriateness: Recognizing that children develop at their own pace, DAP involves tailoring educational experiences to the learning styles, interests, and current developmental levels of individual children.
Cultural relevance: The curriculum should respect and reflect the cultural backgrounds of the students, using materials and examples that are culturally familiar to them.
Play-based learning: DAP emphasizes the importance of play in early learning, incorporating a significant amount of play time that is both structured and unstructured.
Holistic approach: DAP addresses all areas of a child's development, including cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and language development.
Family and community involvement: DAP recognizes the critical role of families and communities in children's development, actively involving parents and community members in the educational process.

Principles of DAP

Knowing each child is fundamental to DAP, taking into account their strengths, interests, and cultural backgrounds.
Teachers need to know the expectations for children of a particular age and adjust their teaching methods accordingly.
DAP is a triumvirate of ideas, balancing what is typically expected for children of a certain age against their individual experiences and cultural backgrounds.
Intentional teaching is a key aspect of DAP, including guiding and directing children's learning experiences.

Benefits of DAP

DAP creates a comfortable environment where children feel known and understood, leading to a positive self-image and a sense of belonging.
It limits the likelihood of children using difficult behaviors to meet their needs.
DAP provides a solid foundation for future educational success, fostering a love of learning and a sense of curiosity.

Preschool STEM Education

At the preschool level, STEM education should focus on exploration and sensory experiences.
Activities should be designed to encourage children to observe, ask questions, and make predictions about the world around them.
Integrating STEM concepts into play-based activities helps children learn without pressure.
Technology can be used to enhance learning, but it should not dominate the educational experience.
STEM education should be integrated with other areas of learning, such as reading, writing, and social-emotional development.

Schemas and Cognitive Development

A schema is a category of knowledge that helps us interpret and understand the world.
Schemas are building blocks of knowledge, enabling us to form a mental representation of the world.
Assimilation is the cognitive process of making new information fit into our existing understanding of the world.
Accommodation is the process of changing our schema to understand new information that doesn't fit into our existing framework.
Schemas can unconsciously alter our perception and memory, as demonstrated by Frederick Bartlett's "The War of the Ghosts" experiment.

The War of the Ghosts Experiment

Bartlett's experiment showed that people tend to omit unfamiliar details, familiarize strange information, and rationalize the illogical when recalling a story.
This experiment demonstrated how schemas can alter our perception and memory, and how we construct our experiences into a coherent narrative.### Schemas and Learning
Schemas are mental frameworks that help us organize and understand new information.
They are created through past experiences and form scripted patterns of thought.
Schemas link together to form complex networks that aid in thinking and problem-solving.

Assimilation and Accommodation

Assimilation is the process of fitting new information into existing schemas.
It occurs when new information is similar to what we already know, and our existing schema can accommodate it.
Example: A preschooler incorporating a new type of ball (foone ball) into their existing schema of a ball.
Accommodation is the process of altering existing schemas or creating new ones to fit new information.
It occurs when new information is unique and cannot be assimilated into our existing schema.
Example: A preschooler expanding their schema of birds to include penguins, which do not fly, and learning that not all birds fly.

Schema Change and Adaptation

Schemas can change and adapt to new information and experiences.
This process is crucial for learning and remembering new information.
Knowing that schemas can be changed or created means we can always adapt and learn new things.

The Role of Schemas in Memory and Perception

Schemas play a key role in remembering information by organizing and retrieving relevant details.
They also influence our perception of new information, as seen in the War of the Ghosts experiment.
In this experiment, British students' schemas affected their recall of a Native American folk tale, demonstrating how schemas can alter our perception and memory.

The Importance of Understanding Schemas

Understanding how schemas work can help us in school and everyday life.
Recognizing that schemas can be changed or created means we can adapt to new challenges and information.
This is key to becoming a lifelong learner and adapting to new situations effectively.

Description

This quiz assesses understanding of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) in early childhood education, focusing on strengths-based and play-based methodologies. It explores how educators acknowledge and leverage diverse strengths in young children, recognizing them as unique individuals.