Essay Sample on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Enhancing Early Childhood Learning

Introduction

The developmentally appropriate practice is the use of what adults know about child development to implement thoughtful and proper choices for early childhood practice (Courson & Wallace, 2010). The method involves understanding how kids develop as well as learn at defined ages and stages and initiate individual variances into account. Unfortunately, inappropriate practices always limit their attention to cognitive learning. Some teachers/educational administrators feel the need to use direct instruction modules to train infants and end up establishing lesson models that are beyond the cognition sphere of the child (Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Conversely, an ideal curriculum for kids between 18 months and 3-years offers them chances to explore and understand the world. The appropriate lesson plan includes experience, activities, and resources that support kids in exploring and discovering themselves since no one can teach a child to explore. Therefore, the paper analyzes the fundamental characteristics of a developmentally appropriate program for kids between 18-months.

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Fundamental Characteristics of the Program

Some of the attributes the program included the roles of early childhood administrator; learning and developmental needs; how the plan will address cognitive, social, emotional and physical development; its alignment with philosophy, vision, and mission statements; its alliance with the NAEYC; and the plan of professional to train the personnel on how to implement high-quality structured models, theory and curriculum.

Role of Childhood Administrator

The plan addresses the childhood administrator as the instructional leader of the program. Also, this individual will be in charge of implementing high-quality plan structures, hypothesis, and curriculum into the entire program (Courson & Wallace, 2010). To accomplish the objective, the program will emphasize on enhancing the development of self-regulation as well as social expertise and competence. It will be achieved by ensuring the childhood administrator focuses on creating an environment that supports love and through by implementing warmth and responsive care. The use of kindness and sensitive care will aid with the gradual guidance of infants into regular sleeping and feeding pattern, yet meeting personal needs (Courson & Wallace, 2010). Next, the management will set up a surrounding that is safe to explore, which will assist in enhancing ways of managing emotions. The leader will also be in the position of implementing a variety of guidance approaches, for example, recognizing appropriate behavior, modeling the right conduct, and smiling at the kid.

Addressing Cognitive, Social, Emotional and Physical Development

The program aims to address the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of the kids by implementing the practice of the five Ls on a daily routine. The five Ls are love, listen, limit, laugh, and let. Love strengthens the norms of affection care for the kids unconditionally (Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). The teacher might not like the behavior and actions of the child, but he/she has the mandate to let them know in a loving approach. Also, listen will cover paying attention to their needs, ensuring they are met, and being available always for small takes and sharing. Limit, on the other hand, refers to restricting them for their safety, but as per their developmental age. Nonetheless, the teacher will be expected to laugh with them, share happy moments as a means of realizing emotions for survival. Lastly, the management will have to let the children live; for instance, let them act out as per their ages.

How the Program Aligns with Philosophy

The program philosophy states that infants/kids learn most when they experience their immediate environment by actively interacting and connecting with others and manipulating objects within these setups (Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). It is the same philosophy that is used in setting up indoor play setups for the kids. Unfortunately, since setting outdoor configurations are challenging, the best plan will include the use of movable toys that are easily manipulated by children. Indoor and outdoor objects will consist of puzzles, books, and arts. Besides, the children will need time and chance to familiarize themselves with the toys, environment, and material to discover a better means of interacting with them; thus, a means of training kids with special needs. Also, the movable objects need not be moved until the child has had the opportunity to connect and master it entirely.

Professional Plan to Train Staff

The developmentally appropriate curriculum highlights various guides considered in training the teaching staff. Since the teachers will be handling one of the most vulnerable populations and those with the need to have access to a positive environment, they will be trained on how to make their teaching approach enjoyable by using various hands-on activities as well as materials (Courson & Wallace, 2010). Also, the training will involve an integrated and sequenced compartmentalized learning approach. It will assist the teachers in the opportunity to address several areas of development, such as to develop language, social, and physical skills. The sequencing training approach will aid the teacher plan their daily and weekly curriculum and organize activities to prepare the children for the next step. Other training schemes for the teachers will include the standards of connectedness, engagement, and comprehension, comprehensive as well as a practice linked assessments.

Conclusion

To conclude, the plan aims to empower kids from the ages of 18 months and three years for their next stage in life. Indeed, the idea is to ensure that teachers implement appropriate outdoor and indoor training. The curriculum indicated that teachers out to allow the kids to explore, act as per their age, and given time to connect with the environment and outdoor movable objects.

References

Courson, D., & Wallace, C. (2010). Planning a developmentally appropriate program for children (2nd Edition). Arkansas: Arkansas State University. http://asuchildhoodservices.org/docs/planning_developmentally_appropriate_program.pdf

Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Infant/Toddler curriculum and individualization. Carolina: The University of North Carolina. https://zero-to-three.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/42/f9056f77-b779-4a6a-936c-37e09fe5e30c.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAJXDANSTLKXIZVO5Q&Expires=1579426775&Signature=VIaQzfvrbkcSsekfDmqqxQXx1ts%3D