Chapter 11 Creating Developmentally Appropriate Classrooms The Importance of Age and Developmental Status

Focus Questions How can culture and schooling affect students’ development? Are there really stages to children’s development? How do teachers determine what is developmentally appropriate for students?

Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) Providing learning environments, instructional content, and pedagogical practices that are responsive to needs and interests of a period of life. What is known about childhood development and learning? What is known about the strengths, interests, and needs of each individual child in the group? Knowledge of the social and cultural contexts in which children live

Economic Aims for Schooling National Education Goals Panel All American children will enter school “ready to learn” Preschools not equitable for families in poverty 1 in 5 children are living in poverty Dangers Major purpose of school is to prepare students for the workforce Realization that college degrees are required for an increasing number of jobs

Cognitive Development Theories Jean Piaget Theory of Cognitive Development Lev Vygotsky Social Constructivist Theory Cognitive Structures Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) Maria Montessori Teaching the “whole child”

Middle School Most diverse and varied population Middle childhood- age range from 7-12 Educators knowledgeable and committed to young adolescents Balanced curriculum based on their needs Range of organizational arrangements Varied instructional strategies Full exploratory program Comprehensive advising and counseling Continuous progress Evaluation procedures compatible with age Cooperative planning Positive school climate

Early Childhood Education Collaboration Child study and mental hygiene Kindergarten Nursery Schools to Prekindergarten Great Depression Children’s Defense Fund Developmentally appropriate Working parents Project Head Start

Cognitive Revolution 1950-1960s- new respect for children’s intellectual resources Piaget: “American question” How much can we accelerate the pace of children’s cognitive learning in order to create smarter adults? More concerned with process than content Social knowledge Howard Gardner- goal is understanding

School Experiences Nature vs. Nurture debate Individual differences and development domains- motor, cognitive, language/communication, social/emotional Milestones and delays Child Study Movement- developmentally appropriate practices