Running head: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction Competency

Victoria Edwards
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2015

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Developmentally Appropriate Instruction Competency

Developmentally appropriate practice, often shortened to DAP, is an approach to
teaching grounded in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what
is known about effective early education (National Association for the Education of
Young Children ). Planning developmentally appropriate instruction or lessons is all
about meeting student where they are. For my student teaching I have had two
placements. Placement one was with third grade and placement two was with first grade.
For my artifacts I choose a video of an activity I did with my third graders and a lesson I
did with my first graders. Both are great examples of developmentally appropriate
lessons.
Rationale for Selection of Artifacts
The First artifact I choose for this competency is a video of an activity that I did
with my third grade class. At this age the students are at the students are at the industry
(competence) vs. inferiority stage of development. Their peers become very
important in their self-esteem. Children need activities where they have to work
together and where they are encouraged to take initiative (McLeod, 2008). In
addition, to their stage of development I also took their talkative nature into consideration
when planning for them. Knowing how much they like to talk I make a review lesson
where the students would have to have to have groups discussion and pick the answer to
problems together. This activity gave them a chance to talk. It was also engaging and fun.

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It made the student have to think about what they learned and work together to answer
the problems.
The second artifact was a rhyming lesson. The first graders are actually in the
same stage of development as the third graders. This class was also very talkative the
lesson is a great example of developmentally appropriate instruction because it used a
popular movie frozen, which my class loved) and has the class taking initiative and
working together. I took a movie they love to get them engaged and I used tem challenge
to get them working together and engaged in the activity. I did not just tell the student the
rhyming words they had to find tem together.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
In my classes at Regent University one of the most important things I learned
about developmentally appropriate instruction was that it is important to know your
students. After all how can you plan a lesson appropriate for the students if you do not
know them? One of my professors quoted Theodore Roosevelt many times in my course
he said, People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care
(Roosevelt, 2015). Knowing my students helped me know to pick a frozen themed
rhyming lesson and knowing my students helped me know to do group discussions and
team challenges to get them engaged. The most important thing in teaching is the
students. It is important for a teacher to know the students and their needs without that
there is no way to even teach them effectively.
In conclusion my experiences student teaching helped me to become a better
teacher and to learn how to plan developmentally appropriate lessons. Both the video and

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the frozen rhyming lesson show developmentally appropriate activities I did with my
student. The students are the most important thing in teaching and meeting them where
they are and using their interest is key for planning developmentally appropriate
instruction.

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References
McLeod, S. (2008). Erik Erikson. Retrieved 2015, from simplypsychology.:
http://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html
National Association for the Education of Young Children . (n.d.). Developmentally
Appropriate Practice (DAP). Retrieved 2015, from NAEYC:
http://www.naeyc.org/DAP
Roosevelt, T. (2015). Theodore Roosevelt > Quotes > Quotable Quote. Retrieved 3 12,
2015, from goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/34690-people-don-t-care-howmuch-you-know-until-they-know

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