Running Head: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction

Charis Sileo
Regent University
UED 495-496, Field Experience/Student Teaching ePortfolio
Dr. Gould
October 18, 2016

In partial fulfillment of UED 495-496 Field Experience/Student Teaching ePortfolio, Fall 2016

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Introduction
This paper is a rationale and reflection on the implementation of developmentally
appropriate classroom instruction. Optimal student learning is an outgrowth of instruction that is
articulately molded to how a child develops. The concept of developmentally appropriate
practices refers to providing an environment and offering content, materials, activities, and
approaches that are coordinated with a childs level of development and readiness
(Developmentally Appropriate Instruction). Students cannot be forced to perform at the highest
expectation of readiness, or even at the desired expectation; nor can students uniformly arrive at
the same level of readiness. Further, a child cannot always deliver under quick instructional
pacing. While some concepts may be easily grasped, others may require greater periods of
material absorption and practice. Maria Montessori (1995) recognized the great and varying
depths and wonders of a childs mind. Growth and psychic development, she wrote,
areguided by: the absorbent mind, the nebulae and the sensitive periods, with their respective
mechanisms But the promise they hold can only be fulfilled through the experience of free
activity conducted in the environment (p. 96). And so, not unlike student-centered and
differentiated instruction, developmentally appropriate instruction calls for student exploration,
movement, and direct engagement and involvement at each students distinctive developmental
level. Instruction that is not reaching the uniqueness of each child stunts growth, but teaching
that meets children from a standpoint of appropriately measured compatibility and
perceptiveness enhances it.
Rationale
My first artifact of choice is evidenced in three steps that lasted over the course of one
week. To introduce a new math concept plane geometric shapes and their attributes (sides,

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angles, and vertices) I created three separate ways of delivering instruction and student
practice. The first step was introducing the plane geometric figures and the vocabulary terms.
This was taught through whole group white board practice, where I had the students draw the
shapes and identify the attributes. They were taught specific identification techniques: circling
the vertices, drawing an arrow towards the sides, drawing a curved line at each regular angle, and
drawing a box at each right angle.
The second step was a game called Shape Spin Race, where the students paired up and
took turns spinning the paper clip on their shape mat. After identifying the plane shape the paper
clip stopped at, the student would find that shape on his/her shape sheet, trace the shape, and
identify the attributes using the proper identification techniques. After 15 minutes of game time,
the students gathered for whole group, and we reviewed the process (tracing and identifying
shape attributes).
The third and final step was through small group math stations, one of which was a
teacher-directed, guided math group. In this math activity, each student was given a sheet of
traceable plane shapes: square, triangle, circle, and rectangle. After choosing a shape to begin
with, the student was given the following tasks: trace the shape of choice, recreate the shape
using a geoboard and rubber band, identify the attributes, and then write the amount of each
attribute in the appropriate boxes. After this section was complete, the students moved on to the
final task, where they had to trace their grid of shapes, and then determine which shapes could be
identified as having a right angle. Each section of this worksheet contained a thought-provoking
option. The first section included a circle, which has no vertices, sides, or angles and cannot be
recreated on a geoboard. The second section showed a rectangle that was diagonally positioned,
as well as two triangles one a regular triangle, and the other a right triangle. Each section was

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purposed for generating deeper thinking. At the end of the math activity, the students shared their
work with their neighbor, providing a rationale behind their choices. The lesson ended with a
concept and vocabulary review.
Each of these activities lasted through the duration of a week, and additional practice and
enrichment was continued through the following weeks. To incorporate cultural awareness, the
class conducted a work in pairs discussion about the plane geometric shapes they identify in
their own lives at home, in their neighborhoods, etc. They recorded these items on a piece of
drawing paper, grouped into pairs again, and shared their pictures.
My second artifact of choice is evidenced through a progression of number writing skills,
both in proper writing technique and proper numeric order. Following this number introduction,
the kids took a number writing pre-assessment that determined their ability to correctly and
chronologically write their numbers from zero to one-hundred forty. The pre-assessments were
graded, and using the data pulled from the results, I formed guided groups and enrichment
groups. The guided groups required more practice writing their numbers chronologically starting
as low as forty, while the enrichment group could begin practicing at one-hundred twenty or
above. With the pre-assessment data, I also determined which students needed to most practice
on number writing technique.
To introduce proper writing technique, I taught the students stanzas for each single-digit
number, which walked them through the steps. The students practiced at their desks using white
boards and a marker. I modeled; then I had the kids draw the number with their fingers in the air
and on their desks; next, we repeated the stanza together as they wrote the number several times
on their white boards. They then self-evaluated their work, comparing it to what was modeled for

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them, and drew a crown above their most well-written number. They shared their work, and we
went over the stanza one last time (Ex: Across the sky, And down from heaven, Thats the way,
To make a seven).
To further develop number writing skills through the week, specifically drawing on
numeric order skills, the lower small groups met with me for guided practice. For this group, I
created a dice game. The game is played in pairs. Each player takes a turn to roll his or her die.
The number their die lands on indicates the number of spaces the player must move. For each
empty box, the player will fill in the correct number using the proper writing technique. The next
player moves his piece to the same space as his/her opponent, rolls, and then continues the
process. The enrichment group played the same game, but using a greater set of number (starting
from 100 or above).
Rationale
Developmentally appropriate instruction is age appropriate. Ensuring the ageappropriateness of instruction requires studying the students mental capacity, their level of
comprehension, and their ability to retain information. All of these factors should be weighted by
what learning context the student best functions under, and how their performance is best
stimulated based on their age. An article from Scholastic (n.d.) described the nature of
developmentally appropriate learning as an approach to teaching that respects both the age and
the individual needs of each child. The idea is that the program should fit the child; the child
shouldn't have to fit the program (Church, E.). A student must not be forced to achieve beyond
what he is able. This is not to say that a five-year-old cannot achieve the learning level of a six or
seven-year-old. It does, however, necessitate that a teacher appropriately guide her students

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towards reaching higher levels of achievement by presenting the material in increments, with
learning supplements along the way; all the while, being acutely aware of the age and therefore
learning capabilities of her students.
Developmentally appropriate instruction is individually appropriate. Not only is age a
key factor in measuring how appropriate a learning concept or its instructional delivery might be;
but also, a childs very unique self. Accruing a childs emotional, cultural, social, cognitive,
physical, and academic maturation is attained through a teachers ability to have sensitivity
towards a students circumstances, upbringing, academic level, metacognitive needs, and
socioemotional evolution. Such a bold task is built on habits of communication with the family
and student, and an active desire to understand the childs cultural standpoint. Cultural
differences emerge from family culture, ethnicity, and area of residence. As a teacher, knowing
these cultural differences and molding instruction around them is pertinent to being
successful in producing developmentally appropriate instruction for each individual student.
Developmentally appropriate instruction is appropriately paced. The National
Association for the Education of Young Childrens (2009) position statement propounds that in
the high-pressure classroom, children are less likely to develop a love of learning and a sense of
their own competence and ability to make choices, and they miss much of the joy and expansive
learning of childhood (p. 4). Even with the stringent pressures of state standards, ultimately the
teacher decides how to deliver these standards. Although the teachers pacing must be
compatible with SOL and school curriculum demands, the teacher must simultaneously
safeguard each students need and capacity for learning. The student data that is recorded
through pre- and post- assessments, one-on-one conferences, guided instruction, and other

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instructional contexts, helps in determining the proper pacing. This is what defines
developmentally appropriate instruction.

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References
Church, E. (n.d.). Defining Developmentally Appropriate. Scholastic Inc. Retrieved from
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/defining-%E2%80%9Cdevelopmentallyappropriate%E2%80%9D
Developmentally Appropriate Instruction For Early Childhood. Goodwell: Oklahoma Panhandle
State University, 1998. Web. 10 Oct. 2016. Retrieved from http://www.opsu.edu/www/
education/Developmentally%20Appropriate%20Instruction.pdf
Montessori, M. (1995). The Absorbant Mind [Google Books]. Retrieved from
https://books.google.com/books?id=A7vnLnfo38EC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=the+pro
mise+they+hold+can+only+be+fulfilled+through+the+experience+of+free+activity+con
ducted+in+the+environment&source=bl&ots=xzUp3_btb5&sig=zKHhYQUAc9GCzLYl
lRRDm3EcLsY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZreuKlN7PAhWD3YMKHe05Am0Q6
AEIIjAB#v=onepage&q=the%20promise%20they%20hold%20can%20only%20be%20f
ulfilled%20through%20the%20experience%20of%20free%20activity%20conducted%20i
n%20the%20environment&f=false
National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate
Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 [PDF
file]. NAEYC, p. 4. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/
position%20statement%20Web.pdf