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Designing Developmentally Appropriate Environments for Early Learners

Explore the core of developmentally appropriate practices and effective strategies for creating engaging classrooms focusing on emotional, physical, social, cognitive, and language development. Enhance language and literacy outcomes through intentional teaching methods. Collaborate with peers to design and discuss floor plans.

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Designing Developmentally Appropriate Environments for Early Learners

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  1. Environments Jennifer Kearns Fox, Mary Lu Love & Lisa Van Thiel Institute for Community Inclusion University of Massachusetts Boston

  2. Early Childhood Update

  3. Welcome • With your teaching partner(s), spend a few minutes describing your favorite summer environment and why it was special.

  4. Session Goals • Design classroom environments that are developmentally appropriate and support children’s learning. • Reflect on key classroom activities and instruction throughout the day. • Examine best practices for engaging families in their children’s education.

  5. Developmentally Appropriate Environments Model developed by Dodge & Colker, 1992

  6. Core of DAP Intentional teaching is the core of developmentally appropriate practice: • Child development to inform decisions and scaffold learning • Clear goals for all children • Individual differences, developmental levels, and ability to learn

  7. Research informs DAP: • Background knowledge and prior learning experiences impact children’s development. • Early teaching of language/literacy and mathematics in the early years is key to increasing school readiness and closing the achievement gap. • Children’s social and emotional competence has been linked to academic achievement.

  8. Practices that Impact Student Outcomes • Robust curriculum content • Relationship-based teaching • Differentiated instruction • Active, meaningful, and connected learning • Intentional teaching • Knowledge of child development & individual children

  9. Small Group Work: Expectations • Break into 5 small groups: • Identify a recorder • Identify a facilitator • Each group will take one developmental domain and list the expectations for children at the end of the year: • Physical • Cognitive • Social • Emotional • Language and literacy • Present to the whole group

  10. Emotional Development • Emotional competence • Development of conscience • Stress coping and resilience

  11. Physical Development • Physical growth and maturation • Sensation and perception • Gross motor development • Fine motor development

  12. Social Development • Social interactions, relationships with teachers and peers • Development of pro-social behaviors • Control over aggression and other challenging behaviors • Sense of self in relationship to others

  13. Cognitive Development • Executive functioning (attention, memory, mental representation) • Logic • Reasoning • Concept acquisition and classification • Magical thinking

  14. Language and Literacy Development • Oral language and communication • Vocabulary knowledge • Early literacy skills • Phonological awareness • Print awareness • Alphabetic principles • Random Automatic Naming (RAN)

  15. Small Group Work In 5 small groups: • Identify a recorder • Identify a facilitator • Each group will take one developmental domain and list the DAP expectations for children at the end of the year: • Physical • Cognitive • Social • Emotional • Language and literacy • Present to the whole group

  16. ELM Goals for All Young Children • Improve language and literacy outcomes for all preschoolers • Provide high-quality, language- and literature-rich classrooms • Increase teachers’ knowledge and skills in using SBRR practices • Support teachers’ implementation and integration of SBRR practices and knowledge through coaching • Integrate ERF services and activities with the community to build children’s language and literacy skills; enhance home support

  17. ELM Mottos

  18. Environmental Messages A B

  19. Environmental Messages • Physical Environment: Setting, equipment, materials, arrangement • Social Environment: Relationships (adult:child, child:child, adult:adult) • Temporal Environment: The use of time (schedule, transitions, units or projects, reflection across the year on children’s growth and classroom activities)

  20. Other Elements to Consider • Softness and hardness • Open and closed • Simple and complex • Intrusion and seclusion • High mobility and low mobility • Traffic flow Adapted from: Jones, Elizabeth and Prescott, Elizabeth (1984) Dimension s of the Teaching Learning Environment: A Handbook for Teachers in Elementary Schools and Day Care Centers. Pasadena, CA: Pacific Oaks College

  21. Hard and Soft

  22. Balance (Hardness and Softness)

  23. Open and Closed

  24. Simple and Complex simple complex super-complex

  25. Intrusion and Seclusion

  26. Zoning • Messy zone (sink) • Entry zone (cubbies) • Sleeping • Quiet zone (corners and protection) • Active zone: dramatic play, movement, circle

  27. Stretch Break

  28. Design and Discuss • With your teaching team partner(s), develop a draft floor plan. • After you have drafted your plan, you will work with another team for feedback.

  29. Trading Spaces: Environmental Protocol • After you have drafted your plan, work with another team to review and reflect on each other’s plans. • Please identify missing components, offer suggestions, and share ideas.

  30. Key Elements for Daily Schedule • Start of the day centers • Circle or meeting time • Let’s Find Out About It/Let’s talk About It • Introduction to Centers • Center time • Small groups • Let’s Find Out About It/Let’s talk About It • Songs, Word Play, and Letters • Story time • Routines and transitions

  31. Embedding OWL and Pre-K Math in the Daily Schedule • Both OWL and math curricula have a strong literacy focus. • Both use the same learning centers and share many educational goals. • The two curricula can be combined to work together in a half- or full-day program, and include instructional supports for age differentials and English language learners.

  32. Carousel Activity Key Activities in the Daily Schedule • Each group will have 2 minutes to list what happens during this time period. • On the signal, move to the next chart.

  33. Small Groups: Curriculum • In small groups, revisit the key activities listed on the wall chart for each section of the day. • Use the checklist in your packet to discuss the activities as a group. • Place a colored sticker next to activities that support the area of language and literacy in which your group is focused. • Then return to your table and discuss, using the template as a guide.

  34. Reflecting on Carousel Activity • Look at the carousel activity. • What does it mean? • What does it tell us?

  35. Next Steps with coaches • Apply knowledge to setting up classroom environment • Plan daily schedule to provide time for learning • Set high standards • Remember the MOTTOs we developed for ourselves and children

  36. Engaging Families Brainstorm at your table: • Positive ways to foster home/school connections • Successful strategies to engage families in their children’s education • Successful home/school literacy activities or strategies

  37. Courses North Shore Community College UMass Boston

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