Module 2 Blog: Observing and Interacting With Professionals, Children, and Families in an Early Childhood Setting.

I am observing in a Head Start classroom that consists of children who are 4 and 5 years old.  There is a teacher with a Bachelor's degree, a teacher with an Associate's degree, and an assistant in the classroom.  There are 17 children in the class and they are all going to kindergarten in the fall.

The focus for my research paper is Developmentally Appropriate Practice.  Within that I am focusing on assessments, classroom activities, and parental education about child development and learning.  While observing in my host classroom, I observed that there was a good balance of large group times, free choice time, small groups, and recess.  The activities seemed to range in difficulty and I asked the bachelor teacher about that.  She said that     some children are at different learning levels than others so they need a range of activities to meet the children's needs.

I talked with the bachelor teacher about what type of assessments they do on the children and she said that they do an ages and stages questionnaire on the children with the parents at the beginning of the year and they also do social/emotional questionnaire on them.  She also said that they observe the children daily, taking notes and pictures to document their progress throughout the year and plan appropriate activities for the children.  The teachers meet with the parents three times a school year to discuss the children's progress and discuss any concerns.

During my observation, I was able to talk to some of the parents about what any of their concerns were with the program and I asked if any of them knew what Developmentally Appropriate Practice was.  None of the parents knew what DAP was and the main concern of most of the parents was that it seems like the children just play all day at school.  I was also able to talk to the teachers about some of the parents' concerns and it seemed to really frustrate the teachers.  They said that they hear that all the time from parents and they try to explain that children learn through play.

One insight I gained through my observations is that the teachers would like to educate parents more about child development and learning.  I was glad to be able to talk to families and teachers during my observations to get a feel for what concerns them.  I got some great information regarding assessments that they do and how they plan activities for the children in the classroom.

Module 1: Interviewing Professionals about Developmentally Appropriate Practice

I interviewed two professionals about the focus of my research paper which is Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP).  The first person I interviewed is the assessment manager for the Head Start where I am employed.  The second person I interviewed is a lead teacher for Head Start.  They both thought that Developmentally Appropriate Practice is an area that could use advocacy and that it would be a great focus for my paper.

The teacher I interviewed thought that a couple related topics of my area of interest would be how to promote DAP in each area of learning and individualization with each child.  She finds that it is a struggle to find the time during the day to meet every child's individual needs, especially when you have children with IEP's and special needs in the classroom.

  The assessment manager thought that a current issue related to this topic is being able to plan appropriate activities using our curriculum and assessment tools.  Some of the teachers do not follow the curriculum and plan activities that are not appropriate for the age level they are working with.  She stressed the importance of planning individual activities to help nurture the development of the children.

These interviews have shown me that planning appropriate activities and using individualization are very important topics related to my area of interest.  I think that the three related topics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice I am going to focus on are planning appropriate activities in the classroom, assessments, and educating families about development and learning.

If anyone has any suggestions regarding DAP or any related topics, I would greatly appreciate them!

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