Developmentally Appropriate Practice

I’ve had the opportunity to teach a group of preschoolers and kindergartners at a preschool center over the past year, and it was a wonderful learning experience for me!

It is interesting to observe the students and see the differences between two children who are just half a year apart in age, and how the younger child develops overtime and is suddenly able to grasp concepts that seem to be impossible just a few months ago. I agree with Piaget’s theory that there are developmental stages and milestones that children reach as they grow up (Atherton, 2010). However, I believe that as teachers, we should only use it as a general framework to guide us in making decisions on planning for and delivering learning activities to our students. Every child develops at her own pace, and develops differently in each domain. They would undergo the processes of assimilation and accommodation, but when and how that happens depend on their background, the environment that they are in, their learning ability, personality, etc. Therefore, getting to know a child on a personal level is essential in our teaching practice! In the beginning of the year, I kept an observation log to keep track of what each child is capable of doing, their personality, their interests, etc. This helped me to shape my lessons, and to provide scaffolding for students who needed a little bit of guidance to face the challenges.

According to Hausfather (1996) as cited in Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory, Vygotsky’s theory suggests that “joint attention and shared problem solving is needed to create a process of cognitive, social, and emotional interchange.” (Riddle, n.d.) I think that it’s a useful strategy to pair up students to work on a specific task. The child who might not be up to standard would feel that he’s not facing the challenge alone because he’s supported by a peer. The other child who is able to help can act as the little teacher, which is beneficial because we learn well by processing ideas and teaching them to someone else. Both children would be “exploring, inquiring, and constructing new patterns of thinking” because of the ideas that they bring together. (SEDL, 1995) Having students work in pairs and in groups would also enhance their social skills. My students really enjoyed an activity where they were put into groups of three, and they had to colour on the same page. The rule is to decide on who’s going to start colouring first, and when I say “pass”, that student would pass the crayon to the person sitting beside her, who will continue with the colouring. The activity would go on until the page is all coloured. I think that this activity allows them to practice working together on a task (paying attention to how some of their peers colour inside the lines, using different colours, etc.) as well as self-regulating (passing the crayon while wanting to keep colouring).

I find the article Developing Self-Regulation in Kindergarten very interesting and inspiring. I believe that it is important to teach students appropriate behavior and attitudes, because these are the foundation of learning and life itself. During circle time, I often practice “being angry” with my students. I started by telling them that I noticed some of them would make an angry face when they feel unfair or frustrated over something, and sometimes that would lead to pushing, hitting or saying something mean to another child. I asked them if that would solve any problems, and if not, what might be a better idea. After brainstorming some problem solving strategies with them, I said that sometimes I feel angry too, and when I’m angry, I might not make the right decisions because I’m not thinking clearly, I’m just thinking about how angry I am. I told them that what I’d do is breathe – take a long breath in, take a long breath out. This would help me calm down myself. And this is what we’d practice – think of a situation, make an angry face, and then breathe. I was glad, and surprised, when a parent said to me one day after school, “Last night, I told my daughter that I wasn’t in a good mood, so don’t make me angry. Then she said, ‘Mama, when you feel angry, you just need to breathe and calm down.’” I really believe that even young children are capable of self-regulation, and through practicing opportunities, it would become natural to them.

One area that I would like to learn more about is how to approach a child who is stubborn. There is a preschool girl at my school who is engaged in lessons and activities – when she wants to. When she is not in the mood, she wouldn’t do anything that is asked of her. When I ask her what’s bothering her, sometimes she’d tell me, but sometimes she won’t. Usually, I’d tell her that we’ll start doing what’s planned, but I’m still waiting for her to join us when she feels ready. Sometimes she would. But if she refuses to do so, I’d set up something on another table that she can work on alone. I’m not sure if this is a good way to handle the situation, and what other ways are possible. I’m trying to suit her needs, and in a sense, she is working on self-regulating when she chooses to join us when she feels ready. But in another sense, am I not pushing her enough because she is repeating this behavior from time to time? I’m also afraid that other children would imitate her behavior when they see that there’s no “bad consequence”, but I think that punishing her or putting her on time-out is inappropriate, because I don’t think that is what she needs. I’m still looking for better ways to handle this kind of situations, and trying to understand each child better so that we can compromise each other!



References:

Atherton J.S. (2010) Learning and Teaching; Piaget's developmental theory [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm Accessed: 3 July 2010

Developing Self-Regulation in Kindergarten Can We Keep All the Crickets in the Basket? YC: Young Children, 15386619, Mar2008, Vol. 63, Issue 2

Riddle, Elizabeth M. (n.d.) Lev Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory [On-line] Available: http://www2.yk.psu.edu/~jlg18/506/LevVygotsky.pdf

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (1995) Constructing Knowledge in the classroom [On-line] Available: http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v01n03/1.html