Kindergarten teachers are being asked to deliver differentiated small-group literacy instruction. The problem is managing the independent work being done by the rest of the class during the literacy period. Research on early childhood development and literacy indicates that the classroom environment plays an important role in supporting student…

This article presents results of a study of 229 kindergarten teachers who completed a survey designed to gather information about the current state of Michigan kindergartens. In addition to detailed data that reveals teachers' literacy instructional practices, teachers provided written responses to the following open-ended questions: What are the…

This guide for educators presents an educational continuum encompassing traditional approaches to developmentally appropriate practice. Children, parents, teachers, and the classroom are discussed in terms of resources they provide for the learning experience and the movement towards developmentally appropriate practice. For example, children can…

This practicum aimed to improve the way staff communicated with young children through in-service training in a university early childhood laboratory school setting. Eight in-service training sessions, combined with discussion groups, classroom/recorded observations, and practical applications, were provided. The program focused on appropriate…

In addition to the appropriate equipment and curriculum, a necessary ingredient of an effective preschool program is the quality of the interpersonal climate within the classroom. This interpersonal aspect of the preschool program is the focus of this paper. It begins by discussing the role of the early childhood educator in establishing the…

As a practicum project, a developmentally appropriate training model was designed and implemented in a day care facility with 6 staff members, serving 40 children. Following documentation of the problem areas that inhibited application of developmentally appropriate practices in the particular day care setting, appropriate actions were…

Based on the experiences of teachers, principals, and parents involved in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), this book is a collection of accounts and reflections by teachers or administrators who have engaged in developing and implementing nongraded primary education programs. The articles in this book are: (1) "Reforming the…

This practicum study sought to increase child care staff's ability to transfer what they learned from training to the classroom and thereby to increase developmentally appropriate educational practice. Specifically, the project sought to increase positive interactions in the child care setting, increase the use of the outdoors as a learning…

This guide was developed by the New Jersey Department of Education to assist adults working with young children in providing high quality education experiences. Articulating the optimal relationships between and among families, the community, and schools, the guide describes developmentally appropriate teaching practices; identifies expected…

Evaluated effectiveness of a multiage learning project in terms of an assessment of classroom quality, and teacher concerns about multiage grouping and computer use in the classroom. Found that participating teachers modified their classrooms to make them more developmentally appropriate, and they increased their use of computers for their own…

This handbook is a resource for preschool curriculum planning. Chapter 1, "Begin with Yourself," provides checklists, comparative charts, and guiding questions for self-assessment of knowledge and experiences. Chapter 2, "Revitalizing the Environment," provides tools to assess the learning environment and makes suggestions…

Reflecting contemporary research and widely held beliefs about how children grow, develop, and learn, this publication describes standards for child development programs for preschool and school-age children. The text is divided into three main sections which discuss background material, program components, and the program quality review process.…