Running head: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction

Brinda Patel
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 201

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

Introduction
It is very important as a teacher to reflect on how they are teaching and instructing.
Instruction should be simple in order for students to understand them. Sometimes one strategy
might be beneficial for one class while other times it may not work. When teacher is teaching a
lesson, he/she should plan the lesson in such a way that students gain more information without
getting bored.
Artifacts
The artifacts I chose for this competency is the pictures of students working on making
old lady and things she swallowed. I read the book An old lady who swallowed a chick and I
incorporated an hands on activity to go with the lesson to make it more interesting for the
students. Students were given worksheet with picture of different things that old lady had
swallowed. They were asked to cut the pictures, color it and put it in a zip lock bag.
Another artifact that I chose for this competency is the pictures of students making Duck
Rabbit. Students were learning about choosing a side and defending their side. I read the book
called Duck Rabbit and students made duck and rabbit from one paper. They had to color the
animal they chose to defend.
Reflection
I chose the aforementioned artifacts because it reflects on how students used hand on
activity to get deeper understanding of the content. It is very important to instruct and plan
lessons that are age appropriate. In teacher-centered classroom, teacher tend to instruct, observe,
teach and ask questions to the students. In order for students to become an independent learner,
teacher should give students age appropriate instruction. When I was teaching about the concept

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

of retelling, I read the book An old lady who swallowed a chick and asked students to make an
old lady from a paper. As a whole group instruction, I showed students how to cut and color the
pictures and then glue the body of old lady on zip lock bag. Students were then asked to put all
the things she swallowed in to the zip lock bag. After this, students were asked to retell the story
based on hands on activity. I believe that students learn more if they do most of the things with
minimal teachers help. When giving instruction, teacher should go over step by step in most
simplistic language so that students can understand easily.
When students were learning about choosing a side and defending it, we read the book
called Duck Rabbit. Students were to choose what animal the book was on and why they chose
that particular animal. When teacher is introducing a new concept in the classroom for the first
time, teacher should make sure her instructions are easy to follow. Students made the animal on
the paper and colored the animal they were defending. Then, they were asked why they chose
that particular animal. When students were performing this particular activity I learned that they
some students were still confused about the defending concept.
I believe that teachers are lifelong learner, if a plan or activity does not work for one
group, he/she can modify or change it. Using developmentally appropriate practices (DAP)
while incorporating foundational concepts into lessons help teachers differentiate instruction,
engage students in the learning process, and increase achievement of all children (Shipley,
2014). Teacher should plan her lesson or instruct based on different level of students in the
classroom. Not all the students in the classroom have same learning abilities. Some are auditory
learner while other are visual or kinesthetic learners. Based on their learning abilities, teacher
should plan the lessons. Developmentally appropriate instruction help student learn better. Little
modification in the lesson plan can benefit the student tremendously.

DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

References
Shipley, T. (2014). Early Childhood Education: Implementing Developmentally Appropriate
Practices into Literacy Instruction - Whole Child Education. Retrieved April 24, 2016,
from http://www.wholechildeducation.org/blog/early-childhood-education-implementingdevelopmentally-appropriate-practice

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References
Tice, J. (2004). Reflective teaching: Exploring our own classroom practice. Retrieved March 07,
2016, from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/reflective-teaching-exploring-ourown-classroom-practice