Running head: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION 1

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction

Dylaney Dalton

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of the UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2019
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Introduction

When teaching, it is essential that a teacher first consider students and their

development. According to research done by Bergin and Bergin (2015), student

psychological, emotional, physical, and cognitive development plays a key role in student

ability to perform well on tasks and assessments given to them. Tileston (2000) reiterates

this idea, stating, “The time has come to quit assuming that all students come to us with

the background to be successful in school…” (53). Tileston then goes on to state that

dismissing this assumption does not mean to give up hope on student success, but rather

addressing cultural, physiological, and cognitive differences in such a way that provide

all students the opportunity to develop and succeed in their education. Educators best

understand this concept as developmentally- appropriate practices designed to meet

student needs.

Artifact Rationale

My first artifact comes from my second practicum experience at Tallwood

Elementary School with a 2nd grade classroom. The SOL covered during this instruction

was English 2.2 d and e (Virginia Department of Education, 2010), which addressed

student usage of synonyms, antonyms, and vocabulary expansion. The second grade class

that participated in this lesson had a diverse range in abilities as well as ethnicities and it

was exciting to see how these groups worked together in order to gain a better

understanding of synonyms and antonyms.

This lesson was taught to two of the lower level reading groups by reading the

two level 1 and 2 books, Big and Little and Opposites by Little Library. These two books

were written at a lower reading level and could easily be decoded by using context clues
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and using the pictures. This allowed for the students to not be challenged by the content

they were reading and be able to focus solely on the skill of identifying and creating

synonyms and antonyms. If the books had been too challenging, this could have created a

learning barrier that would have divided the child from the desired skill, as well as led to

student’s frustration. As noted by Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005), “it is not a

matter of thinking about development (of a skill), but thinking and acting

developmentally which allows educators to truly reach students…” (94), which means

that it is not enough to simply teach students the skill, but provide them with ways to

work successfully up to the desired skill within given parameters. Such is seen in this

artifact, which allows students first focus on what they already know then expand the

concept in new ways.

The students then conducted a word study in groups of three, using terms from the

book and extra terms to help shape their vocabulary skills. Because many of the students

came from different backgrounds, groups were picked so that each group had diverse

students. Some of the vocabulary, such as “heavy and burdensome” and “prosperous and

fruitful”. Some students were quick to understand the phrases, but others struggled

greatly and relied on their peers to explain the terms, then were able to understand the

terms better because of relating better to a specific version of the word. For instance,

some of the students that originally came from a middle to upper-level socioeconomic

class were able to comprehend the word prosperous, whereas their peers were only able

to identify the word “fruitful”. After some debate, I noticed the groups began to

understand that their words meant the same thing and they were able to pair the words
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together. This activity allowed students to work together, as well as share and rely on

personal experiences to decipher the specific terminology.

Students then were given the opportunities to expand their understandings by

providing their own word choices at the end of the activity to redefine terms like “tall”,

“heavy”, and “tasty”. This gave children a chance to articulate themselves in a way that

showcased their knowledge, showcase their understandings to other students by exposing

them to more vocabulary, and choose words with familiarity.

My second artifact was done during my first student teaching experience in a fifth

grade classroom and involved more creativity. Because students are at an age where they

desire less structure and uniformity and are capable of thinking in broader concepts, this

activity involved less teacher guidance and was reliant on student participation (Bergin &

Bergin, 2015). Students at this age need to be given more flexibility and ability to create

their own guidelines and rules in order to meet higher levels of thinking and learning. The

activity selected for this age group acknowledges this need and addresses it by giving

students the opportunities to create with few guidelines and more choice.

In this specific activity, students were expected to meet the VDOE SOL Math 5.8,

which states that students are expected to work with perimeter, area and volume

problems, as well as create and identify situations in which they may need to solve for

those types of problems. Students were given the opportunity to demonstrate this

understanding through two creation activities. Students were given the expectations and

criterium, which stated that they must create a creature with a head, body and arms/legs

as well as find the area of their creature. The second part of their assignment asked them

to demonstrate an understanding of creating word problems using those terms.

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According to Finnan (2009), this activity could be considered as an adult-

supervised activity because expectations were given, as well as a partial unsupervised

group activity because it allowed students to follow the given set of rules on their own

terms (89). Finnan (2009) notes that an unsupervised activity does not mean that students

are left without supervision, but that students willingly take responsibility for their work,

create it on their own to their own expectations, and willingly partake in the activity when

it stops being an expectation. My observations in the classroom showed me that students

stayed on task, created their own parameters for the assignment and then initiated them,

as well as desired more opportunities to use these creations. This activity was very

simple, allowed students to choose the complexity of their work, and gave students the

opportunities to work more hands-on and experience the applications of perimeter, area

and volume problems. Some of the students that had normally performed lower on other

activities seemed more engaged and creative with these activities, often creating unique

designs and detailing out their thought in more concise ways. This gave me a better

opportunity to assess students on what they truly knew as well as build off of those ideas

they created.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

My teaching experiences have given me a broader understanding of how students

learn, how prior knowledge and preconceptions play into their learning, and how student

age and cultural development factors into their ability to perform given skills. Tileston

(2000) states that addressing these barriers and providing students with equal playing

fields that encourage the involvement of all students by focusing on what they can do

allows students to grow and strive to meet standards. The activities I had chosen for both,
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fifth and second graders, demonstrated an awareness of their needs and abilities. Students

in both groups left the activities engaged, expressive with and towards peers about their

work, and in anticipation of further learning, which mirrors the empowerment,

collaboration, and engagement noted by Finnan (2009) in her observations of what

developmentally appropriate classrooms resemble (172). As an educator, it is essential to

make sure that practices are not hindering student success but leading up to and

showcasing the qualities of it. When done rightly, learning does not feel burdensome for

students and leaves them feeling empowered by the teaching despite any differences and

obstacles they may have been presented with.

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Reference

Bergin, C. & Bergin, D. (2015). Child and adolescent development in your classroom

(2nd ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

Darling-Hammond, L & Bransford, J. (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world.

San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Finnan, C. (2009). The upper elementary years: ensuring success in grades 3-6. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.

Tileston, D.W. (2000). 10 best teaching practices: how brain research, learning styles,

and standards define teaching competencies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press,

Inc.