Good evening. Sorry for the short delay, we'll be posting our introduction, synthesis and guide questions in just a short while. Pls. bear with us.

Lets keep the spirit alive - we encourage your full participation on this one.. Hoping for a lively discussion with you all and exchange of ideas.

Remember:

"the very hard part of learning is how to learn"

Thank You and God Bless us..

YEAH, BUT’s That Keep Teachers from Embracing an Active Curriculum Overcoming the Resistance
By: Eugene Geist and Angela C. Baum

Early years are learning years.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children is an organization that recognizes and advocates an approach called developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). The developmentally appropriate practice approach is actually intended for the young learners. According to Little Voices website, a position statement was written in 1987 regarding developmentally appropriate practice to cover children from birth to eight years old. It allows children engaging experiences that are relevant to their lives and are based on clear objectives or standards. It is often associated with hands-on activities, in-depth exploration, cooperative learning, individualized instruction, and project-based curriculum (Geist and Baum, 2005). The DAP curriculum design is dependent on the learner's developmental status, is responsive to the individual's strengths, interest, and needs, and provides experiences which are meaningful, relevant, and respectful of the social and cultural context in which children. It therefore practices the child-centered (learner-centered) approach which acknowledges the individual differences of the learner, encourages active learning and promotes deep understanding.

The following are the five basic guidelines for Developmentally Appropriate Practice developed by the National Association for the Education of Young Children:

Create a caring community of learners. Developmentally appropriate practices supports the development of relationships between adults and children, among children, among teachers, and between families and teachers.
Teach to enhance development and learning. Early childhood teachers strive to achieve a balance between guiding children’s learning and following their lead.
Construct appropriate curriculum. The content of early childhood curriculum includes the subject matter, social or cultural values, parents’ input, and the age and experience of the children.
Assess children's learning and development. Assessment of individual children’s development and learning is essential for planning and implementing appropriate curriculum.
Establish mutually beneficial relationships with families. Developmentally appropriate practices evolve from a deep knowledge of individual children and the context within which they develop and learn. The younger the child, the more necessary it is for care givers and teachers to acquire this knowledge through relationships with children’s families.

Knowing that this approach supports children’s learning, educators strive to implement developmentally appropriate practices in their teaching. However, several factors such as the teaching-to-the-test phenomenon today makes it hard for the teachers to apply the principles of DAP. The article addresses the eight of the most frequently encountered challenges by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate curricula and offers suggestions on how to overcome these teaching challenges to support teachers and bolster their continuing efforts to foster DAP curricula.

REFERENCES:

“Guidelines for developmentally appropriate practices”. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Article retrieved August 19, 2008 from http://www.naeyc.org/ece/1998/05.pdf

“Developmentally Appropriate Practice”. Little Voices Early Childcare and Education. Article retrieved August 19, 2008 from http://www.littlevoicesece.org/AppropriatePractice.asp

Evan's synthesis:

Developmentally appropriate practice is based on knowledge about how children develop and learn. As Katz states, "In a developmental approach to curriculum design, [decisions] about what should be learned and how it would best be learned depend on what we know of the learner's developmental status and our understanding of the relationships between early experience and subsequent development" (1995, 109).

Because development and learning are so complex, no one theory is sufficient to explain these phenomena. However, a broad-based review of the literature on early childhood education generates a set of principles to inform early childhood practice. Principles are generalizations that are sufficiently reliable that they should be taken into account when making decisions (Katz & Chard 1989; Katz 1995).

As educators, by using the developmentally appropriate practices, we should be aware of the domains that intertwine with the learning process of children to organize their learning experiences that develop them optimally and make meaningful connections across the these domains.
DAP means teaching young children in ways that:

1. Meet children where they are. If we meet children where they are, then we don't look just at what is typical for an age group. We don't assume that "one size fits all." Instead, the teacher determines, through careful observations of her class and of individuals, a child's interests, abilities, and developmental progress.

2. Help each child reach challenging and achievable goals. Achievable goals depend on individual learners—his/her development, experiences, knowledge, and skills.
This article clearly shows us how to respond on a given situation and how should we handle it. Though it may seem rough and needs to a lot more time and effort, it’s very rewarding and fulfilling for us educators.

References:
Fromberg, D. 1992. Play. In The early childhood curriculum: A review of current research, 2d ed., ed. C. Seefeldt, 35-74. New York: Teachers College Press.

http://www.aucpva.org/school/articles/dap

http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/dap7.asp

Ava's synthesis:




Early years are learning years. This is what the concept of developmentally appropriate practice is all about. Teachers use knowledge of child development to identify the range of appropriate behaviors, activities and materials for a specific age group. This further supports what Dunn and Kontos (1997) believe that knowledge is used in conjunction with an understanding of each child in the classroom and his/her unique personalities, backgrounds and abilities to design the most appropriate learning environment. Also, the context in which early childhood programs should operate today must be characterized by ongoing discussion between parents, teachers, and the research community on how to best educate young children and what sort of practice will be most likely to contribute to their development and learning. The developmentally appropriate practice is another approach that is learner-centered shifting away from the teaching-centered philosophy. Developmentally appropriate practices encourage educators to use these strategies to make day-to-day decisions based on the individual children taking into consideration their families as well as the social and cultural context of the children too.

REFERENCE:

Dunn, L. & Kontos, S. (1997). “What Have We Learned about Developmentally Appropriate Practice?”. Young Children, 52(5):4-13. Cited August 21, 2008 from http://www.ericdigests.org/1998-1/practice.htm

Classmates, please relate your discussion with the following guide questions we provided:

1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum?

2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering:

a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach?

b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum?

3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also?

Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions.
God bless!

Reflections classmates?

A novice educator like me see the learner-centerd approach as a challenge. the challenge is how to make learnign meaningful? To make learning meaningful is to create self-directed activity. According to the author, Self-directed activity had proven to students who have the opportunity to investigate topics of personal interest, they grow acaademically and socially/emotionally competent (Helm and Katz 2001, quoted by the author).
" The first, second and three challenges are critical. and to that the 6th also. The preparation of teachers and succeeding teachers is critical because for me, to be able to see the longer effect of this approach it should be applied by students continously. The institution and societal aspects also a big challenge, worse in the Philippines the hardest challenge to beat because of the traditional and cultural biases. The time for preparation and resources are very critical factors that may affect its implementation. The parents, traditional parents, preferred the passive approach.
However, the bottom line here is the author's suggestion "by becoming advocates for high-quality instruction, we can offer a model to teachers and help them introduce more appropriate practices." I think this is feasible and eventually work into our educational system if there will be one group who will serve as benchmark of success. This will attract parents, support groups and then will be spontaneously accepted by Philippine educational system.quote="Divinia Joy Tuzon"]Classmates, please relate your discussion with the following guide questions we provided:

1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum?

2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering:

a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach?

b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum?

3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also?

Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions.
God bless!
[/quote]

YEAH a strategy such as project work seems great,
BUT facilitating it takes too much time and I don't have time left to teach all the subjects necessary for children in my class to perform well on proficiency tests.

This is specially true in teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology. Imagine teaching the very complex human body, the 12 systems, its parts and functions in just 1 semester to second year nursing students! A traditional teacher can finish the cardiovascular module in 1 or 2 meetings without batting an eyelash. Yet, I hear some students gasping for air; it is really hard to catch up with this course if the instructor will not carefully plan the learning experience and select what to be included in the objectives.

Recently, I have tried enforcing the numbered heads together for the cardiovascular module. I gave them a list of reference books and animations for their use. So far, it really consumes time when they have to consult different books on topics unfamiliar to them while giving them opportunity to discover the knowledge themselves. However, it feels very rewarding to know that you are not only teaching them the concepts, you are also teaching them how to discover these. Surprisingly, they even came up with such diverse and new teaching tools like youtube animations and mnemonics to teach their peers!

How did Einstein became great? Was it because he perfected all the examinations given to him? Or was it because of his discoveries?

This boils down to quality over quantity. In the end, learners will be using more of the learning skills they acquired than the facts and theories they have studied (for tests) in school.

Divinia Joy Tuzon wrote:

1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum? 2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering: a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach? b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum? 3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also? Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions. God bless!

By involving parents in their children's learning, maybe they will see the benefits of learner-centered approach. Although it is a challenge when parents confront and criticize one's teaching style, open communication should be encouraged.

Josh wrote:

A novice educator like me see the learner-centerd approach as a challenge. the challenge is how to make learnign meaningful? To make learning meaningful is to create self-directed activity. According to the author, Self-directed activity had proven to students who have the opportunity to investigate topics of personal interest, they grow acaademically and socially/emotionally competent (Helm and Katz 2001, quoted by the author). " The first, second and three challenges are critical. and to that the 6th also. The preparation of teachers and succeeding teachers is critical because for me, to be able to see the longer effect of this approach it should be applied by students continously. The institution and societal aspects also a big challenge, worse in the Philippines the hardest challenge to beat because of the traditional and cultural biases. The time for preparation and resources are very critical factors that may affect its implementation. The parents, traditional parents, preferred the passive approach. However, the bottom line here is the author's suggestion "by becoming advocates for high-quality instruction, we can offer a model to teachers and help them introduce more appropriate practices." I think this is feasible and eventually work into our educational system if there will be one group who will serve as benchmark of success. This will attract parents, support groups and then will be spontaneously accepted by Philippine educational system.

It is clear that the family is not only the nucleus of civilization, as historian Will Durant observed, but also the key to education (Boyer, 1991). Early intervention research demonstrates the vital importance of family involvement. Researchers have found that the earlier in a child's educational process family involvement begins; the more robust the benefits will be (Epstein, 1992). Perhaps the most powerful form of parental involvement occurs when parents are actively engaged with the child at home in ways that lead to optimal development.

Philosophical differences between parents and school personnel regarding educational practices can present challenges to effective collaboration. For example, the child centered educational approach advocated by NAEYC is incompatible with the more directive and academic approaches desired by "fast-track parents raising fast-track children" and by many low-income and ethnic minority parents (Kagan, 1991).

The DAP guidelines emphasize program-family continuity and regular communication between family and staff; the parent-staff relationship is defined as a "partnership" (p. 12). Yet the guidelines were designed, in part, to enhance the professional status of the field and make a claim to a distinctive body of knowledge for work with young children. While the responsibility of staff to share child development knowledge with parents is clearly stated, the role of parents as decisionmakers is less clear (Powell, 1994). Powell (1994) points out that "the call for parents to share in decisions about their children's care and education is a one-sentence recommendation" (p. 177 ) and the report offers no formal mechanism for including parents in the formal decisionmaking structures of a program.

Reference:

Weissbourd, B. (1987). A brief history of family support programs. In S. L. Kagan, D. R. Powell, B. Weissbourd & E. Zigler (Eds. ), America's family support programs. New Haven CT: Yale University Press.

patmarban wrote:

By involving parents in their children's learning, maybe they will see the benefits of learner-centered approach. Although it is a challenge when parents confront and criticize one's teaching style, open communication should be encouraged. Josh wrote: A novice educator like me see the learner-centerd approach as a challenge. the challenge is how to make learnign meaningful? To make learning meaningful is to create self-directed activity. According to the author, Self-directed activity had proven to students who have the opportunity to investigate topics of personal interest, they grow acaademically and socially/emotionally competent (Helm and Katz 2001, quoted by the author). " The first, second and three challenges are critical. and to that the 6th also. The preparation of teachers and succeeding teachers is critical because for me, to be able to see the longer effect of this approach it should be applied by students continously. The institution and societal aspects also a big challenge, worse in the Philippines the hardest challenge to beat because of the traditional and cultural biases. The time for preparation and resources are very critical factors that may affect its implementation. The parents, traditional parents, preferred the passive approach. However, the bottom line here is the author's suggestion "by becoming advocates for high-quality instruction, we can offer a model to teachers and help them introduce more appropriate practices." I think this is feasible and eventually work into our educational system if there will be one group who will serve as benchmark of success. This will attract parents, support groups and then will be spontaneously accepted by Philippine educational system.

I think the critical issue that we are facing is on how our curriculum is structured today. It is ussually teacher centered. And also some teachers really do resist change. That is why it is very hard to implement learner centered approaches to the classroom.

Nonetheless learner centered principles are very good to implement because we focus on each individual and not on the whole class. Giving the students a family atmosphere. In my own experience iam really trying to use this approach, eventhough iam not paid for the extra time and effort but it is the sense of being an educator that matters.

All we have to do , I think is to increase their awareness, people who do not know fears the unknown. Making them aware the effectiveness of this approach is a crucial step in improving our way we teach students.

Divinia Joy Tuzon wrote:

Classmates, please relate your discussion with the following guide questions we provided: 1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum? 2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering: a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach? b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum? 3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also? Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions. God bless!

Research demonstrates that children need to be able to successfully negotiate learning tasks most of the time if they are to maintain motivation and persistence (Lary 1990; Brophy 1992). Confronted by repeated failure, most children will simply stop trying. So most of the time, teachers should give young children tasks that with effort they can accomplish and present them with content that is accessible at their level of understanding. At the same time, children continually gravitate to situations and stimuli that give them the chance to work at their "growing edge" (Berk & Winsler 1995; Bodrova & Leong 1996).

Moreover, in a task just beyond the child's independent reach, the adult and more-competent peers contribute significantly to development by providing the supportive "scaffolding" that allows the child to take the next step.

Development and learning are dynamic processes requiring that adults understand the continuum, observe children closely to match curriculum and teaching to children's emerging competencies, needs, and interests, and then help children move forward by targeting educational experiences to the edge of children's changing capacities so as to challenge but not frustrate them.

Reference:

http://www.nwrel.org/cfc/publications/DAP2.html

patmarban wrote:

YEAH a strategy such as project work seems great, BUT facilitating it takes too much time and I don't have time left to teach all the subjects necessary for children in my class to perform well on proficiency tests. This is specially true in teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology. Imagine teaching the very complex human body, the 12 systems, its parts and functions in just 1 semester to second year nursing students! A traditional teacher can finish the cardiovascular module in 1 or 2 meetings without batting an eyelash. Yet, I hear some students gasping for air; it is really hard to catch up with this course if the instructor will not carefully plan the learning experience and select what to be included in the objectives. Recently, I have tried enforcing the numbered heads together for the cardiovascular module. I gave them a list of reference books and animations for their use. So far, it really consumes time when they have to consult different books on topics unfamiliar to them while giving them opportunity to discover the knowledge themselves. However, it feels very rewarding to know that you are not only teaching them the concepts, you are also teaching them how to discover these. Surprisingly, they even came up with such diverse and new teaching tools like youtube animations and mnemonics to teach their peers! How did Einstein became great? Was it because he perfected all the examinations given to him? Or was it because of his discoveries? This boils down to quality over quantity. In the end, learners will be using more of the learning skills they acquired than the facts and theories they have studied (for tests) in school. Divinia Joy Tuzon wrote: 1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum? 2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering: a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach? b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum? 3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also? Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions. God bless!

A growing body of research from such diverse fields as developmental psychology (Bruner, 1972; 1983; 1986; Sroufe, 1979; 1986), cultural anthropology (Heath, 1983), linguistics (Cazden, 1981; Halliday, 1975), early childhood education (Bowman, 1994; Clay, 1966; Kagan, 1992; Katz, 1993) and brain-based research (Caine & Caine, 1994; Hart, 1975) has provided a rich literature to inform best practices in the field of education. Yet, according to Darling-Hammond, professor of education at Columbia University's Teachers College, " Our school system was invented in the late 1800s, and little has changed. Can you imagine if the medical profession ran this way?" (Hancock, 1996).

If change has come slowly for middle and secondary-age children, during the last ten years, the field of early childhood education has seen a great deal of change in educational practices, due, in large part to the influence of DAP. Cooperative learning, integrated curriculum, whole language, family involvement, authentic assessment, and "hands-on learning" are just a few of the buzz words that have become part of the popular vernacular and are increasingly influencing classroom practices. Changes are being implemented, despite the difficulties presented by insufficient time for study, practice and reflection, and confusions regarding the practices themselves. Meier (1995) observes:
Unlike most industries, we can't retool by closing down the factories while we build new ones and send all the workers back to school for retraining. We need to do everything at once. It's driving while changing the tires, not to mention the transmission system (p. 151).

Reference:

http://www.nwrel.org/cfc/publications/DAP2.html

silva731 wrote:

I think the critical issue that we are facing is on how our curriculum is structured today. It is ussually teacher centered. And also some teachers really do resist change. That is why it is very hard to implement learner centered approaches to the classroom. Nonetheless learner centered principles are very good to implement because we focus on each individual and not on the whole class. Giving the students a family atmosphere. In my own experience iam really trying to use this approach, eventhough iam not paid for the extra time and effort but it is the sense of being an educator that matters. All we have to do , I think is to increase their awareness, people who do not know fears the unknown. Making them aware the effectiveness of this approach is a crucial step in improving our way we teach students. Divinia Joy Tuzon wrote: Classmates, please relate your discussion with the following guide questions we provided: 1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum? 2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering: a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach? b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum? 3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also? Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions. God bless!

Yes Sir Josh, not only our traditional educators prefer passive learning than active learning. Even the parents of the students tend to resist such change. This is why the article encourages open and ongoing communication with the parents because they are also greatly involved in the learning process of their children. Parents only want the best for their children. If we really want to gain the support of the parents in implementing the change we are thirsting for, giving the families information is the first step in gaining their acceptance and support for the implementation of appropriate practices (Geist & Baum, 2005).

REFERENCE:

Geist, E. and Baum, A. (2005). Young Children, 60, 4. Proquest Education Journals.

Josh wrote:

" The first, second and three challenges are critical. and to that the 6th also. The preparation of teachers and succeeding teachers is critical because for me, to be able to see the longer effect of this approach it should be applied by students continously. The institution and societal aspects also a big challenge, worse in the Philippines the hardest challenge to beat because of the traditional and cultural biases. The time for preparation and resources are very critical factors that may affect its implementation. The parents, traditional parents, preferred the passive approach. However, the bottom line here is the author's suggestion "by becoming advocates for high-quality instruction, we can offer a model to teachers and help them introduce more appropriate practices." I think this is feasible and eventually work into our educational system if there will be one group who will serve as benchmark of success. This will attract parents, support groups and then will be spontaneously accepted by Philippine educational system. Quote: ="Divinia Joy Tuzon"]Classmates, please relate your discussion with the following guide questions we provided: 1.Among the eight challenges mentioned in the article that are encountered by educators in implementing the developmentally appropriate practice approach, what do you think is the most critical issue that educators are facing today and how can we respond to the "Yeah, But's" in our own curriculum? 2.Knowing the advantages students receive from a learner-centered approach, do you think applying developmentally appropriate practice is feasible and more appropriate in our setting, considering: a.Absence of No Child Left Behind policy and organizations such as National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) that advocates such approach? b.The cost of applying multiage programs, child-initiated activities and project approach over the traditional “cookbook” curriculum? 3.How can we as educators and would be educators overcome our own resistance and help others included in the education of our students such as our fellow colleagues, the administrators and most importantly the families of the students to do so also? Thank you very much and we are really looking forward for your opinions. God bless!