Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning with Infants and Toddlers

What Does Developmentally Appropriate Practice Look Like in an Infant and Toddler Program?

If you've ever wondered how effective teachers actually do DAP with very young children, this is the book for you. Here, you can peek into classrooms to see teachers making intentional decisions in key areas of practice. These areas form the six guidelines for DAP in action:

1. 1. Building a community where everyone is welcomed and supported to grow

1. 2. Facilitating reciprocal partnerships with families

1. 3. Observing, assessing, and documenting children's development and learning

1. 4. Using teaching strategies that enhance learning for each child

1. 5. Implementing curriculum tied to meaningful learning goals

1. 6. Demonstrating professionalism

You'll discover

• More about what each guideline means for working with infants and toddlers and their families
• Chapters that showcase articles from Young Children and NAEYC book excerpts-plus brand-new content-illustrating excellent teaching strategies related to each guideline
• Examples you can model, adapt, and implement in your own practice

Enrich and deepen your teaching, and enable children's learning to flourish!

• About the Editors
• Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning Book Series
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction
• Developmentally Appropriate Practice with Infants and Toddlers
• Part 1: Creating a Caring, Equitable Community of Learners
• • Chapter 1: Caring Relationships: The Heart of Early Brain Development | J. Ronald Lally and Peter L. Mangione
  • Chapter 2: Care and Equity in Toddler Classrooms: Practices for Creating, Sustaining, and Empowering Community | Nana E. Appiah-Korang and Abigail P. Gulden
  • Chapter 3: Cultivating Positive Relationships and Physical Environments to Support Emotional Well-Being | Iheoma U. Iruka
  • Chapter 4: The First Step for Addressing Bias in Infant and Toddler Programs | Sarah MacLaughlin
• Part 2: Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and Fostering Community Connections
• • Chapter 5: Creating Partnerships to Support Families of Infants and Toddlers | Kelly Ramsey
  • Chapter 6: Engaging with Families to Individualize Teaching | Marie L. Masterson
  • Chapter 7: Facilitating a Child’s Transition from Home to Program Through the Use of Cultural Caring Routines | Josephine Ahmadein
  • Chapter 8: Speaking Out: Supporting Families in Advocacy | Kristen Johnson and Amanda Perez
• Part 3: Observing, Documenting, and Assessing Children’s Development and Learning
• • Chapter 9: Bringing Observation and Documentation to Life in Infant and Toddler Settings | Rebecca Parlakian
  • Chapter 10: Observation and Documentation: Both Art and Science | Malori‑Naomi Wallace‑Wyche
  • Chapter 11: Using a Child-Centered Approach to Shift from a Deficit Mindset | Julia Luckenbill, Aarti Subramaniam, and Janet Thompson
  • Chapter 12: Empowering Infants’ and Toddlers’ Learning Through Scaffolding | Linda Groves Gillespie and Jan D. Greenberg
  • Chapter 13: What Babies Ask of Us: Contexts to Support Learning About Self and Other | Mary Jane Maguire-Fong
• Part 4: Teaching to Enhance Each Child’s Development and Learning
• • Chapter 14: What to Teach Before Talking: Developing Communication Skills Across Home and Early Learning Contexts | Mollie Romano, Jennifer A. Brown, Christan Coogle, Jennifer R. Ottley, and Emily M. Rose
  • Chapter 15: The Power of Pause: Moments of Silence and Early Emotional and Language Development | Nodelyn Abayan
  • Chapter 16: Strengthening Infant and Toddler Teaching with Explicit Language Skills | Allyson Dean and Linda Groves Gillespie
  • Chapter 17: “You’re Okay” May Not Be Okay: Using Emotion Language to Promote Toddlers’ Social and Emotional Development | Elizabeth K. King
  • Chapter 18: We Put Paper on the Floor: Supporting the Emergent Literacy Skills of Infants and Toddlers | Dilshad Tolliver
• Part 5: Planning and Implementing an Engaging Curriculum to Achieve Meaningful Goals
• • Chapter 19: Curriculum Considerations for Multilingual Infants and Toddlers | Irasema Salinas-González, Iliana Alanís, and María G. Arreguín
  • Chapter 20: When in Doubt, Reach Out: Teaming Strategies for Inclusive Settings | Christine M. Spence, Deserai Miller, Catherine Corr, Rosa Milagros Santos, and Brandie Bentley
  • Chapter 21: Exploring Outdoors: First Learning Experiences in Nature | Mary Benson McMullen and Dylan Brody
  • Chapter 22: Using the Environment and Materials as Curriculum for Promoting Exploration of Cause and Effect | Guadalupe Rivas Jer
  • Chapter 23: Infant and Toddler STEAM: Supporting Interdisciplinary Experiences with Our Youngest Learners | Eric Bucher and Stephanie Pindra
• Part 6: Demonstrating Professionalism as an Early Childhood Educator
• • Chapter 24: Nurturing Your Professional Appetite: Preparing Your Professional Development Path | Christy Brown‑John
  • Chapter 25: Creating Learning Stories in the Context of Inquiry Groups | Isauro M. Escamilla, Linda R. Kroll, Daniel R. Meier, and Annie White
  • Chapter 26: Thinking of Yourself as a Professional | Nicole Lazarte
  • Chapter 27: Advocacy in Action: Stepping Up to Make an Impact | Maria Estlund
• Index

Volume editors

Marie L. Masterson, PhD, is the director of quality assessment at the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University, where she oversees evaluation for Illinois ExceleRate. She holds a doctorate in early childhood education, is a licensed teacher, and is a national speaker and author of many books and articles that address research-based, practical skills for high-quality teaching, behavior guidance, quality improvement, and leadership. She is a contributing editor of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age Eight, Fourth Edition, and coauthor of Building on Whole Leadership: Energizing and Strengthening Your Early Childhood Program. Dr. Masterson is a former higher education faculty teacher trainer and early childhood specialist for the Virginia Department of Education. She provides educational consulting and professional development training to child care programs, schools, and organizations engaged in quality improvement and equitable teaching initiatives.

Ron Grady, MSEd, engages in work centered on the social worlds and peer cultures of young children, wondering how lived experience is both constructed within and revealed throughout play, the creation of art and narrative, and visual media such as photography and film. He taught preschool at NOLA Nature School in New Orleans for many years. Ron is a doctoral student in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds a master's degree in early childhood education from the Erikson Institute. He is the author of Honoring the Moment in Young Children's Lives: Observation, Documentation, and Reflection(Redleaf Press) and many articles on early childhood topics. He is also the author and illustrator of the children's book What Does Brown Mean to You? Ron serves on the editorial boards of both the Harvard Educational Review and Voices of Practitioners.

Series editor

Susan Friedman is senior director of publishing and content development at NAEYC. In this role, she leads the content development work of NAEYC's books and periodicals teams. Ms. Friedman is coeditor of Each and Every Child: Teaching Preschool with an Equity Lens. She has extensive prior experience creating content on play, developmentally appropriate uses of media, and other topics for educators and families. She has presented at numerous educational conferences, including NAEYC's Professional Learning Institute and Annual Conference, the South by Southwest Education (SXSW EDU) Conference & Festival, and the School Superintendents Association's Early Learning Cohort. She began her career as a preschool teacher at City and Country School in New York City. She holds degrees from Vassar College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

This text honors a deep respect for young children while artfully balancing research, theory, and science with clear and usable guiding principles, inquiries, and vignettes written directly to teachers.
-Kim Frusciante, Founder and CEO, Early Partners

This volume from NAEYC is an excellent guide to developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood education. Putting research in context and illustrated with real-life stories from infant and toddler teachers in the field, the book offers DAP-aligned strategies for implementing the core principles and guidelines in everyday settings and routines with young children and families, alongside prompts for insight and reflection. This book promises to be a significant resource for both new teachers becoming immersed in their practice and more experienced teachers seeking fresh approaches and ideas. A compelling resource for the 0-3 workforce.
-Bela Mote, President and CEO, Carole Robertson Center for Learning