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

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Marie L. Masterson, Ron Grady, Susan Friedman

About the Book 

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. Building a community where everyone is welcomed and supported to grow
  2. Facilitating reciprocal partnerships with families
  3. Observing, assessing, and documenting children’s development and learning
  4. Using teaching strategies that enhance learning for each child
  5. Implementing curriculum tied to meaningful learning goals
  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!

Table of Contents

  • 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
  • Part 2: Engaging in Reciprocal Partnerships with Families and Fostering Community Connections
  • 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

References

Chapter references (online only)

Additional Material

Click below for additional material related to Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning with Infants and Toddlers. Some pieces accompany chapters in the book; others are self-contained articles that extend the general book content. 
 
Examples of early expressive communication targets and strategies to encourage a toddler to use pointing gestures. 
 
Sample communication log and date recording sheet that can be used by early intervention teams. 
 
A unique look at motor development as a result of opportunities for learning, along with tips for providing motor challenges as infants and toddlers grow.  
 
Suggestions for materials and experiences that support very young children’s amazing developing cognitive skills. 

Book Details

Product Code: 1170
ISBN: 978-1-952331-28-2
Publish Date: 2024
Citation (in Chicago 17th ed. style): 
Masterson, M.L., & R. Grady, eds. 2024. Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning with Infants and Toddlers. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

Related Resources

To read the position statement, access related resources, and stay up-to-the-minute on all things DAP, visit NAEYC.org/resources/developmentally-appropriate-practice.

 

Articles

Rebecca Parlakian defines what coregulation is and why it is important for very young children’s development in “Sharing Our Calm: The Role of Coregulation in the Infant-Toddler Classroom,” a special Rocking and Rolling column. In additional pieces, educators Jayda Brink and CaShawn Thompson explain what coregulation looks like in their classrooms. 
 
Social studies with infants and toddlers? Yes! In “Supporting Curiosity and Inquiry in Early Social Studies,” Anna Falkner and Noreen Naseem Rodríguez explore how teachers can prepare the environment and cultivate experiences to support early social studies learning.

 

Audience: Student (higher education), Teacher
Age: Infant/Toddler
Topics: Child Development, Other Topics, Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Marie L. Masterson

Marie 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 ExceleRate Illinois. 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 8, 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.

Marie L. Masterson
Ron Grady

Ron Grady, MSEd, is an early educator, author, and illustrator whose written and artistic work focuses on children’s social worlds. He is a third-year doctoral student studying education at Harvard.

 

Susan Friedman

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.

Reviews

Providing appropriate care for infants and toddlers is crucial to their overall growth and development. This book provides a well-designed road map for caregivers to create developmentally appropriate experiences. Each chapter describes functional and practical ways for caregivers to support and nurture children and families.  
—Thomasa Bond, PhD, Author and Founder, Early Childhood Education Growth  
  
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 Moté, President and CEO, Carole Robertson Center for Learning 
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Cover of Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice: Equitable and Joyful Learning for Infants and Toddlers
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