Title

Developmentally Appropriate Practices in Kindergarten Classrooms

Author

Robert Ramirez, Concordia University, St. Paul

Date of Award

2004

Document Type

Non Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

Program

Early Childhood Education

Capstone Instructor

Sue Starks

Second Reader

Cecelia Westby

Keywords

developmentally appropriate practices, individualized developmental needs, classroom environment

Abstract

A major transition begins for preschool children leaving their child development programs and entering public elementary schools. The transition is moving from an environment that is considered developmentally appropriate into an environment that may be developmentally inappropriate.

Elementary schools must meet specific grade level requirements. With meeting the requirements, children are introduced to academics using the same teaching methods for all children regardless of the developmental level of each child. Children have individual learning styles and natural behaviors that allow the children to succeed in an educational environment. Unfortunately, some of these learning styles and natural behaviors are often mistaken for misbehavior.

Using the project, teachers will be able to adjust traditional classroom practices to meet individualized developmental needs, such as cognitive, language, physical, and social development using a self-inspection tool for the classroom environment and observations that will allow for targeting individualized developmental needs.

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