If you step into any early learning space, you will witness educators engage with their little learners individually and uniquely. One teacher may show a toddler how to carefully pick up and stack blocks to help them build fine motor skills. Another might clap with a preschool-aged student as they practice sounding out a word on a whiteboard. At their core, these examples are developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), where teachers are adapting their instructional practices to match each child’s developmental level. 

To the untrained eye, this concept in action may seem intuitive and straightforward. While DAP is widely understood as a highly effective practice for supporting healthy development during a child’s early years, these teaching methods do not mature on their own. Quality professional development (PD) drives quality classroom practice, with DAP as well as other evidence-based models for student learning. 

Let’s explore why DAP and practice-based coaching work well together, and how modern technology can enhance both to support children’s optimal development.

Why Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) Matter in Early Education

Adapted from the original definition created by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), The University of Maine defines DAP as follows:

 “[Developmentally appropriate practices are] an approach to education that guides early childhood professionals in everyday practice. It comes from more than 75 years of research on child development and early learning…and gives early childhood professionals information from which to make decisions.”

~The University of Maine Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies

Three areas  in particular help educators determine the appropriateness of an everyday practice or interaction with a young child:

• Age appropriateness, or practices that support a child of a particular age and stage of growth;

• Individual appropriateness, or approaches that nurture a specific child’s development; and

• Cultural and social appropriateness, or practices that align with and respect each child and family’s identity as well as their community.

PennState Extension summarizes the intent of using DAP across these areas as meeting individual children where they are developmentally. In other words: “Teachers… get to know [children] well—and [enable] them to reach [individual] goals that are both challenging and achievable.”

Clearly, the right materials, learning space, observation cycles, and resources that reinforce staff knowledge support instructional practices tailored to a child’s developmental stage.

Challenges with Implementing Developmentally Appropriate Practices

As straightforward as developmentally appropriate best practices sound, this approach to teaching is not necessarily intuitive. Common challenges that programs face with implementing DAP include:

• A mismatch between an individual teacher’s personal beliefs about DAP and their self-reported or actual practices (Şahin-Sak, Tantekin-Erden & Pollard-Durodola, 2016)
• Partial or inconsistent use of DAP within a classroom
• Lack of ongoing support for educators with applying appropriate instructional practices in education settings

Every early childhood program and educator benefits from intentional practice, refinement, and ongoing continuous improvement around DAP in order to drive effective growth for young children. This is where quality professional development, paired with the right technology, comes into play.

High-Quality PD Yields High-Quality Practices

Many in the early childhood field already recognize that adult learning is an ongoing process; not a one-and-done effort. To improve teaching practices and drive positive outcomes for young children and their families, an early childhood educator needs continuous support to build individual skills and weave them into instructional practices. 

Quality PD is essential for early childhood education professionals to purposefully implement DAP. 

Research indicates certain professional learning models are particularly impactful with changes to teaching practices. One study found that targeted training provided via classes to early childhood teachers helped decrease teachers’ contrasting beliefs and practices that go against the principles of DAP, removing a key barrier to their adoption (Heisner & Lederberg, 2011).

Other effective professional development strategies include:

• Online courses designed for independent learning around particular topics
• Staff learning communities organized for peer collaboration in a supportive environment
• Practice-based coaching (PBC) tailored to individual practitioner needs

Coaching is most impactful in driving tangible shifts to teacher practices, whether it serves to help educators meet Head Start performance standards, embrace DAP best practices, or achieve other program priorities.

The power of coaching to improve DAP best practices

Strong relationships between coaches and mentees has proven effective in shifting developmentally appropriate instructional practices across a wide range of learning areas. Programs focused on social-emotional development via the Pyramid Model benefit just as much from practice-based coaching (PBC) as those concentrating on literacy development in the classroom.  

Part of the power behind PBC is helping staff recognize what specific DAP best practices look like in action and adapting them into their approaches. A high-quality coaching program allows teachers to self-reflect and receive targeted feedback from their coach, while also celebrating progress.

A few ways that an early childhood educator may set goals for coaching around DAP include:

• Refining their strategies for building relationships with families and learning about their cultural, linguistic, and personal backgrounds (key to “getting to know” each child)
• Shifting how they adapt the same teaching strategy for early numeracy skills (like recognizing and naming numbers) to children at different cognitive development stages
• Learning how to effectively and correctly use early childhood assessments to determine where a child is in their development

5 Ways Technology Supports Developmentally Appropriate Practices

No matter what learning goals a program sets with DAP, technology is quickly becoming a crucial part of effective practitioner growth. In particular, online learning platforms (OLPs) form the backbone for many successful adult learning models, including PBC.

The right technology can connect educators, streamline data collection, and drive improvements in developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood organizations.

Let’s explore five ways that technology cultivates a culture of continuous improvement and growth when it comes to DAP, as well as what features administrators should look for when choosing an OLP.

1. Creates visibility into teachers’ practices

OLPs must allow coaches and other professional learning practitioners to see teaching practices in action—without solely depending on live, in-person observations. While valuable, such observations are time- and resource-intensive, especially for early learning programs serving multiple sites or large regions.

This is where video technology can help reduce costs to programs and boost visibility into classroom practices. 

OLPs that have native video capabilities create flexible opportunities for:

• Teachers to record their practices for self-reflection or goal-setting
• Coaches to witness teachers’ instructional strategies anytime, anywhere—and provide specific feedback to teachers via time-stamped comments 
• Teachers and coaches to connect virtually for individual sessions, from any location at a time that works around their daily responsibilities
• Program leaders to curate videos demonstrating high-quality DAP in action for other educators to explore

TORSH Talent stands out with respect to these capabilities. Its mobile app allows teachers to record practices, even without internet access, and later upload videos when connectivity is restored. The platform provides programs with a digital library to gather exemplary videos and additional resources for collective learning purposes. Lastly, administrators, teachers, and coaches can fine-tune user permissions, ensuring that only those team members authorized to see a video can access it in the solution.

2. Centralizes program resources and guidelines for DAP

In addition to visibility into practice, an OLP must allow programs and practitioners to develop a repository of materials that guide any professional learning approach used to improve DAP. 

TORSH Talent’s Resource Library can include those videos of exemplary practices as mentioned above, but it can also house:

• Standardized rubrics and frameworks to guide coaches with engaging mentees consistently in embracing DAP best practices
• Goal-setting templates to establish each teacher’s coaching goals in connection to program priorities around DAP
• Policies and requirements for educators related to utilizing DAP, participating in professional development efforts, and more

Learn more about this and other critical features available within our all-in-one professional learning platform, designed to support the unique needs of early learning programs.

3. Monitors key data to measure PD impact and DAP fidelity

Continuous data insights, reflection, and improvement are necessary for the ongoing cycle of DAP best practices.

At the individual level, the right OLP supports teachers and coaches by capturing metrics that pertain to their unique goals around DAP best practices. Data insights may include coaching session frequency, total coaching time, self-reported progress on goals, and more.

Moving up a level, OLPs can also help coaches explore patterns about their engagement across mentees, perhaps even surfacing areas of growth for a coach themselves in how they engage with teachers and drive their successes with DAP. 

At the highest level, program administrators need an OLP that synthesizes all these data and more—even from sources outside of the platform itself—to analyze the overall impact of professional learning efforts on critical priorities related to DAP. 

TORSH Talent supports all three layers of data analysis and collection. With configurable data collection forms, customizable insight reports, and multiple forms of data integration with other education platforms, staff at every level of an early learning program have the insights they need all in one central location.

4. Develops individual learning paths for independent growth

Even in an organization that emphasizes a practice-based coaching model, educators benefit from independent resources and learning opportunities. OLPs that not only support coach-mentee relationships but also facilitate self-learning offer a winning combination to early childhood education programs.

In addition to TORSH Talent’s virtual coaching features, your program can utilize customizable Learning Paths to cultivate professional growth. Learning Paths offer self-paced modules and courses that target specific training areas based on program data, coaching observations, and individual educator needs including:

• Targeted professional development to focus on specific areas for growth or skills, helping teachers continuously improve their practice.
• Courses structured to meet specific certification or recertification needs, making it especially useful for early-career educators.
• Flexible, asynchronous learning opportunities for educators to upskill on their own time, which is critical for those balancing heavy workloads.

The best part? The Learning Paths modules can point directly to those exemplary resources curated in the Resource Library, making it easy for educators to access a wide variety of learning tools at the click of a button.

5. Cultivates collaborative learning in hybrid or virtual environments

Last but not least, the right OLP creates space for easy collaboration. These features are especially handy for programs that utilize a peer-to-peer mentorship model or otherwise wish to facilitate collective learning among their staff. 

For instance, professional learning communities (PLCs) empower teachers to share reflections, ask for colleagues’ input, or keep up to date with the latest insights related to DAP best practices in the classroom. When exploring technologies to support a PLC, program administrators should look for OLPs that flexibly adapt to a virtual, hybrid, and in-person version of this collaboration model.

TORSH Talent’s Communities feature allows PLC members to connect asynchronously and access the curated Resource Library as part of their PLC engagement.. Educators aren’t limited by the bounds of their physical program sites, either. TORSH often sees its early learning partners use Communities to facilitate multi-site PLCs on key topics like DAP. 

Drive High-Quality, High-Impact DAP Best Practices With TORSH

Ready to up-level your early childhood educators’ developmentally appropriate instructional strategies? TORSH Talent is the ideal platform for your professional development needs. From designing targeted Learning Paths to facilitating high-quality virtual, hybrid, and in-person coaching, early childhood education programs benefit from the easy-to-use and secure tools built into TORSH Talent, including:

• Video-based observation
• Targeted, specific feedback to teachers on their interactions with children and families
• Synchronous and asynchronous collaboration with coaches and among peers
• On-demand training for professional learning and certification
• Individualized coaching tools for goal setting and tracking
• Insights to guide professional learning and training

Discover how TORSH Talent can support your practitioners to take DAP to the next level, ensuring they meet every child and family where they are to help them thrive.

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Take a look at our infographic to discover 7 ways you can use video in your professional learning coaching program.

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TORSH offers an innovative platform to support educator professional learning and coaching. Using TORSH Talent, educators can record their practice, upload the video securely, and then receive time-stamped feedback from a coach, administrator, or even fellow teacher. Interested in learning more about TORSH Talent? Reach out to schedule a conversation with one of our learning experts.

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Watch this on-demand webinar to hear an enlightening conversation among members of the Central Region Educational Cooperative (CREC) who oversee coaching and professional learning for early childhood educators in school-based settings. During the webinar, they discuss:

• How Practice-Based Coaching is improving literacy practices, social-emotional practices, and individual student supports
• How TORSH Talent, an online learning platform, is being used by coaches and practitioners to set and track goals, ensure fidelity of practice, and support individualized coaching and self-reflection
• Lessons learned and practical advice for implementing practice-based coaching using TORSH Talent 

Whether you have been using Practice-Based Coaching for a while or are just considering the approach, this webinar will provide you and your team with insights and guidance to strengthen and streamline professional learning for your early childhood educators.

Fill out the form to watch the on-demand webinar.

Webinar Presenters:

Amanda Rottman, M.Ed.
Early Childhood Instructional Coaching Coordinator, CREC

Amanda Rottman serves as the Instructional Coaching Coordinator for the Early Childhood Instructional Coaching team. Her background includes teaching experience in inclusive classrooms throughout NM. With a dedicated focus on Early Childhood Education, Amanda collaborates with stakeholders to ensure that all children have access to high-quality learning opportunities.

Ginger Towle, M.Ed.
Early Childhood Instructional Coaching Coordinator, CREC

Ginger Towle is an Early Childhood Instructional Coaching Coordinator for the Central Region Educational Cooperative, CREC. Her background includes years of teaching experience in preschool, elementary, and higher education. She currently supports coaches at the CREC in implementing Practice-Based Coaching for preschool teachers. Ginger also collaborates with stakeholders to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality education in New Mexico.

Terri Tapia, M.A.
Early Childhood Instructional Coaching Lead Coordinator, CREC

Terri Tapia is the Early Childhood/ECLIPSE Instructional Coaching Lead Coordinator with the Central Region Educational Cooperative. She is from Santa Fe, New Mexico. She received her master’s degree in educational leadership from New Mexico Highlands University, graduating summa cum laude. Her philosophy for early childhood education (birth through age 8) centers on ensuring that each and every young child in New Mexico’s classrooms is ready to learn by having a strong sense of self, and feeling competent and capable. She believes that Practice-Based Coaching supports early childhood and elementary teachers in enhancing their teaching practices, which in turn, creates high-quality educational experiences for young children and students.

For the past 20+ years, Terri has led several educational programs including NAEYC Accredited Preschools, Tribal Head Start Programs, New Mexico’s Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (FOCUS on Young Children’s Learning), and the development of the Early Childhood/ECLIPSE Instructional Coaching program, supporting over 800 early childhood and elementary educators across the state.

Katrina Gallegos, M.Ed.
ECLIPSE/ECIC Coordinator, CREC

Katrina Gallegos is an ECLIPSE/ECIC Coordinator for the Central Regional Educational Cooperative. She is from Albuquerque, New Mexico with a background in Early Childhood Education and a passion for supporting children, families, educators, and communities in New Mexico.

Katrina received her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Eastern New Mexico University. She also attended Lesley University where she obtained a master’s degree in Integrating the Arts Across the Curriculum. Katrina taught Special Education for eight years for 3–4 year olds.  During this time, she designed and taught a Learning to Learn class that supported children on the autism spectrum.

Katrina is dedicated to supporting coaches and teachers with Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) to enhance teaching practices that support all students’ learning outcomes. Her strengths are in the areas of social emotional and literacy practices.  Katrina enjoys hosting the Connections: The Heart of Early Childhood Podcast.

The post [On-Demand Webinar] The Role of Practice-Based Coaching in Transforming Early Childhood Education in New Mexico appeared first on Torsh.

Watch this on-demand webinar for a review of the key components of literacy instruction in the early years and guidance on how to build your team’s skills in implementing evidence-based literacy routines. During the 45-minute presentation you’ll learn:

• The role that phonemic awareness plays in learning to read.
• The components of effective phonemic awareness instruction in the early childhood setting.
• Proven strategies to provide professional learning to teachers that builds their knowledge of foundational literacy instructional practices.

Take advantage of this opportunity to gain valuable insights and ideas to bolster early literacy instruction for your emerging readers.

Fill out the form to watch the on-demand webinar.

Webinar Presenters:

Caitlin Deckard
Science of Reading Specialist
The Literacy Architects

Caitlin is a Science of Reading Specialist and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University. She has held various positions in rural and urban school districts, including elementary classroom teacher, literacy interventionist, gifted and talented teacher, RTI coordinator, strategic planning board member, and Title Services program coordinator.

Caitlin prioritizes evidence-based best practices within the MTSS framework while making research both accessible and approachable to educators. Her belief that literacy is a civil right and a prerequisite for survival and success within our society influences her work designing professional development and social media content for The Literacy Architects.

When not working, you can find Caitlin curled up with a book and a dog, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, or enjoying the majesty of the San Juan mountains.

Seema Tejura 
Founder & Managing Director
The Literacy Architects

The Literacy Architects is led by founder and managing director Seema Tejura. Seema has over twelve years of experience leading students, teachers, and leaders toward literacy success, influencing over 150,000 students in 350+ schools. She has held various positions in urban school districts, including reading specialist, literacy coach, reading/language arts director, and chief academic officer.

Seema has rolled out the Common Core State Standards to elementary schools in the District of Columbia, changed mindsets in Dallas by showing teachers the power of students citing evidence from the text to support their answers, made the case for writing instruction at every grade level, and raised student achievement through teacher use of close reading modules and text sets. She has structured the inaugural year for two instructional coaching programs and has implemented countless district-wide initiatives. She has experience leading literacy programs for general education, ESL, and special education students.

Seema holds master’s degrees in reading and education leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and George Washington University. She is also a reading specialist, Wilson^® Dyslexia Practitioner, and Certified Academic Language Practitioner (CALP).

Seema enjoys exploring her neighborhood on foot and traveling in her free time.

The post [On-Demand Webinar] Laying the Foundation for Strong Literacy Instruction appeared first on Torsh.

1. Relationships
   The relationship between the coach and teacher heavily influences the way feedback is given and received. If the relationship is new or not well-established, it may be best for feedback to be given face-to-face or over the phone. Written feedback can often be misconstrued if a relationship has not been built. When working with new clients, I also use questions as a primary tool in debriefing conversations because I want to learn more about the person and their decision making processes. I may start feedback sessions with phrases such as…”It looked like you were trying to …..” or “I noticed…” then follow this with questions that will allow the teacher to share her thinking. I may keep my suggestions to resources that might be helpful. As the relationship grows, the questions may become more probing and the suggestions more pointed.
   
2. Mindset
   A teacher’s mindset will greatly affect whether or not feedback is even useful. In her groundbreaking book Mindset (2006), Carol Dweck notes people with a fixed mindset tended to show little interest in feedback that offered opportunity for learning; rather they responded to feedback that focused on their abilities. This is important for coaches to understand because teachers who are in this mindset will need to work from their strengths. Coaches will need to be on the lookout for those glimmers of what can be built upon rather than focusing on suggestions for improvement right away. A feedback conversation may begin like this ….”It is clear that you know how to _____ because ____.” Acknowledging what the teacher is able to do can be the starting point for giving feedback on how they might use that ability in a new situation or to meet a goal. 
   
3. Readiness
   Whether a person is ready to reflect on their practices and make changes will also affect the type of feedback that is needed and if it will be applied. Teachers who do not routinely reflect on their practices may not be aware of a need to change anything. Feedback for these teachers may be more geared toward specific suggestions of activities for them to try under certain circumstances. “To avoid calling on the same students, try putting their names in a cup and randomly drawing a name when you ask a question.” The goal of the feedback with these teachers is to help them become aware of places that need strengthening and build a toolbox of strategies to use. With teachers who are more reflective, we want our feedback to encourage this. Rather than offering specific strategies, we may suggest resources or learning opportunities that the teacher could use to develop her own strategies. For example, with a more reflective teacher, the conversation may sound something like this: “You mentioned that you are trying to find new ways to ensure all students are responding in class. There are some great ideas for this at (website, etc.).”

Every person has individual needs that must be considered if feedback is to be useful. A coach who takes into account the relationship, mindset, and readiness of the individual can better offer feedback that both supports and challenges new learning in ways that will actually be applied.

Robyn Hartzell has served in education since 1998 and has experience in a variety of roles: teacher, instructional coach, interventionist, trainer, consultant, and program coordinator at the campus and regional levels. Currently, she works as an independent consultant and coach promoting effective instructional and leadership practices and championing the need for quality professional learning. Robyn takes privilege in coaching professionals in their craft and is passionate about helping organizations develop leaders who make a lasting, positive impact on the programs and people they serve.

Be sure to follow Robyn on Twitter @robynhartzellpd and check out her website at www.hartzellpd.com

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Today, Robyn shares her experience and offers her expertise about taking a blended approach to coaching to improve literacy instruction in a series of Micro-Lessons.

Each Micro-Lesson contained a video that frames the lesson as well as specific tasks and discussions to solidify the lesson outcomes. The series was designed to provide participants with tangible ways to use Video-Based Coaching when working with teachers.

Specifically, as a coach, you will be able to:

• Utilize the LABS Approach in Coaching
• Appropriately set up their methods for Video-Based Coaching
• Build Trust with their Teachers in Filming Video
• Give effective feedback as it pertains to Literacy
• Utilize ‘look-fors’ and rubrics for evidence-based feedback
• Provide Learning Content for your Teachers
• Create Exemplars for Methodology
• Set Up Groups for Targeted Coaching

Stay tuned for more Professional Learning content coming soon.

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