Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Effective Parent Teaching Strategies

Chapter 2.2

It was Advik’s 4^th birthday. He is a big boy now, his mother Anita wondered. Being a teacher, she knew how critical these formative years are for her son, she planned on extending his learning at home holistically and in more depth than previously. But how?

Let's Reflect

As a parent do you have similar questions too? If yes, then you are at the right place as we have summed it up for you in a quick way.

Incorporating DAP into the lives of kids.

Acknowledging & Encouraging

Ensure a positive “verbal or nonverbal attention” that encourages your child’s persistence and effort

Key Learning:
Effort is the foremost necessary for any mastering skill
How?
Inspire your child to stay engaged; Display motivational words/gestures; and assist him/her to acquire skills, fulfill tasks, and indulge in complex problem-solving

Eg: Alia: The 15-month-old managed to stack up his blocks for the first time. She rushes to her grandma to show her achievement
Grandma: (With an excited face) Hey! Let me see what have you built here? Is this the building that we live in?
Alia: Nods in a yes. Then she pushes the blocks to display what happens…
Grandma: Oh, I see all the blocks fell on the ground. Will you collect them in the toy basket?

Giving quality feedback

Respond with specific information on the child’s activity or respond to questions and comments

Key Learning: Helps children focus on the process of learning. (what are the steps to solve a problem or method of activity)
How? Expand his/her horizon of learning and understanding rather than focusing only on the correct answer or end product.

Eg: Parent: Whose shadow is it on the wall?
Child: It is of the bird perched outside.
Parent: Why can’t we see shadow at night?
Child: No light, mama

Modeling

Exhibit desirable ways of talking or behavior with your child

Key Learning: Language modeling strongly influences a child’s holistic learning & development achievements.
How? Exemplify positive social skills and self-regulation. Model language— repeating and extending your child’s verbal responses, attaching names to their own and other’s actions, and frequently introducing new words.

Eg: Child: Serving tea while at pretend play
Parent: Oh it must be hot. I’ll sip it cautiously.
Child: Do you like it?
Parent: The aroma is magical. I am feeling good after drinking. Thank you darling.

Demonstrating

Show the correct way to carry out a task/skill. Ensure ample opportunities for him/her to perform skills under adult guidance.

Key Learning: Help the child to assimilate outcomes.
How? Demonstrate each step in a sequential order.

Eg:
Parent: Steps to wash hands:

Wet your hands turn off the faucet
Drop a dash of soap on your palm
Rub them gently front and back, under the thumbs for 20 seconds.
Wash hands and turn off the faucet
Dry your hands with a towel.

Toilet training allows ample opportunities to the child to practice efficiently

Giving cues, hints, and offering assistance

Prompting to help the child remember what he/she already knows and can do, and assisting him/her to use that knowledge for new learning.

Key Learning: Enables the child to use that knowledge to master next level of functioning
How? Facilitating & supporting to accomplish the task. This involves providing short-term temporary assistance to your child.

Eg: Child: Mama where is my smooth grey rectangle? (Whilst building blocks with the help of a manual)
Parent: Oh I can see it. It’s lying near the small red square.
Child: Thank you mama. Where do I put it??
Parent: Next to the orange flat square. Let me show you.

Creating and adding challenges

Increment the level of difficulty/problem to an activity so as to gently elevate the child’s skills to the next level.

Key Learning: The child learns to strive hard to overcome challenges, and continues to make learning & developmental progress
How? Intentionally add challenges while taking into consideration your child’s interest & capacity. Encourage him/her to learn but avoid stretching to an extent that lies beyond their reach resulting in repeated failures and thereby frustration.

Eg: Child: 3-year-old constantly enquires “what’s written her mama”. He tries to identify words and remember their images.
Parent: Noticing his curiosity and zeal, takes out time every day to together read story books in-order to sustain his curiosity and broaden his vocabulary

Questioning

Probing into how/where/what gets the young mind thinking and evokes various possible ways of accomplishing the activity/task/situation etc.

Key Learning: Requires the child to analyse information or engage in advance order of thinking.

How? Ask open-ended questions that may have multiple answers. There is no one right/wrong answer. Totally depends on individual point of view.

Eg: Parent:

Question1: Where is Peppa going for a holiday? (Has a particular answer)
vs
Question 2: Where would you like to go on a holiday? (Probes thinking/imagination/ extends conversation and thoughtful speculation)

Co-constructing

Closely work with your child: thinking aloud, displaying curiosity, finding ways, attempting solutions- the most effective way inculcating learnings in the child

Key Learning: Through experiences, the child figures out his/her own way of understanding and observing the ways of the world.
How? Think and talk together about the process of any play-based activity with your child and watch him/her thrive through the exchange of rich conversation.

Eg: Child: Mama, look there is an egg on the tree! (Pointing to a picture in the story book)
Mama: Oh Yes!
Child: What will come out of it?
Parent: Let us turn the page to find out…

Giving direct or explicit instruction

Enrich knowledge through stating facts, labelling objects/experiences, transferring instructions for completing a task; or providing other relevant information/instruction for the child’s understanding of an action or behavior

Key Learning: An effective way to introduce new concepts, words or ways of life.
How? Transmit social-conventional or procedural knowledge. However, it can be easily overused/misused if it takes away your child’s opportunity to self-explore & discover.

Eg: Child: After a long playful day comes to you to snuggle.
Parent: Oh dear… Looks like you are tired. Let us get some rest.
Child: Wakes up happily and claims “I am feeling better now mama”

Scaffolding

It means to use the above strategies in combination. It is an act wherein the parents facilitate varied supportive techniques for the child to accomplish a new age appropriate developmental level.

Key Learning: The child confidently adopts new skill sets and eventually learns to accomplish it independently, thereby making developmental progress.
How? Implementing methods such as giving hints/cues, providing assistance, probing questions, and so on to help your child work “on the edge” of his/her current level of competence.

Eg: Once the toddler starts to stand holding objects, the parent holds hands and assists her to walk independently. Soon the toddler is found wiggling around the whole house on his own.

Translate everyday interactions with your child into more meaningful ones. Trust us, you will be raising a developmentally ahead kid who has a holistic perception towards learning and life.

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Effective Parent Teaching Strategies

Chapter 2.2

Let's Reflect

Incorporating DAP into the lives of kids.

Acknowledging & Encouraging

Giving quality feedback

Modeling

Demonstrating

Giving cues, hints, and offering assistance

Creating and adding challenges

Questioning

Co-constructing

Giving direct or explicit instruction

Scaffolding

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Essence of Developmentally Appropriate Practice

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