TEA FOR EDUCATION

RUSSELL T. MAO

The all-round development of a child should make the core reason for teaching. This is commonly referred to as developmentally appropriate teaching. Out of it, a child leaves the learning institution fully developed and prepared to face majority of challenges life has to offer. Developmentally appropriate teaching, however, is different from other approaches of teaching and has defining characteristics. Most important for teachers is a consideration of what children already know in order to identify the objectives of learning. It is from this knowledge that teachers build on what the children know.

One feature of developmentally appropriate teaching is that teachers acknowledge what children say and do. This follows an understanding that a child does everything for a reason, and they benefit when a teacher appreciates what they do. Here, a teacher lets the children know they are noticed by showing positive attention, say through comments, or maintaining eye contact while they talk. All this does is encouraging learners to participate, which is an essential element of developmentally appropriate teaching. Furthermore, this form of teaching entails encouragement of a child’s efforts and persistence rather than just praising and letting go. This ensures the child acknowledges learning as a continuing process, which does not stop at the point when they can answer all the teacher’s questions.

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The author is SST I at San Pablo 2nd National High School