Focus on Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Volume editors Marie L. 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 Illinois ExceleRate. 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 Eight, 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. Ron Grady, MSEd, engages in work centered on the social worlds and peer cultures of young children, wondering how lived experience is both constructed within and revealed throughout play, the creation of art and narrative, and visual media such as photography and film. He taught preschool at NOLA Nature School in New Orleans for many years. Ron is a doctoral student in education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and holds a master’s degree in early childhood education from the Erikson Institute. He is the author of Honoring the Moment in Young Children’s Lives: Observation, Documentation, and Reflection(Redleaf Press) and many articles on early childhood topics. He is also the author and illustrator of the children’s book What Does Brown Mean to You? Ron serves on the editorial boards of both the Harvard Educational Review and Voices of Practitioners. Series editor 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.

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


Chapter 1: Caring Relationships: The Heart of Early Brain Development | J. Ronald Lally and Peter L. Mangione
Chapter 2: Care and Equity in Toddler Classrooms: Practices for Creating, Sustaining, and Empowering Community | Nana E. Appiah-Korang and Abigail P. Gulden
Chapter 3: Cultivating Positive Relationships and Physical Environments to Support Emotional Well-Being | Iheoma U. Iruka
Chapter 4: The First Step for Addressing Bias in Infant and Toddler Programs | Sarah MacLaughlin



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


Chapter 5: Creating Partnerships to Support Families of Infants and Toddlers | Kelly Ramsey
Chapter 6: Engaging with Families to Individualize Teaching | Marie L. Masterson
Chapter 7: Facilitating a Child’s Transition from Home to Program Through the Use of Cultural Caring Routines | Josephine Ahmadein
Chapter 8: Speaking Out: Supporting Families in Advocacy | Kristen Johnson and Amanda Perez



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