Foundations of Developmentally Appropriate Practice

If you are employed in a state that uses a registry to track professional development hours, you will be able to provide your registry ID (Stars, MOPID, Registry or other ECE ID#) after you have completed the quiz for the course. If you pass the quiz we will report your course completion to the state registry using the registry ID that you provide.

Explore Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and learn how it can guide meaningful, effective learning experiences for every child. Designed for early childhood educators and teachers, this course examines what DAP is, why it matters, and how to apply it in the classroom. Through practical strategies and reflection, participants will learn how DAP can support children’s development, strengthen teaching practices, and help address challenging behaviors. Course length – 1.0 hours.

The course will help answer the following questions:

• What is DAP?

• Why is DAP important?

• How can I implement DAP in my classroom?

• Can DAP help with challenging behavior?

Participants who successfully complete this course will be able to:

• Define Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP), identify its three core considerations, and explain its importance with 80% accuracy on the course assessment.

• Identify at least three differences between developmentally appropriate and inappropriate teaching practices, environments, or expectations.

• Analyze classroom scenarios and accurately determine whether the practices shown are developmentally appropriate.