RUNNING HEAD: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

Developmentally Appropriate Instruction

Niyoria McKinnis

Regent University
RUNNING HEAD: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

Introduction

This competency, as described in the student teacher handbook, involves evidence of

hands on, developmentally appropriate teaching techniques (Kreassig p. 31, 2015). Personally I

love learning with hands on activities so I try to incorporate as much hands on learning as I can

in each lesson I teach. As a teacher we must have instruction that is hands on, student centered

and reflective of their developmental level and growth. The main thing to remember when

planning lessons is to meet students where they are and know what they are interested in doing

and how they learn best. Tomlinson said, teachers work daily to find ways to reach out to

individual learners at their varied points of readiness, interest, and learning preference. Students

love exploring so I try to incorporate as many exploration activities as I can, so they can learn on

their own. The hands on activities I have incorporated over the past weeks are real world objects

that we use in our daily lives. The students seem to enjoy each one which I am happy about.

Rationale for artifacts

The first artifact I chose to share is my lesson on mixtures and solutions. This lesson I

feel went very well and all the students were engaged and learned a lot. To start off the lesson I

had them look at the bowl of rocks and shells with water. I asked them what do they observe

about what is inside the bowl. The students gave me a lot of unique answers. I explained to the

students that we would be going over new words to go along with what we are learning about

matter. The two words they learned about on this day were mixtures and solutions. This lesson

had many hands on opportunities throughout the lesson. I love doing hands on science

experiments. The students tend to learn more when they actually have something hands on in

front of them or in groups. I talked about mixtures first and talked about how even though we put
RUNNING HEAD: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

the rocks and shells into a bowl of water nothing changed properties. We could easily take out

the rocks and shells and they would still look the same. I then challenged the class to see if they

could tell me if two liquids can be a mixture. They mainly all said no because they know when

they normally add two liquids together they mix together and you cannot separate them. After

discussing that in their groups I showed them 2 liquids vinegar and oil and asked them what

would happen if I pour the oil into the vinegar. Most of the students said it would dissolve. So

when we actually did the experiment they were all surprised to see them separate. So they

eventually came to the conclusion that two liquids can be a mixture and can be separated. After

this we had a discussion on solutions. I showed them a water bottle and a lemonade packet. I

asked them what would happen if I added this packet to the water. Most of them knew that the

lemonade would dissolve. So we went over the definition of solution which was something that

dissolves into another substance. I gave them the opportunity to get in groups and discover if the

things I placed on their desk were solutions or mixtures. I really enjoyed hearing all the

discussions in each group. They really grasped the difference of the two and were able to tell me

mixtures they know they have in their house. I realized most of the students in my classroom

love listening to rap music and dancing. So to catch the interest of my students I ended the lesson

with a mixtures and solutions rap, which they all loved and danced to. The students really loved

this lesson and Mrs. Cowart did also.

My second artifact I chose to show is my lesson on the states of matter. Our beginning

unit for this year was learning about the three states of matter. So that weekend I tried coming up

with ideas to show the students all three states of matter in one experiment. I decided to do the

root beer float experiment with my students in my small group science rotations. The students

were all able to point out that the ice cream was a solid and that the particles in a solid do not
RUNNING HEAD: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

move and that they are frozen just like the ice cream. Next, the students were able to tell me the

liquid was the root beer and that the particles in a liquid slide past one another slowly. Also the

students were able to see how a liquid takes the shape of its container when we transferred the

liquid from the bottle to the cup. We first made predictions about what would happen if we add

root beer to the ice cream. Many students said the ice cream would turn into a liquid. When

completing the experiment the students were able to see what happened and able to tell me that it

created a gas where the particles are spread out and takes the shape of its container. I was very

happy to see them discover this on their own. When they held up the cup the students were able

to see all three states of matter in one cup. Then they each got to enjoy their treat.

Bergin reminds us that, developmentally appropriate instruction is important because

students learn to understand the world with their experiences and exposures to materials help

students remember effectively (Bergin & Bergin, 2012). Another lesson I want to share is my

lesson on atoms, elements and compounds. In this lesson they were able to do other hands on

activity individually at their desk. Before handing out the supply I pointed out the element Al. I

asked them if they knew what this element was. They gave me different answers and then I told

them that it is the element Aluminum. I created a lesson with aluminum foil. They started by

cutting the aluminum in half and balling up the other half, then they cut it again and balled up the

other half again. The students did this until they could not do it anymore. At the end I asked even

though we cut the aluminum into many pieces is this small piece you have in your hand still

aluminum. Yes, because aluminum cannot be broken down. I went over that the element

aluminum is made up all many aluminum atoms. The piece they had remaining at the end

represented one atom. They really enjoyed this. Then we made a human atom where I had each

of the students be a proton, neutron and electron. Each student had a slip of paper that said P, N,
RUNNING HEAD: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

or E. When I said go the students either went to the center of the room or around the edge of the

classroom. After the students arranged themselves I asked them each what kind of charge they

have. I also did a compound and element sort with the class during this lesson. During this lesson

I got observed by the Principal and he said that he learned so much that he didnt know from my

lesson and that I did an outstanding job. He also said he looks forward to me graduating and

coming back. I am so happy my lesson went so well.

Faith integration

As a teacher it is my responsibility to reach all of my students. Teaching is one of the

gifts of the Holy Spirit and it is a necessary and valuable part of life. Jesus, of course, was the

greatest teacher, and He is often referred to as Rabbi or Teacher (Luke 13:10; John 1:38; 3:2,

NIV). All of my lessons described provided all developmentally appropriate hands on activities.

Students also got to work together in groups to learn from each other. In His teaching, our Lord

used illustrations (Luke 7:3132, NIV), which is what I used to connect with my students in the

classroom. The students learn so much better with visuals. We have different gifts, according to

the grace given to each of us (Romans 12:67, NIV). Teachers have the supernatural ability to

clearly instruct and communicate knowledge of faith. Overall, Jesus always taught with the best

interests of His students at heart; always, which is the path I am trying to take in my teaching.
RUNNING HEAD: DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE INSTRUCTION

Works Cited

Bergin, C. C., & Bergin, D. A (2012). Child and Adolescent Development in your Classroom.

Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Bible Gateway passage: Romans 12:4-New International Version. Retrieved September 24,2017.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12%3A4-8&version=NIV

Bible Gateway passage: Luke 7:31-32- New International Version. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+7%3A31-32&version=NIV

Bible Gateway passage: John 1:38- New International Version. Retrieved October 1, 2017.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john+1%3A38&version=NIV