Improving the Quality of Teaching and Learning

2012 hmmmm. Where did it go? The short term and long term goals and projects either disappeared, lost priority in people's minds or have somehow found their way to 2013. So here we are with a new beginning and a clean page to put the virtual pen to virtual paper. Many things sidetracked this part of life but ALL of them are important and ALL of them revolve around improving the quality of teaching and learning. So this is the new tag line for Developmental Teaching, LLC:
Improving the quality of teaching and learning! Hope you like the ring of it so let's ring in 2013 with this!

Happy New Year

Summer Olympics coming to a Close

As we near the end of the summer Olympics held in London in 2012 we are given a glimpse of the world that is steeped in tradition and ceremony but one that embraces new and creative ideas. I think Queen Elizabeth II showed this characteristic in her sporting way of allowing her role to be "borrowed" in the skydive over the Olympic Stadium as the latest "Bond Girl". All of the athletes from all over the world have also displayed this willingness to work hard and embrace new technologies simultaneously.
The folks at Developmental Teaching, LLC are working hard to provide the tradition of a paper plan book that was so well designed over 25 years ago, a Plan Book for the School Specialist developed just one year ago and the excitement of developing an online application that is getting ready for launch within the next month!  Please ask questions, follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook and, above all,  let us know what you think!!!! You can order your books online.
Thanks for your teaching efforts as we approach a new school year!!!
Go for the GOLD!

GREAT ARTICLE TODAY!!!!!!

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Play is the Work of Young Children

February 1, 2012 by Irene Sege

Photo: Alessandra Hartkopf for Strategies for Children

At a time when direct, teacher-centered instruction in preschool and kindergarten classrooms is increasing, Scientific American offers a strong reminder of the importance of play for young learners.

“‘Just playing’ is in fact what nearly all developmental psychologists, neuroscientists and education experts recommend for children up to age seven as the best way to nurture kids’ development and ready them for academic success later in life,” the article states. (1 2 3 4 Next >)

“Decades of research have demonstrated that their innate curiosity leads them to develop their social, emotional and physical skills independently, through exploration—that is, through play. Even animals as diverse as squirrels, horses and bears engage in, and cognitively benefit from, play.”

Writer Paul Tullis summarizes some of the research. Children instructed in how a toy works, one study finds, are less apt to discover its various attributes than children who explore it without direct instruction. And the landmark Hart & Risley study on children’s language development found that children with the widest, richest vocabularies acquired their trove of words through conversation and playful interactions, not direct instruction. “Storytelling, singing, playing, telling jokes—those are the building blocks of extensive vocabularies.”  Peter L. Mangione, co-director of the Center for Child and Family Studies at WestEd in San Francisco, tells Scientific American.

A dearth of play, the article notes, could have negative consequences. It cites research from the Perry Preschool Project in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which found that half of children who attended a preschool that emphasized direct instruction had emotional problems by age 23, compared with 6% in a high-quality play-based preschool.  “Emphasizing the acquisition of skills such as early reading and geography,” the article states, “comes with a trade-off—less time spent on social and emotional development, which are themselves important to a child’s ability to learn.”

Happy New Year

 We look forward to 2012.
Happy New Year!
Peace and Prosperity to You and Yours!

Did you know?

Does anyone wonder about the new seats for infants that one can carry the child into the store, onto a shopping cart, into a car, out to a restaurant, onto a stroller,...without ever taking the infant out of this "seat"? Do you think this is good for our kids?
Occupational Therapist, Tere Bowen-Irish refers to this new phenomenon as "bucket babies". We are seeing more and more children having weaker core muscles, poor muscle tone, inability to sit on the floor with their legs crossed for any period of time, and more..
Join us at Tere's next workshop on 9/24! check out www.developmentalteaching.com for more.

Easy Does it Studio, Arlington, MA: Sign Language for Teachers

The Easy Does it Studio in Arlington, MA is nestled in the heart of town with municipal parking nearby. This wonderfully re-purposed storefront offers a great space for workshops. Developmental Teaching, LLC is proud to present deaf educator, KR Glickman in a content institute for early childhood teachers. This 4 week course is designed to meet the needs of preschool and kindergarten teachers in typical classrooms or in special needs classrooms. Please join us!

Fall Workshops,,when you really need them!

It is nearly the beginning of the school year! Where did summer go? Developmental Teaching LLC has some great, pertinent workshops in Arlington and South Hamilton. Join us for an early childhood series presented by deaf educator, KR Glickman at the Easy Does It Studio, Arlington on Wednesday evenings. Go to www.developmentalteaching.com for details.

Nationally-acclaimed author and presenter, Tere Bowen-Irish, is presenting at Christ Church Preschool in South Hamilton..Learn about Tere's wholistic and 30 year practice of working with children in school settings and else where. Tere brings a sense of humor and a down to earth methodology with hundreds of ideas to help us help our kids be ready to learn!

Tere has co-authored the Plan Book for School Specialists. This is a plan book for folks who work with children one-on-one such as OT's, PT's, ELL instructors and more!

More planned, more planning, stay tuned!! You will be excited!