1

Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions:

Focusing on the Needs of Students

Lauren Wiley

Butler University
 2
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

Introduction:

In order to have developmentally appropriate learning conditions, educators should

consider the many needs of his or her students. These conditions are heavily influenced by the

educator and when developmentally appropriate, can have a positive impact on learning. Factors

included to produce developmentally appropriate learning conditions are the classroom climate,

student-teacher relationships, and student empowerment which together all lead to increased

engagement based on student-focused instruction. Without these conditions, learning is much less

likely to occur. The most important thing is that instruction and learning is student-focused.

The climate of the classroom refers to both the physical and emotional environments in the

classroom. In both cases, this students should feel safe in the environment. Not only should

students feel physically safe in their classrooms and in their school buildings, but also they should

feel emotionally secure. In a safe classroom, students are ready to take risks in learning and

mistakes are celebrated as learning opportunities. Additionally, adolescents have a need to feel

respected by the adults in their lives. This respect can be gained through strong student-teacher

relationships and a feeling of empowerment in the classroom or school community. By making

decisions in their learning, students become motivated to take responsibility for their learning. All

of these factors lead to engagement in the classroom. Along with student-focused instruction,

empowerment, good relationships, and a safe emotional and physical classroom environment all

address the needs of adolescents to create conditions conducive to learning.

As a future educator, this is important to me because ultimately the goal is for my students

to learn. In order for them to learn, I need to recognize that I will have a strong influence on the

learning conditions and that I should understand the needs of my students in order to make the

learning conditions developmentally appropriate.

 3
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

Literature Review:

Classroom Climate. The learning climate includes both the physical and emotional environment

(Borich, 2015). Students should feel both physically and emotionally safe in their classroom and

school communities. Concerning the physical environment, a safe school environment is a result

of shared community values and expectations (Vatterott, 2007, p. 79). However, the physical

environment also reflects how a classroom is set up. Students should have flexible seating to be

able to move around and focus on learning (Miller, 2016). Less obvious than the physical

environment is the emotional environment. Students should feel safe from embarrassment of

failing or making mistakes in the learning process. The environment should stimulate students,

challenging them, and encouraging risk taking in learning. Overall, Vatterott (2007) suggests,

learning suffers when learner anxiety is high and that similar internal reactions occur for all

kinds of threat physical or psychological (Vatterott, 2007, p. 79). Educators should be able to

respond to the physical, mental, and emotional needs of adolescents to promote engagement and

create an environment conducive to learning (Baron, 2015).

Student-Teacher Relationships. By focusing on the students as individuals, a teacher can have a

positive relationship and earn the respect of the student in the classroom. As adolescents gain

independence, respect for a person of authority is no longer assigned and instead becomes earned

(Vatterott, 2007). Additionally, strong teacher-student relationships are important to support

students in their development through adolescence (Elias, 2015). According to Wood (2005) in

Time to learn: How to create high schools that serve all students, to earn their trust, a trust

required if learning is to happen, we have to start with who they are, not who we want them to be

(p. 7). Not only is a strong trust required for learning to occur, but this trust must be gained by

focusing on the individual student. Vatterott (2007) suggests, Students must develop a trust in the
 4
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

teacher to guide them in the learning process and protect them from embarrassment (p. 85). In a

study highlighted in the journal article Adolescent trust in teachers: Implications for behavior in

the high school classroom by Gregory and Ripski (2008), strong teacher-student relationships

generally correlated to lower disciplinary issues in the classroom and easier classroom

management. Teachers who genuinely tried to get to know their students often had better

relationships with them and earned their trust which led to increased engagement in the material

and improved behavior in the classroom. Often, teachers who took the time to get to know their

students found themselves powering with instead of powering over (Gregory & Ripski, 2008).

Empowerment. Adolescents look to adults for respect that can be show by challenging students

and setting high standards (Baron, 2015). Often these challenges can mean extra responsibility in

the classroom or accountability in their learning (Miller, 2016). Vatterott (2007) illustrates the

importance of student empowerment by suggesting that the key to reaching and teaching

[adolescents] is to empower them with the tools to control their own learning through student

focused instructional methods (p. 3). As educators start to reevaluate the role of a teacher in a

traditional classroom setting, they see that a teacher should become less of an authority and more

of a peer, giving students a voice in the classroom and in their learning. However, this newly-

earned responsibility for students still needs to be balanced with guidance of adults, especially in

early adolescence (Vatterott, 2007). By empowering students in a classroom, educators are giving

them the skills and responsibility to encourage them to learn. Empowerment in a classroom often

can help lead to and is generally necessary for engagement in the material (Miller, 2016).

Engagement. Learning should be both active and engaging (Erickson & Tomlinson, 2007). In

order to do this, educators should include activities that are developmentally appropriate for their

students (Erickson & Tomlinson, 2007) and that are differentiated for the needs of individual
 5
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

students (deFronderville, 2009). For example, adolescents have a developmental need for social

activity, and benefit from activities or learning tasks that fulfill this need. The decisions required

to create a developmentally appropriate curriculum and lesson plan focus on instruction based on

each of the needs of the students. With curriculum based on broad concepts, principles, and ideas,

instruction can be planned around active, purposeful, and relevant learning activities. These

activities should allow for student choices. Often times, the learning activity becomes an

assessment or type of data collection for the teacher. By placing this focus on the students during

instruction, engagement in the classroom will increase (Vatterott, 2007). Often students make

meaning for a deeper understanding of content by making connections of new concepts to existing

structures of knowledge, using their interests and prior experiences (Vatterott, 2007). Educators

should aim to get out of the shallow content or tasks and rise above it to allow students to see

patterns and connections between facts and related concepts, principles, and generalizations

(Erickson & Tomlinson, 2007). By getting to know his or her students, an educator can help make

these connections to promote meaning making and transfer, instead of recall or acquisition of

material (Vatterott, 2007).

Data Analysis:

Although the research collected gives insight in creating a developmentally appropriate

environment for learners, experiences in the field give a different view on how this environment

is created by educators. Data was collected at a Midwestern high school of approximately 350

students over the course of three months. Time was spent there in classrooms and the data includes

observations, student and teacher interviews, and photo documentation. Through a focus of how

the educators created learning conditions (developmentally appropriate or not) and how students

reacted to these conditions, the following topics of focus were generated: classroom climate,
 6
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

student-teacher relationships, empowerment, and engagement. To respect all those involved, all

names have been changed or removed.

Classroom Climate. The classrooms in this high school were open, colorful, and bright. Most of

the classrooms had tables grouped together so four or five students sat together. There were spaces

to spread out around each of the classrooms so students could feel comfortable during individual

or group work to the couch or the floor. Some even had exercise balls that students could sit on to

get the antsy jitters out (Field Notes, 4/12). In all of the classrooms, students were able to get up

and retrieve any of the materials they may need for the lesson that day.

In addition, the decorations and posters in the classroom reflected the content area of the

class. In Mrs. Gellers math classroom, the murals on the walls were bright and made the room

feel welcoming. She explained that everything in her room should be math-related in some way so

students in her geometry class were able to create murals that reflected the geometry they were

learning in an artistic way (Field Notes, 4/12). Ms. Greens biology classroom created the very

large DNA strand hung from the ceiling. She explained that the strand was a multi-class project so

all of her students were able to apply what they knew about the structure of DNA and represent it

in a tangible way. In addition, the strand was something that they were proud to present in the

classroom (Field Notes, 2/1). In Mr. Richardss class, the class norms and expectations were

posted. Some of them included phrases such as mistakes are VALUABLE and everyone can

learn math to the highest levels (Field Notes, 1/25). All of these were valuable to the learning in

the environment.

How the teachers structured the class and influenced emotional environment was also

apparent during observations. During a class, Mr. Richards worked to prompt students with many

questions to guide them to an answer that the student originally thought she did not know. In
 7
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

addition, he used phrases such as youre among family to encourage his students to feel safe

while speaking up in the classroom (Field Notes, 4/12). Mrs. Geller similarly supported her

students through statements such as Im going to wait, because I know you can do it (Field

Notes, 4/12).

Additionally, it was obvious that the students knew the expectations and rules of the

classroom for all of their teachers. Mr. Blacks Spanish class was split between direct instruction

and individual work time and students knew that the transition between was flexible enough to

allow a little chatter before they refocused on the task at hand. They also were able to listen to

music during their time in the classroom. When asked if he enjoyed it, a student responded that he

preferred to be able to listen to music because it allowed him to focus on the task and not get

distracted by his friends (Field Notes, 2/5). However flexible some classes and teachers could be,

there were also strict guidelines to behavior in the classroom. In Mrs. Gellers math class, informal

English was not permitted (Field Notes, 2/16) and when she left the classroom to deal with a

disciplinary issue, the students continued to work quietly on their assigned math problems (Field

Notes, 4/12). Together, these observations represented the classroom climate physical and

emotional in a high school.

Student-Teacher Relationships. Through time spent at the high school, it became obvious that

the teachers valued relationships with their students. This was reflected through conversations with

both individual students and the entire class, observations on how they interacted with the students,

and in general the extent to which the teachers recognized the needs and the abilities of their

students. Mrs. Geller and Mr. Richards both shared stories about their families to the class, getting

a laugh from the students (Field Notes, 4/12). When Mrs. Petre was facilitating group work, she

worked her way around the class asking how students were doing and how their week was going.
 8
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

To a rowdier group, she said you guys are a mess in a teasing tone to get a response of giggles

(Field Notes, 3/15). And when one student went above and beyond in effort to learn more material

in Mrs. Gellers class, she took the time to call his parents to celebrate his learning (Field Notes,

2/8).

Empowerment. In addition to strong teacher student relationships, there were also many examples

of empowerment and respect for the students in the classroom. Most students, given a list of tasks

to get done in a certain period of time, knew that they would be held accountable for getting it

done. Learning became a responsibility of the student. Many classes had a homework check-in at

the beginning of each period and students would have to say whether or not they completed the

homework (Field Notes, 1/31).

Other than homework, student had larger projects that presented choice in their learning.

Mr. Blacks Spanish class students were each assigned a Spanish-speaking country to research and

create a restaurant menu for. Their guidelines outlined the requirement for number of entrees for

each meal and how to decipher a recipe, but all other decisions such as content and design were

up to the individual student (Field Notes, 2/15).

In another situation, Chelsea was given the responsibility to choose her group for a project

in Mrs. Rusts class after missing the introductory day. Their conversation reflected that Mrs. Rust

was letting Chelsea make the decision while guiding her to take the responsibility to make a good

decision. Mrs. Rusts responses included:

Who do you want to work with? You tell me.

Do you want me to go ask? Will that be good or bad? (Field Notes, 3/15).
 9
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

In one example in an English class, interruptions in the classroom were so common that

the teacher started to lose the control and the focus of the classroom and started to power over

the class instead of power with (Field Notes, 2/8).

Engagement. A students engagement in a classroom is heavily influenced by the teacher in that

classroom. Examples that demonstrated a teachers active decision making in engagement

included how they addressed the class, the way in which student discussion was valued, the

learning activities, and the overall mentality of the teacher.

Mrs. Rust engaged her students by using very animated speech. Although she spoke

casually to the students, she still commanded an authority and she used many different tones,

pitches, and volumes to gain their attention (Field Notes, 3/15). Many teachers asked students

instead of told. They prompted students with questions, encouraging them to come up with their

own answers. Discussion was student-focused and often student-directed. This was apparent

through questions and prompts the teachers presented such as What would that look like? or

Tell me you already know (Field Notes, 1/15 & 2/16).

Additionally, the learning tasks in class were student-focused to keep them engaged. Mrs.

Geller used interactive notebooks to help represent the information students were learning. The

notebooks were a resource that the students created themselves and decorated to their liking. They

included definitions, theorems, step-by-step instructions to solving problems and examples that

the class walked through together (Field Notes, 1/31). Additionally, students were able to move

around the classroom and became the focus of the class when they worked problems on the

whiteboard and taught the process back to the class (Field Notes, 2/2).
 10
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

Finally, the mentality and the excitement of the teacher can engage students in the material.

Mr. Richards explained that the last hour of the period was another hour to change [their lives]

(Field Notes, 4/12). All of these factors contributed to engagement in the classroom and interest

of the students in the material.

Findings:

Many of the experiences in the classroom are supported or defined by the research on

developmentally appropriate learning conditions. Both the physical environment and classroom

culture reflected a response to the physical, emotional, and mental needs of adolescents. The

classrooms were all set up in a way that students could move around and could work together. The

teachers all recognized that learning was a social activity, so by setting tables up in groups, students

could work together and learn from one another. In addition, the developmental need to be social

was met for these adolescents.

Not only did the teachers successfully create environments conducive to learning, but they

also promoted engagement and student empowerment in the classroom. Emotionally, learning

anxiety was low for students. Every teacher valued mistakes and encouraged students to speak up

in the classroom. Each class was fairly small and could operate like a family as Mr. Richards

suggested. Students were able to see that they still had guidance in the classroom and although

they were earning more and more responsibility throughout adolescence, they were not

unsupported in their learning. As a result, students were not afraid to take risks in learning and

appreciated the challenges that their teachers presented to them. Much of this trust comes from the

teachers taking the time to get to know their students and letting their students hear about their

families or personal lives. It makes learning more personal, which is crucial to earning the trust

and respect of the students and to easier classroom management.

 11
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

It was also obvious that student choice and responsibility was valued by all the teachers

and appreciated by the students. This allowed students to individualize their learning to what

worked best for them, like listening to music, or sitting on the couch instead of at a desk. However,

it also kept students accountable for their learning.

Despite this accountability of the student, the teachers still had a crucial role in the learning.

The teachers at this high school realized that when students are not engaged, they are not learning.

They worked to create curriculum experiences that were developmentally appropriate for their

students. In order to achieve this, they planned activities that were engaging and focused the

learning towards meaning making and transferring content to relevant real-life situations, which

also allowed students to better demonstrate their understanding.

By focusing the learning tasks on students, the tasks become purposeful towards their

learning and not so focused on the content. The teachers who asked the students many questions

encouraged students to think for themselves, making meaning in the material to show a deeper

understanding of the content and how it is connected. The conversations that students were able to

have with each other and with the teachers allowed teachers to assess their understanding much

more informally than a performance task such as a written test or quiz.

Allowing students to do work on the board such as Mrs. Geller did in her math class not

only gets students moving, but also allows the teacher to see how well her students were

understanding the material. By having the students talk through the problem they solved, the

students demonstrated a deeper understanding and were able to make connections. Additionally,

the bright and colorful environments and decorations in the classroom reflected the connections

between the material and the real world that the students were able to make.
 12
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

Overall, there were many connections between the research and the observations. The

observations at the high school supported the research conducted and explored how a larger

population of students and teachers interact to maximize learning in the classroom.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, by recognizing the needs of the students in a classroom, an educator can create

conditions that are developmentally appropriate for learning. These conditions are generally

focused on the climate of the classroom, student responsibility and choice, relationships in the

classroom, and a student-focused instruction that can lead to engagement. Meeting the needs of

the students will create a classroom of students who are successful learners. Educators need to be

flexible to these changing needs in order to maximize the growth of each and every student.

Over the past few months, Ive been lucky to observe teachers whose passion is ultimately

the students, and not just the content that they are teaching. Ive been able to focus my teaching

philosophy based on my experiences and adjust my ideas on how I can create a developmentally

appropriate classroom in the future.

In closing, teachers are ultimately very influential on the learning of their students. In his

work, Observation skills for effective teaching: Research-based practice, Borich explains perfectly

that teachers can and should be active decision makers who influence the quality and nature of

events in the classroom (Borich, 2015, p. 14). There are many ways that an educator can promote

learning and create an environment that breeds success. However, there are many ways that an

educator can shut down learning, most of which are a result of not focusing on the student and his

or her individual needs. Not only do teachers influence the environment of the classroom and of

the school community, but they make decisions for purposeful instruction aimed at engaging the
 13
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

students, they become mentors and coaches to students, and they teach responsibilities applicable

to life outside of the classroom. Teachers should feel empowered to make the decision for the good

of their students.
 14
Developmentally Appropriate Learning Conditions

References
Baron, J. (2015). Teen Engagement in Learning Starts with Respect. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/teen-engagement-starts-with-respect-julie-baron

Borich, G. D. (2015). Observation skills for effective teaching: Research-based practice. Boulder:
Paradigm Publishers

De Frondeville, T. (2009). How to Keep Kids Engaged in Class. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/classroom-student-participation-tips

Elias, M. J. (2015). 7 Things Parents and Teachers Should Know about Teens. Retrieved from
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/7-things-parents-and-teachers-should-know-about-teens-maurice-
elias

Erickson, H. L., & Tomlinson, C. A. (2007). The Thinking Classroom. In Concept-Based

Curriculum and Instruction for the Thinking Classroom (5-23). Thousand Oaks, California:
Corwin Press

Gregory, A., & Ripski, M. B. (2008). Adolescent trust in teachers: Implications for behavior in the
high school classroom. School Psychology Review, 37 (3), 337-353.

Miller, A. (2016). Tools for Student Self-Management. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tools-for-student-self-management-andrew-miller

Vatterott, C. (2007). Becoming a Middle Level Teacher: Student-focused teaching of early

adolescents. McGraw Hill

Wood, G. (2005). Time to learn: How to create high schools that serve all students. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.