Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
Domain 2, Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, tests developmentally appropriate practice (DAP), integrated planning, learning centers, alignment to the Minnesota Early Learning Standards and kindergarten standards, scaffolding, differentiation, and balanced assessment.
DAP and backward design
NAEYC's three core considerations: child development and learning, the individual child, and social/cultural context. Plan backward: standard → observable objective ('sorts buttons by color and size') → evidence → experience. Use observable verbs, not 'understands.'
Instruction
Intentional teaching inside play: modeling, thinking aloud, open-ended questions, scaffolding up or down, small groups, centers. Keep whole-group sitting brief for 3-year-olds. Embed goals in routines - counting at snack, vocabulary at handwashing. Support the home language while building English.
Assessment
Know the purposes: screening (brief; flags who needs a closer look, e.g., ASQ-3), diagnostic, progress monitoring, summative. The strongest early childhood evidence is authentic - running records, anecdotal notes, work samples, portfolios, photos, family input. One snapshot is never enough. Check validity, reliability, and cultural/linguistic bias.
Worked example
You need evidence that children sort by two attributes. Instead of a worksheet, set out buttons and ask each child to build 'a collection that is all one color and all one shape'; record on a checklist whether the child sorts by one attribute, two attributes, or explains the rule. Provide larger buttons for children with fine-motor delays. Reasoning: the task matches the objective directly, and materials are adapted for access.
Traps that cost marks
Confusing screening with diagnosis; a checklist as sole evidence; a cute theme driving content that misses standards; long teacher-directed lessons; assessing only what is easy to score.