Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum: Best Practices in Early Childhood Education

Marjorie Kostelnik, Ph.D., began her career in early childhood education as a Head Start teacher and has been educating children and teachers ever since. Following several years in the classroom, she received her master's degree and doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State. She was on the faculty at Michigan State for 22 years, serving as Program Supervisor of the Child Development Laboratories and then as chair of the Department of Family and Child Ecology. Over the past 35 years, she has worked with early childhood educators in more than 100 programs developing curriculum, enhancing children's school readiness and working with teachers to develop positive child guidance strategies. A coauthor of 20 books, Dr. Kostelnik was dean of the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for 17 years. She is now Senior Associate to the President of the University of Nebraska. She is also co-director of the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Commission, chair of the Educare of Lincoln early Childhood Center Board, and co-leader of the Lincoln Prosper Early Childhood Initiative (to provide high quality early childhood programs to every child in the Lincoln community).

Anne K. Soderman taught young children for 7 years before completing her doctorate and joining the faculty at Michigan State University for 28 years where she taught courses on early childhood curriculum and assessment. During that time, she received the Distinguished Faculty award and served as Acting Chair of the Department of Family and Child Ecology, also consulting with educators in curriculum and assessment nationally and in over 27 international settings. She has coauthored 5 books and numerous journal articles on literacy and assessment. For the past 6 years, she has been working with teachers and administrators in Beijing, China, creating an international school that now serves families and children from more than 25 nations and enrolled in nursery through grade 6.

Alice Phipps Whiren has coauthored several texts for early childhood teachers: Guiding Children's Social Development and Learning, 9th Edition, 2018; Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum in Action, Pearson, 2014; and Children with Special Needs: Lessons for Early Childhood Professionals, Teachers College Press, 2002. Over her career she has taught prekindergarten children, worked with Head Start, consulted with several full day childcare programs, and supervised the Child Development Laboratories of Michigan State University as well as teaching pre-service students of the university in courses related to professional practice.

Michelle L. Rupiper is professor emeritus of the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. During her almost 25 years at UNL, she taught many classes related to early childhood education and served as the director of the Ruth Staples Child Development Laboratory. Prior to her time at UNL, Michelle served as a classroom teacher for infant, toddler, preschool- and school-age teachers and directed community early childhood programs. She has been active in the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the National Coalition for Campus Children's Centers (NCCCC). Michelle now spends much of her time consulting with early childhood programs and school districts in Nebraska as well as national and international programs.