early childhood development and the individual capacities of the children in their care, intentional educators see themselves on a shared journey of learning with the children in their settings.
About the Author
Rebecca Parlakian, MA, EdD, is senior director of programs at ZERO TO THREE. She has authored many resources on instructional practices, early STEM, literacy / language, and other topics related to high-quality programs. Her background is in early childhood special education. rparlakian @ zerotothree. org
Rocking and Rolling is written by infant and toddler specialists and contributed by ZERO TO THREE, a nonprofit organization working to promote the health and development of infants and toddlers by translating research and knowledge into a range of practical tools and resources for use by the adults who influence the lives of young children.
NAEYC. 2020.“ Developmentally Appropriate Practice.” Position statement. NAEYC. naeyc. org / resources / position-statements / dap / contents.
NAEYC. 2022. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth Through Age 8. 4th ed. NAEYC.
NAEYC. 2025.“ Early Childhood Program Standards.” Position statement. NAEYC. naeyc. org / resources / position-statements / early-childhood-program-standards.
Renninger, K. A., & A. List. 2012.“ Scaffolding for Learning.” In Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning, ed. N. M. Seel. Springer. doi. org / 10.1007 / 978-1-4419-1428-6 _ 569.
Salmon, A. K., & M. X. Barrera. 2021.“ What Are You Thinking? Scaffolding Thinking to Promote Learning. Young Children 76( 2): 59-63.
Schiller, P. 2007.“ More Purposeful and Intentional Infant and Toddler Care.” Exchange 178: 10.
Schmidtke, A. 2025. The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young Children’ s Learning. 3rd ed. NAEYC.
State of New South Wales( Department of Education). 2024. Play-Based Learning and Intentionality in the Preschool. education. nsw. gov. au / content / dam / main-education / documents / teaching-and-learning / curriculum / early-learning / early-learninginformation-sheet-play-based-learning-with-intentionality. pdf.
Sweeney, A. M., & A. Freitas. 2018.“ When Do Intended Performance Standards Predict Goal-Related Affect? A Motivated-Reasoning Perspective.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 10( 3): 295 – 306. doi. org / 10.1177 / 1948550618762299.
Zimmer, S. 2021.“ Intentional Teaching in Early Childhood Education. ebsco. com / research-starters / education / intentionalteaching-early-childhood-education.
ROCKING & ROLLING
References
Bodrova, E., & D. J. Leong. 2007. Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education. 2nd ed. Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
Chazan-Cohen, R., M. Zaslow, H. H. Raikes, J. Elicker, D. Paulsell, et al. 2017. Working Toward a Definition of Infant / Toddler Curricula: Intentionally Furthering the Development of Individual Children Within Responsive Relationships. OPRE Report # 2017-15. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services. files. eric. ed. gov / fulltext / ED592769. pdf.
Dean, A., & L. Gillespie. 2015.“ Why Teaching Infants and Toddlers Is Important.” Young Children 70( 5): 94 – 96.
Hemmeter, M. L., E. Barton, L. Fox, C. Vatland, G. Henry, et al. 2022.“ Program-Wide Implementation of the Pyramid Model: Supporting Fidelity at the Program and Classroom Levels.” Early Childhood Research Quarterly 59: 56 – 73. doi. org / 10.1016 / j. ecresq. 2021.10.003.
Koralek, D., K. N. Nemeth, & K. Ramsey. 2019. Families and Educators Together: Building Great Relationships that Support Young Children. NAEYC.
Masterson, M., & M. M. Mazzocco. 2025.“ Approaches to Learning.” In The Intentional Teacher: Choosing the Best Strategies for Young Children’ s Learning, ed. A. Schmidtke. 3rd ed. NAEYC.
Mincemoyer, C. C. 2016.“ Intentional Early Educators: Tell Me More.” Better Kid Care. PennState Extention. extension. psu. edu / programs / betterkidcare / early-care / tip-pages / all / intentionalearly-educators-tell-me-more.
Photograph: © Getty Images Copyright © 2026 by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. See permissions and reprints online at NAEYC. org / resources / permissions.
Summer 2026 Young Children 89