Documentation of Children’s Learning Day 18

Day Eighteen

It has been a long standing requirement in early childhood education programs to observe and document children’s learning.
But…
We need to get beyond more than just work samples, portfolios and random observations.
Think about this…

• Can you identify what children are currently working on in your classroom?
• Is their thinking process visible?
• Are you documenting the whole learning process or just one small piece?
• Are you documenting the collaboration process?

What is documentation of children’s learning?
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Documentation provides a picture of children’s experiences, development and learning.  It helps to support planning that is meaningful to each child and demonstrates that teachers are thinking carefully about children’s learning.
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Inquiring Minds: Mrs. Myers' Kindergarten

Documentation should…

• Make learning visible
• Provide evidence of a process
• Fully explain the process
• Highlights various concepts
• Shows how children are involved
• Shows developmental progress
• Shows accountability
• Involves children in the process
• Extends the learning
• Should always tell a complete story

Inquiring Minds: Mrs. Myers' Kindergarten

​Through documentation, we can show the ordinary to be extraordinary.         – Shater 2002

There are different ways that we can document children’s learning.  We can use…

• A bulletin board
• Presentation board
• Documentation panels
• Class books or project books
• Slide shows
• Movies

Documentation that is present in the classroom can be as varied as the creators mind permits.
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Task:
Create an area that is designated for classroom documentation.   Start documenting children’s learning process as they explore and learn together about one of their interest.

​If your new here, start here.

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