Documenting Children's Learning Cover

Documenting Children's Learning

Disrupting the myths

Documenting Children's Learning disrupts the myths that have too often held back educators in their documentation and assessment practice. Instead, it shows how meaningful documentation in early childhood education can make children's capabilities visible and accessible.

The authors have been influenced by the curriculum frameworks, Te Whāriki and the Early Years Learning Framework. The resource shares diverse examples of planning, observation, documentation and assessment - such as what pedagogical documentation looks like in practice or how to reflect on your practice in the planning cycle.

The aim is to inspire educators to delve deeper into pedagogical approaches that support their children and communities.

Ages: 0-5 | Pages: 96 | Code: TS0322 | ISBN: 9781922530752

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Picture of Kelly Goodsir

Kelly Goodsir

Kelly Goodsir is the managing director of www.kglearning.com.au / KGlearning which is a company that focuses on improving pedagogical practice through strategic educational change in early childhood education. Kelly first trained as a teacher in New Zealand and when she relocated to Australia in 2003 has engaged in various roles including teaching, consulting, pedagogical leadership, NCAC Validator for quality assurance and conference presenter. Kelly is a published author of a children’s book My Family is a Team: a story about mental illness (2016) along with numerous other resources supporting teacher conversations in early childhood education.

Picture of Anne Houghton

Anne Houghton

Anne Houghton’s 38 years in early childhood education include diverse roles and experiences.  She worked as a kindergarten teacher for 32 years, then held various roles at Gowrie Victoria.  These included working as a Kindergarten Cluster Management Coordinator, an Early Childhood Consultant in Resources and Advice, Trainer and Assessor of Diploma and Certificate 3 in Children’s Services and Professional Development Presenter.

Anne is also a published author of There Stood Our Dog, a children’s story book, illustrated by Craig Smith and co-author of three publications titled Engaging Families in your Early Childhood Services, Learning Environments: Inspiring Spaces, and Visible Learning in Family Day Care, funded through the Community Childcare Association of Victoria.  Anne has had inspiring experiences presenting at conferences in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Japan and Malaysia.  She has also worked as a casual research assistant in mentoring projects with the Bastow Institute and the University of Melbourne. 

Anne now works as a sessional lecturer in the School of Education at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and as a presenter for Play Australia.

Contents

Introduction4
1. Observation, assessment, documentation6
Observation begins with listening6
Why observations matter8
Observation methods10
Documentation17
Assessment18
Disrupting the myths22
Reflective questions22
2. Theories and perspectives23
The planning cycle informs our practice23
Theories and perspectives within the frameworks26
Reggio Emilia educational project30
Projects that emphasise the child's ideas31
Importance of philosophical values from play-based perspectives32
play-based perspectives32
Disrupting the myths32
Reflective questions32
3. Regulations and curriculum frameworks33
Regulatory requirements33
The Early Years Learning Framework33
Current policies in Australia34
Current policies in New Zealand35
Disrupting the myths36
Reflective questions36
4. The role of the educator37
Establishing relationships with children37
Being a reflective educator38
Everyday routines as rich learning opportunities for documenting40
Planning that supports holistic learning and development for documenting41
The role of the educational leader43
Disrupting the myths44
Reflective questions44
5. Collaborative partnerships45
Beyond participation to partnerships45
Engaging parents in conversation45
Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic46
A transforming approach to partnerships47
Consulting with children48
Agreement or rules?52
Collaborating as teams57
Collaborating with other professionals58
Disrupting the myths58
Reflective questions58
6. Planning outside the box59
Moving beyond templates59
Fixed displays or living displays?60
Disrupting the myths64
Reflective questions64
7. Communicating the learning65
Documenting with an audience in mind65
An environment for documenting with children65
Ethics and consent67
Communicating the learning to parents67
Snapshots of children's learning67
Professionalism and documentation68
Disrupting the myths70
Reflective questions70
8. Educators as activists and researchers71
Using an inquiry approach71
Educators as researchers74
Educators as activists75
Pedagogical documentation as a risky business76
Documenting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives76
Disrupting the myths76
Reflective questions76
9. Leading change77
Pedagogical leadership and documentation77
Effective communication78
Reflecting on common challenges78
Strategies for leading change with documentation79
Disrupting the myths80
Reflective questions80
Conclusion81
References and resources82
Appendix 1: The planning cycle informs practice86
Appendix 2: Learning story framework90
Appendix 3: Parent questionnaire91
Appendix 4: Parent feedback form92
Appendix 5: All about me template93
Appendix 6: Key words to document learning94
Appendix 7: Emotional intelligence96