Whats the secret? Why are some educators good at documentation?
- 2. What's the secret? Why are some educators good at documentation? McAllister Nadine and Ireland Carrolyn
- 3. What do you think the secret is?
- 4. What we know… • Pedagogical documentation is an essential component of an educator’s work • There is a huge differentiation in the quality of documentation produced by educators • There are certain skills, attributes and/or dispositions that enable educators to create strong documentation
- 5. Documentation is a tool to help educators understand the work they do and catch sight of the potential of every child
- 6. What we did……Methodology 1. Literature review and development of criteria 2. Interview of educators and analysis 4. Educator self-assessment of samples of documentation 5. External assessment of documentation 6. Analysis of data 7. Recommendations
- 7. Literature review National and international, research articles and recent Elements of internal research
- 8. Transformative • “How will you be different?” • “What will you do differently?”
- 10. Collaboration
- 11. Additional Influences • Critical reflection • Analysis of Learning • Visibility of pedagogical practices
- 13. Sample group • Ten educators • Cross section of educators from C&K Kindergartens and Long Day Care Centres • Variety of educator experiences
- 14. Interviews • How are you currently using the journal, when, what do you record? • How did you get to be competent at using the journal? • What skills or attributes do you have that helped you use the journal? • How does your professional experiences impact on your use of the journal? • What has helped you in using the journal?
- 15. What came through from the interviews? • Image of the child • Regulatory frameworks • Intentionality • Educator as a collaborator • Documentation as a tool for teaching • Dispositions….intellectual curiosity, flexibility, perseverance
- 16. Image of Children The children are able to share the journal with their families and they do spend a lot of time looking at the journal and the things that have occurred and that are documented in the journal, the children can go back and reflect as well and have a look at what occurred months prior I just think the journal is very open and very visible its very reflective as well you have a lot of your ideas and reflective practices there, children's voices are heard in it their reflection is included and families ideas are there as well.
- 17. It shows children that their ideas are truly valued and we both listen to and act upon their ideas. We are able to capture their voice and also their drawings throughout the day. We also add photos which we can then reflect upon with the children as part of the planning cycle
- 18. Intentionality As I have gone on throughout the year, rather than use it as a day book and try and detail everything that has gone on, I have tried to focus on the main idea, the main thread that seems to be woven throughout their play not all the children will be participating through that so I just found what is meaningful. Focussing it in this way, like zooming up on it is a lot less over whelming and more meaningful for the children and the educators
- 19. Documentation as a tool for teaching
- 20. Educator as Collaborator Collaboration is the key and everyone can learn from everyone. The key is making sure everyone’s voices are being heard, everyone is saying things from different perspectives based on their own different experiences.
- 21. Dispositions Curiosity, wanting to experiment explore and try new ways of understanding. I want to keep on learning and seeing what other people are doing to get inspiration.
- 23. Other interesting findings • Time management • The design of a document that allowed the educator to think • Regulatory Frameworks
- 25. What we found •Image of child as active citizen • Image of educator as collaborator
- 27. Summary Philosophical ideology influences ability to create strong documentation rather than technical skills
- 28. Considerations… • Intention and openness to be a collaborator – your openness to multiple perspectives • How do you develop a commitment to children’s rights • How do you change educators world views of children and should you?
- 29. Thanks Thank you to all the educators and children who supported and took part in this research project.
Editor's Notes
- #5: The Collaborative Teaching and Learning Journal Research Project’s main aim is to determine the attributes, skills and dispositions that enable educators to engage in documenting children’s learning. A better understanding of which attributes, skills and dispositions assist educators in quality documentation, and in what combination, will lead to improved professional development education and reflection by educators regarding practice improvement. The research findings will also be showcased at early childhood conferences, as the topic is of significant interest to educators Better develop educators pedagogical practices in documenting children's learning and improving their teaching practice.
- #7: A literature review and development of definition of the qualities of ‘strong’ documentation. Interview of educators who are currently using C&Ks Collaborative Teaching and Learning Journal Collection of five (5) samples of documentation per educator Educator self-assessment of samples of documentation against provided criteria External assessment of de-identified samples of documentation Comparison of analysis of interview with assessment of documentation
- #8: Documentation as transformative – it forces some change Captures and captures metacognitive practices for children and educators Collaboration is evident within education Critical reflection Analysis of learning Visibility of pedagogical practices
- #9: They are acts with power and consequence – the force people to do things (Ferraris 2013) Asks
- #10: Higher-order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one’s cognitive processes, especially when engaged in learning Children and educators can reflect on own learning and thinking processes Making children's thinking and learning visible
- #11: Plurality of stakeholders – multiple voices and view points Principles of transparency Communicative action (as opposed to a strategic action) – democratising creates a shared understanding of teaching and learning
- #14: Some very experienced some Provisionally registered teachers some who have joined form the school system
- #16: Image of the child as an active citizen Awareness of and embraces regulatory frameworks Discusses intentionality as important in documenting Discusses positive ways of working …time management/flexibility/agility/momentum forward and back Image of educator as a collaborator Displays or discusses importance of growth mindset Views documentation as a tool for teaching Dispositions….intellectual curiosity, flexibility, perseverance
- #26: Those who rated not as strong in their documentation practices discussions in their interviews did not discuss the importance of these elements in their work
- #27: The dispositions discussed Perserance Persistance Flexibility Life long learner Give it a go Trial and error Open and confident