Terms such as 'assessment', 'observation', 'evaluation', 'teaching' and 'learning' are so embedded in early years 'speak' that we take them for granted. Yet they are words that are interpreted and understood by early years practitioners in many ways. The same is true of 'documentation'. So establishing a clear meaning of this word and its place in early years practice is central to this guide.
At its heart, 'documentation' is about the strong reciprocal relationship between teaching and learning. The aim of documentation is to understand children better so that we become more effective at teaching, which in turn leads to children learning more effectively.
A look at how children learn, and good practice in supporting and enabling that learning, will help us to understand why we need to document.
An early years centre should be a place for finding out, for communicating, for children and adults learning together, with an emphasis on the children's interests and learning before educators begin to teach. The child must be at the centre of the learning process.
It should be a place in which the adults have an insight into and respond to children's play, thoughts and passions and give serious consideration and respect to their ideas, reasoning and efforts.
Within this environment, educators need to establish:
* what children are learning
* how children are learning
* how adults can help children to find meaning in what they do and experience and so make sense of their world.
Documentation has a vital role to play in achieving this.
What we have to document is the 'search for meaning' that children are continually pursuing, individually, together and with adults.
The first step of the process is to listen to children. Listening to children gives us an insight into their actions, interactions, thoughts and what's behind their investigations. It helps us to understand better how children develop relationships and gain knowledge - in other words, how they learn.
But listening is subjective. Only by making it visible, through notes, observations, photographs, video and audio recordings, and sharing it with others - colleagues, the children themselves and their parents - can we support the learning as it is happening. Documentation becomes an objective and indispensable means by which to:
* interpret our personal perspectives of what children are doing, thinking, saying and learning
* track children's interactions, their collaborative thinking patterns and, therefore, their learning processes
* support and develop their learning.
So, documentation can be described as 'visible listening' and, because the processes become 'visible', we can begin to understand learning more clearly. Documentation is, therefore, a means of communication.
REGGIO EMILIA
This relatively new concept of documentation in the context of early childhood education is rooted in the philosophy and pedagogy of the Reggio Emilia pre-schools in northern Italy. Documentation is a key feature underpinning the learning and teaching in the Reggio pre-schools. For us, this is a new way of thinking.
There is a fine but significant difference between the traditional concept of documentation as a collection of documents used to demonstrate facts, and the concept of documentation as we now understand it in relation to young children's learning, especially with reference to Reggio Emilia.
Carla Rinaldi, in Making Learning Visible, notes, 'In Reggio Emilia, we place the emphasis on documentation as an integral part of the procedures aimed at fostering learning and for modifying the learning-teaching relationships.'
One misconception often held by practitioners in the UK is that documentation is simply a record of a child's progress, so that it can be given a score or a mark in the child's profile.
In this country, our focus has traditionally been on outcomes, achievements and the measurement of improvement over time. The Reggio focus is on the effects of teaching, learning, playing, thinking and making meanings.
Our emphasis has tended to be on individual children in our documenting and reporting on progress. The Reggio focus is more on the child within a group and ways in which individuals move, interact, contribute and learn in a collaborative way.
It is an approach that brings huge benefits to practitioners, the children themselves and their parents.
EARLY YEARS EDUCATORS
As early years educators, documentation gives us the opportunity to:
* re-listen
* re-see
* re-visit
* re-interpret the events and processes we witnessed or were deeply involved with, directly or indirectly, and to do this individually or with others.
By documenting and then sharing that documentation, we develop a more accurate understanding of children's learning:
* how they play together, relate to each other, communicate
* what they already can do, know and understand
* what they think and feel about things - their opinions, ideas, attitudes
* what they are interested in and passionate about
* their preferred and most successful ways of learning
* a better understanding of their thinking and learning
* what they can almost do - identifying the next steps.
As we document - that is, as we observe and then interpret - we automatically, if not consciously, make an assessment, which is an intrinsic part of documentation. As practitioners reflect on the children's learning processes, as colleagues share and compare ideas and decide 'what to do', the process of assessment is carried out. As they decide what to 'value', what is significant about children's work, activities or interactions, they are evaluating. Documentation also allows us to see the past (what happened) and look to the future (what else may happen if...).
In this light, documentation is an integral part of educational planning and organisation - an indispensable tool for listening, observing, assessing and evaluating.
Documentation helps us evaluate and review the curriculum we offer and, therefore, plan the most appropriate way forward in:
* the organisation of time and space
* the resources
* the environment
* the adult roles
* the continuous provision.
CHILDREN
For the children, documentation gives them an opportunity to:
* reflect
* discuss
* remember
* self-assess
* reflect socially
* plan.
Documentation helps children to develop their understanding of themselves, of others and of the world they live in. It helps them make sense of what they do, what they experience - the why, how and what of their play. Being able to revisit events, interactions and happenings through whatever means, enables children to reflect, talk about and begin to understand better and make connections in their learning.
They can talk about how they felt, why they acted in a particular way, what they were trying to do, and what they want to do next.
This demonstrates to children the value of their contributions. They can feel a sense of pride, achievement, admiration for their own or their friends' activities, so heightening self-esteem and confidence. Sometimes children can respond quite emotionally as they reflect on their own or others' activities, so that it becomes an almost spiritual experience.
PARENTS
For parents and carers, documentation offers them an opportunity to know more about what, how and why their own child and other children do what they do, both in the setting and at home.
It is often hard for parents to grasp how their children learn by 'just playing', especially when it involves lots of mess! It is far easier for them to look at an end product - a painting, model or worksheet - and believe that their children have made progress.
Helping parents to understand the learning process is part of our professional responsibility, and documentation is the indispensable tool that we can use to support parents' understanding.
In Reggio Emilia pre-schools, high-quality displays of documentation make an immediate impact in the entrance areas and throughout the schools.
The children's learning, the energy of their learning experiences, and their learning processes are visible and tangible for children, parents, carers and the whole community to see and understand.
The open sharing of the work of the school promotes interest and involvement in the children's learning and encourages a respect and pride not only in the school, but also in early childhood education generally.
It is equally important for educators to make links with the children's other world of home, and to appreciate the wealth of experiences, relationships and competences from home that contribute to the whole child and the way he functions in his school or setting.
Documentation in the form of photographs, video and parents' thoughts about their children, whether verbal or written, offers a firm basis upon which to develop mutual respect and understanding of a child's learning.
MOVING ON
Documentation that not only gives evidence and a record of a child's achievement, but also offers an insight into their ways of thinking, of problem solving, of negotiating and collaborating with other children, is immensely valuable to the teacher when the child moves on.
All forms of documentation - but especially quality observations - form the basis of the assessments, both formative and summative, of the Foundation Stage Profile. In fact, the introduction of the Foundation Stage Profile is a recognition of the valuable contribution of observation in early years education.
COMMITMENT
Documenting, which is central to the pedagogy of the Reggio Emilia pre-schools, involves:
* tremendous commitment
* rigour - lots of energy, thinking, talking together and time spent observing, interpreting, recording and planning
* a shift in emphasis from didactic teaching to a focus on the processes of children's deep-level learning
* continual evaluation of planning through documentation, which is fundamental to children's progress
* time spent reflecting on children's learning and identifying the 'what next' for a child or group of children, involves great commitment. But together, with colleagues for mutual strength, and done with joy and enthusiasm, it is not only achievable, it is exciting and irresistible.
Every day can be a surprise - if you let it!
Further reading
* Listening to Four Year Olds by Jacqui Cousins (National Children's Bureau)
* Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories by Margaret Carr (Paul Chapman Publishing)
* Making Learning Visible by Project Zero and Reggio Children (Reggio Children, 2001)
* Experiencing Reggio Emilia: Implications for Pre-School Provisions by Lesley Abbott and Cathy Nutbrown (Open University Press, 2001)
* Reflections on the Reggio Emilia Approach by LG Katz and B Cesarone (Consortium Books, 1994)
* Threads of Thinking by Cathy Nutbrown (Paul Chapman Publishing, 1996)
* The Unheard Voice of Children - series of six books by Reggio Children (Reggio Children, 1999)
* Planning for Early Learning by Vicky Hurst (Paul Chapman Publishing,1991)
