A parent looks closely at something on the wall in the corridor opposite her child’s room, located near my desk. She stops and looks across the entire wall, as if trying to determine where to start. She moves to the left a little and scans the pictures, maybe trying to find her child's work. At one point she nods as if in agreement and says, "She always talks about Zoom at home, she thinks its to do with space." Another parent approaches and turns to see what is on the wall. They too, are mesmerised by the documentation of what a group of children thought about the new online platform, 'Zoom'.
Documentation provides an extraordinary opportunity for parents, as it gives them the possibility to know not only what their child is doing, but also how and why, to see not only the products but also the processes. Therefore, parents become aware of the meaning that the child gives to what they do, and the shared meanings that children have with other children. It is an opportunity for parents to see that part of the life of their child that is often invisible or hidden in a portfolio.
By providing a visual representation of children’s learning in all areas of the child’s development through photographs, transcripts of conversations and displaying artefacts of their work, we can visibly see the learning process. In early years education, pedagogical documentation refers to ‘making thinking and learning visible’ using text, transcripts of children’s words, ideas, thoughts, photos of the process, and traces of children’s work. When defining documentation, we must think of it as a process, an action, a verb, a systematic act of collecting, interpreting and reflecting on stories of learning.
These beliefs provide a pedagogical basis for making learning purposeful, social, representational, empowering and emotional. I often consider how it relates to the voices of children, and the idea of power relations; so, it is important to hear multiple voices in order to prevent discrimination, but how is it possible to document all voices?
Floorbooks and learning panels record children's voices and ideas, which are then used in the planning process. This child centred approach, records the evidence of the process of play and the learning that comes from it. Group writing in a Floorbook allows shared thinking as children recall each others ideas, then record them through writing, diagrams and photographs. Learning panels are much the same, however displayed as a summary of learning, while also strengthening pedagogical practice. In the words of Professor Dahlberg, documentation such as these are "a vital tool for the creation of a reflective and democratic pedagogical practice.”
There has been huge debate about the time available for the completion of documentation versus time spent with children. This often divides the sector as some view that you must either choose to document learning or spend time with children, however I want to put the notion forward that there should not be winners or losers in the documentation process. Documentation can be done in collaboration with children, families and colleagues, and should be done without time constraints, because attention without feeling is just reporting. If expectations are overshadowing meaningful documentation, then we need to feel empowered to speak up, as advocates for ourselves as professionals and for children who deserve to see powerful visualisations of their learning.
Documentation is not a simple process. Yet it has the power to sustain and inspire us to support the growth of everyone who is involved with it, the children who begin the process, their families who share in the work, and the teachers who work so hard and think so deeply in order to make it all happen.