Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 1 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Key Actions of Pedagogical
Documentation
1. OBSERVE AND LISTEN
2. DESCRIBE AND NAME THE LEARNING
3. INTERPRET AND ANALYZE WHAT WE
SAW AND HEARD
4. HYPOTHESIZE AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS
5. REFLECT AND RESPOND
6. SHARE THE DOCUMENTATION
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2
Facilitator Guide
Purpose and Scope
Module 2 builds on the learning from Module 1, which
introduced Pedagogical Documentation, a practice that
has been embedded in the world of childcare for many
years and is an integral part of the pedagogy of Early
Childhood Educators.
In Module 1, educators explored pedagogical
documentation, also referred to as pedagogical
narration, as a way for educators to inquire into the
relationship between the learner and the teacher. They
investigated how the practice of pedagogical
documentation is moving assessment beyond the
attainment of curriculum expectations or outcomes, to
a place where educators are using their classrooms as
centres of research, observing and studying their
learners in ways that transform their teaching practice.
As well, educators began examining their personal
beliefs and assumptions by reflecting upon their image
of the child. They were asked to consider looking at
learning through different lenses, always being aware
that their biases and beliefs influence the way that
they look at learning. The module also introduced the
idea of pedagogical documentation as a way for
educators to transform their practice and explored the
benefits of pedagogical documentation for students,
educators, and families. At the end of module,
educators were challenged to observe a student through the eyes of a teacher-
researcher, rather than the lens of assessment, and to record their reflections.
The purpose of Module 2 is to help educators develop an understanding of the process
of pedagogical documentation. At the beginning of the module, educators reflect on
previous learning by revisiting the terms used to describe the thinking and actions that
are at the heart of this practice, which were introduced in Module 1. In order to
support educators’ learning, facilitators should ensure that educators have an
understanding of the pedagogical content knowledge explored in Module 1 before
delving further into Module 2.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 2 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Throughout this resource, we value what educators are currently doing in their
practice. Module 2 provides a space for educators to reflect upon their own practice
and share their most current understanding of pedagogical documentation. Through
videos, questions, and prompts, educators will develop a common understanding of
the practice of pedagogical documentation.
At the end of the module, educators will be challenged to practice the actions of
pedagogical documentation. They will reflect on why the practice of pedagogical
documentation causes them to think differently and how their teaching practice might
change as they look at learning through multiple lenses.
Specific Goals
Educators will
● understand learning through multiple lenses
● practise observing, analyzing, interpreting, and responding with a different view
Role of Facilitator
Facilitators of the module take the stance of provocateur rather than expert. As
creators of this professional learning resource, we recognize that everyone involved in
teaching has expertise to share. We hope that the module will provide an opportunity
for all participants to share their expertise, respectfully question and challenge ideas,
use research (both academic and classroom) to support their discussions, and engage
in collective knowledge building.
We also hope that educators will test the theories presented, discuss the videos and
research presented, and share their thinking with their peers. Thus, we have designed
the module so that groups can decide how much time they want to spend on any
particular segment. Our intention is to provide a resource that is responsive to the
learning needs and interests of the learners. The seat, video, and activity times
suggested onscreen are a guide for individuals only. Groups are meant to stop and
discuss the content throughout the module. Facilitators should allow time for this,
responding to the group’s interests and interactions as well as any sticking points or
questions that emerge. Facilitators may wish to preview the module and the
Facilitator’s Road Map in this guide to get a sense of how much time might be needed
to work through the module at a comfortable pace that allows for deep discussion and
reflection.
Facilitators are observer-participants in the module. Ensuring that everyone has a
voice at the table requires the facilitator to participate with a non-dominant voice.
Careful listening and observation of the group dynamics will allow for thought-
provoking questions to emerge and stimulate reflection. The language at the table
should be that of inquiry and research:
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 3 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
● I am wondering …
● I’ve been thinking about …
● I’m not sure, but …
● I think I heard this … am I right?
● What are you thinking and wondering?
● Do we need to …?
● … might this be what we’re thinking?
eJournal
The eJournal is a modifiable Microsoft Word document of the module content, including
the quotes, questions, and activities presented onscreen. These notes allow educators
to concentrate on the content without having to take notes. They also provide space
for educators to work on the suggested activities, record their own thoughts and
reflections, and jot down ideas. Educators may customize the eJournal and add pages
to capture the group’s thinking, record points that emerge in discussion, and so on.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 4 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Module at a Glance
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2
Segment Focus Videos and Activities
Introduction
Module TOC:
Screens 2–5
Educators
• review pedagogical documentation
terms
• revisit and reflect on personal
learning goals
• consider guiding questions of the
module
eJournal
Pedagogical Documentation Terms,
Module 2 Guiding Questions and
Goals
Recommended Resources
Mind-Sets and Equitable Education by
Carol S. Dweck
Making Learning Visible by Dr. Carol
Anne Wien
The Power of Documentation in the
Early Childhood Classroom by
Hilary Seitz
The Relationship Between
Documentation and Assessment by
Carlina Rinaldi
The Teacher as Researcher by Carlina
Rinaldi
Your Image of the Child: Where
Teaching Begins by Loris Malaguzzi
Question 1:
How do you
“do”
pedagogical
documentation?
Module TOC:
Screens 6–20
Educators
• discuss their experience of observing
student(s)
• discuss and reflect on learning and
teaching from an inquiry stance
• analyze and discuss a quote about
the key actions of pedagogical
documentation
• explore the six actions of
pedagogical documentation
• practise the first four actions of
pedagogical documentation
eJournal
Between Modules Reflection, A View of
Learners, Teaching from an
Inquiry Stance, A Holistic
Perspective, Key Actions of
Pedagogical Documentation, The
How-to Aspects of the Process,
Pedagogical Documentation in
Action, Video-Viewing Activity:
The Process of Pedagogical
Documentation, Stages 1–6
Unpacking Quotes and Ideas
John Dewey on pedagogical
documentation
Article: Curiosity, Curriculum and
Collaboration Entwined:
Reflections on Pedagogical
Documentation by Pat Tarr
Video
Students in a Kindergarten Classroom
Recommended Resources
The Teacher as Researcher by Carlina
Rinaldi
The Nature of Teacher Research by
Barbara Henderson, Daniel R.
Meier, Gail Perry, and Andrew J.
Stremmel
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 5 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Question 2:
How might your
practice evolve,
and what might
it look like?
Module TOC:
Screens 21–25
Educators
• practise the last two actions of
pedagogical documentation
• consider how they might make
changes to their current practice
• revisit the quote about pedagogical
documentation
eJournal
How Can Looking at Learning Through
Multiple Lenses Benefit Our
Practice? Dewey’s Quote Revisited
Video
Studying Co-Constructed Negotiated
Learning: Spiral Story
Recommended Resources
Documentation: Both Mirror and Light
by Pam Oken-Wright
Between
Modules
Time: 3 weeks
Module TOC:
Screen 26
Educators
• observe an individual, or group of
students, to practice the six actions
of pedagogical documentation to
uncover student thinking and
learning
• share their documentation with a
partner
• consider the degree to which
pedagogical documentation may
inform their practice
• revisit and reflect on the articles and
videos presented in the module
• share and connect with other
participants to discuss new
questions, thinking, and wonderings
eJournal
Between Modules: Some Activities,
Check Your Understanding
Recommended Resources
Opening Minds: Using Language to
Change Lives by Peter H. Johnston
As you work through the online segments, use the Facilitator’s Road Map that follows
to pause and/or guide the suggested reflections, discussions, and activities.
The articles and videos listed as Recommended Resources are available online. Please
note that some articles require purchase. Instructions for finding these resources are
included in the Facilitator’s Road Map.
NOTE: The TOC in the online module indicates the time length for each screen. The
time for the Accessibility audio file is included in the total time of the last screen in the
module. There is also a running time count at the bottom at the TOC. The total time
includes the audio file.
If the online module freezes at any point, please select the TOC button, select a
different screen, and then select the one you were viewing. Or, close the module,
reopen it, open the TOC, and select the screen you were viewing.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 6 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Facilitator’s Road Map
Online Module
Segment 1
Introduction
Questions and Provocations
Pedagogical Documentation Terms (Screens 2–3)
• Educators have an opportunity to revisit and reflect on the
terminology of pedagogical documentation that was introduced in
Module 1. Allow time for participants to review their reflective
notes and share their thinking about the terms related to
pedagogical documentation with a partner or small group.
Provide the following frames to support educators to begin
talking about some of the shifts in their thinking:
- I used to think and now I am thinking …
- I am thinking this, but I have questions and wonderings
about …
• Create a three-column chart to capture educators’ shifts in
thinking (e.g., What we think we know, What we continue to
wonder about, What this might mean for our practice) and to
develop a shared understanding of the terms. Consider revisiting
this chart and adding to it, at the end of modules 2 and 3, to
capture new thinking.
Questions and Goals (Screens 4–5)
• As educators consider the guiding questions for the module
presented on the screen, ask:
- What other questions emerge from the two broad questions
presented on the screen?
- What additional learning goals might you—as an individual
educator—have?
- How might sharing individual questions and personal
learning goals with the group impact on the collaborative,
collective learning of the group?
Module TOC: Screens 2–5 eJournal
• Pause for participants to revisit
and/or reflect on personal
learning goals.
Facilitating Notes
• Establish a format that you can
use for all sessions of the
module (e.g., place, time,
procedure, goals).
• In the online module, clicking on
the TOC box at the bottom right
will open a Table of Contents
that you can use to navigate
among the screens.
• Ensure participants are familiar
with the Recommended
Resources of Module 1 listed in
Ongoing References below.
Ongoing References
• Mind-Sets and Equitable
Education by Carol S. Dweck, Principal Leadership, January
2010 (go to the National
Association of Secondary School
Principals website in the link and
search the article title)
• Making Learning Visible Through
Pedagogical Documentation by
Dr. Carol Anne Wien, from
Think, Feel, Act: Lessons from
Research about Young Children,
2013, Ontario Ministry of
Education.
• The Power of Documentation in
the Early Childhood Classroom
by Hilary Seitz (go to the
National Association for the
Education of Young Children
website in the link ⟶
Publications ⟶ Young Children
⟶ Search for Articles and
Authors ⟶ article title or author
name)
• The Relationship Between
Documentation and Assessment
by Carlina Rinaldi, Innovations in
Early Education: The
International Reggio Exchange,
11(1), Winter 2004, 1–4.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 7 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
Segment 2
Question 1: How do you “do”
pedagogical documentation?
Questions and Provocations
Between Modules Reflection (Screens 6–7)
• Have educators revisit the idea of observing students through the
lens of a teacher-researcher. Invite participants to share with a
partner their observations of students that they made between
modules by considering the onscreen questions.
• To set the context for the next conversation, have educators
reflect on how their image of the child influences the way they
“look at learning” and “listen to children.” Consider having them
revisit the article Your Image of the Child: Where Teaching
Begins by Loris Malaguzzi, which they read in Module 1.
Alternatively, have them turn to the eJournal to revisit the quote
A View of Learners from Module 1.
Learning and Teaching from an Inquiry Stance
(Screen 8)
• Use the onscreen graphic of questions to support the
conversation about observation, documentation, and the teacher
as researcher. Pose the following questions to deepen the
conversation as needed:
- Reflect on your role as teacher-researcher. Why did you
choose this student? What were you hoping to understand
about the student? About yourself?
- How many times did you observe the student? In what
contexts did you observe the student? What might you learn
by observing this student in different contexts, including
outdoors?
- What did you do to try and diminish the lens of “teacher-
assessor” while you observed the student? How did you
remain open to the unexpected?
- What did you learn about the student? What more do you
need to learn? What kinds of documentation will you collect
next in order to help you “know” the child better?
- How did your observations connect to the image of the child
as a competent, capable, and curious communicator?
- What are you wondering about your own practice as a result
of these observations?
• After partners share the experiences and thoughts they had while
observing students, invite participants to share some key ideas
with the larger group that emerged from their discussion.
• To further support and deepen the conversation around the
teacher as researcher, briefly revisit the Rinaldi article from
Module 1 (see Recommended Resources, right) by having
participants share one idea that resonated with them. You can
record their key learning or have them record it in their eJournal.
Module TOC: Screens 6–20 Facilitating Notes
• The classroom practice
questions are meant to be
reflective questions for individual
educators. To bring them into in
a whole group discussion,
facilitators must provide
“distance from experience” for
the educators.
eJournal
• Participants can revisit the quote
about how we view children from
Module 1. Have them turn to
A View of Learners in the
eJournal.
Option
• In Module 1, if participants
created a statement that
encapsulates an image of the
child that opens up learning
avenues and influences teaching
practice positively, you may
wish to revisit and post it.
Facilitating Notes
• In your role as facilitator,
ensure all participants have
an opportunity to share in
discussion.
Recommended Resources
• Your Image of the Child: Where
Teaching Begins by Loris
Malaguzzi, 1994, Child Care
Information Exchange, 96 (go to
the North American Reggio
Emilia Alliance website in the
link above ⟶ Resources ⟶ Free
Resources)
• The Teacher as Researcher by
Carlina Rinaldi, Innovations in
Early Education: The
International Reggio Exchange,
10(2), Spring 2003, 1–4.
• The Nature of Teacher Research
by Barbara Henderson, Daniel R.
Meier, Gail Perry, and Andrew J.
Stremmel, Voices of
Practitioners, 2012 (go to the
National Association for the
Education of Young Children
website in the link above ⟶
Publications ⟶ Voices of
Practitioners ⟶ What is Teacher
Research?)
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 8 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
• In order to dig more deeply into the role of teacher as
researcher, provide time for participants to read the article
The Nature of Teacher Research (see Recommended Resources,
previous page).
Before participants begin to read, convey that Steven Katz, a
researcher and professor at OISE who co-authored the book
Breaking Down Learning Barriers to Transform Professional
Practice, asks us to look at articles through a critical lens. Often
we look for statements that we agree with when we read within a
professional learning context. Invite participants to note
questions, wonderings, uncertainties, and statements they may
disagree with as well as points that they feel are important as
they read the article. This will help support the stance of teacher-
researcher.
• After reading the article, provide an opportunity for participants
to share some of their thoughts. Pose the following questions to
begin the discussion:
- What are we learning about our role as teacher as
researcher?
- What might this mean for us as we consider our traditional
role as teacher?
- What questions do we have?
- What challenges might we face?
• As participants share their thoughts, add any new thinking to the
chart or eJournal.
Article: Curiosity, Curriculum and Collaboration
Entwined (Screens 9–10)
• As participants read the article, have them highlight areas they
are wondering about or questioning as they connect the content
to their current practice. They may wish to record their questions
and insights for later reflection.
• Invite educators to share their questions and wonderings with a
partner or small group. Afterward, use the following questions to
initiate and focus a whole-group discussion:
- This article is written from an early childhood perspective.
How might some of these messages apply beyond the early
years?
- What tensions exist when educators begin to look at
learning beyond the assessment of curriculum expectations
or developmental milestones?
- How does our image of the learner as competent, curious,
and capable of complex thinking influence the lens we use to
view learning?
• Have educators reflect on their observation of students between
modules, which they shared earlier. Pose the following questions
for them to consider:
- What lenses might you use as you observe learning?
- What would be the benefit of revisiting documentation using
different lenses?
eJournal
• If you are working individually,
record your questions and
wonderings about the article in
your eJournal for future
reflection.
Facilitating Notes
• This article is written from an
early childhood perspective. As
facilitators, we can help
educators connect the messages
of this article to their own
practice by having them think
about the questions in terms of
their own students and
classrooms. The messages in
this article are applicable for all
classrooms.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 9 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
- What might you notice if you viewed the documentation
through the lens of the learner? The environment? Cultural
background and language? Power dynamics and
relationships?
- How might looking at learning through multiple lenses
change the way you think about a learner? Your teaching?
• Share or elicit that pedagogical documentation is a process that
we engage in with others. We may begin the observation on our
own. We may describe and name the learning on our own.
However, because we bring our own bias and point of view to the
observation, our multiple lenses are provided by others, who are
also interested in knowing more about the complexities of
learning and teaching. Ask:
- What would happen to our description of the observation if
we shared it with the children? What might they notice that
we missed? Would the children begin to see themselves as
researchers as they look at the theories and actions of their
peers?
- What would change for us if other educators, who have their
own perspectives on learning, tell us what they see, hear, or
notice? How would our interpretation of the learning change
with multiple perspectives? How would sharing this
documentation with educators impact on the collective
knowledge of the group?
- What insights would we gain by sharing this documentation
with parents and families? How might they perceive their
child in our documentation?
Quote: John Dewey on Pedagogical Documentation
(Screen 11)
• Facilitators may find it helpful to provide the following
background information about John Dewey as context:
- John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist,
and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential
in education and social reform. Although he died in 1952,
his thinking continues to influence pedagogy today. This
quote onscreen speaks to the fact that the pedagogy
underpinning the practice of pedagogical documentation is
not “new” or even “innovative.”
• Use the following questions to guide a discussion:
- How does this quote reflect current assessment practices?
Assessment for learning?
- Why is it important to analyze documentation in the
context of children’s theories, understandings, and
misunderstandings? How is this different from assessing
learning in the context of achievement of curriculum
expectations or outcomes?
- What does “formulate hypotheses, predictions and
projections” mean? How might this action change what
educators consider for next steps in learning? How does this
support our role as teacher researchers?
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 10 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
- How do we capture “current thinking” in our documentation?
What might this mean for our documentation practices?
Six Actions of Pedagogical Documentation (Screens
12–13)
• As educators pause to consider the onscreen graphic of the six
actions of pedagogical documentation, convey the following:
- Although these actions are presented in a linear format and
we have referred to them as stages, the process itself is
very iterative. As a teacher-researcher using pedagogical
documentation as a practice to uncover new learning about
students and your own practice, you may find that you are
constantly moving backwards and forwards through these
actions for any number of reasons. As you move through
each action, you may decide to “go back,” because the
documentation is not providing you with any insight into the
learning and teaching process.
• After pairs discuss the graphic, consider using the following
background information, questions, and provocations to lead a
whole-group discussion about the actions of pedagogical
documentation:
1. Observe and Listen
- We always begin our observations with an intended purpose
or a focus. It could be simply trying to understand more
about how to build a relationship with a particular child or
how a child experiments and develops theories within an
area of mathematics or language. As teacher-researchers,
we can never be sure that what we have chosen to observe
may be the “right” moment or even the “right” amount of
time. We can predict and hypothesize the time of day, the
learning opportunity, and the interaction that may give us a
window into the learning. But sometimes we learn
something completely unexpected and surprisingly different
from what we might have intended to learn. We can learn
something from every observation of children, if we are
open to learning more about the whole child.
- Why might it be important to observe learners many times
and in multiple contexts during the flow of the day?
- How might this practice help us better understand a child’s
understandings, misconceptions, and theories?
- In pedagogical documentation, why is it important to
observe learning in the context of the classroom
environment (both indoors and outdoors), rather than a
“clinical setting” that isolates the child from the
environment?
- How might our interaction with a child during an observation
opportunity influence the learning process and change what
we see and hear?
- What might we learn from recording our questions, prompts,
and provocations as part of the observed learning?
- Why might it be important to vary the tools we use for
observation?
Facilitating Notes
• In order for participants to
develop an understanding of the
thinking behind each of the
actions of pedagogical
documentation, provide
adequate time for them to
consider the background
knowledge and questions around
the actions provided in this
guide before they engage in the
process. Facilitators may wish to
capture the thinking as
participants consider this
information and share ideas
and wonderings.
Facilitating Notes
• As participants consider these
questions, have them reflect
upon the questions in light of
their own experience of
observing and listening to a
student or students in their
classroom between modules.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 11 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
2. Describe and Name the Learning
- Describing the learning is a challenge for many of us. We
must be very careful to describe only what we see, hear, or
notice in the documentation. We may use words like “the
child is listening attentively,” but indeed if we are describing
what we saw and heard, we have no way of knowing
whether the child was listening at all. We might assume that
the child is listening, but our task in this work is to describe
only what we know.
- What are some of the assumptions and judgments that
educators might make as they view a video? Look at a
series of photographs? View a student’s drawing or writing?
Listen to a recording of a child?
- How does describing the learning support our observation
skills?
- Why might it be important to share documentation and
descriptions of learning with colleagues?
- How might listening to others’ descriptions of learning
impact on our practice? Support looking at learning from
multiple lenses?
3. Interpret and Analyze What We Saw and Heard
- After we have described the learning, we can begin to look
for the meaning behind the documentation. We can only
analyze what we see and hear and make interpretations
based on the documentation that we have captured. We can
begin to pose theories about what we think might be
happening, what the child might be learning or thinking, the
possible reasons behind the actions, and so on. This is
where looking at learning through multiple lenses becomes
pivotal. If we only look at documentation through an
assessment lens, will we be able to uncover the why of
the learning?
- Why is it important to link your interpretations directly to
the documentation?
- Why is it important to pose multiple theories or wonderings
about the learning?
- Why might it be important to share your analysis and
interpretations with colleagues?
4. Hypothesize and Draw Conclusions
- Each step in this process is valuable. After analyzing and
interpreting the documentation using multiple lenses, you
are ready to draw some conclusions from the observations.
- What is it that the documentation is telling you?
- How do you want to use this documentation?
- What further questions do you have?
- Do you need to have more documentation to support your
theories and interpretations?
- Does this documentation provide you with insight into the
child? Into your practice?
- Does it provide you with opportunities to respond, adjust,
and change what you were previously thinking?
Facilitating Notes
• Some frames that might
support educators in linking
interpretations are:
- When I saw this … I began to
think …
- When the child did this … I
wondered …
- When I heard this … this
question came to mind …
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 12 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
- Who is this documentation for?
- Who might you share this documentation with?
- Does this documentation capture the image of the child as
capable and competent?
- Should you keep this documentation?
5. Reflect and Respond
- Good documentation should provide you with multiple
possibilities and opportunities to respond to a child’s
thinking and learning. As you reflect on the documentation,
you will find yourself making pedagogical decisions that may
impact on the observed child, but also on other children in
the group. Some of your pedagogical decisions may happen
almost immediately (e.g., perhaps, if I provide many
choices of writing tools, I may see a change in the way the
child approaches writing). Others you may think about over
time (e.g., I noticed that the questions I’m asking are not
allowing the child to pose an opinion or a theory. I have to
pay attention to my questioning).
- How do I reflect on my documentation?
- How do I remain open to many possibilities for responding?
- Am I thinking differently about how I might respond because
of this documentation?
- What more have I learned about this child?
- What have I learned about my teaching? My values? My
assumptions?
- How will I use this documentation? What will I do with it?
- How will I capture my reflections and possibilities for
responding?
- How might my response change if I share my
documentation with my student? My colleagues? A parent?
- Collaboration with colleagues is integral to the actions of
reflection and responding to documentation. It is through
listening to other points of view and interpretations of
learning that we begin to move beyond how we might
ordinarily respond to learning to testing out new
possibilities. Reflecting upon documentation with a group
builds the collective knowledge of everyone.
6. Share the Documentation
- Sharing documentation is key to helping us think differently.
By discussing the documentation with others, we are able to
see other points of view, we are able to look at learning
through different perspectives.
- Who might you share this documentation with?
- Why might you share documentation with a child? With a
group of children? With the class? How would documentation
support students as partners in their learning?
- How might sharing documentation support students as
researchers into their own learning?
- What might happen if children documented their own
learning? What might this look like? Who might they share
this with? What questions and theories might they have?
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 13 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
- What would be the benefits of sharing documentation with
colleagues?
- Why would you share documentation with parents? What
might this look like?
- Documentation is meant to do more than inform. How would
you welcome the interpretations and responses that parents
may have on the learning?
Video: Students in a Kindergarten Classroom (Screens
14–20)
• Watch the video. Afterward, provide ample time for pairs or small
groups of participants to work through the onscreen video-
viewing activity that focuses on the actions of pedagogical
documentation. Use the notes below to facilitate each part of the
activity. Depending on the needs of the group, you may wish to
spend more time debriefing certain actions.
1. Observe and Listen
• Once participants are comfortable with the video’s context and
flow, they can begin to record their observations. Convey that
when first beginning to observe children involved in group work,
it may be easier to start your observations by watching the
actions and interactions of one student. This will make describing
and naming the learning more focused.
2. Describe and Name the Learning
• Prior to sharing their descriptions of learning, have participants
remove any assumptions or evaluative language. Reinforce that
their descriptions should be “pure description.” Ask participants
to “check” each other’s descriptions to make sure they are
descriptions of what we see and hear, not what we think or
assume. We can only come to understand what children might be
thinking by what they say, do, or represent.
• Have participants work in groups to share their descriptions.
Invite each group member to share one thing they saw or heard
and then have each subsequent group member share another
single thing, until everything they saw and heard has been
shared. This process builds relationships and focuses the
conversation on the student, avoiding the possibility of having
educators feel uncomfortable because they may have missed
something.
• Descriptions can begin with something as simple as “I saw a girl
with a striped dress…” or as complex as “I saw the girl in the
striped dress place a blue translucent paper over her eyes and
look inside the overhead projector, where the fan is located, and
then look at her friend through the paper, and then place the
paper over her friend’s eyes.”
3. Interpret and Analyze What We Saw and Heard
• Use the onscreen prompts to unpack the various perspectives
and lenses that educators use as they interpret what they saw
and heard.
Facilitating Notes
• The video shows three
Kindergarten children engaged
in play and inquiry at an
overhead projector, learning in a
context where they are not
“sharing ideas orally” with one
another. As teacher-researchers
we need to “puzzle through” this
learning encounter to try and
understand what the children
are learning and thinking.
• As the onscreen facilitator notes,
multiple viewings of the video
may be necessary. This is true
of all video documentation.
When sharing video
documentation, share a brief
context for the documentation
and then show the video to give
viewers a sense of the flow.
• For this work, you may choose
to replace this video with a video
that represents the learners with
whom you are working. The
video should depict students in
the context of active learning.
eJournal
• Educators can use the eJournal,
Video-Viewing Activity: The
Process of Pedagogical
Documentation, Stages 1 to
6, to record their observations,
thoughts, wonderings, and
questions as they practice the
actions of pedagogical
documentation.
Facilitating Notes
• Parts 5 and 6 of the video-
viewing activity correspond to
Question 2 of the online module,
How might your practice evolve,
and what might it look like?
which begins in the next
segment of the module. You
may wish to have participants
take a break before working on
these parts of the activity.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 14 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
4. Hypothesize and Draw Conclusions
• Use the onscreen prompts to facilitate the conversation around
this action of pedagogical documentation. In addition, ask:
- What are we thinking about as a result of this
documentation? Why?
- How might we respond to this documentation?
- What are we continuing to wonder about?
- What kind of documentation might we need to consider
next as a result of our interpretations? In what contexts?
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 15 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
Segment 3
Question 2: How might your
practice evolve, and what might it
look like?
Questions and Provocations
Video: Students in a Kindergarten Classroom (Screens
21–22)
5. Reflect and Respond
• Convey that after drawing some conclusions about the student
learning that is documented, we can begin to think about how we
might respond to the documentation. Good documentation will
cause us to think about implications for our teaching practice as
well as possibilities for growth in student learning. As we try to
view the documentation beyond the lens of assessment and
curriculum, the possibilities for responding become much greater.
• It is important to record these possibilities for all participants to
see. Then each educator will walk away with different possibilities
and reflections from the video in addition to those based on their
own classroom experience. Use the following prompts to initiate a
discussion and generate a list of the possibilities:
- What are the various possibilities that emerge for student
learning? For teaching practice? How has viewing this video
together helped us see the multiple ways to respond to
learning?
- What might you try first after this discussion? Why?
- How will you know your response is making a difference?
What kind of evidence will you collect? What context?
6. Share the Documentation
• Use the onscreen prompts to facilitate this part of the activity.
The online facilitator suggests that educators record their major
takeaways from this process. Have group members talk about
what this process meant to them and record their thoughts. Ask:
- What did you learn from this process?
- What are you wondering about?
- What happened as a result of sharing this process with
colleagues?
- What might happen if this video was shared with parents?
- How might you support one another to continue this work?
• Convey that it is important to record these takeaways for all of us
to reflect on and respond to. The process of pedagogical
documentation may be new to many of us, and it is important to
recognize that we learn as we go and we begin with what we can
manage. Encourage educators to revisit these reflections as they
become more familiar with the practice of pedagogical
documentation.
Module TOC: Screens 21–25 Recommended Resources
• Documentation: Both Mirror and
Light by Pam Oken-Wright,
Innovations in Early Education:
The International Reggio
Exchange, 8(4), 2001, 5–15.
Facilitating Notes
• As educators went through the
process of examining
documentation together, they
supported each other’s thinking.
Multiple views and perspectives
were brought into the discussion
through each phase of the
documentation process. Having
colleagues puzzle through this
video documentation together
allowed for each educator to
look at learning in a different
way and to deepen their
understanding of the relationship
between learning and teaching.
As the online prompt suggests,
we would like educators to think
about what the sharing of
documentation meant to them.
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 16 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
Video: Studying Co-Constructed Negotiated Learning:
Spiral Story (Screens 23–24)
• Have educators view this video twice. On the second viewing,
invite educators to record the points that resonated with them
and then discuss these points with a partner or small group. Pose
the following questions to take the conversation deeper as
needed:
- How does pedagogical documentation support the
pedagogy of play and inquiry?
- How does pedagogical documentation build collective
ownership of the learning?
- How does pedagogical documentation support the “study of
learning” and teachers as researchers?
- How does reflection on documentation support responsive
teaching practices?
- Why might educators choose to collect a series of
photographs, rather than a single photograph?
- How can the practice of pedagogical documentation
provide an opportunity for children to study their own
learning?
- Why might educators and children choose to revisit
documentation repeatedly over time?
- How does documentation support relationships between
students? Between students and teachers? Between
parents and teachers? Between parent and child?
Return to Dewey Quote (Screen 25)
• As educators reflect on the onscreen quote, say:
- We shared this quote at the beginning of the module. After
going through the actions of pedagogical documentation
and reflecting on how pedagogical documentation is
integral to our work as teacher-researchers, let’s take
some time to reflect upon how our interpretation of the
meaning of this quote might have deepened.
- How does pedagogical documentation support the teaching
pedagogy proposed by John Dewey?
Pedagogical Documentation: Module 2 Facilitator Guide Page 17 of 17 Copyright © 2015 Pearson Canada Inc.
Online Module
Segment 4
Between Modules
Questions and Provocations
Activities (Screen 26)
• As educators consider the activities onscreen, you may wish to
summarize, elicit, or list the following as best practices of
observation for pedagogical documentation:
- Observe without judgement.
- Record only what the child is saying and doing.
- In group work, you may choose to focus on one child only.
• As educators begin observing their chosen student or group, have
them share description notes with a partner or small group.
Colleagues can consider:
- Have you removed any assumptions, judgements,
interpretations? Is this pure description?
- As you work through the actions of pedagogical
documentation and share your analysis, interpretations, and
responses to the learning with your partner or group, how do
their analysis, interpretation, and reflections impact on your
thinking about the student and your practice?
• Encourage educators to revisit the videos and research articles
presented in this module, and to connect and share their thoughts
with each other before beginning work on the next module.
• Between modules, educators may wish to record new questions,
thinking, and wonderings in a journal to critically reflect on the
process of pedagogical documentation.
• Between modules, facilitators are encouraged to check in with
participants to determine any areas that may be benefit from
further exploration and/or discussion before beginning the next
module.
Module TOC: Screen 26 Approximate Time:
3 weeks
Option
• Interested educators may want
to conduct a book study of
Opening Minds: Using
Language to Change Lives by
Peter H. Johnston, 2012,
Stenhouse Publishers.
eJournal
• Participants may wish to
complete Check Your
Understanding as a self-check
of the module’s content.