Developing a documentation approach
The Reggio Emilia approach and documentation
'Documenting is much more than showing and displaying children’s work on the wall. It must create a greater understanding of children’s learning and of the experiences of all involved.'
The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Years Education, Learning and Teaching Scotland
Documentation in Reggio Emilia focuses intensively on recording children’s experiences, memories, thoughts and ideas in the course of their work in a variety of ways. Documentation typically includes samples of children’s work at different stages; photographs showing work in progress; comments by adults working with the children; transcriptions of children’s discussions.
From these, staff become increasingly aware of the participation, interests and development of each child. This awareness enables staff to plan with the children on a daily basis to create learning experiences in which children will engage with enthusiasm. It also gives them deeper insight and understanding into how and what children are learning and how to progress their interests and develop their skills.
Find out more about the Reggio Emilia Approach and the documentation of children's learning.
Documentation at Stirling Council nurseries
A pilot study to develop the use of documentation was set up by Stirling Council Children's Services in April 2000. Children's Services wanted to promote children's learning in a way that respected their thoughts and valued their work. They wanted children to be confident about their learning and they wanted to explore further how they could have children more central to their learning.
The challenge for Stirling Council nurseries was to take the conceptual framework of documentation and develop their own ways of using documentation relevant to our own cultural settings.
The study was supported by a research consultant with knowledge of the Reggio Emilia approach.
Key aims included:
- developing different types of documentation to enable educators, children and parents to see children's learning, namely learning stories, dialogue displays, models, planning books/charts, personal books, mind-mapping charts, displays
- exploring the use of multimedia tools to make learning visible, namely digital cameras, camcorders, dictaphones, tape recorders
- supporting staff through staff development courses and through group meetings to help them develop a framework for documentation relevant to their own setting
- developing methods for planning the curriculum that included planning and consulting with children, parents and staff
- encouraging staff to look deeply at their practice and question and review their own philosophy in the light of their knowledge gained through studying and exploring the Reggio Emilia experience
- continuing to explore and develop our use of documentation and to analyse the documentation more deeply
- seeing how this documentation can link with children going into Primary 1
- trying to devise ways of documenting that could link between nursery and home.
