1. The process of documentation is carried out throughout a project or experience. The teacher collects artifacts (art work, creations, writing, and so forth), video recordings, audio recordings, photographs, and observational notes. Ideally, the children are involved in this process. For instance, in classrooms where tablets or cameras are available to the children, the children might document creations and processes they feel are significant and this documentation, alongside the teacher’s own collection, produces rich and varied perspectives on learning in that classroom.

If you are currently spending time in a classroom as part of your coursework, see if you have consent to engage in documentation. You might document a single experience over the course of an hour or two or a project taking place over an extended period of time. Once you have finished documenting, review all the data. Try and identify the meanings

If you are not currently spending time in the classroom, you might practice documenting your own learning and then producing some form of panel or representation of this learning. Begin a general research question to guide your inquiry.

2. Complete an online search for “documentation panels”. Review some of the different possibilities for presentation of documentation and reflect on the possibilities. Are there certain styles that you feel would work better with your own style? For sharing with children and families? Are there digital tools that might support the creation of electronic documentation panels? What are some of the challenges that you experience while engaging in this process?