An Analysis of the Use of Pedagogical Documentation as a Formative Assessment in Kindergarten Classrooms in UAE

Author(s):

Mehmet Buldu

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

9. Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement

Format:

Paper

Session Information

09 SES 04 C, Assessment in Elementary and Primary Education

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-28

16:00-17:30

Room:

HG, Elise Richter

Chair:

Martin Goy

Contribution

There are numerous classroom events in which kindergarten teachers gather information about the children by observing, questioning, by reviewing children’s work products. All these seldom happen in a systematic way (Krechevsky & Stork, 2000). Because teachers have many interactions with children they find it very challenging to assess what and how children learn and make meaning of their world. Furthermore, parents/families are often unaware of what happens in classroom. They often do not ask teachers about what and how their children learn in the school and teachers rarely communicate with parents regarding the children’s learning, except during parent-teacher conferences and end-of-the semester assessments. Thus, parents/families are often uncertain of additional activities that can be explored at home to support their children’s learning (MacDonald, 2007). One way to overcome these challenges is to capture the children’s learning experiences through systematic observations, transcriptions of classroom interactions and visual representations and then to share these with children and their parents/families. Pedagogical documentation, originally used in the early childhood programs of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy, is one method to capture children’s learning experiences (Caldwell, 2003). This Reggio Emilia way of documentation involves the use of concrete artifacts, examples of the children’s work, and collaborative re-visitation, interpretation, and negotiation by children, teachers and parents/families to promote dialogue and reflection (MacDonald, 2007). Although it is originated in Italy, today, early childhood practitioners widely use pedagogical documentation to record understandings about children’s thinking and learning (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence, 1999; Grieshaber and Hatch, 2003) and many educators discuss the use pedagogical documentation throughout USA, Canada, and Australia (See references). However, a few empirical analyses (Aghayan, Schellhaas, Wayne, Burts, Buchanan, and Benedict, 2005; Goldhaber and Smith, 1997; and, MacDonald, 2007) have been done on the use of pedagogical documentation in early childhood classrooms. This study investigated interactions between pedagogical documentation—a formative assessment technique; an instructional intervention designed to increase student learning by recording children’s experiences— and kindergarten children, their families and teachers as participants in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Specifically, the researcher was guided in this study by the following questions: (1) To what degree is pedagogical documentation useful to kindergarten teachers as a method of formative assessment? (2) To what degree does pedagogical documentation as a formative assessment method contribute to kindergarten children’s learning? (3) How does pedagogical documentation help parents/families of kindergarten children understand their children's learning experiences in kindergarten?

Method

Sample of this study consisted of 6 teachers in 6 kindergarten classrooms in an international private school in Al-Ain, UAE, 141 kindergarten children, and 67 parents/families. Data-gathering techniques used in this observational case study were participant observation (teachers as participant observers), focus group interview, and parent questionnaire. Each teacher was provided with a digital camera to capture children’s learning process and products in the classroom. They documented children’s learning on documentation panels which were developed by the teachers in collaboration with the researcher. Documentation panels provided a medium to conduct formative assessment and communicate children’s learning to children and parents/families. To learn about the perceptions of participating teachers regarding the effectiveness of pedagogical documentation as a formative assessment one focus group interview with teachers took place at the conclusion of the project. Parents’ thoughts on the effectiveness of pedagogical documentation were also sought through a questionnaire.

Expected Outcomes

The results revealed that pedagogical documentation had potential to improve children’s learning; helped children become more conscious about their learning processes; contributed to teachers’ awareness of learning processes; helped teachers focus on student learning and outcomes in general; helped teachers in illuminating next steps in selection and presentation of learning activities; and, helped parents to gain a better understanding of learning processes in their children’s education. While very motivated to try this innovative practice in their own classroom, participating teachers usually encountered difficulties in making documentation panels. The wealth of data collected for documentation panels was one problem that made the process very time-consuming. Teachers also stated that lack of parent presence to see the panels, thus, preparing the newsletters to send home was another difficulty they encountered. They also reported that a teaching assistant who might help with this process might improve the effectiveness of it.

References

Aghayan, C., Schellhaas, A., Wayne, A., Burts, D. C., Buchanan, T. K., & Benedict, J. (2005). Project Katrina. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 7(2). Retrieved on December 6, 2008 from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v7n2/aghayan.html Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K. (2003). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods (4th Ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Cadwell, L. B. (2003). Bringing learning to life: The Reggio approach to early childhood education. New York: Teachers College Press. Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (1999). Beyond quality in early childhood education and care: Postmodern perspectives. London, UK: Falmer Press. Fleet, A., Hammersley, M., Patterson, C., Schillert, L. & Stanke, E. (2001, October). Readings of the process of constructing Australian pedagogical documentation: Five voices. Paper presented at the Reconceptualising Early Childhood Education: Research, Theory and Practice Conference, New York. Gandini, L. (2002). The story and foundations of the Reggio Emilia approach. In V. R. Fu, A. J. Stremmel, & L. T. Hill (Eds.), Teaching and learning: Collaborative exploration of the Reggio Emilia approach (pp. 13-22). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall. Goldhaber, J. & Smith, D. (1997). You look at things differently: The role of documentation in professional development of a campus child care center staff. Early Childhood Education Journal, 25(1), 3-10. Grieshaber, S. & Hatch, J. A. (2003) Child observation and pedagogical documentation as effects of globalisation. Journal of Curriculum Theorizing, 19 (1), 89-102. Helm, J., & Gronlund, G. (2000). Linking standards and engaged learning in the early years. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 2, 22-35. Katz, L. & Chard, S. (1996). The contribution of documentation to the quality of early childhood education. Retrieved on September 23rd, 2008 from http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1996/lkchar96.html Kocher, L. (1999). The rabbit habitat—Documenting a kindergarten project. Canadian Children, 24(2), 15-22. Kocher, L. (2004). The disposition to document: Portraits of practice. Canadian Children, 29(1), 23-31. Krechevsky, M. & Stork, J. (2000). Challenging educational assumptions: Lessons from an Italian-American collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 30(1), 57-74. MacDonald, M. (2007). Toward formative assessment: The use of pedagogical documentation in early elementary classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 232–242. Oken-Wright, P. (2001). Documentation: Both mirror and light. Innovations in early education: The International Reggio Exchange, 8(2), 5-15. Project Zero, Cambridgeport Children's Center, Cambridgeport School, Ezra H. Baker School, & John Simpkins School (2003). Making teaching visible: Documenting individual and group learning as professional development. Cambridge, MA: Project Zero. Robertson, J. (1999). Observation and documentation: Interpreting the journey. In A. Fleet & J. Robertson (Eds.), Conference Proceedings: Unpacking observation and documentation: Experiences from Italy, Sweden and Australia (pp. 38-51). Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Stiggins, R. (2005, September). Assessment for learning defined. ETS/Assessment Training Institute’s International Conference: Promoting Sound Assessment in Every Classroom, Portland, OR. Sussna, A. G. (1995). The educational impact of preschool teachers of an adaptation of the Reggio Emilia documentation process. Doctor of Education dissertation. Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Turner, T. & Krechevsky, M. (2003). Who Are the Teachers? Who Are the Learners? Educational Leadership, 60(7), 40-43.

Author Information

Mehmet Buldu

United Arab Emirates University

Curriculum & Instruction

Al Ain

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