Thinking about how we currently document in early childhood settings and the purpose and reason for our documentation is essential as a way to continually reflect on what works as well as deepening our understanding of the children in our care.
Jessica Horne-Kennedy, a Gowrie NSW consultant, said authentic documentation allows us to understand the child and really listen to their voice, giving us a better insight into how that child sees and understands the world.
“Everyday when we work with children we observe so many wonderful learning moments that the first thing to consider in the documentation process is making the decision of what is significant and important to document: what is meaningful for the child and will this allow us to gain a deeper picture of who this child is,” Jessica said.
“When we really reflect on the child and use documentation as a tool we can begin to understand what our part in the child’s learning experience is.”
Authentic documentation also allows us to ask questions of ourselves – about our role and how we can be more effective in how we support the child. In this way, Jessica said, documentation becomes a rich way to deepen our work.
To explore this topic in depth, Jessica will be holding a webinar on Wednesday, 15th February.
The webinar will explore the requirements for documentation in early childhood centres by reviewing some of the relevant elements of the National Quality Standard and Early Years Learning Framework. It then explores the ways in which educators can consider documentation by
· Discussing the purpose, value and practicalities of documentation.
· Highlighting a variety of strategies for creating authentic documentation.
· Examining practical examples of documentation.
“By listening to some ideas for creating authentic documentation and seeing some practical way to document, this webinar is a great way to refresh and inspire understandings about documentation,” Jessica said.
The webinar will take place on Wednesday, 15th February and will go from 6.00pm - 7:30pm.
