Saanich School district (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRWKp4hXadQ
To learn more about what pedagogical documentation can look like, especially in a kindergarten classroom, visit https://tecribresearch.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/pedagogical-documentation-why-when-who-what-where-how/
Some of the forms in which pedagogical documentation can be seen is in the teacher taking pictures of the children engaging in the classroom activities, jotting down notes of observed behaviours, and answering predetermined questions such as “What does this child know?” or “What do they want to know?” Not only is the teacher able to see what the children have learned, but they gain a deeper understanding of how the children learn (Wien, 2013). I love the fact that this form of assessment recognizes the individual learning styles of each student. Not only is a more accurate assessment of their abilities made possible, but the teacher is also able to learn more about the student as a person, and about how that child thinks and processes information. A more genuine and authentic teacher-student bond is formed, resulting in more effective teaching hopefully and a more positive classroom environment.
Pedagogical Documentation (May 17, 2015) Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research.
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An especially important result of pedagogical documentation, in my opinion, is the fact that teachers can often end up learning just as much about themselves and their teaching as they do about the students and their learning. A teacher who is aware of their students’ behaviours will see how the children respond to the teacher’s own behaviour. Teachers are role models, whether they want to be or not, and it is very important that they recognize the impact they have on young minds. I have seen teachers that simply want to get through the day, and their lack of enthusiasm for the subject they are teaching leaches through to their students. Not only will the students want to learn more about the subject if the teacher shows energy and genuine interest in the topic, but the teacher will then have an easier time of teaching it! The Ontario Ministry of Education has an entire section of their website dedicated to pedagogical documentation and the importance of understanding the students' perspectives http://edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/document.html
The idea of “shared accountability” comes up when discussing pedagogical documentation, as the student takes on a larger role in the teaching process, effecting change and helping to determine the flow of the lesson. Students themselves can help with the pedagogical documentation, recording what they feel they have learned and showing how they can display this knowledge
Teacher and Student Pedagogical Documentation (February 23, 2014). Trifold Learning.
Ultimately, I would like to try to use this form of assessment in my classroom, as it combines many of the educational philosophies that I ascribe to. I want to have that meaningful connection with my students, and I want them to feel as though their voices are heard in my classroom. I want to have that awareness of what my students are taking away from my lessons, and I hope to build the kind of positive classroom environment that any learner can feel comfortable in.
References
Kashin, D. (2015). Pedagogical documentation: Why? When? Who? What? Where? How?. Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research. Retrieved from: https://tecribresearch.wordpress.com/2015/05/17/pedagogical-documentation-why-when-who-what-where-how/
Ontario Ministry of Education (2015). Think, feel, act: Lessons from research about young children. Ontario Ministry of Education. Retrieved from: http://edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/document.html
Saanich School District (2014). Learning stories: Documentation project- pedagogical narration in saanich elementary schools. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRWKp4hXadQ
- Your discussion regarding pedagogical documentation was very thought provoking and reflected the type of teaching and learning style that I observed in a recent placement in a kindergarten classroom. The teacher seemingly developed a rapport with each individual student, and evaluated their abilities based on an assessment which accurately represented that child’s ability within the classroom. I finally have a name for that specific type of teaching thanks to your blog. Your blog also discusses a very important portion of pedagogical documentation, which describes how valuable behaviour is, and how teachers actually learn a lot from their students if they allow it to happen. Do you think that teachers in intermediate and senior classrooms would learn more from their students because their class has more mature abilities? Or do you believe, that as future primary level educators, we will benefit just as much from our young students? It would be interesting to witness pedagogical documentation teaching styles in both primary and intermediate classrooms to see the difference between grade levels. Great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Jane,
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love the idea of taking pictures of the students working to look at later. This reminded me of when I had a placement teacher do just that and she also sent it to the parents in a weekly newsletter. This allowed not only the teacher and students to keep a recount on those weekly activities but also allowed the parents to be involved with their children’s schoolwork and seeing what exactly they have been doing in class. Sometimes teachers can’t keep track of WHY they did the things they did and the marks won’t reflect this. How many times have we discussed something with a teacher and then done it and later lost marks for it because they forgot about the conversation? We can’t blame them because they have many students but by taking pictures, they are creating visual proof of the level of work and can later reflect on this when distributing grades. By allowing students to help “grade” them gives them a sense of agency (even if that’s not actually going to be their final grade).
Great topic this week, it was quite the enjoyable read!
Dear Jane,
ReplyDeleteI found this blog very interesting, as I had never heard of this type of teaching assessment. I really agree with all the points you brought up and you made really good points about how effective this strategy can be in a classroom! However, I am conflicted on what type of strategy to call it because I feel that it can easily both be a teaching strategy and a form of assessment. Therefore, I think a good statement to think about is, how it could be used as assessment for learning (AfL) because it assesses the learner and involves the teacher and student in both the learning and assessment. It effectively invites both the teacher and the learner to engage in dialogue and cooperation because the teacher is able to document how students are learning, learn about their own teaching skills, and students are able to review the ways they learn and go through their learning process. I really like the point about “shared accountability” which is what really came to mind when first beginning to read this. It holds both the teacher and student accountable because they can both be responsible for creating the documentation on the learning taking place and can record what they feel they have learned. Teachers are easily able to go through their teaching strategies and learn about what works best and what does not. This holds the teacher accountable because they are then left to adapt their teaching to fit the student’s needs. I also really like how this type of assessment really applies to students who are visual learners because they are able to physically see how they were learning and think back to what they were thinking in that moment. I feel like this can really reinforce learning by having the students engage in metacognition through this pedagogical documentation. A question to think about for future planning is how can teachers incorporate this type of assessment, especially using technology, in subjects that are more abstract such as language?
Overall, really good last blog and I enjoyed reading all three of your blogs and hearing different opinions! Well done!
Thanks,
Candice