Reggio Inspired Educational Documentation

A central feature of the Reggio Emilia approach is extensive documentation through observation, reflection, and analysis by teachers of children’s development and behavior. Documentation records the experiences of children in the classroom. It makes children’s learning visible and encourages them to become central to their own learning. Documenting children’s learning processes within a learning group helps to make learning evident and shapes the learning that takes place. The information can be used for reflection by teachers and children to extend and enhance learning and to explain the steps and details of a long-term project or investigation. Long-term projects are focused on collaborations between children and teachers, and teachers’ reflections on their own practice. Documentation is educational, professional, and purposeful. You can document projects, show progress, the process, and the product produced. Documentation is the on-going process of the teacher’s observations. It is a work in progress. It is constantly being created and re-created by the children’s growth and progress and the teacher’s reflections. It is displayed in the classroom or school. 

Documentation panels are the product of a long-term project or investigation and still considered open-ended and unfinished. Reggio Emilia is famous for their documentation panels and they are displayed in many different countries and states in the US. The educators in Reggio Emilia understand the importance of documentation as a form of research and how to make the learning of children visible for all to see. Teachers usually start a long-term project with a research question and the question is displayed in the classroom or school. Documentation can take the form of daily, child-specific observations related to individual children’s learning goals. 

Ideas for a documentation display: 

• Research question 

• Pictures/video 

• Quotes from children 

• Quotes and excerpts from textbooks and professional articles 

• Children’s artwork 

• Children’s writing 

• Descriptions and explanations of the project (always attempting to answer the initial research question) 

• Teachers’ reflections on their own learning and wonderings

My Personal Experience with Reggio Inspired Educational Documentation:

While working at the Early Childhood Center at Colorado State University, I was in charge of professional development (PD) for the college intern students that were selected to work at our school for a 16 week semester. My initial investigation question was – How do you build deep, trusting relationships with intern students in 16 weeks? Through the documentation process, I created a new vision for the intern students’ PD experience that included implementing Reggio principles. I provoked intern students with articles, TED talks, videos, etc. We had thoughtful and heart-felt group discussions about the information presented. This experience was very different from the theme-formatted, lecture-based PD provided previously. I had intern students answer questions I created to reflect on their learning and so I could see what they were curious about, what they wanted to learn more about, and where they need more information and learning. It became a socially constructivist approach to PD, creating the next PD experience from previous discussions and the interns’ reflections. I was co-constructing learning with intern students and their mentor teachers. I let go of planning out all of the PD meetings for the semester in advance. I listened deeply to what the intern students and mentor teachers shared during discussions. I became comfortable with the unknown and continue to grow and learn myself. Even though this documentation wasn’t created in a classroom with children, the process is very similar.

While documenting this investigation on developing positive relationships, I kept coming back to the question of, ‘What about the relationship with yourself?’ I had Brene Brown’s quote in my head, “You can’t give others what you don’t have.” How could I develop deeper selflove, positive self-image, self-esteem, and self-confidence? I decided to start a meditation practice and it has been a profound change in my life. It has been over ten years ago that I created this documentation and I’m still meditating. It helps me to stay ‘in the present.’ I always tell teachers who create documentation that there is something in the investigation/documentation process that is for them to learn, experience, or practice.

Learning Stories coming soon!