Windows on learning : documenting young children's work / Judy Harris Helm, Sallee Beneke, Kathy Steinheimer ; foreword by Lilian G. Katz.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Helm, Judy Harris.

Contributor:

Beneke, Sallee.

Steinheimer, Kathy.

Series:

Early childhood education series (Teachers College Press)

Early childhood education series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Project method in teaching.

Early childhood education--Documentation.

Early childhood education.

Portfolios in education.

School reports.

Physical Description:

xi, 203 p : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Teachers College Press, [1998]

Summary:

Now more than ever, there is expanded interest in and deeper appreciation of the documentation of children's work as seen in the growing influence of the Reggio Emilia Approach, authentic assessment, and other alternative ways of judging children's academic achievement. In this first book to actually explain the mechanics of documentation, the authors show how documentation (which includes narratives, photos, drawings, videotapes and captions) allows children, teachers, and parents to learn more from each school project. Renowned educator Lilian G. Katz provides a foreword to the volume. The text is heavily illustrated with many examples of children's work documentations.

Contents:

Using an Authentic Assessment System 2

Understanding the Project Approach 3

Learning About the Reggio Emilia Schools 5

Introducing Our Schools 8

Part I Learning About Documentation 11

1. The Value of Documentation 13

Applying What Is Known About Children's Learning 13

Why Document? 15

The Promise of Documentation 23

2. Windows on Learning: A Framework for Decision Making 25

A Window on a Child's Development 26

A Window on a Learning Experience 28

A Window for Teacher Self-Reflection 30

3. The Documentation Web: Providing a Map for Documentation 33

History of the Web 33

Understanding the Documentation Web 35

Using the Web to Increase Variation 37

4. Project Narratives: Telling the Story 39

The Story 39

Collecting Stories 41

Determining Content by the Audience 44

5. Observations of Child Development: Watching the Child

Checklists 48

Anecdotal Notes 51

The Project Approach and Observation 55

6. Individual Portfolios: Capturing Children's Competence 57

Understanding the Use of Portfolios 57

Collecting Core Items 60

Collecting Individualized Items 65

Other Portfolio Items 67

7. Individual and Group Products: Seeing Is Believing 72

Written Language Products 72

Verbal Language Products 80

Webs and Lists 82

Picture 84

Music and Movement 92

Constructions 93

8. Self-Reflections of Children: Thinking About Thinking 100

Reflecting on Their Own Words 100

Self-Reflections of Dispositions 101

Self-Reflections of a Learning Experience 103

Group and Individual Self-Reflections 105

Part II Learning How to Document 109

9. Organization and Presentation of Documentation: Opening the Windows 111

Getting Ready to Document 111

Preparing Children for Documenting 115

Doing the Documenting 116

Organizing Displays of Documentation 119

Setting Aside Time for Reflecting About Documentation 127

10. Implementation: Using Documentation for Decision Making 130

Decision Making 131

The Window on a Child's Development 132

The Window on a Learning Experience 135

The Window for Teacher Self-Reflection 139

Making Reflection a Priority 142

11. Documentation as Assessment: Building Credibility 143

Assessment 144

Guidelines for the Assessment Process 144

The Problem of Reliability 146

The Problem of Bias 147

Conclusion: Teaching with Integrity 149

Part III An Example of Documentation: "Our Mail Project" Memory Book 151

Appendix Overview of the Work Sampling System 191.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-198) and index.

ISBN:

0807736791

0807736783

OCLC:

37682689