Week 3 Reflection

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During Week 3 of ELEC 316, we discussed the importance of and the different styles of documentation in the early childhood setting. After reflecting on the content covered in class, I now feel that I can use documentation to report the learning and progress of my future students. 

When considering documentation, teachers must have a well rounded understanding of its purposes. Documentation leads teachers to reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching strategies, and provides insight into what children are learning and thinking. I appreciate that there is an opportunity for growth and improvement through documenting the learning of students. As a future teacher, it is important to me that I can see my student’s progress and comprehension through documentation so that I may improve my practices to meet my students' needs.

Within documentation, there are several approaches and styles teachers may use, including the conventional style, Reggio Emilia style, or project style. Each approach has a different focus and concept of assessment in mind. For the conventional style of documentation, summative assessments (e.g., standardized tests) are used to focus on grades and independent success. For the Reggio Emilia style, formative assessments (e.g., creative assignments) are used to gauge understanding and promote group work and success. For the project style of documentation, formative assessments (e.g., exploration assignments) are used to analyze learning through student investigations. Formative assessments are used to monitor student development and provide useful feedback, while summative assessments measure learning against some predetermined benchmark.


After digesting all of Week 3 content, I feel more prepared to support the learning of my future students. One approach I’m excited to use in my future classroom is the project-based approach. I love that children can lead in their learning through hands-on experiences and using problem-solving skills.


Pictured: a project-based learning lesson (field trip to a greenhouse)

Comments

  1. Camryn WhippleSeptember 11, 2022 at 10:09 AM

    Hi Moriah! I loved your post, and you used great descriptions to discuss all the different techniques of documentation. I like you included a picture of the project based learning and your thoughts on how you plan to utilize these techniques!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Katelin KostelnikSeptember 11, 2022 at 11:40 AM

    Hello Moriah! I really liked your post. I also liked how you included an example of project based learning.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ally HarkerSeptember 12, 2022 at 9:43 AM

    I love how you included an example of project based learning. The descrptions you included were wonderful.

    ReplyDelete

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