Documenting Children's Learning Cover

Documenting Children's Learning

Disrupting the myths

Documenting Children's Learning disrupts the myths that have too often held back educators in their documentation and assessment practice. Instead, it shows how meaningful documentation in early childhood education can make children's capabilities visible and accessible.

The authors have been influenced by the curriculum frameworks, Te Whāriki and the Early Years Learning Framework. The resource shares diverse examples of planning, observation, documentation and assessment - such as what pedagogical documentation looks like in practice or how to reflect on your practice in the planning cycle.

The aim is to inspire educators to delve deeper into pedagogical approaches that support their children and communities.

Ages: 0-5 | Pages: 96 | Code: TS0322 | ISBN: 9781922530752

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Kelly Goodsir

Kelly Goodsir is the managing director of www.kglearning.com.au / KGlearning which is a company that focuses on improving pedagogical practice through strategic educational change in early childhood education. Kelly first trained as a teacher in New Zealand and when she relocated to Australia in 2003 has engaged in various roles including teaching, consulting, pedagogical leadership, NCAC Validator for quality assurance and conference presenter. Kelly is a published author of a children’s book My Family is a Team: a story about mental illness (2016) along with numerous other resources supporting teacher conversations in early childhood education.

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Anne Houghton

Anne Houghton’s 38 years in early childhood education include diverse roles and experiences.  She worked as a kindergarten teacher for 32 years, then held various roles at Gowrie Victoria.  These included working as a Kindergarten Cluster Management Coordinator, an Early Childhood Consultant in Resources and Advice, Trainer and Assessor of Diploma and Certificate 3 in Children’s Services and Professional Development Presenter.

Anne is also a published author of There Stood Our Dog, a children’s story book, illustrated by Craig Smith and co-author of three publications titled Engaging Families in your Early Childhood Services, Learning Environments: Inspiring Spaces, and Visible Learning in Family Day Care, funded through the Community Childcare Association of Victoria.  Anne has had inspiring experiences presenting at conferences in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Japan and Malaysia.  She has also worked as a casual research assistant in mentoring projects with the Bastow Institute and the University of Melbourne. 

Anne now works as a sessional lecturer in the School of Education at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and as a presenter for Play Australia.

Anne also shares her expertise through two practical, self-paced online courses designed for early childhood educators:

  • Cultural and Social Inclusion supports educators to create welcoming, respectful environments for children and families from diverse cultural backgrounds.
  • Building Social and Emotional Skills and Wellbeing focuses on fostering resilience, emotional regulation and a strong sense of self in young children.
  • Each course includes four engaging online modules and four high-quality book resources, helping educators reflect on and strengthen their practice. Whether you’re looking to refresh your knowledge or deepen your impact, these courses offer flexible, relevant professional learning aligned with early years frameworks for both the EYLF and the VEYLDF.

    Click here to explore all of Anne's Early Childhood professional development courses.

    Contents

    Introduction4
    1. Observation, assessment, documentation6
    Observation begins with listening6
    Why observations matter8
    Observation methods10
    Documentation17
    Assessment18
    Disrupting the myths22
    Reflective questions22
    2. Theories and perspectives23
    The planning cycle informs our practice23
    Theories and perspectives within the frameworks26
    Reggio Emilia educational project30
    Projects that emphasise the child's ideas31
    Importance of philosophical values from play-based perspectives32
    play-based perspectives32
    Disrupting the myths32
    Reflective questions32
    3. Regulations and curriculum frameworks33
    Regulatory requirements33
    The Early Years Learning Framework33
    Current policies in Australia34
    Current policies in New Zealand35
    Disrupting the myths36
    Reflective questions36
    4. The role of the educator37
    Establishing relationships with children37
    Being a reflective educator38
    Everyday routines as rich learning opportunities for documenting40
    Planning that supports holistic learning and development for documenting41
    The role of the educational leader43
    Disrupting the myths44
    Reflective questions44
    5. Collaborative partnerships45
    Beyond participation to partnerships45
    Engaging parents in conversation45
    Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic46
    A transforming approach to partnerships47
    Consulting with children48
    Agreement or rules?52
    Collaborating as teams57
    Collaborating with other professionals58
    Disrupting the myths58
    Reflective questions58
    6. Planning outside the box59
    Moving beyond templates59
    Fixed displays or living displays?60
    Disrupting the myths64
    Reflective questions64
    7. Communicating the learning65
    Documenting with an audience in mind65
    An environment for documenting with children65
    Ethics and consent67
    Communicating the learning to parents67
    Snapshots of children's learning67
    Professionalism and documentation68
    Disrupting the myths70
    Reflective questions70
    8. Educators as activists and researchers71
    Using an inquiry approach71
    Educators as researchers74
    Educators as activists75
    Pedagogical documentation as a risky business76
    Documenting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives76
    Disrupting the myths76
    Reflective questions76
    9. Leading change77
    Pedagogical leadership and documentation77
    Effective communication78
    Reflecting on common challenges78
    Strategies for leading change with documentation79
    Disrupting the myths80
    Reflective questions80
    Conclusion81
    References and resources82
    Appendix 1: The planning cycle informs practice86
    Appendix 2: Learning story framework90
    Appendix 3: Parent questionnaire91
    Appendix 4: Parent feedback form92
    Appendix 5: All about me template93
    Appendix 6: Key words to document learning94
    Appendix 7: Emotional intelligence96