Description

This book is a guide to creating documentation in early childhood contexts that is authentic and robust. It provides early childhood educators with practical, user-friendly strategies for making documentation work for them, enabling them to work smarter, not harder, while improving teaching practice and outcomes for children.
The documentation created for children needs to tell a story. To have authenticity, it needs to show a sense of place, time and continuity – the practice of making links to previous learning behaviours or actions. Learning stories provide the ingredients of the history of a child as a learner and enable us to see what is actually occurring.
The learning stories in this book are all written to the child, not about them, leading to a powerful way of rethinking about assessment. This approach is critical and reflective because it requires that evidence is built into the narrative, and that the educator shows how and why they know the child has learned something.
The strategies, recommendations and ideas for creating information can be used across different aspects of practice. They will enhance and optimise children’s learning in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them and to the people who are involved with their lives.