observation and documentation
Unique to the early childhood education experience would be the Reggio Emilia approach to observations and documentation...
"The Reggio Emilia approach focuses on children's experiences, memories, thoughts and ideas in the course of their work. Teacher's observe and document children's work with great care and attention to both the content and aesthetics aspects of the display."
http://www.tru.ca/arts/literacies/reggio/reggioarticle1.htm
"The Reggio Emilia approach focuses on children's experiences, memories, thoughts and ideas in the course of their work. Teacher's observe and document children's work with great care and attention to both the content and aesthetics aspects of the display."
http://www.tru.ca/arts/literacies/reggio/reggioarticle1.htm
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Why is it important....
Documentation highlights children's play by examining their intentions during and after times of play. Documentation also takes place at different stages of completion. Much like a story, a project may have a beginning, middle, and end that develops over time.
"Teachers continue to observe and document during the project’s process and this documentation makes it “possible for the teachers to sustain the children’s learning while they also learn (to teach) from the children’s own learning” https://reggioalliance.org/downloads/ documentation:okenwright.pdf 
Documentation highlights children's play by examining their intentions during and after times of play. Documentation also takes place at different stages of completion. Much like a story, a project may have a beginning, middle, and end that develops over time.
Documentation can be written as in taking observation notes on what you observe the child doing, or through dictation as you transcribe what the child explains about a picture, event or experience. Other forms of documentation can include photography, tape recording, and videoing. Documentation is done for the purpose of identifying a child's strengths and their thinking at the time. Teachers use this documentation to scaffold a child's learning. 
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Documentation is displayed or easily accessible to teachers, children and families to:
The Reggio Approach believes it is important to document and display children's work while at the same time giving careful attention to the way you present that information.
The Reggio Approach on teacher observations...
“If only you had seen all I had to do.” The child
wants this observation. We all want this. This means that when you learn to observe the child, when you have assimilated all that it means to observe the child, you learn many things that are not in books --educational or psychological. And when you have done this you will learn to have more diffidence and more distrust of rapid assessments, tests, judgments. The child wants to be observed, but she doesn’t want to be judged." -Loris Malaguzzi |
