A Guide to Documenting Learning Read online

  imagination of storytellers, who paint in vivid color a wide variety of narratives and share them with the world;

  passion of mentors, who instill and nurture a voracious love for learning and inquiry; and

  unselfishness of parents, who unconditionally love their learners and role of sharing and nurturing without expecting anything in return.

  Documenting means more than being organized or supporting learning by providing evidence. It involves accessing and reflecting on one’s own learning processes and articulating what is taking place throughout a learning journey.

  Documenting informs students and teachers about what needs to be in focus, whether coaching, mentoring, or providing direct instruction. Implementing the documenting types and purposes positively affect how teachers see their students (and themselves) as engaged learners. It naturally fosters and creates historic growth-timelines for students, and professionally for teachers and administrators.

  While anyone can document a moment in time by recording a video, taking a picture, or writing down verbatim what is being said, documenting learning needs to be strategic and purposeful. A learner needs to be aware of what type of learning evidence he or she accepts and desires to capture. Teachers and students need to learn how the sharing of their documenting affects the quality of their documentation. Skills need to be developed to aid learners in understanding how media tools and platforms aid in capturing and sharing learning, as well as how media choices affect one’s ability to demonstrate thinking and learning visibly and/or auditorily.

  Documenting learning creates purposeful and meaningful evidence. These artifacts play a critical role in conveying thinking and learning through four aspects: visibility, meaningfulness, shareability, and amplification. These aspects are components, in varying degrees, of the three documenting learning types: Documenting OF Learning, Documenting FOR Learning, and Documenting AS Learning (see Image 1.1).

  Documenting learning creates purposeful and meaningful evidence.

  Documenting Learning Types

  There are documenting nuances among the three types that teachers need to be cognizant of when planning documenting opportunities for their students and for themselves.

  Documenting OF Learning

  Documenting OF learning uses documenting as snapshot product or performance artifacts that display learning moments. This is often the first type of documentation educators utilize. It conveys that a documenter or learner is beginning to think about the importance of documentation.

  Image 1.1

  Truth be told, documenting OF learning is often overused. Learners often record everything and anything, without necessarily interpreting what has been captured. Table 1.1 provides a few examples of common documenting OF learning artifacts.

  Documenting OF learning focuses on the product and attempts to answer these questions:

  What did the learner do?

  What is the result of the learning?

  The answers are artifacts that are observable, visible, and/or audible to an onlooker. They are explicit representations of what was experienced. They are simply captured moments in time, whether shared in person, digitally, or on social media.

  To aid in understanding the nuances among the three types of documenting learning, an iceberg metaphor may be helpful. Documenting OF learning is the visible portion of the iceberg that is above the water (see Image 1.2). It is explicit. It is known. No depth of cognitive or metacognitive thought processes are necessary regarding what is displayed.

  Documentation, when done too often only at this surface level, often feels like extra work for students and teachers, who see no real benefit or purpose beyond compliance. It is therefore imperative that learners have ample opportunities to experience and explore the two remaining types of documenting, which supports cognitive and metacognitive processes to take place while the learning is happening, and even before it happens.

  Documenting FOR Learning

  Documenting FOR learning uses interpretations of purposefully selected snapshot artifacts to convey evidence of meaningful visible and audible moments that take place during, or because of, the learning process. It is designed to raise awareness of a learner’s changes, trends, or patterns over time. For example:

  During his makerspace project time, Mikeal has been purposefully taking and reflecting on a series of captured moments (photographs). Based on his reflections, he notices a trend in his behavior. He regularly gravitates toward particular partnerships for input on new iterations of his makerspace object. Mikeal annotexts several selected photographs as evidence of his reasoning for why these two peers are his consistent “go tos.” Image 1.2

  Mrs. Gilmore collects and studies samples of her students’ writing over four weeks as evidence of their application of a writing skill she has taught and supported during Writer’s Workshop. She observes steady improvement in all of her students except for one, Nathaniel. While Mrs. Gilmore applauds the visible improvement by sharing some writing samples with the class, she holds a private conference with Nathaniel to discuss his artifacts. She asks him if he would like a peer to join them to discuss what the classmate is doing to apply the skill effectively. Nathaniel asks Marjorie to join the conference. Mrs. Gilmore explains to Marjorie why she has been asked to join them. As Nathaniel and Marjorie dialogue, she observes them comparing and analyzing their personal writing artifacts as they discuss potential ways Nathaniel may choose to improve his writing.

  Documenting FOR learning goes beyond simply capturing evidence of learning by digging deeper into the interpretation and application of what the artifacts convey. This type of documenting can be divided into two categories, which can take place simultaneously:

  Documentation for one’s own learning purpose. For example, someone learning a new metal braiding technique and working toward mastery of the technique films herself while conducting the braiding process to track progress over time.

  Documentation wherein a learner makes his or her thinking and learning visible in order to help others learn when it is shared. For example, the metal-braiding learner films herself attempting the new braiding technique and angles a camera just so to capture the step that is proving to be the most difficult for her. While recording, she verbally shares the specifics regarding her frustration and asks viewers for suggestions to improve her braiding capabilities. She posts her video via Twitter with the hashtag #kumihimobraiding. In doing so, she is not only benefiting herself as a learner, but she is also benefitting the learning of those with whom she is sharing.

  Documenting FOR learning focuses on interpretation and attempts to answer these questions:

  How is what I am learning now related to something I have previously learned?

  How will this learning influence and inform my future learning?

  Why do I accept this artifact as evidence of my learning process and progress?

  How could someone else learn from my experience—both my failures and my successes?

  What would I need to do to best document (capture) my learning today and at the end of the year related to ______ for me to see and hear evidence of my growth over time?

  Note: While the pronouns I and my were used in the questions above, if a learner is involved in a collaborative learning experience, the pronouns would simply be changed to we and our.

  Since documenting FOR learning asks learners to interpret, reflect on, and connect artifacts along a learning journey, this type of documentation often makes visible that which learners are not even aware of and provides time to interact with and examine artifacts to make connections and discover patterns or trends.

  Continuing the iceberg metaphor, documenting FOR learning is the waterline connecting the visible to the invisible. It is in this space that hidden or implicit learning is cognitively explored, explained, and expressed (see Image 1.3). This occurs using multimedia platforms and tools that help learners strategically document to:

  freeze moments in time,

&n
bsp; rewind moments that passed by too quickly,

  unwind moments that cannot be seen easily by the naked eye, or

  capture moments taking place in two or more places simultaneously.

  Students and teachers express that this type of learning opportunity is authentic and worthwhile, especially when they can share their learning process with others. Contributing to a community of learners deepens one’s understanding, meaning, and purpose.

  Documenting AS Learning

  Documenting AS learning takes the documenting FOR learning process to an even deeper depth wherein the documenting process becomes a critical facet of the learning journey. This type of documenting uses searching, filtering, and purposeful decision-making about what to capture to express specific moments as evidence of one’s learning process. Whether personalized professional learning or student choice-making, central to this type of documenting is the inclusion of

  Active and reflective metacognitive opportunities as action researchers

  Engagement in a connected learning community to share insights and discoveries

  Authentic feedback and new considerations locally and globally

  Image 1.3

  It’s Time to Take Action!

  You will encounter a recommended action step in each chapter. These steps are intended to connect you with other readers as you collectively generate examples and resources beyond what we can share with you in the timeframe that this book was written.

  Through social media and the use of #hashtags and @handles, we encourage you to contribute your examples and experiences in documenting learning with a global community, while also gaining access to an ever-growing crowdsourced pool of ideas and resources.

  There are multiple platforms you can choose from to provide your action steps’ evidence of learning:

  Twitter

  Create an explanation tweet in 280 characters or less that shares the documenting learning opportunity. Include an image or video as the learning evidence, as well as the hashtag #documenting4learning, and/or mention @doc4learning.

  Instagram

  Upload an image or a video that express your learning evidence from your documenting opportunity. Include the hashtag #documenting4learning, and/or mention @documenting4learning.

  Facebook

  Create a post explaining your documenting opportunity. Include one or more artifact images or videos with your text; include the hashtag #documenting4learning and mention @documenting4learning.

  Your Personal/Professional Blog

  Create a blog post explaining your documenting opportunity and include images and/or videos as learning evidence. Tweet a link or share a link on Facebook to your published blog post using the hashtag #documenting4learning.

  Now, it is time for your first action step . . .

  Chapter 1 Action Step

  Share an artifact from a documenting OF learning opportunity that your students experienced, or you experienced professionally. Change it to a documenting FOR learning artifact by posting a descriptive tweet with attachment, Instagram description, Facebook post, or blog post, include annotations* and/or annotexted** artifacts that aid in answering one of these questions: How will this learning influence and inform my future learning? How could someone else learn from my experience—both my failures and my successes?

  *Notes or comments alongside text, image, video to aid in processing or explaining the media content.

  **Act of annotating an image or video digitally by overlaying text, highlights, directional arrows, frames, or freehand drawing.

  For example, Mr. Henkle is a member of a professional learning community (PLC) in his school and is stretching himself to grow and develop his project-based learning teaching practices. He strategically selects and annotates multimedia artifacts focused on student voice and choice from his class’s four small groups. He consistently shares and amplifies his professional-learning evidence and realizations on his blog and via Twitter. He interacts with his blog commenters, as well as with participants in Twitter chats he attends. He applies several of the suggestions made by his PLC and professional learning network (PLN) throughout the unit of study.

  There is a deeper level of critical-thinking and metacognition involved when someone needs to make choices about what best portrays evidence of learning. Some of these choices will need to be made prior to capturing the desired evidence.

  Documenting AS learning focuses on the learning process and attempts to answer these questions:

  What is worthy of being looked for and captured during this learning opportunity?

  What media platforms and tools will provide the maximum effect for capturing, reflecting on, curating, sharing, and amplifying my personal learning or the evidence of others’ learning?

  How can my/our thinking be best conveyed visibly and audibly when considering the audiences who will be experiencing my/our shared and amplified learning?

  When documenting moves from being a product or cognitive tool to a metacognitive process, it enters the depths wherein the iceberg is totally hidden beneath the surface (see Image 1.4). Documenting AS learning is not immediately visible or tangible. It is only viewable with strategic preparation and implementation. It is about the actions and metacognitive thinking taking place while the learning is happening. It is about exploring the what and how below the visible surface that aids learners immediately and over time. It also invites and engages others to join in the learning process through sharing and obtaining feedback.

  Image 1.4

  Summing Up

  Based on a Google search, documentation is defined as material that provides official information or evidence, serves as a record, or the process of classifying and annotating texts, photographs, and so on.

  While documenting OF learning is a valid place to begin purposeful documentation, moving to documenting FOR learning makes thinking about one’s learning visible and/or audible, which leads to an awareness of what is involved in the learning process. Documenting AS learning adds a subtle, yet powerful, layer of metacognition that engages learners in determining how to best capture the learning process in preparation for purposefully sharing and amplifying new or expanded thoughts or ideas with a worldwide community of learners. (see Image 1.5). Casa-Todd (2017) quotes a student who shared from a personal experience, “I never realized that impact that your voice can have on others, but once I began observing the number of people that listened to me, I felt empowered as a student” (p. 17).

  Documenting Learning Purposes

  Before digging into the purposes, please note that documenting OF learning, documenting FOR learning, and documenting AS learning are not direct synonyms for assessment OF learning, assessment FOR learning, and assessment AS learning, although there are similarities regarding overall purpose.

  The first two assessment types are associated with the work of Stiggins, Arter, Chappuis, and Chappuis (2006), who describe these terms as:

  Assessments OF learning are those assessments that happen after learning is supposed to have occurred to determine if it did. They are used to make statements of student learning status at a point in time to those outside the classroom. . . . State assessments, local standardized tests . . . [and] within a classroom when we gather evidence to determine a student’s report card grade. (p. 31)

  Assessments FOR learning happen while learning is still underway. These are the assessments that we conduct throughout teaching and learning to diagnose student needs, [and] plan next steps in instruction, provide students with feedback they can use to improve the quality of their work, and help students see and feel in control of their journey to success. on these occasions, the grading function is laid aside. This is not about accountability. . . . This is about getting better.

  Assessment AS learning is described by Earl (2006) as,

  The process of developing and supporting meta-cognition for students . . . as active critical thinkers, make sense of information, relate it to prior knowledge, and use it to
construct new learning. . . . It occurs when students personally monitor what they are learning and use the feedback from this monitoring to make adjustments, adaptations, and even major changes in what they understand. (p. 47)

  They are involved in determining the next in their learning (e.g., strategy, learning focus), as well as providing descriptive feedback to peers and to themselves as they grow in their capabilities to be reflective learners.

  Image 1.5

  The three documenting types have unique components and characteristics when compared to the three assessment types. While assessment is an integral part of documenting, the documenting learning framework serves purposes beyond assessment. The overarching purpose for documenting learning, especially documenting FOR and AS learning opportunities, is to allow learners to fully participate in their own learning processes, whether a young student or adult learner.

  The overarching purpose for documenting learning is to allow learners to fully participate in their own learning processes.

  As mentioned previously, documenting is often times based on an OF learning perspective. Fry (2016) refers to this as “flashy busywork.” Fry reflects on how learners can be more meaningfully engaged by producing, “Examples of visible student and educator learning,” rather than simply displaying the results of a learning experience. Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison (2011) mention that, “Documentation must serve to advance learning, not merely capture it” (p. 38). Please note: Documenting OF learning is not wrong. There are times when sharing a display to celebrate accomplishments is appropriate and worthwhile. What is problematic for students is when teachers allow time for only this type of documenting.