The EYDP project (Project Number: 2022-1-PT01-KA220-SCH-000086979) has been co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).
This case study explores the emergence and development of an experiential learning project on plant growth, initiated by the curiosity of preschool children. The goal was to investigate where tomatoes come from, expanding to understanding the plant life cycle. The case focuses on the participatory and collaborative approach, where the educator's active listening and the children's autonomy were crucial for meaning-making and acquiring elementary scientific knowledge. Keep reading on the website!
This case study explores an activity focused on sensory and creative exploration with natural materials by a group of 1-year-old children. Initiated outdoors through spontaneous play with leaves, soil and sticks, the educator encouraged material collection and later organized them into an accessible space. The children engaged daily in varied activities such as sorting, building and creating art with natural and mixed materials, both indoors and outdoors. Individual observations were recorded, highlighting children’s autonomy and creativity. Keep reading on the website!
The Case Studies section is available. It provides children educators with best practice references on how the documentation process can be implemented. The case studies have been created by early childhood educators and kindergarten teachers by documenting the progress of children. Check it out now!
Digital portfolios transform learning documentation through collaboration, self-reflection, and parental involvement. Technology simplifies creation, offering efficiency and accessibility. Challenges include technical issues and privacy. Designing engaging, interactive portfolios with family participation and robust data security is crucial for effective digital documentation in early childhood education. A video is available on the training course.
Educators are crucial, documenting children's kindergarten learning through keen observation, effective communication, self-reflection, and skillful pedagogical documentation. The primary goal is to make children's learning visible, understand their progress, address challenges, and share active learning with families and communities. A video is available on the training course.
Portfolios comprehensively document children's learning with diverse artifacts, showcasing progress, achievements, and growth areas beyond traditional assignments. They capture cognitive, social, and emotional development, offering educators, children, and parents invaluable insights into the learning process. A video is available on the training course.
Documentation is the process and products (photos, notes, art) of recording learning. Various methods exist, including narratives, sampling, and sociograms. Educators can use quick notes for later analysis, observing unobtrusively. Consider watching the suggested observation technique videos. A video is available on the training course.
During the fourth partner meeting in Dublin (IE) in October 2024, the partners analyzed the final training course content for kindergarten educators, defined the digital platform structure for creating children's digiportfolios, and assessed the current dissemination and exploitation activities.
Documentation in early childhood education is a transformative process, empowering educators, children, and families to co-create meaningful learning experiences. It involves observation, reflection, and dialogue, capturing moments of exploration and growth. Educators intentionally observe, interpret, and share these moments, constructing narratives that honor each child's perspective. Overcoming challenges, educators cultivate a culture of curiosity, reflection, and collaboration, making learning visible and fostering a sense of agency in children. A video is available on the training course.
Documentation, the process of recording artifacts like photos and notes, uses methods like narrative approaches and time sampling. Tools such as notebooks and phones enable unobtrusive observation in kindergarten, a routine practice for educators with varied intentions. Observation helps create stimulating environments through a sequence of steps, including defining objectives and action planning. A video is available on the training course.
The act of documenting yields various products, including photographs, notes, videos, and children's drawings and paintings (Elfström Pettersson, 2015). Documentation can be approached in many ways, such as through narrative methods, time and event sampling, sociograms, and mapping (Arnold, 2015; Fawcett & Watson, 2016; Pacey, 2016; Peterson & Elam, 2020). Tools like pocket notebooks, sticky notes, or phone notes enable educators to collect information spontaneously and contemporaneously for later development and analysis. These techniques facilitate unobtrusive observation. We suggest watching these two videos on observation techniques. A video is available on the training course.
Educators and children can analyse data together. This can become an iterative process, which can feed back into determining methods of collection. When analysing the data that has been gathered, it may help to include the children’s own terms, such as their specific names for spaces. This will preserve and respect the children’s contributions, and enable the children to discuss and compare emergent issues with their peers on their own terms. Analysis can be undertaken on an individual basis with children or collectively, providing multiple opportunities for reflection on the part of both the educator and the children, and enabling those less confident in a big group to express their view. Recognising the cycle of reflection and change through ongoing discussion with the children will support the educator in creating a dynamic curriculum. A video is available on the training course.
Educators are central to a child's early life beyond family, acting as key documenters of their learning and experiences in kindergarten. This involves keen observation, communication, self-reflection, and skilful management of pedagogical documentation to make children's learning visible, track progress, address issues, and share learning processes with families and communities. A video is available on the training course.
Pedagogical documentation serves various purposes for educators, children, and families, fostering deeper understanding, communication, and shared practices. It promotes reflection among professionals and strengthens partnerships between educators and parents to enhance comprehension of child development. This documentation is intended as an active tool for analysis, not just a passive record. A video is available on the training course.
The Project's channel is available on YouTube!. Check it out here!
The draft version of the handbook in the partners languages is available.The handbook delves into the core concepts, characteristics, and methods of pedagogical documentation. Additionally, it explores its intricate relationship with children's learning, emergent curriculum, and various participatory pedagogies.
The draft version of the handbook is available.This comprehensive guide has been curated to provide educators, practitioners, and stakeholders in the field of childhood education with a thorough understanding of pedagogical documentation and its pivotal role in enhancing children's learning experiences.
The Press and Media section is available on the project portal. Check it here to see all the media where the project was published.
The Training package is available on the project portal. Check the newly published module entitled "Creating Digital Portfolios"
The Training package is available on the project portal. Check the newly published module entitled "Practical Aspects of Documentation"
Project partners organized the third meeting in Braganca (PT) on 4 - 5 September 2023.
During the third partners' meeting, the partners:
The Training package is available on the project portal. Check the newly published module entitled "The Observation of Children's Action: Instruments and Processes"
The Pedagogical Documentation on Children´s Learning: Creating Digital Portfolios Course developed by the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB) team, was held in Romania, at the partner institution EuroED, and received kindergarten teachers from four countries, Italy, Portugal, Ireland and Romania
The Training package is available on the project portal. Check the newly published module entitled "Documenting Children’s DailyActions"
The Training package is available on the project portal. Check the newly published module entitled "Actors in the Pedagogical Documentation Process"
Different Institutions and organisations are being contacted to join the project in order to contribute to the improvement of the project's impact on their target groups and to ensure the project's sustainability by continuing to use the project deliverables in the next years.
The associate partners of the EYDP project are organizations interested in more effective and transparent communication patterns among childhood education and care systems and families.
Find out more information on the involved associated partners.
Project partners organized the second meeting in Florence (IT) on 6 - 7 March 2023.
During the second meeting, the European project partners presented the findings of the WP2 National Reports and discussed about the table of contents of the Handbook.
Moreover, the main financial and administrative issues and activities to be carried out were presented and discussed, as well as the templates to be used.
The Training package is available on the project portal. Check the newly published module entitled "Introduction The Concept of Pedagogical Documentation in Childhood Education"
The EYDP project website is available on the Internet. The project website is the main tool to guarantee the dissemination of the project information and the sustainability of the project result.
The project website is also an important support to the project management and facilitate partners' cooperation.
The EYDP Kick-Off Meeting took place online on 22 December.
Margarida Morgado from AEMT (PT) welcomed all the project partners to the Zoom platform where the meeting occurred.
The European project partners introduced themselves and their project’s related experiences and expertise. The main activities to be carried out were presented and discussed, as well as the templates to be used.
Cristina Mesquita (IPB) presented the draft version of the table of contents of teh handbook to be developed as the first project result.
The Early Years Digital Portfolio project is funded, by the European Commission through the Portuguese National Agency for the Erasmus+ Programme