Category: Educator Professional Development
Articles and resources to support educators professional growth and development
An infant and toddler curriculum – what does it look like?
The learning curriculum for infants and toddlers Documenting infants and toddlers learning If you work with infants and toddlers, the requirement to plan for and document a learning programme can seem a little bit out of reach. This means it can feel like you are spending large portions of your day helping children with meals, changing diapers/nappies, in the sleep...
Educators are researchers
Educators are researchers If I said to you “you are a researcher”, would you brush that off as being untrue? It’s true though, educators are researchers! Historically, an educator was the holder of all knowledge. And a student was the recipient of this knowledge. The child learnt by listening, reciting, copying, observing and remembering all of the knowledge and information...
Researching children’s interests
Researching children’s interests Researching children’s interests is part and parcel of our work as educators. But do we often rush to make assumptions about what they are truly interested in, without really digging below the surface? If we rush this process, we can make the mistake of veering off course with our programming, and miss the opportunity to deepen children’s...
Will implementing a digital documentation solution result in more parent engagement?
A new research study completed by Dr M.E. Picher on the use of a digital documentation technology (called Storypark) in Ontario’s kindergarten program shows that this technology had a positive impact on parents’ engagement in their children’s learning. The study, conducted by Picher for her PhD thesis at the University of Toronto, included 220 parents who used Storypark to receive...
North America’s First Independent Assessment on the Impact of Digital Documentation in Full-day Kindergarten
The use of digital documentation in early childhood programs is becoming more and more commonplace throughout Canada and the U.S. Many of these platforms talk about the benefits that they offer, but until recently, no known studies had been published on the impact of digital documentation in the early learning context in North America. Moreover, when I reviewed the...
Making teaching visible
We talk a lot about how documentation makes children’s learning visible and the importance of this, but have you ever stopped to consider what else is made visible? It makes teaching visible too! As teachers, it seems to be a common feeling that parts of the work we do with children are not recognized. That is not to say that...
Are you considering a digital documentation solution but worried it will be too much extra work? See the research that proves otherwise.
Findings from a 2019 research study on the use of a digital documentation technology (called Storypark) in full-day kindergarten showed that, overall, workload did not increase for the educators who participated in the study. The research, which was done by M.E. Picher for her PhD dissertation at the University of Toronto, took place in 11 kindergarten classrooms at four schools...
How does digital documentation help children directly?
It’s commonly understood that digital documentation can help educators and parents, but how does it help children directly? A new research study by Dr. M.E. Picher on the use of a pedagogical documentation technology (called Storypark) showed that the online platform had a positive impact on educator-parent communication, educator’s understanding of curriculum and parents’ engagement in their children’s learning. But...
Documenting Professional Growth in ECE
Documenting professional growth in ECE Documenting professional growth in ECE is an essential element and indicator, of quality practice. But finding the right system for collecting examples of your learning, relating this evidence to your work with children, reflecting on and using your learning to enhance your practice can be challenging to say the least. In the central North Island...
New! Digital Documentation Learning Modules
Storypark and Early Childhood Australia launch a series of digital documentation learning modules that support best teaching practice for educators and maximum impact for young children In 2019, Storypark embarked on a new project with Early Childhood Australia (ECA), to develop a suite of three digital documentation learning modules. The modules are titled “Engaging with digital documentation and technology”. After...