LIBRARY SEARCH: RESULTS
Buldu, M. (2010). Making learning visible in kindergarten classrooms: Pedagogical documentation as a formative assessment technique. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, 1439-1449.
The purpose of this study was to explore the role of pedagogical documentation (a formative assessment technique) in Kindergarten classrooms. Specifically, Buldu examined the following: 1) the degree to which pedagogical documentation was useful to kindergarten teachers as a formative assessment method; 2) whether pedagogical documentation contributed to students’ learning; and 3) how pedagogical documentation helped parents understand their children’s learning experiences. Participants were 6 Kindergarten teachers, 141 Kindergarten children, and 67 of their parents. Data collection included participant-observation, semi-structured individual interviews, focus group interviews, and parent questionnaires. Results revealed that teachers had a positive response to pedagogical documentation, as all participating teachers felt it was very informative in terms of children’s understandings and misconceptions. Furthermore, the researcher found that pedagogical documentation helped to scaffold children’s learning, created a community of learners, increased children’s participation, motivation, and interest in learning, and increased children’s self-awareness. Buldu also found that pedagogical documentation helped parents better understand their child’s learning at school. Results are discussed in detail and implications for teacher practice are included.
Formative Assessment
