Visual Documentation of Learning
The Reggio Emilia curriculum is best known for its emphasis on visual documentation of learning, not to be confused with the typical classroom and hallway displays of student work with which you might be familiar. Such documentation provides a “window on learning,” (Helm, Benecke & Steinheimer , 2007), essentially telling the story of children’s thinking over time. Teachers meticulously use children’s words, their own thoughtful reflections, and children’s work products to represent the origins and ongoing iteration of an inquiry over time. Ongoing documentation also serves another important purpose: Teachers use it to help children revisit earlier stages of a project and to develop higher-order thinking in the process.
Because the Reggio Emilia approach to curriculum revolves around project work, many teachers assume that it is similar to the use of thematic units, a popular strategy featuring a topic theme that American teachers use to integrate learning across multiple content areas of the curriculum. Look at Table 2.3 and consider how each of the elements of an emergent project differs significantly from thematic units.