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On a daily basis we find ourselves interacting in a multitude of group settings--families, communities, schools, workplaces--that are becoming increasingly diverse. As we become more group-oriented in the workplace and in schools, our knowledge of ourselves as individual learners and members of a community becomes more important. But while globalization in the 21st century highlights the ability to learn and function as part of a group, in most American schools the focus of almost all assessment and most aspects of instruction is on promoting individual performance and achievement. The Making Learning Visible (MLV) Project draws attention to the power of the group as a learning environment and documentation as a way for all--students, teachers, parents, administrators, and the community--to see how and what children are learning. In Phase I of the MLV Project, Project Zero, in collaboration with Reggio Children, explored documentation as a central component of group learning and produced a book, Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners (available from Project Zero's eBookstore). This book describes the results of our research and provides a framework for understanding and supporting individual and group learning. In Phase II, we explored how ideas and practices related to documenting individual and group learning that are grounded in experiences in the Italian context might enhance preschool, elementary, and middle-school education in the U.S. Along with eight Massachusetts teachers, we produced the monograph: Making Teaching Visible: Documenting Individual and Group Learning as Professional Development (also available from Project Zero's eBookstore). In Phase III, we conducted a monthly seminar at Project Zero around understanding, documenting, and supporting individual and group learning in pre-K-12 U.S. schools. Twenty-six teachers of students from culturally and economically diverse backgrounds created examples of documentation that both reflected and furthered their students' and their own learning. We also developed a Web site (pzweb.harvard.edu/mlv), held several summer institutes, and partnered with teacher educators to incorporate group learning and documentation into the pre-service and in-service curriculum. Currently, Project Zero is engaged in a new collaboration to facilitate the creation of communities of learners in six charter, pilot, and district public schools in Boston and Cambridge. This collaboration builds on the work of PZ, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association (MCPSA), and twelve district and charter public schools to share research and best practices related to documenting and supporting individual and group learning. PZ is engaged in similar work with the Wickliffe Progressive Community School in Upper Arlington, OH. Documentation from these collaborations was exhibited at a 2006 summer institute and can be found on the MLV Web site. The work of the preschools of Reggio Emilia has drawn international attention to the potentials and capacities of children as individual and group learners. We believe the work of the MLV project can be a powerful influence in recognizing the value of documentation and group learning in American schools. |
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Publications:
Cox Suarez, S. (2006). Making learning visible through documentation: Creating a culture of inquiry among pre-service teachers. The New Educator, 2(1), February, 33-55. Damian, B. (2005). Rated 5 for Five-Year-Olds. Young Children, 60(2), 50-53. Donovan, M., & Sutter, C. (2004). Encouraging Doubt and Dialogue: Documentation as a Tool for Critique. Language Arts, 81(5), 377-384. Krechevsky, M., & Stork, J. (1999). A Review of the Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Approach--Advanced Reflections. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 14(2) 275–279. Krechevsky, M., & Stork, J. (2000). Challenging Educational Assumptions: Lessons from an Italian-American Collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 30(1) 57-74. Krechevsky, M., Mardell, B., & Seidel, S. (2002, December 4). Diversity and Progressive Education: How Italian Preschools are Proving Dewey's American Detractors Wrong. Education Week, pp. 36, 38. Project Zero, Cambridgeport Children's Center, Cambridgeport School, Ezra H. Baker School, & John Simpkins School. (2003). Making Teaching Visible: Documenting Individual and Group Learning as Professional Development. Cambridge, MA: Project Zero. Project Zero and Reggio Children. (2001). Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners. Reggio Emilia, Italy: Reggio Children. Rothstein, A. (2006, February 8). Students as Coaches: One High School's Experiment in Using Students' Perceptions to Help Teachers Improve Instruction. Education Week, pp. 31-32. Turner, T., & Krechevsky, M. (2003). Who Are the Teachers? Who Are the Learners? Educational Leadership, 60(7), 40-43. |
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