Most educators might agree that opportunities to connect with students are the real gold, the real richness of the work. Not just being witness to those amazing light bulb moments, which are also pretty powerful, like my friend and colleague, Dan Kerr, just wrote about, but participating in that moment directly, helping to manufacture the opportunity is even more thrilling. As a teacher that happens much more often, of course. However, as an administrator, it’s often once removed. That’s why it’s great to take advantage of those opportunities when they present themselves.
My wife teaches in the emergent curriculum, play based, early childhood program that is part of our school. Recently their kitchen space was converted into a learning kitchen where students can be part of the food prep. She invited me to come and make some Pan de Muertos with the students, as part of their exploration of cultures and traditions. We were to debut the learning kitchen.
So, there I was, with eight 3 and 4 year old little creatures, getting ready to make some bread. I had my apron on and the ingredients on the table. They all started by washing their hands. Yep, water and soap on the floor, in eyes, and up noses.
Then, working in two teams, they began beating eggs with wet ingredients, and mixing dry ingredients. Uh huh, lots of flour on the floor and on their clothes, and fingers in the eggs.
Then, they combined wet and dry to make the dough. And ate it. I think we caught them all before they swallowed. Then, we began shaping the dough into the traditional Pan de Muertos shapes, flat bottomed, rounded base and bones to go on top. Some bones were too long and skinny, some were too fat and stumpy.
We collected each bread to let rise and be put in the oven. Then, it was time to clean up. Everyone helped gather the dishes, clean up the spills, and washed their hands. They needed help, and it took longer than it would had I done it alone.
Then, we did it again with a second group of 8!
The messiness, the ordered chaos, the sounds of the kitchen, the smell of the cinnamon (we didn’t have anise,) the sensation of the moist stretchy dough, all of these elements were a rich experience of the senses. Each step required cooperation from all of the students. Each student made their own bread, interpreting the shapes as they saw them. The students were fully engaged.
I was in the midst of that. I helped my wife, the real mastermind, create that experience for the students. And in the moment, while I certainly enjoyed it, I was focused on the experience. I was working to understand what each student needed in the moment to keep going. So, I didn’t fully appreciate that moment until after it happened, as I viewed the images my wife had snapped and collected as part of the documentation of learning.
Through documentation, you are able to reflect back and better understand what was happening in the moment, catching nuances that you hadn’t noticed before. This is just a glimpse of why documentation is so valuable. 
It was this picture, of this little boy, looking at me while we were making the bread that reminded me of this. He takes my hand and is comfortable and eager. He is excited to be there, and excited I’m there with him. I missed that in the moment, but now I see it.
Documentation can inform so many important inquiries. For the teacher it can serve as formative assessment, helping to answer “what are the next steps in this student’s learning?” Of course, this same question is answered for the student, as they can clearly see where they are in their learning, helping them to keep agency of that process. This also helps inform parents, as they have evidence of the student’s progress, and can be more connected to that process. Each member of the learning partnership benefits from the practice in a way that further supports learning.
The experience was a great one for me, and for my wife and the students. Especially, when they were able to eat the baked Pan de Muertos with some hot chocolate! Through documentation, we were able to extend that experience beyond the moment, and understand more about each individual learner and their learning process.
- Set up the environment for a great learning experience,
- Step back and let it happen,
- Observe and capture as much as possible,
- Be emotionally and intellectually present for every step.
That’s the take home for me, and why I’m so proud of my wife as an educator. She’s inspiring.
How do you create multi sensory learning experiences for your students? I’m looking at you high school teachers. What does this look like in high school?
How do you incorporate documentation into the learning process? How much time do you provide for students to reflect on their learning?
