Now You See It: Using Documentation to Make Learning Visible in LCs

The practice of documentation is discussed as a means of making learning visible in the LC classroom. A documentation heuristic consisting of a four-stage cycle was used to capture, analyze and report what Bass and Eynon (2009) refer to as the "visible evidence of invisible learning" (p. 5). A variety of documentation samples are presented and examined in terms of what and how students integrated their learning individually and collectively over time. Documentation can prove to be a challenging pedagogy and professional development activity, however, due to the time and effort required to enact the process. Despite these challenges, the author concludes that documentation can deepen student learning through revisiting and reflection. It can also improve assignment design and teaching through more precise scaffolding relative to the integrative moves students make as they construct knowledge. Finally, documentation can fulfill multiple functions, including that of a pedagogical practice, assessment strategy, and research method.