Documenting Learning Stories electronically by using Book Creator

• Main Authors: Einarsdóttir, Bergþóra F., Björnsdóttir, Margrét Sigríður
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Menntavísindasvið Háskóla Íslands 2020
• Subjects: preschool; learning stories; information technology; action research; leikskóli; námssögur; upplýsingatækni; starfendarannsókn; Reykjavík
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/netla/article/view/3134

The article describes a collaborative action research project performed in one preschool in the greater Reykjavík area. The study is part of a larger collaborative project between RannUng (Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education) and five preschools in the neighboring municipalities of Reykjavík. The title of the collaborative action research is: Assessing children’s learning and wellbeing. The overall aim of the study in the five preschools was to find a way to develop methods to assess children’s learning and wellbeing in the preschools. This article describes the processes of the study in a preschool where the participants were preschool teachers and assistant teachers in two out of six departments, or classrooms, in the preschool. Those having an active role in the research were three preschool teachers and one assistant teacher, together with the preschool manager. The participating children were the oldest in these two departments and were soon becoming four years old. The groups from the two departments met once a week and jointly chose a common activity. The participants in the preschool had a partnership with a university teacher from the School of Education and a master’s student who acted as a contact person between the preschool and the university. The student’s role was to support the preschool team in developing assessment methods and assume responsibility for generating data in the preschool, such as taking interviews, writing a research diary, compiling documents and writing notes from meetings. The interviews took place in the beginning and the end of a school year and had the aim of following up on the process of change during the research.The master’s student registered sources such as the school curriculum guide, electronic Learning Stories and Heilsubók barnsins (Children’s Health book) which is a scale to assess quality as aspects of children’s development and skills are documented in the Heilsubók barnsins. Participants in the preschool were introduced to the Learning Story ...