'Peda' what? and how?

Pedagogical documentation through the eyes of the students allows for parents to see what and how their child is learning. Photography from a teachers’ perspective and from the students’ perspective are highly different. As a teacher, I want to photograph how they are doing something students are photographing what they see.

Photography is a small hobby of mine. I usually enjoy taking photos of landscapes because you can capture the moment, whereas taking photos of people requires more planning. Photos of people typically come with specific criteria based on the background, the positioning of the subject, lighting (and many more). I never thought as photography as a way to have children document their own learning process.

Sylvia Kind started a small project with the students in class by giving them a camera. To give young students a camera with little to no instructions as to what to photographed and how it should be done allowed for the students to photograph from their unique point of view.

When their photos were displayed Sylvia has said that “[t]heir conversations tended towards engaging with the photos and following their prompts, acting in response to the images, posing as the figures in the photos…” (Kind, 2013). I could imagine that allowing for students to take their own photos would be a great way for them to document their learning but also a great way for them to take control of their learning as well.

After their photos have been shared and they have had the opportunity to comment on what the photos show, the re-enactment is a compliment. I have seen students re-enact a show or copy what their parents or friends to because it is what they know and what they enjoy. Re-enacting their peers’ photos is a fantastic example of how they are learning and obtaining new information.
As a parent, I would have follow up questions based on the photo's that my child would be taking. I don't think that I would get all the information I need based on  photo of their forehead, to me, that would not necessarily give me a better insight to their learning. 

Photos are a brief look into that specific moment which is usually accompanied by a story. Just showing a photo without any information given is a great way to start a conversation on what they see.

Reference

Kind, S. (2013). Lively entanglements: The doings, movements, and enactments of photography. Global Childhoods 3(4). 427-441