The Looking at Documentation Protocol #1 is a short protocol designed to be used early on in the documentation process. This protocol can be helpful for looking at and critiquing documentation to be shared back with students, colleagues, and others. [Allow approximately 20 minutes for each piece of documentation.]

Encounter Documentation (5 mins.)

Documenter(s) verbally share key contextual information for their documentation.

Small group members ask clarifying questions and use the rest of the time to look at the documentation in silence

Discussion and Feedback (10 mins.)

Small group members provide feedback on the documentation (while the documenter(s) remain silent and take notes) with a focus on the following questions:

? Who are the members of the learning group in this documentation?

? What do they seem to be learning in this experience?

? How are they learning with and from each other?

? What in this documentation grabs your attention or feels especially compelling?

? How does the documentation communicate this?

Documenter(s) share a last thought or take-away (2 mins.)

Group thanks documenter(s) for bringing their work and reflects on usefulness of the protocol (2-3 mins.)

© 2006 Making Learning Visible Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education