By Rabia Khokhar
Theme: A Culture of Growth and Accountability – Essential Frameworks from Foundations for School Library Learning Commons in Canada: A Framework for Success
My Ideas about Documentation and Inquiry Questions
A few years ago, I started a teacher-librarian position in a downtown Toronto school community. I was eager to get started on some of our goals and tasks to support the library’s transition into a school library learning commons (SLLC). One of the aspects that really intrigued me was the concept of documentation. I wondered how I could engage in documentation within this space to share the transitions, changes, and intentional choices around our physical space, book collection and students’ learning. My initial and perhaps misinformed ideas were that documentation was mostly for classroom teachers and that it was a way to ‘put up’, display or share student’s work with the school and broader community. However, I was intrigued and interested in the role and purpose documentation could play in the SLLC. Through my work, I kept coming back to the following questions, “What would documentation mean and look like in the SLLC? and “What format would this form of documentation take? and What role did equity play in relation to documentation?
What is documentation and what role can it play in the SLLC?
Documentation is a process of capturing, highlighting, articulating and making visible the thinking and learning that is taking place within a space, topic/inquiry/subject area, experience project etc (Stacey, 2015; Tolisano and Hale, 2018). There is not one single way to document work but rather it can have many diverse and multimodal formats that can include graphic display of photographs, work samples, texts” (Stacey, 2015). To be meaningful and effective, each form and piece of documentation is unique, relevant and contextual to the specific educators, students, topic area and community. The carefully selected items that are documented strive to represent multiple voices. Therefore, documentation strives to move beyond simply ‘displaying work’ to reflecting and focusing on the learning and thinking process. Consequently, documentation can be a “work in progress” which invites engagement, insights, connections and further questions. The role of the educator in this process is to be a careful observer (Stacey, 2015; Seitz, 2008) and intentional in the focus and collection of the artifacts to document. While the educator often takes the lead in the documentation process, it is important that it is collaborative in nature in the way that elements are developed with other educators and students.
Documentation and the SLLC
Through my work as a teacher-librarian, I learned that documentation is a powerful tool that belongs in all teaching and learning spaces and it plays a role in the SLLC. The goal of documentation is to make the thinking and learning “visible, meaningful, sharable and amplified” (Tolisano and Hale, 2018). The SLLC is the heart of the school community and it is important that the thinking and learning that is taking place within this central space is shared with students so that they can feel a sense of joy, connection and pride towards their learning and growth. When we consider equity’s relationship to documentation and the SLLC, the following themes and considerations emerge.
Documentation as a Story
In its most central form, documentation tells and is a story. It is the intentionally curated story of a particular space, topic/inquiry/subject area, experience project etc. It is important to show, highlight and amplify the various voices and elements of this story. In relation to the SLLC, an equity lens will begin to unpack the types of stories that have been told about school libraries, the learning that happens within them and the role of the teacher-librarian. Often, there are stories that are limiting and do not capture the eternity of the incredible and critical work that happens within the SLLC. As well as the important and intentional role the teacher-librarian plays in cultivating such deep learning. Digh (2008) says “the shortest distance between two people is a story” and I firmly believe that through the process of documentation we can begin to shape the story of the SLLC in the ways that reflect it in a relevant and authentic way. The story that documentation can reinforce is that the SLLC is a place of collaboration, fostering a love of reading, an extension of learning from the classroom and a space with a carefully trained professional. Documentation can, in small and big ways, help us shift, change and expand the stories of the SLLC. In doing so, they can capture the joy, meaning and purpose of the space and students’ roles and experiences within it. It is this story that can help us advocate for this the importance of this space within the school community as it provides real life examples and ‘evidence’ of this work for students, staff, families and community members.
During my own documentation journey in the SLLC, I used the virtual platform Twitter, now known as X, to share thinking and learning that was taking place within the space. Many of the school’s parents, families and other educators were on this platform. It became a space to share the fun and exciting learning that was taking place as one parent came up to me and said “Every night my daughter wants to go on Twitter and see what was posted on the library’s page”. Students were excited to see their learning and experiences reflected in this space as they felt a sense of joy. Another way that I used my virtual documentation platform was to share with families and the community the thinking and intentional choices that were going into the decisions we were making around slowly transitioning the space from a library to a library learning commons. Posting short pieces of documentation helped us capture the journey our SLLC was engaging in and it created a space for open communication with the community. This is the story we wanted to tell and share and we used intentional documentation strategies to engage in this work. Our work in the SLLC was made visible through the multiple documentation formats and strategies we used such as our virtual Twitter/X platform, bulletin boards and other areas within the SLLC. This visibility of the thinking and learning helped us show the culture of growth we were trying to foster within the space. In doing so, we were able to use the documentation to advocate the importance of the SLLC and the multifaceted role of the teacher-librarian in different spaces.
Examples:
Bulletin Boards outside and inside the library capturing student’s experiences and voices for the Makerspace activities. As well as a Library News section sharing information with students, staff, families and the community about our SLLC.
Documentation on our virtual Twitter/X platform focused on sharing and capturing the step by step journey of the transition of our SLLC.
Documentation Fosters Community
The SLLC is the heart and center of the school community. It plays a significant role in the lives of students and can also be a space for parents, families and community members to meet for various learning opportunities. Learning that happens within a classroom can sometimes feel like it is taking place within its own silo. However, the SLLC can create meaningful and relevant connections within and amongst various classrooms. It is a space where collaboration is centered and various multifaceted skills are fostered through various learning experiences. Documentation is a central way to show and unpack the learning taking place within this space. It can intentionally create visibility and share the extensions and connections between the SLLC and classrooms. This process can foster communication and engagement amongst the school community. Students can also have an opportunity to feel a sense of pride, joy and belonging as they see aspects of themselves, their ideas and learning represented throughout the school.
Equity in relation to documentation and community will mean that we ask ourselves the following key questions: What do we mean when we consider the term community? Whose voices in the community have been centered? Whose are missing? Is the school community connected? How? What role can documentation in the SLLC play in fostering connections amongst the school community? How can this foster joy and belonging for all that we serve?
My own documentation journey in the SLLC helped me build community with the students, families, other teacher-librarians, educators and the broader community. Interestingly, once when I was walking to the bus stop after work, one parent approached me and said “Are you Ms.Khokhar, the librarian at our school? I’ve heard that you are leading really important work in the library.” It was affirming to receive this comment because it showed a connection; a forthcoming bridge between different stakeholders. It showed me that it is important to document in small and big ways because it creates room for collaboration, connection, the centering of student voice and ultimately a sense of community. All of this leads to a sense of advocacy and accountability within the SLLC. Often, there can be limiting ideas of discourses around the work that takes place within this space and documentation can help us advocate for the important role the SLLC plays within a school community.
Examples:
Above: A documentation area outside of the SLLC showcasing an inquiry. Photos of it were also posted on our virtual documentation account on Twitter/X.
Left: A friendship documentation bulletin board made collaboratively with a classroom.
A documentation area outside of the SLLC showcasing an inquiry. Photos of it were also posted on our virtual documentation account on Twitter/X.
Tips and considerations to support your documentation journey:
- Consider the format for your documentation:
- Will the format be digital or a physical space? Both?
- Who is the audience of your documentation?
- What might the engagement and impact be?
- Is the purpose of the documentation short or long term? Both?
Example: Twitter/X format for SLLC documentation
- Consider the story you want to tell through documentation:
- Whose voices will you centre in the story?
- How will you bring the community together?
- How will this story expand the stories that are known about this experience/space etc?
- What pieces (text, pictures, student work) will you use to tell this story?
- Consider having a common theme, inquiry question or topic that connects all the different pieces and elements
Example: An inquiry question connected all of the elements of the documentation pieces
- Consider how documentation is process:
- Where will you start the documentation process?
- Will you document everyday? Specific times?
- How will you get time to capture learning during a busy school day?
- What will the process look like for you and your community?
- What do you already know about documentation? What are you interested in learning?
Conclusion
Documentation is a powerful method to capture the learning taking place in the SLLC. It is a way to make it visible for the school and broader community. In doing so, documentation becomes a way to advocate for the SLLC and the role of the teacher-librarian. It is a way to build bridges between the school community. A parent once came up to me and said “Ms.Khokhar, as soon as I get home from work, my children ask to go on to Twitter/X so they can see what was posted on the library page. They are hooked and excited to share with me”. It was really an insightful moment for me to receive this feedback from a family because it showed me that documentation is important and that it can have a positive and joyful impact on our students’ lives. It can promote a culture of growth, accountability and advocacy. Documentation can help us all feel more connected as is one of the key goals of the SLLC.
References
Digh, P. (2008). Life is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake up, Be Mindful and Live Intentionally. Skirt!
Seitz, H. (2008). The Power of Documentation in the Early Childhood Classroom. Young Children, 88-93.
Stacey, S. (2015). Pedagogical Documentation in Early Childhood: Sharing Children’s Learning and Teachers’ Thinking. Redleaf Press.
Stockman, A. (2024). The Writing Teacher’s Guide to Pedagogical Documentation: Rethinking How We Assess Learners and Learning. Routledge.
Tolisano, S. & Hale, J. (2018). A Guide to Documenting Learning: Making Thinking Visible, Meaningful, Sharable and Amplified. Corwin.
Rabia Khokhar (she/her) is an elementary teacher in Toronto, a PhD student and an education and equity consultant. Her research interests include equitable education, children’s literature, and educator professional development. Rabia is passionate about bringing equity theory to practice in a variety of settings and contexts. She enjoys sharing her teaching, learning and research on her social media platforms. Rabia is the recipient of the Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario’s 2021 Anti-Racist and Equity Activism Award, the 2022 Professional Learning and Curriculum Development Award, the 2022 Angela Thacker Excellence in Teacher-Librarianship Memorial Award and the 2025 Harmony Movement Educator Award. You can find out more about Rabia on her website www.rabiakhokhar.com, X: @Rabia_Khokhar1 and Instagram: @Rabia_Reads.