Supporting high school students’ self-directed learning experiences through documentation tool design

Abstract

This paper offers a case study of the co-design and evaluation of learning support tools resulting from a design-based research engagement with facilitators of a year-long high school self-directed learning (SDL) experience. As a co-design team, we developed an integrated set of physical and digital documentation tools - the SDL documentation kit - to support student reflection on their learning and articulation of their skills while building an evidence base that they could use to apply for competency-based micro-credentials. The documentation kit consisted of a QR-linked manipulable poster, an evidence upload form, a structured cloud folder, and a timeline visualization function. The kit was made available to over 60 students, with 14 students and two educators (also co-authors) taking part in an exploratory study of tool deployment. Mixed methods findings suggest that the kit was successful in supporting key documentation-related learning processes of reflection and articulation, and that students linked the documentation kit affordances of organization, tracking progress, and making their thinking visible to their confidence in completing their SDL experience and applying for selected micro-credentials. We discuss implications for the design of documentation technology for learning, including the importance of centering pedagogical values and practices.