This resource provides guidance on using stories to assess learning at Playcentre. Stories are a powerful way to reflect on and share understandings of children's learning. Different types of stories can be used including learning snippets, Learning Stories, group stories, and reflection stories. Effective assessment involves observing children, understanding their learning, and responding to support further learning. Playcentres develop daily routines like discussions to document and make sense of children's learning. Assessment aims to understand children as competent learners and shape future learning opportunities. Documentation makes the learning visible for children, families, and the Playcentre community.

1. Playcentre pakiwaitara
Weaving our stories, learning together
Canterbur y Playcentre Association
1

2. This resource is the collaborative work of Playcentre people in Canterbury
Association who have dedicated their time and energy striving to understand the
possibilities of assessment, planning and evaluation within the Playcentre context.
These understandings are fluid and will change over time, but the intention of the
resource is go guide others in their journey.
The ideas and perspectives of many people are captured in this resource, but I
would like to thank a few who were instrumental in developing it:
• Alex Ireland (Canterbury Playcentre Association)
• Anne-Marie Mullis (Canterbury Playcentre Association)
• Eleanor White (St Albans Playcentre)
• Keryn Davis (UC Plus)
• Kim Tenebaum (Landsdowne Terrace Playcentre)
• Kirsty Brown (Canterbury Playcentre Association)
• Michelle Marshall (Rolleston Playcentre)
• Nikki Wellby (Southbridge Playcentre)
• Rachel Hill (Canterbury Playcentre Association)
• Robbyn Madden (Somerfield Playcentre)
• Sally Couper (Canterbury Playcentre Association)
Dalene Mactier
Canterbury Playcentre Association
© Canterbury Playcentre Association 2010

3. Contents
Learning through stories 3
Assessment for learning 4
How do we assess children’s learning? 6
Documentation 8
Stories that grow 11
Individual children’s stories 12
Five steps in observing children 13
Growing children’s stories 14
What about Learning Stories? 15
Writing Learning Stories 16
An example of a Learning Story 17
What about profile books? 18
Collaborative learning 19
Growing collaborative stories 20
An example of a collaborative story 21
Adult reflection stories 22
Example of a reflective story 23
The review story 24
Self Review Board 25
Wise practice at Playcentre 26
Glossary 27
References 28
Storytelling is the
thread which is
woven deep
in our lives, our
conscious, our
humanity. It has
the power
to bring
understanding
amongst the
peoples of the
world. Tell and
listen.
Antonio Rocha
1

4. Stories are the medium through we can communicate meaningfully with each other. Our wisdom, our intuitive
knowing is imbedded in the stories we tell. Just after our need for food and even before our need for love, we
have a need for story.
Storytelling is the oldest form of communication. The first thing people do upon meeting each other is begin
telling stories. A wise teacher once said, “The shortest distance between two people is a story.” Another teacher
was asked by his frustrated students one day, “Master, we ask to hear the truth and all you tell us are stories.”
The Master smiled and replied, “The shortest distance between a person and the truth is a story. “
Stories invest our lives with meaning, they develop and express our creativity. They help us to laugh at
ourselves. They give us the strength to face life’s difficult moments. They connect us more vitally with ourselves
and each other and they turn ordinary moments into extraordinary ones.
“If there were no stories there would be no world because the world is made up of stories,” said a child when
asked the question. “What are stories?” Think about it. We create with our stories. We imagine what is possible,
we make up a story about it. We bring that story into existence. Our words, our images are just that powerful.
According to brain/mind research, we organize information in story form. It is how we make sense of the world
around us. And it is how we communicate that understanding to another. Stories allow us to bypass the linear
and access whole brain learning.
When I tell you a story, I let you into my world. I cannot tell you who I am without telling you a story. Stories
illustrate the text of our lives. They go beyond facts into feelings. They engage the whole of us--our minds and
our hearts. By storying my life, that is, by telling about the incidents that give my life meaning I make sense out
of it. I begin to connect the dots of my experience and as I do, gracefully, artistically, memorably, I invite you to
go inside and begin to connect your own dots to make sense out of your own experience.
(Gabriel, 1999)
Naku te rourou nau te
rourou ka ora ai te iwi.
With your basket and my
basket the people will
live.
2

5. Learning through stories
Introduction
Stories are a powerful way to reflect on and develop our understandings of the world and to share our
knowledge with others. In Playcentre we use stories to show how children and adults learn. Stories might be
written down as learning snippets, Learning Stories, group stories and reflection stories. Often the stories will
be told or captured in a photo.
Regardless of the type of record, we recognise that stories are a powerful way to share our knowledge about
what children and adults are learning and how we can support their learning; as well as reflecting on our
practice and finding ways to improve.
At Playcentre all the stories are connected to each other. Individual and group assessment and planning,
reviewing our own practices in self review and reflective journals – are all part of the collective story of the
quality of our centres.
The intention of this booklet is to show that connections between the smaller stories grow the bigger story.
This booklet show possibilities rather than recipes. Within a socio-cultural context each centre will find
assessment practices that will work for them. Some centres might do a lot of documentation, while others
might rely more on telling, than writing. These practices will change over time as the community change.
Whatever it looks like, it has to be manageable for the Playcentre community and it has to be meaningful in
that it affects children’s learning.
The focus in this booklet is to use assessment tools and practices that will uncover possibilities for children’s
learning, rather than cover all children. It discusses possibilities to do so for individual children as well as
encourage children to learn collaboratively.
While there is no set standard for good assessment practices, there are some principles that make for wise
assessment practices. These are captured on page 26 under the section ‘Wise practice at Playcentre’.
Finally remember that this booklets sits next to Te Whāriki, Kei Tua o te Pae, Ngā arohaehae whai hua/Selfreview guidelines for early childhood education and other resources from the Ministry of Education.
Kei pai to raranga!
Stories have power. They delight,
enchant, touch, teach, recall, inspire,
motivate, challenge. They help us
understand. They imprint a picture on
our minds. Want to make a point or
raise an issue? Tell a story.
Janet Litherland
3

6. Assessment for learning
What is assessment?
Mary Jane Drummond (1993) quoted in Kei Tua o te Pae defines assessment as: ‘The ways in which, in our
every day practice, we (children, families, whānau, teacher and others) observe children’s learning (notice),
strive to understand it (recognise), and then put our understanding to good use (respond).’
According to Mary Jane Drummond’s definition of assessment, it requires us to:
• Observe children to carefully listen to children to see what they are interested in, what goals are they
setting for themselves and what ideas are they trying to make sense of.
• To understand children’s learning we need to have some knowledge about how children develop and
learn.
• To respond requires us to take action; to plan an action to affect children’s learning.
• To do this in every day practice rather than once a term at a planning meeting.
When we observe children Te Whāriki encourages us to take a holistic view of the child, to:
• Focus on the child’s strengths and interests rather than the gaps in the child’s learning (credit model
opposed to a deficit model).
• To broaden our lens to notice how the child’s skills, knowledge, strategies, attitudes, working theories and
dispositions compose the child’s learning identity.
• To see the child as a competent and able learner.
The Ministry of Education defines effective assessment as:
•
•
•
•
An everyday practice that involves noticing, recognising and responding to children’s learning.
Formative in that it effects learning and teaching.
It requires knowledgeable practitioners that understand children’s learning.
It includes and actively involves children and their whānau/families.
(http://www.educate.ece.govt.nz/learning/curriculumAndLearning/Assessmentforlearning.aspx )
Why do we assess at Playcentre?
• To create a community of learners where adults and children,
Playcentre members and whānau/families learn together and
negotiate what learning is valued in their community.
• To help children to find their passions and follow them.
• To help children and adults to view children as competent
and able learners, who have good ideas, who can problem
solve and make decisions about their own learning.
• To grasp what children are striving to understand so that we
can help them to make sense of their world and achieve their
goals.
• To make children’s world wider, more complex, more
compelling.
4
Assessment is a process of making
sense and of understanding children’s
learning.

7. Assessment and planning in Playcentre
Playcentre is a unique setting and assessment and planning will be different
from other settings. Our uniqueness bring both strengths and challenges to
assessment:
In Playcentre we have a rich learning community where children and adults work
together. The gap between teaching and the whānau/families disappears as
whānau/families are the teachers.
The community comes into the centre as the whānau/families who forms the
wider community participates daily in Playcentre.
Children feel secure and have a strong sense of belonging as they work alongside
their whānau/families and therefore are willing to take risks in their learning.
Assessment
sits within the
socio-cultural
context of the
community,
society and
culture.
For every child there is at least one adult at the centre who has expert knowledge
about the child and the context in which the child’s learning is taking place.
Playcentre is an extension of the home as whānau/families come together at the centre. Relationships usually
extend beyond the Playcentre gates and often children will have a strong relationship with at least one other
adult (than their own parent) both inside and outside the Playcentre.
The mixed aged settings in Playcentre offer unique opportunities for tuakana-teina relationships and ako where
children from different ages and adults take the roles of teachers and learners.
Playcentre is a community of learners where adults and children share their different perspectives, knowledge
and skills to learn together.
Low child to adult ratios provide unique opportunities for adults to observe children and develop an
understanding of their learning; and engage in in-depth discussions.
The conversations of children’s learning on session are often continued at home when Playcentre members
socialise together.
As a volunteer organisation the requirement of documented assessment can sometimes be overwhelming. Each
centre has to work at finding a way of making it manageable and meaningful for their community.
As experts of our own children, assessment can sometimes become invisible as we notice, recognise and
respond instantly and intuitively to our children. The challenge for Playcentre is to make these actions visible for
the wider community.
Playcentre is vulnerable to a wide range of perspectives on important learning, and it is an ongoing challenge to
develop a shared understanding of the learning that we value.
5

8. How do we assess children’s learning?
How do we assess?
Assessment is about telling the stories of how children learn. Assessment is described as a process of notice,
recognise and respond (Kei Tua o te Pae Booklet 1, 2004). Every day on session (and at home) we will notice
many things children are doing, recognise some of that as learning, and respond to some of what we recognise.
This process of notice, recognise and respond entails mindful observation and listening on our part to
understand what children are learning.
Much of our assessment will be informal and undocumented. At Playcentre undocumented assessment will
involve conversations between adults, adults and children and children and children.
Documented assessment includes a range of narrative records, photos, videos and examples of children’s work.
Documented assessment allows us to make the learning visible, reflect on and revisit important learning and
invite multiple perspectives.
Documented and undocumented assessment involves a process of observing, listening, thinking, reflecting,
speculating.
Effective assessment requires us to understand how children learn and develop and the knowledge and skills to
use teaching techniques to support and encourage children’s learning.
Daily assessment routines
Playcentres with effective assessment
practices have clear assessment process and
daily routines that all the members are aware
of. Daily assessment routines might include:
• Before session briefing meeting
discussing the learning opportunities and
possibilities for the session, who’s on
session and how to support and extend
the children.
• An end of session discussion with adults
and children to discuss what happened on session, what learning was
noticed and how this can be extended to the next session.
• Regular meetings to discuss more in-depth what and how the children are
learning and what the adults can do to support their learning.
• Opportunities for adults to document in a variety of forms, for example
learning snippets, photos and Learning Stories.
6
It takes a
village to
raise a child
… and it takes
a community
to educate
children.

9. Principles of formative assessment
• Formative assessment shapes and informs learning.
• Learning is responsive and process orientated. The content is less important
than the process. We focus on nurturing dispositions and exploring working
theories to help children make sense of their worlds.
• Learning is complex, uncertain, multidirectional and multidimensional
– maybe it is this, maybe it is that. There are multiple possibilities and
pathways.
• The view of the child is one of competent and able. We use a credit model to
assess the child.
• The principle of ako is central to formative assessment. We are all teachers
and we are all learners.
• Formative assessment takes place in everyday contexts. It closely reflects real
life. Ordinary moments offer extraordinary possibilities.
Each
Playcentre
will define
what is
quality
assessment
in their own
setting.
• Responding to children’s learning may require us to continue to listen, or
to have a conversation, to scaffold, celebrate and consolidate, or to offer a
provocation.
• We aim to make the learning visible through narrative assessment, by sharing our stories of what the
children are learning.
• The child’s perspective is central.
‘Teaching is mostly listening, and
learning is mostly talking.’
• We seek multiple perspectives through
dialogue with others who might include
children, other members, whānau,
parents, and family. It is an interactive
subjective process.
• Assessment is a continuous process.
Learning can be as brief as a few
moments, or continue for several
months.
• Assessment is inclusive of all children,
regardless of age, gender, culture or
special needs.
• Assessment can be ‘on the hop’,
retrospective or forward.
• The purpose of assessment is to support children’s learning to become wider, more secure and/or more
complex.
• Assessment for learning implies that we have some aims or goals for our children’s learning. Within the
context of Te Whāriki these goals are to provide:
ÌÌ
ÌÌ
ÌÌ
ÌÌ
ÌÌ
Interesting environments where children can feel at home (Belonging – Mana Whenua).
Trustworthy environments where children will thrive (Well-being – Mana Atua).
Challenging environments where children can be stretched (Exploration – Mana Aoturoa).
Environments where adults are listening so children share their thinking (Communication – Mana Reo).
Collaborative environments where children can learn through working together (Contribution – Mana
Tangata).
7

10. Documentation
Why do we document?
Documentation helps us to make visible the valued learning in our community. By documenting the learning
we find important, we create opportunities to affect children’s learning. We may have different audiences in
documenting children’s learning:
The children
When children see their learning documented they know that their work, ideas and thinking is valued. The
documentation encourages them to reflect, revisit and assess their own learning and to repeat the task or adjust
to get a different outcome. Children can assess their own work by asking for their photo to be taken or their
story to be written, use the camera and select examples of work to be included in their profile book.
Whānau/families
When we document children’s learning we can help whānau/families to recognise the important learning in
seemingly unimportant moments. Documentation explain the learning to help the whānau/families understand
how children learn through play. Highlighting the learning within the Playcentre context may support whānau/
families to recognise the learning at home and respond to it.
Ourselves
Documentation allows us to reflect and grow a deeper understanding of what children are learning, and adjust
our actions to improve outcomes for children’s learning.
The Playcentre community
Documentation in the Playcentre community can be used to start conversations about children’s learning,
reflecting on collaborative learning, building relationships and seeking connections; and making planning
decisions for children as individuals or in groups to extend their learning.
The wider community
Documentation highlights the learning that is valued at Playcentre and helps the wider community to
understand and value play as children’s work. When we document how children learn through play we can help
others to change their lens to see children as
competent and confident learners. Lillian
Katz said “ ... while we overestimate children
academically, we underestimate them
intellectually.” (Katz, 2009).
The Playcentre
community needs to
negotiate how much
they will document
and how they will go
about it. This might
look different in each
Playcentre setting.
8

11. How do we make the learning visible?
We can use a wide variety of methods to document children’s
learning:
• Learning snippets (anecdotal stories)
• Learning Stories
• Transcripts
• Photos
• Photo Stories
• Comic strips
• Profile books
• Video stories
While the whole
Playcentre community
is responsible
for documenting
children’s learning,
centres need inspiring
curriculum leaders to
make it happen.
• Learning artefacts (examples of children’s work)
What do we document?
Choosing to document is a progressive filtering process: Every day we will notice many things, we will recognise
some of what we notice, we will respond to some of what we recognise and will only document some of what
we’ve recognised. When we choose what to document, we focus:
On the complex learning where documentation might help us to understand the learning in order to make
planning decisions.
Celebrations of the child’s learning and
development – reaching milestones and trying new
things.
Learning events to look back on for adults and
children to notice progress.
Stories where we notice children striving to make
sense of their world by refining their working
theories.
Following patterns of learning such as schemas to
widen and complicate their exploration.
Following children’s passions and interest to
strengthen their learning.
Stories that make children’s emerging islands of
interest and islands of expertise, possible selves
and learner identities visible.
9

12. Notice, recognise and respond
Using notice, recognise and respond as a framework for documented
assessment in Playcentre
Documentation of learning can sometimes be a challenge in Playcentre. While the bulk of what we ‘notice,
recognise and respond’ will remain undocumented, this concept can provide us with a possible framework to
ensure that we keep documentation both manageable and meaningful.
Notice
Children’s learning is primarily documented every day on session by writing learning snippets (one or two line
stories) and photos. Photos are a powerful tool to capture the stories of children’s learning.
Recognise
The learning community meet on a regular basis to analyse the learning snippets and photos for individual
children and the group. The aim is to find trends, patterns and passions in children’s learning? Looks for the links
between the stories. Perhaps there are stories of interest? Or persistence? Or developing working theories? Or
making sense of the world?
Respond
Organising the child’s profile book into trends, patterns and passions and add the photos and the learning
snippets accordingly. As the documentation grow, ‘islands of interest and expertise’ and possible selves will
emerge, and the child’s story and identity as a learner will become visible and we will be able to respond to
the child in an authentic way. Some of the learning snippets and photos might lead to more detailed forms of
documentation such as Learning Stories, learning posters or learning story books.
How do you
make the
learning visible in
your Playcentre?
10

13. Stories that grow
Weaving the stories together
Formative assessment is a process. It does not have a beginning, nor an end. The purpose is always about
improving learning outcomes for children. Evaluation is linked to our assessment practices. Evaluation is about
looking critically at our own and centre practices to improve on how we support children’s learning. In our
everyday practice these two aspects together build up the bigger story of assessment, planning and evaluation.
It includes
• Records of individual children’s learning.
• Records of children learning collaboratively as a community.
• Records of adult reflections that flow from our work with children.
• Records of spontaneous reflections and more in-depth review (ie
self review) of how we work with children and how we support their
learning and development through play.
The challenge for Playcentre is to find and show the links between the
different parts of the story and to make it visible for the community.
Building stories
How do you
make the
learning visible in
your Playcentre?
• We can build stories about children’s learning over many sessions,
including many perspectives.
• The four W’s and an H question is a helpful tool in building stories:
ÌÌ
What happened here?
ÌÌ
Why is it important?
ÌÌ
Who was involved?
ÌÌ
When does it happen?
ÌÌ
How can we support/extend this learning?
11

14. Individual children’s stories
Documentation for individual children will include stories about how they use their skills, knowledge, learning
strategies, dispositions and working theories to make sense of their world. Documentation that captures the
essence of the child will create a sense of who the child is as a learner.
Adults often zoom in and focus on assessing children’s knowledge and skills, but Te Whāriki invites us to zoom
out to use a holistic lens and focus our assessment on dispositions and working theories. While knowledge and
skills can be assessed with a certain amount of certainty, focusing on dispositions and working theories requires
us to feel comfortable with uncertainty and being willing to speculate. Documentation becomes a vehicle for
speculation about what children are learning.
Stories about individual children’s stories are built over time and
become rich when we include many perspectives and a variety of
documentation:
• Photos
• Learning snippets
• Learning artefacts
• Learning Stories
• Group stories
• Videos, and beyond.
To support individual children’s learning we need to know them
well and understand their thinking. In order to ensure that we
know our children on a deep and meaningful level it’s a good
idea to take time out from time to time to observe children with
the intention to get to know them and understand their thinking.
Doing so in a systematic way might be helpful to ensure that our
assessment practices are inclusive of all children – even the quiet
ones and the babies.
However, having a systematic approach to observing children
to ensure we ‘know’ all our children, should never stop us from
following children’s passions and interests as they emerge.
How does your
documentation
capture the
child’s identity?
12

15. Five steps in obser ving children
Ordinary moments are precursors to more in-depth investigations, they reveal the child’s thinking and learning,
they change the adult’s thinking about the image of the child. In reality there are no ordinary moments but
rather extraordinary moments for both the child and the adult (if the adult takes the time to value them). The
five session plan to observe a child’s learning provides a framework to slow down and listen with care.
Session 1
Before you begin your observation
journey, write down what you
know about this child: How does
this child make sense of the
world? Who is important in this
child’s life? How does this child
approach new experiences? What
fascinates this child? What puzzles
this child?
Spend time on the session (2030 minutes) observing without
talking.
Write down what you observe.
Look for strengths and interests;
something you did not notice
before.
Discuss your observation with a
peer and the child’s whānau. Talk
about something new you learned
or excited you.
Write your reflections and
discussions down.
Session 2
Observe the child again. This time
do so with a camera. Again 30
minutes, no talking only listening
with the lens of the camera.
Afterwards unpack the images.
What did you capture? What did
you learn new about the child?
What was the child learning? How
was the child learning? What
strategies did the child use? What
do you think the child is trying to
make sense of? What do you think
the child’s goals are?
Look through the documentation
in the child’s profile book. What
are the links between what you
observed and what is documented
in this child’s profile book?
Discuss what you’ve learned about
this child with a peer and the
child’s whānau.
Consider how you can get
feedback from the child about
his/her learning? How could you
present your observation in a way
that would support the child’s
learning on the next session?
Perhaps write a Learning Story,
make a digital photo story, a story
board? Think about how you can
share it with a child who is not
using language? What do you need
to do to ‘listen’ to this child.
Write your observations and
reflections down.
Session 3
Share your observations with the
child. Document your discussion
with the child.
How did the child respond? Did
your documentation affect the
child’s play? In what way? What
else did you learn about this child?
Discuss what you’ve learned about
this child with a peer and the
child’s whānau. Talk about that
something new you learned or
excited you.
How can you respond to extend
the child’s learning? Do you need
to scaffold for the child? Can
you offer a provocation? How
could you present the materials
differently or in a way that would
support the child’s learning on the
next session?
Write your observations and
reflections down.
Session 4
Respond to the child by
scaffolding, offering a provocation
or presenting the materials
differently or in a new way and
observe and document again with
the camera. Again unpack what
you captured or documented
through the lens of the camera
and any notes.
Continue documenting with the
materials that have been added.
Think about whether the materials
changed the child’s play from your
first observation? How? What did
you learn? What were the ah-ha
moments for you? What was the
child learning? What was your
role?
Discuss what you’ve learned about
this child with a peer and the
child’s whānau. Talk about that
something new you learned or
excited you.
Write your observations and
reflections down.
Session 5
Observe and document the same
child again. Rethink, reflect, and
reinvent the image of this child.
Again unpack what you are
learning about who this child is
as a learner. What strategies did
you see the child using as he/she
worked? What did the moment
mean? What was the child trying
to make sense of?
When finished revisit your
very first thoughts on that preobservation of this child. How
had your thinking about this child
changed? Lay the images from
each day out.
Look and think about what
changed in your mind from day
to day using the images as a way
to revisit and rethink. What were
you looking for? What was the
new thing driving you to keep
13
watching?

16. Growing children’s stories
Lauren loves being at Playce
ntre, but
still prefers to stay close to
me. She
finds it especially hard now
that I’m
coordinating a session. Encou
rage her
to join in with others.
Dalene, 7 June 2004
Ella found a piece of wrapping
paper and said she wanted to wrap
a present, but didn’t know what she
could wrap up. Lauren said she will
help Ella and she suggested that
she could wrap up blocks. The two
of them went off to find blocks to
wrap up. It’s a big step for Lauren
to spontaneously join in with other
children’s play.
Dalene, 26 August 2004
Lauren, Eve and Sara
are making drawings
of their discoveries on
the moon.
Lisa, 17 September
2004
I put charcoal out to make drawing and asked
Ella if she has ever done charcoal drawings.
Lauren said she will show her how to do
charcoal drawings.
Lauren and Ella don't usually play together.
For Lauren being able to take the role of
teacher helped her to work and play with
someone new.
Dalene, 9 August 2004
Lauren played together with
the other children today with
the parachute. She is starting
to join in with group activities
more often.
Nikki, 13 October 2004
Grace, Eve,
Sarah, Ella and
Lauren worked
together to put
on a show for us.
Mary, 12
December 2004
14

17. What about Learning Stories?
What is a Learning Story?
• Learning Stories are narrative records of children’s learning, based on the framework of Te Whāriki. It is
line with the principles of Te Whāriki and the five strands provide a structure for the stories.
ÌÌ Mana whenau/Belonging: Taking an interest
ÌÌ
Mana atua/Well-being: Being involved
ÌÌ
Mana aotūrua/Exploration: Persisting with difficulty
ÌÌ
Mana reo/Communication: Expressing a point
ÌÌ
Mana tangata/Contribution: Taking responsibility
• The Learning Story format was developed by Margaret Carr.
• Learning Stories are credit based – they focus on what the child can do.
• Our socio-cultural context – location, people, culture – becomes visible through Learning Stories.
• They highlight the child’s learning dispositions, working theories, strategies, skills and knowledge.
• One aspect of a child’s
learning could be
foregrounded while
another aspect can
be backgrounded.
For example a story
might focus on the
child’s working theory
(foregrounded),
while persistence is
backgrounded.
• Learning Stories can
be quite short stories
or several episodes of
learning linked together.
Why write Learning
Stories?
Everyone enjoys a good
story. Learning Stories are a powerful tool to make important learning visible, so that children, families and
coordinators can foster ongoing and diverse learning pathways for the children.
Who writes Learning Stories?
At Playcentre both undocumented and documented assessment is a collective responsibility of the Playcentre
community. It is for the centre to negotiate how many stories will be written. At some centres more
experienced members support less experienced members to write stories. The focus should be on the process,
rather than the product. The question is not how many stories
should we write, but how effectively are the stories supporting
our children’s learning.
Learning Stories capture
the extraordinary
learning in the ordinary
moments.
15

18. Writing Learning Stories
How to write Learning Stories?
There are three parts to a learning story – story, analysis and what next/possible lines of direction.
The story [Notice]
The story is written retrospectively. The story (what we noticed) is a description of the child’s learning and the
context in which the learning took place. Describing the context of the story helps the reader to understand the
importance of the story.
What makes a good Learning Story? Think for a moment about the elements of good story:
• Good stories usually take place over time, sometimes days or months but the time can be condensed.
• Rather than minuting every detail, just the main really important events are included.
• Details about the context and background to engage the reader are included.
• It describe actions, feelings and interpretations (Hatherly & Sands 2002).
The analysis [Recognise]
In the analysis you try to make sense of the child’s learning. Ask yourself:
• What are this child’s goals?
• What is the child trying to make sense of?
• What patterns of learning are visible?
• What theories are the child making sense of?
The analysis sits in the context of the principles and strands of Te Whāriki.
What next? [Respond]
In the ‘what next’? you ask what the adults need to do to support the child’s learning? To make this child’s
learning deeper, richer or more complex? How can the adults support the child to reach her goals? Make sense
of his world?
You might need to scaffold for him to enable him to succeed.
Or you can choose to provoke further learning by wondering
out loud, looking at a book, bringing an interesting object in or
sharing your story. Or you might encourage higher level thinking
through supporting the child in developing his theory. Or you
might encourage an in-depth investigation through questions
and provocations. Or you might simply choose to consolidate and
celebrate – opportunity to master the new skill through practice. Or
continue to observe and discuss to develop a deeper understanding
of the child’s learning.
How do we support
people writing?
Group writing
together
16

19. An example of a Learning Stor y
Teaching others
Lately Lauren really enjoys playing board games. Today she asked me to play the shopping list game. I was busy
with someone else and said I will join her when I’m finished. When I came back she has organised Eve, Sarah
and Zane to play. They giggled while they changed the rules of the game to suit them. Lauren told me with
great pleasure that Zane won. She said “I thought I was going to win, but Zane did!”
What is important here?
Lauren took responsibility for the group and organised a board game. She took great pleasure in helping Zane
to understand the rules of the game. I think this was a first for Zane. He prefers to be outdoors exploring. She
negotiated with other children and they changed the rules. Later they changed the rules back to the original
rules.
What next?
Lauren is very aware that she is now the oldest. She enjoys taking responsibility and we can give her more
opportunities to take responsibility for the group. She has come a long way since the time that she did not
want to join in with group activities!
17

20. What about profile books?
Why do we have profile books for children?
Profile books are a documented journey of children’s learning. It shows how children have grown and
developed over time, and progress in their learning.
It is compelling evidence that the children are competent and confident learners.
For profile books to be used effectively they need to be accessible to children – both physically and
intellectually.
What should be included in profile books?
To create an authentic picture of the child’s journey at Playcentre, profile books should include a rich variety
of children’s learning, for example photos and photo stories, learning snippets and stories, Learning Stories,
transcripts of conversations, working theories, reflections, questions, drawings and other examples of children’s
work.
How can we use profile books?
It can be used as a communication tool where adults and children can look back, revisit and reflect to consider
opportunities and possibilities for the child’s learning and make collaborative decisions about where to go next.
While profile books are more often organised chronologically, organising it according to ‘islands of interests’ or
‘islands of identity’ – trends, interests and passions, can help to make the links between visible learning and
therefore support the adults in responding to children’s learning and supporting them to develop ‘islands of
expertise’.
Who is responsible for profile books?
It is for the Playcentre members to discuss who is responsible for keeping profile books up to date. However,
it has to be a collective responsibility, rather than just the coordinator, supervisor or curriculum team’s
responsibility.
Who do the profile books belong to?
The profile book ultimately belongs to the child, and the adults in the centre should respect this. Children
should be involved in the decisions of what to put in their profile book.
Do children read
their profile books
on session?
18

21. Collaborative learning
Why do children need to learn to work together?
Children do not learn in isolation, they learn in context of their relationships with others. While it is important
that we notice all the children and respond to them individually, it is also important to see their learning in the
context of their relationships with others.
A framework for collaborative learning
‘Notice, recognise and respond’ provide us with a framework to support children’s learning in groups:
Notice
• Notice the trend, interest or passion.
• Reflect on the documentation over time – learning
snippets, Learning Stories, photos.
• Observe the children.
• Discuss the possible learning with the adults and
children.
Recognise
• Strive to make sense of the children’s learning and
understand their goals. What are they trying to achieve?
Why are they fascinated with this? What is this interest
really about?
• Discuss further with adults and children to deepen your
understanding.
• Seek expert views. Do a literature review.
Respond
•
•
•
•
What do the adults need to do support this play or exploration?
What do we need to change in the environment to support this play?
What provocations or experiences can we provide to the children?
How can we use documentation to promote the continuation of this exploration?
Reflect and revisit
How did it go? What did the children learn? What did the adults learn? What could we have done differently?
Where will we take this next?
Making the learning visible
To support and extend a group interest it is important to
make the interest visible to the wider community. This can
be done in several different ways:
• Talk about it. Word of mouth is very powerful. Tell the
children and adults about it. Ask their opinion about
where to next?
• Document the interest in a visible manner – poster size
photos, posters with photos and text, large captions
on the wall prompting ideas about the interest.
Centres with quality
practice will have children
working together, sharing
and discussing their ideas
to be creative and problem
solve.
• Use email, online forums and blogs.
• Discuss in meetings with children and adults.
19

22. Growing collaborative stories
Lauren, Jack and Zane were digging in the sandpit and
they had a very big conversation.
Lauren asked Zane: “Are you still digging? You will be
digging for ages!”
Zane answered Lauren: “I’ve been digging all day. I’m
digging ... a hole down ...”
Jack asked Zane: “Are you digging to the bottom?”
Zane said: “Yes, I’m digging to the bottom.”
Lauren said: “I’m older than Jamie.”
Jack said: “I am too. I just had my fourth birthday.”
Jack said to Lauren “Hey you have a blue and blue
spade.”
Lauren looked at her metal spade and said “Yes there is
blue under there and there ... I’m digging your sand.”
Jack answered: “No that is not my sand, this is my
sand.”
How can we encourage our children to work together
more often?
Liz, 16 February 2004
We played with the parachute
today and everyone had to
work together, trying to keep
the ball on the parachute.
Erin, 3 March 2004
Today the children played with
the ‘bus’ Instead of asking an
.
adult to pull them, they decided
to pull themselves. it took a lot of
team work to make it work. Ka
pai!
Marie, 20 March 2004
Lauren, Eve, Jack and Mark wanted to set
up the challenge course.
Everyone had different goals - Lauren wan
ted to balance, Mark to jump
and Eve to climb. After some negotiation
and a lot of patience from Jack
they worked it out and set up a challenge
course that satisfied everyone’s
needs.
Erin, 2 May 2004
20
s story
Following on Monday’
Eve
and play, Lauren and
show.
decided to put on a
a stage
They wanted to build
everyone
for their show. Soon
d ticket
was involved. We ha
builders
coordinators, stage
course
and managers and of
performers.
Erin, 2 May 2004

23. An example of a collaborative stor y
Making it work
Jamie (3½) was playing with the fire hose. He had the one end in the water trough and the other end in the
tree, pretending to put out a fire. One of the adults wondered if the water might actually run through it if they
put the gardening hose in on one end. Matthew (7) jumped at this idea – he quickly put the hose in on one end
and asked who will turn it on? Zane (4½) was busy digging in the sand, but left everything and offered to turn
the hose on.
Mark (4½), Jack (4½) and Lauren (4½) joined them and waited excitedly for the water to come out at the other
end ... but nothing happened!
After waiting for the water to run through for a while, they started thinking about why the water didn’t run
through and making plans to get the water to run through.
Someone suggested that Jamie manned the water trough and held the hose to run the water into the fire hose.
No water! Someone suggested that they lift the hose on the other end. They tried it, but it didn’t work.
Jack put a ladder against the tree to check if the water was running through. I asked “What are you doing
here?”
Jack responded “There’s a big fire in the tree. We have to put it out.”
Every now and the children shouted excitedly “It’s coming! It’s coming!”, but alas, no sign of the water coming
through the hose.
They took turns climbing up the ladder to check if the water is running through. Lauren climbed up a couple of
times saying “Excuse me! Let me have a check!”
After some deliberating, they decided to jump on the fire hose to help the water run through. Mark, Jack,
Matthew and Lauren all jumped on the hose together to pump the water through. Still nothing happened!
An adult suggested that it might work if they put the hose a little lower in the tree. They quickly organised the
hose lower down in the tree and started working again. Matthew put the gardening hose in on the one end of
the fire hose, while Mark, Jack and Lauren checked the other end.
Matthew shouted “Is it coming through?”
Mark answered “No ... but it’s trying!” “And then the water came through. They all jumped up and down
excitedly, shouting “It’s coming, it’s coming!”
How can we support this interest?
The children were very involved and it was
wonderful to watch them all working together.
You could literally hear their brains ticking over!
The weird thing is at the end of the session we
had a real fire in the next door paddock! We
had to phone the fire brigade. We heard the fire
alarm, saw the firefighters arrive, saw a lot of
smoke, watched the firemen putting out the fires,
helped to spot hot spots and had a chance to talk
to them when it was all over! I’m sure this will
lead to more firefighting play and a really good
opportunity to talk about fire safety.
21

24. Adult reflection stories
The stories of our work
One of the joys and the challenges of being involved in Playcentre is that every day brings something different.
What worked yesterday, might not work today. What suited last year’s families, might no longer suit the
families we have now. What supports one child’s learning, might not support the next child. So how do we deal
with this challenge? We learn to practice reflectively by:
• Committing to continuously learn about what we do,
and then think about what we and others do, how
we do it and why we do it, and
• Thinking critically about our own practice and
identifying our own strengths and challenges to
build on it.
Reflective practice requires us to think deeply about
what happened. We use all our knowledge about
learning, teaching, development, relationships and
cooperative processes involved in the event. We identify
the aspects of our own practice and analyse why it
worked with the people involved and think about what
did not work and how we can do it differently in the
future (O’Connor & Diggins, 2002).
Which stories will you write down?
By writing stories of your practice down, you will be able
to reflect on a deeper level and engage in a more indepth investigation. When documenting, write down:
• The context – who was there, what happened, when it
happened, why it happened, how it happened.
• Your feelings – how did you feel before, during and after.
• Consider your knowledge about this.
• Investigate your values.
• Recognise your assumptions. What are your hot spots?
How is this challenging your beliefs? (O’Connor & Diggins,
2002)
22
The purpose of reflection
is to allow the possibility to
learn through experience.
Everyday on session you will
enjoy many successes, some
dilemmas and sometimes
struggles. All these offer
opportunity for reflection and
growth.

25. Example of a reflective stor y
28 March 2009
20 May 2009
I noticed some of the children are
not included in the play. Today
Sadie and Phoebe were playing
together and when Sarah wanted
to join they were not keen. Jenny
(adult) intervened and said “We’re
all friends and we can all play
together.” I disagree with the idea
that we’re all friends. While some
children’s idea of friends might
include everyone, others have
more complex ideas of what it
means to be a friend and saying
‘we’re all friends’ is not true, and
to be honest slightly patronising.
As an adult I choose my friends,
should children also be allowed to
choose their friends?
Today on session we had
another scenario of a child being
excluded and I decided to try the
deconstruction technique. I had a
reasonable discussion.
7 April 2009
I spoke to Jo (from Woodville
Playcentre) today about the
dilemma of children excluding
others from their play. She felt that
we should deal with this behaviour
in a very firm way – similar to how
we will deal with physical hurtful
behaviour such as biting or hitting.
She suggested asking them to let
others join in and if they do not
agree to then be firm about saying
they can no continue their game
unless they alow the child to join
in. I’m not sure about this? It feels
a little harsh ...
2 May 2009
I went to a Course 4 workshop
and we discussed the dilemma of
children excluding others. One of
the students suggested we get the
book Our house by Michael Rosen
to help children understand that it
is not okay to exclude others. We
also discussed ‘deconstruction’ as
a teaching technique. I think I will
give it a go.
together with everyone, even
though we might not be friends.
Can we expect the same from the
children?
20 July 2009
[I stayed calm and instead of
justifying I deconstructed]
At tonight’s meeting I discussed
Vivian Paley’s ideas and suggested
that we implement her ‘You can’t
say you can’t play rule. There
was some resistance (sharing my
initial feelings that we’re not all
friends), but we agreed to focus
on ‘working together’ rather than
‘everyone are friends’.
Me: In what way is Jemma like a
baby?
27 July 2009
Me: Jemma would like to play too.
Sadie: No she can’t!
Me: Why won’t you let Jemma
play?
Sadie: Because she is a baby?
Sadie: She cries when we play.
The conversation continued from
there and while I didn’t really
solve anything it did give me new
information about Jemma. I have
noticed that Jemma is often upset.
Does that cause her to be excluded
by her peers? We need to think
about how we can support her to
regulate her emotions. However,
that still does not solve our
problem with exclusion.
6 June 2009
I went to another workshop today
and the facilitator suggested I read
You can’t say you can’t play by
Vivian Paley.
12 July 2009
I read Vivian Paley’s book and she
totally shifted my thinking! While I
always felt children have a right to
choose who they play with, Vivian
raises the issue of does children’s
right to choose their friends
override other children’s rights to
be included? Thinking about this I
realised that Playcentre is a public
place and while we as adults
are at Playcentre we will work
Today we had another scenario
of ‘Jemma can’t play’ to which I
replied ‘At Playcentre we can all
play together. Who can Jemma
be?’ and to my amazement after
a brief resistance, they found a
role for Jemma and Jemma was
happy! It seemed like being able
to continue the game was more
important than keeping Jemma
out!
4 September 2009
It’s been a few weeks now since
we’ve implemented Vivian Paley’s
rule of ‘You can’t say you can’t
play’ and I’m amazed how smooth
it went. It is as if the children just
instantly accepted the rule. Almost
as if the confusion was more with
different adult understandings
and the moment we had a shared
understanding, the children
accepted it too! Once again it
shows how important it is to have
shared understandings.
23

26. The review stor y
What is self review?
Self review tells the story of the quality of our practice. It is a deliberate and ongoing process of finding out how
well our practice enhances children’s learning and development, and what we can improve on. The focus of self
review is to develop a shared understanding and work towards a common goal to transform our practices to
improve the learning outcomes for children.
It can be both planned and spontaneous.
Some reviews might be highly complex and in-depth, while others will be much less complicated.
Why should we do self review?
• The purpose of self review is always to bring about positive outcomes for (and with) children and their
learning.
• Self review creates a culture of inquiry; a culture of asking ‘how can we do this better?’
• In Playcentre we can use the self review process to define quality for ourselves when we ask the question:
‘What will it look like if we are supporting our children to be competent and confident learners?’
• Self-review closes the gap between what we think we do and what is really happening.
Who is involved in the self review process?
• Self review is most effective when it is a community activity.
• It requires one or two people to take leadership, while other members of the community can move in and
out of the review process.
When should we do self review?
• Self review should be an ongoing process.
• Self review can be both a spontaneous or an annual planned process as part of the centre’s strategic plan.
• We should use the self review process to think ahead of time.
A useful review process is outlined in Ngā arohaehae whai hua / Self-review guidelines for Early Childhood
Education, Ministry of Education (White, 2007).
“... it has been my
experience that where
services are willing to
embrace a systematic
process which frees them
up to play with their own
ideas and to challenge
assumptions about ‘quality’,
meaningful, systematic
inquiry will be achievable in
an ongoing manner.”
– Jayne White
24

27. Self review board
Quality indicators: What we
would like to see:
1. Children working
collaborative on big
projects.
2. Group interests being
sustatained over sessions.
Focus question:
o
How effectively d
n
e support childre
w
?
to work together
What exa
m
working t ples of children
ogether d
id you see
today?
What
k within: tly
Loo
urren
are we c
doing?
g
atherin
G
data
at’s
view: Wh t
Expert
abou
n written
bee
this?
hout:
Look wit
other
What are ng?
oi
centres d
Action plan to be implemented:
• Actions to improve the knowledge,
and change the competencies and
attitudes of the adults.
• Actions to better use the
environment.
• Actions to provide learning
opportunities for the children.
Making sense (trends
and issues)
• Adults don’t know
how to support
socio-dramatic play
• Plenty of resources
need organising
Document,
reflect
&
review
25

28. Wise practice at Playcentre
What would we see if we were effectively noticing, extending and
responding to children’s learning?
• The adults at Playcentre have a shared understanding of assessment, planning and evaluation processes as a
collective responsibility of all Playcentre members with the leadership of a few members.
• The Playcentre is a community of learners where children and adults revisit and reflect on children’s
learning.
• Children’s learning is being analysed and adults are speculating about what children are trying to make
sense of, what their goals are, and how they can support them.
• Adults get together before and after sessions for a brief time to discuss and reflect on children’s learning.
• The adults are enthusiastic about children’s learning and often engage in planned and spontaneous
discussions about children’s learning.
• Adults get together regularly for more in-depth discussions of children’s learning.
• A rich variety of assessment tools are being used.
• Documentation is visible for adults and children and
provoke discussion about children’s experiences.
• Documentation include a wide range of perspectives of
both adults and children.
• Documentation is used to identify trends and patterns in
children’s learning and share this understanding with the
learning community.
• Planning revolves around children’s emerging interests.
• There is evidence of continuity for children’s learning, as
children’s interests are sustained over different sessions.
• Children contribute to their own assessment.
• Links between stories show progress and increasing
complexity in children’s learning.
• Children’s profile books are used as a learning tool to
extend children’s learning.
• Group stories show children’s collaborative learning in
social context.
• Adult’s strengths and interests are respected too.
• There is evidence that adult’s role with children is
regularly evaluated and improved on (self review).
26
The purpose is
always about
improving
learning
outcomes for
children.

29. Glossar y
Assessment
Stories were developed by Margaret Carr.
The process of gathering and discussing information
from multiple perspectives in order to develop a
deep understanding of what children know and
understand, and how they apply that knowledge to
their world.
Learning story books
Dispositions
Strategies that children acquire and employ to
support them in their learning.
Dispositions are described as ‘habits of mind’ or
‘patterns of learning’.
Story books compiled for children showing their
learning, eg board books and picture books.
Learning strategy
Narrative assessment
Evaluation
Assessment that is documented in a story format.
Assessing and appraising the effectiveness of the
teaching practices.
Possible selves
Formative assessment
Profile books
Assessment that takes place during the teaching and
learning process.
Group stories
Stories that focus on a group of children’s learning
within the social context of their everyday
experiences.
Islands of expertise
A collection of knowledge, interest, and activity
around a specific focus (Crowley & Jacobs, 2002).
Islands of identities
A strong identification with a specific view of oneself,
influenced by social and cultural experiences.
Islands of interest
A strong interest with a specific focus – academic,
social, dispositional, moral or spiritual.
Learner identities
A learner’s knowledge or view of themselves.
Learning artefacts
Examples of children’s work or their learning, for
example art work or a photo of a construction.
Learning snippets
Short one or two line stories describing specific
learning anecdotes. It is also referred to as anecdotes
or ‘magic moments’.
Possible selves are our imagined future selves.
A documented collection of children’s learning.
Reflective journal
A documented collection of adult reflections and
learnings about their Playcentre practice.
Reflective practice
The action of stopping and thinking about how we do
things, with the aim to learn and improve.
Reflection stories
Stories of our teaching and children’s learning with
the aim to analyse and strive to understand the
learning.
Self review
A systematic approach to reviewing and reflecting on
Playcentre practices.
Schemas
A recurring pattern of play and learning.
Video stories
Stories of children’s learning and play captured on
video.
Working theory
An understanding of the world based on the current,
knowledge, beliefs and experiences that is used to
explain and predict the world. This understanding is
fluid and is refined over time.
Learning Stories
Stories of children’s learning that is based on the
dispositional framework of Te Whāriki. Learning
27

30. References
Crowley, K & Jacobs, M. Building Islands of Expertise in Everyday Family Activity. Available: http://mlc.lrdc.pitt.
edu/mlc-05a.pdf. Last accessed 7 January 2009.
Gabriel, M. (1999). Learning and Growing Through Stories . Available: http://www.newhorizons.org/lifelong/
childhood/gabriel.htm. Last accessed 10 September 2009.
Hatherly A. & Sands L. 2002 ‘So what is different about Learning Stories?’ The First Years: Nga Tau Tuatahi New
Zealand Journal of Infant and Toddler Education Vol 4 (1) pp 8-12.
Markus, H & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist. September, 954-969.
Ministry of Education. Kei Tua o te Pae/Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars.
Ministry of Education. Ngā Arohaehae Whai Hua/Self-review Guidelines for Early Childhood Education.
Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa. Early
Childhood Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
O’Connor, Angela and Diggins, Cathy (2002). On Reflection. Reflective Practice for Early Childhood Educators.
Lower Hutt: Open Mind Publishing.
White, J (2007). Systematic inquiry as evaluative activity. Self-review in early childhood education. Early
Education. 42 (Spring/Summer 2007), 26-29.
28

31. What is Playcentre?
Playcentre is an internationally recognised early childhood organisation unique to Aotearoa New Zealand. It
began as a parent co-operative during the 1940’s to support families and promote new developments in early
childhood education. The New Zealand Playcentre Federation formed as a national organisation in 1948 by
providing parent education, equipment and facilities for quality early childhood education. For more than 50
years this voluntary organisation has met the changing needs of families and their communities, and today
remains highly active in New Zealand’s early childhood education sector.
Playcentre is a non-profit organisation which is managed cooperatively by the parents of the centre. The
parents collectively share running of the individual sessions and are also responsible for the organisation and
administration of the centre. With families sharing responsibilities and decision making, Playcentre brings a
sense of belonging and community.
The members of the centre are responsible for the management and governance of the centre as well as the
teaching and learning of the children.
Playcentre philosophy?
Playcentre philosophy is based on a few core beliefs about how children learn:
• Parents are the first educators of children, and this is enhanced in Playcentre as both parents and children
learn and grow together.
• Playcentre views children as people who are strong and capable, who learn through play and who are
competent to make their own choices about how and where to play.
• Playcentre acknowledges Te Tiriti o Waitangi as the founding document of Aotearoa and strive to work
within a bicultural framework.
Parents as teachers
•
•
•
•
•
Parents are children’s first teachers.
Playcentre believes that children benefit from their parents playing an active role in their education.
Playcentre sessions are run cooperatively by Playcentre parents.
To accommodate the whole family, Playcentre offers mixed age group sessions.
Parents are valued and they can choose to stay on session with their children when they are not rostered
on for a Playcentre duty.
• Playcentre offers a free adult education programme to support Playcentre parents in their roles as parents
and first teachers.
• Parents support their children’s learning through extending their play.
Children learn through play
At Playcentre:
•
•
•
•
Children learn through active exploration in a rich learning learning environment.
Open ended activities offer children the opportunity to be creative, problem solve and make choices.
We offer a self-choice programme where children can choose the activities that they are interested in.
We offer a rich environment with a wide variety of learning opportunities and we constantly reflect and
discuss how we can support children in their learning and help them to sense of their worlds.
• We strive to offer sufficient challenge to engage them in their learning.
• We believe that a long-term consequence of this philosophy is that children grow up as adults who can
make their own decisions, direct their own lives and maintain positive relationships with others.
For more information see: www.playcentre.org.nz
29

32. Playcentre pakiwaitara
Weaving our stories, learning together
In this booklet it is discussed how to keep assessment, planning and
evaluation meaningful and manageable by focusing on the stories about
children and adult’s learning, through:
• Using a variety of documentation tools.
• Using a notice, recognise and respond framework.
• Building relationships by becoming familiar with others’ stories.
• Building stories over time.
• Connecting children’s individual stories, collaborative stories and
reflection stories, to show the bigger picture.
Canterbury Playcentre Association
17 Buchan Street, Sydenham, Christchurch 8023
P O Box 7787, Sydenham, Christchurch 8240
_
_
Whanau Tupu Ngatahi
Families growing together
30