Kei Tua o te Pae

Assessment that notices, recognises, and responds to mathematics learning in the wider sense will ensure that the mathematics in measuring, locating in space and time, designing (form, shape, and pattern), playing, and explaining are also on the curriculum agenda. Frequently the mathematics in an exemplar was not part of the teacher’s analysis of the learning and has been added to the annotation for this exemplar book. The “mathematics” may not always be the focus in an analysis of the learning;…

Mathematics is woven throughout the strands in Te Whāriki. It is found specifically in the Communication/Mana Reo and the Exploration/Mana Aotūroa strands. The latter strand includes mathematical processes such as “setting and solving problems, looking for patterns, classifying things for a purpose, guessing, using trial and error, thinking logically and making comparisons”.13 This strand also includes spatial understandings.14 The Communication/Mana Reo strand includes “familiarity with numbers…

Which assessments from our setting make valued mathematics visible to teachers, children, families, and whānau?
What opportunities for experiencing mathematics practices from the wider community are included in the children’s assessments?
In what ways do our mathematics assessments and their contexts indicate that we are on the pathway towards bicultural practice?
How do teachers include in their assessments the mathematics practices the children are experiencing outside the centre?
What opportu…

1 Ministry of Education (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum for English-medium Teaching and Learning in Years 1–13. Wellington: Learning Media, p. 26.

2 Ministry of Education (2001). Curriculum Update, no. 45. Wellington: Learning Media, p. 1.

3 Alan J. Bishop (1988). Mathematical Enculturation: A Cultural Perspective on Mathematics Education. Dordrecht: Kluwer. See also Bert van Oers (2001). “Educational Forms of Initiation in Mathematical Culture”. Educational Studies in Mathematics, vol. 46,…

Child: Quin

Teacher: Carlotta

Quin was really interested in using the ruler and pens. She got a little frustrated with using the felt tip along the edge of the ruler and chose to paint on the paper I had just ruled into quarters. She followed the ruled lines with a crayon before painting each individual quarter. This resulted in a symmetrical look which she appeared to be really happy with. “I’ve got four rectangles – they’re quarters, aren’t they, Carlotta?”

What’s happening here?
This activ…

IntroductionThe exemplars in this book should be considered in conjunction with the discussion in Book 16. Opportunities for children to be creative and imaginative through the arts are woven throughout Te Whāriki. The 2007 New Zealand school curriculum identifies four disciplines of the arts. These are: dance, drama, music – sound arts, and visual arts. The curriculum reminds us that:

"The arts are powerful forms of expression that recognise, value, and contribute to the unique bicultural…

Documentation and assessment practices will themselves contribute to opportunities for children to be creative and imaginative. Carlina Rinaldi from Reggio Emilia has explored the topic of documentation and assessment. She writes about the role of documentation:

"In Reggio Emilia, where we have explored this methodology for many years, we place the emphasis on documentation as an integral part of the procedures aimed at fostering learning and for modifying the learning–teaching relationshi…

A repertoire of practicesThe following are some aspects of participating in ICT that might be noticed, recognised, responded to, recorded, and revisited. Not all of these aspects are represented in the exemplars, but teachers may be able to locate them in their own settings and write their own exemplars.

In her book Pedagogy and Learning with ICT, Bridget Somekh comments:

"The sub-title of this book is “Researching the Art of Innovation” because my interest is in finding ways of assisting…

There are two main reasons for teachers to encourage children and give them opportunities to contribute to assessment.

Firstly, research on assessment and motivation indicates that settings that encourage children to set and assess their own goals are rich sites for learning. Part of the reason is that children who contribute to their own (and others’) assessments are perceived as “competent and confident learners and communicators” (Te Whāriki, page 6).

The research of Carol Dweck (1999), Pau…

Broadfoot, Patricia (2000). “Assessment and Intuition.” In The Intuitive Practitioner: On the Value of Not Always Knowing What One Is Doing, ed. Terry Atkinson and Guy Claxton. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Carr, Margaret (2001). Assessment in Early Childhood Settings: Learning Stories. London: Paul Chapman.

Cowie, Bronwen (2000). “Formative Assessment in Science Classrooms”. PhD thesis, The University of Waikato.

Crooks, Terry (2002). Assessment, Accountability and Achievement: Principl…

What do we understand by "assessment for learning"?
In what way do the metaphors for learning in Hirini Melbourne's E Tipu e Rea relate to the assessment practice in our setting?
In what way might assessment for learning in early childhood settings support Mason Durie’s broad goals of education for Māori?
How does the description of assessment for learning as "noticing, recognising, and responding" compare with our understanding of it?
To what extent are our assessment p…

E Tipu e Rea nā – Hirini MelbourneTranslation by Mere Skerrett-White

Moe mai rā e te hua
I tō moenga pai
Kaua rā e tahuri
Taupoki ki roto i tō papanarua
Kia mahana ai

Ka tō te marama e tiaho nei
Ka hī ake ko te rā
Kei tua o te pae

Tipu kē ake koe
Me he horoeka
Torotika ki te rā
Whāia te māramatanga
O te hinengaro
O te wairua

Kia puāwai koe ki te ao
Ka kitea ō painga

Sleep my loved one
in your comfortable bed.
Don’t be restless.
Snuggle up safe and sound in your
duvet so that you are warm.…

1 Iram Siraj-Blatchford and John Siraj-Blatchford (2003).
More than Computers - Information and Communication Technology in the Early Years. London: The British Association for Early Childhood Education, p. 4.

2 Ministry of Education (2005). Supporting Learning in Early Childhood Education through Information and Communication Technologies: A Framework for Development. Wellington: Ministry of Education, p. 16. The passage quoted is from Ministry of Education (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Māta…

Which assessments from our setting make ICT learning visible to teachers, children, families, and whānau?
What opportunities do we have for involving ICT expertise from the wider community in the documentation of our children’s learning? Do we access this expertise?
In what way are our assessments grounded in a clear understanding of the purposes, practices, and social context of our early childhood setting and its community? In what way, therefore, can ICT assessments indicate that we are on th…

Introduction He kupu whakatakiThe exemplars in this book should be considered in conjunction with the discussion in Book 16. Information and communication technology (ICT) can be defined as “anything which allows us to get information, to communicate with each other or to have an effect on the environment using electronic or digital equipment”.1 The Government’s ICT framework for early childhood education states:

"Acknowledging the central position of the ECE curriculum Te Whàriki in ECE…

1 Ministry of Education (2007a). The New Zealand Curriculum for English medium Teaching and Learning in Years 1–13. Wellington: Learning Media, p. 20.

2 Vivian Gussin Paley (1988). Bad Guys Don’t Have Birthdays: Fantasy Play at Four. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp. vii–viii. Books by Vivian Paley include many transcripts and drama sequences, and we do not have examples of extended pretend play in these exemplars. She urges us to listen carefully and to respond – exploring the chil…

Child: Emily

Teacher: Jane

A learning story
Emily came up to every one of us this morning proudly holding something she had written. I said, “What is it, Emily?” She answered, “It is a song.” I could clearly see the musical notes she had written. A little later Rosie made a suggestion that maybe Emily would like to sing her song at mat-time. I wondered if she would be brave enough to stand in front of everyone and sing a song, especially one that she had just written, without practising it. We…

Introduction – He kupu whakatakiThe exemplars in this book should be considered in conjunction with the discussion in Book 16. The concept of literacy described in that introduction informs this book of exemplars. Literacy assessment in early childhood settings has tended to focus on a ledger of skills and conventions to do with the mechanics of reading and writing, for example: the identification of letters of the alphabet, being able to recognise and/or write one’s name, and knowledge of print…

The principles of Te Whāriki apply to both assessment and curriculum, and the assessment of children’s participation in ICT keeps this in mind. Assessments provide useful information for teachers, families, and children, enabling and informing pedagogy that will strengthen all dimensions of participation in ICT. Assessments take place in the same contexts of meaningful activities and community practices that have provided the focus for curriculum. Families are included in the assessment and in t…

"[A child’s identity as a competent and confident learner is] mediated by: competence with artefacts that set up meaning-making devices and bridges between participants in a community; authentic connections to family; opportunities to take responsibility; and routines and conventions that engage children and structure their participation. It is about responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places and things, empowerment, holistic approaches, and the involvement of family and co…