Inquiry Learning, by Lorraine Sands
I am hoping that the ideas explored here actively stretch thinking around what makes learning environments fabulous ones, through taking that inquiry spark, the essence within all beginning learners, their birth right, and nurturing a flame to last a lifetime.
24 August, 2022. Learner Identities
I have spent the last few years writing a Masters thesis about learner identities, particularly in relation to the way learning stories nurture a child’s sense of themselves as learners. Thoughtfully written within a listening community ethos, they inform whānau about what valued learning might look like and embed whānau aspirations into Learning Stories in ongoing partnership-focused ways. In addition, Learning Stories written and shared across our teams enable kaiako to design learning environments that have a mana-enhancing vision. Click to read more…
18 August 2022, Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi engari he toa takitini
I come not with my own strengths but bring with me the gifts, talents and strengths of my family, iwi, and ancestors.
This is a photo taken from the front deck of our home, early in the morning, so the valley is filled with magical mist. I think learning is a lot like this too. We are offered a glimpse of what learning might be happening for our mokopuna/children. We cannot, therefore, be summative about the learning we see. We cannot say: This is the learning happening…. click to read more
10 August, 2022. Kaiako Wellbeing
I’ve been thinking about kaiako wellbeing for a long time now and Learning Story narrative assessment. Curiously, I think the two are linked…
Wellbeing is nuanced. There are many layers and it is the interconnection between these that I think either empowers us to surmount tricky feelings and be resilient or may indeed overwhelm us at times. Click to read more….
10 April, 2020. Nurturing robust, resilient learner identities
Nurturing robust, resilient learner identities. To date, in these blog postings, I have made various comments and positioned a Learning Story at the end to illustrate ideas in the context of an individual child’s learning experiences. Today however, it is the reverse because I think the way Catalina Thompson has written this narrative assessment evokes such powerful images that conversations linked to this Learning Story will have more resonance. I hope so. I invite you to…. click to read more
5 April, 2020. Make that difference!
Make that difference! Write learning Stories that go straight to the essence of what it means to be a curious, wondrous learner. It has always been my hope that I write with a ‘whole heartedness’ and with a ‘relational connection’ so that what I write makes a difference in children’s learning lives and contributes to their identities as life long learners. Click to read more….
