Kei Tua o te Pae
Kei Tua o te Pae/Assessment for Learning: Early Childhood Exemplars is a best-practice guide that will help teachers continue to improve the quality of their teaching.
The exemplars are a series of books that will help teachers to understand and strengthen children's learning. It also shows how children, parents and whānau can contribute to this assessment and ongoing learning.
We are making improvements to our download-to-print functionality. So if you want a printed copy there are PDF versions available at the bottom of the main cover page.
Book 13: The strands of Te Whāriki: Exploration – Ngā taumata whakahirahira ki Te Whāriki: Mana Aotūroa
Introduction - He kupu whakataki
"Teaching children as young as kindergarten age to question relentlessly and learn from their failures is the key to producing world-class scientists … We must stimulate the asking of questions by young people so they grow up in an environment that encourages scientific questioning … The education system must also help young people develop resilience in the face of repeated failure … It is so important to keep trying and trying." 1
This book collects together early childhood exemplars that illustrate the assessment of learning that is valued within the curriculum strand of Exploration/Mana Aotūroa, keeping in mind that:
"Exemplars are examples of assessments that make visible learning that is valued so that the learning community (children, families, whānau, teachers, and beyond) can foster ongoing and diverse learning pathways." 2
Although these exemplars are viewed through an Exploration/Mana Aotūroa lens, in many cases the lens of another strand could have been used. The principle of Holistic Development or Kotahitanga set out in Te Whāriki is a reminder that the curriculum “strands” are a construction, and in any episode of a child’s learning, these areas are inextricably intertwined and interconnected.