Assessment
Aromatawai

Learning dispositions, dispositions-in-action, and learning stories

Many of the assessments in Kei Tua o te Pae (books 11–15) are learning stories. Learning stories integrate learning dispositions into a story framework and include an analysis of the learning. They frequently include Possible pathways or What next? suggestions. In the original research with teachers,¹⁷ five dispositions-in-action followed a story sequence: taking an interest; being involved; persisting with difficulty, challenge, and uncertainty; expressing a point of view or feeling; and taking responsibility.

Each of these dispositions-in-action can be seen to represent some aspects of more abstract learning dispositions. Over time, teachers have also begun to consider these dispositions on their own merits, not as part of a story sequence. For example, taking an interest has been useful in noticing and recognising aspects of courage and connectedness inside the Belonging/Mana Whenua strand; being involved has represented aspects of trust and playfulness inside the Well-being/Mana Atua strand; persevering with difficulty, challenge, and uncertainty has given voice to aspects of resilience and curiosity inside the Exploration/Mana Aotūroa strand; expressing a point of view or feeling has relevance to aspects of communication and resourcefulness inside the Communication/Mana Reo strand; and taking responsibility has enabled many aspects of responsibility and collaboration to be documented in the Contribution/Mana Tangata strand. These learning dispositions have been defined in each learning community.