Stories are just that, a story that is written and narrated by native speakers of the language you're learning. You can listen and read along at the same time, and even record yourself reading the story out loud to listen back and practice your pronunciation!
- The background to this short story is the tropical island of Trinidad in the Caribbean. This is a story of quick lust and long revenge - with an ironical twist at the end. The Metro Advanced 7000 words (British English) This short story is set in Paris. This is a story of love and murder, and a little voodoo.
- The synergy between the two hosts is amazing, which creates a good and fun learning environment. I have to say your podcast is pure gold. I listen to it every day, whether on the train, in the car, walking downtown from the train or even while laying in bed going to sleep.
- Success Stories are personalizable children's books. Customize the illustrations to the child's appearance based on gender, hair style and color, eye color, skin tone, glasses, and method of communication. Alter the text to personalize the story's content. These fun and engaging children's books make every child feel special.
Dr Sarah Alexander
What is a Learning Story?
A 'Learning Story' is a record of what a teacher (or parent) has seen a child (or group of children) doing in an early childhood programme.
The written story may be as short as one paragraph or one page or longer. It is usually focused on a specific incident or episode but it may also be a snapshot of a child's activities over a specific amount of time (e.g. 10 minutes). It may focus on a group activity, and be a learning story about an activity that the children did together such as visiting a fire station or going on a walk.
It becomes a 'learning' story when the adult adds his/her interpretation of the child's competencies and dispositions toward learning (such as courage and curiosity, and perseverance). The Learning Story generally is formulated by the adult to highlight what the child can do and is doing rather than what they can't do.
Also, it is common for the adult to match up the strands of the New Zealand early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki to the story to try to explain what the child (or group of children) have learnt.
Almost always the adult will take photographs or video to include with the written story, and the written story along with the images will be shared with the child and the child's family.
A collection of learning stories is commonly called a 'portfolio'. A portfolio is similar to the traditional photograph album but it is more than an album as it includes the written story behind the the images and may include comments and reflections from the child, family, and ECE service participants.
The physical form of the portfolio may be a book or folder. Alternatively, the video, voice, and images may be loaded directly into an on-line e-portfolio.
Learning Stories are said to be suitable for children of all ages, and can become longer and more complicated as the children grow and their skills develop. They can also be reviewed at a later date in order to help future planning to further develop a child's skills.
Usually because they take time to write, Learning Stories are written up after the event has actually happened and when the teacher is not working with the children (during a teacher's non-contact time).
So teachers need to have a good memory! And an accurate memory! (Also as explained more below, they need to have had time to get to know very well the individual child they are writing a learning story on, otherwise the risk increases of incorrect assumptions and meanings being ascribed to the child's behaviour, language and learning.)
How good is the Learning Story method for assessing children's learning?
While children in early childhood education are not assessed with end of year tests or other formal assessments, the Ministry of Education requires early childhood programmes to be 'informed by assessment, planning and evaluation ... that demonstrates an understanding of children's learning, their interests, whanau and life contexts'.
Supporters of the Learning Story method of assessing children's learning praise the ease of access for parents and teachers because the assessments are written like a story and usually include photos which make them attractive to read, share and keep.
While they are praised for collecting interesting examples of children's activities it has been said that Learning Stories are not necessarily the best way of assessing development over time and in a wider context.
The quality of the Learning Story depends on the adult writing it and her/his own subjectivity (views, values and feelings).
Without the use of other methods of child assessment, Learning Stories can provide only a small snapshot of a child's learning.
The amount of development the Learning Stories approach can cover depends on how often they are written and how long each observation is. As it takes time to write a story, critics argue that Learning Stories are not written often enough to provide a proper record of a child's development, sometimes as little as once a month.
There are still few official guidelines on how often Learning Stories should be written and what exactly they should focus on.
Children's portfolios do not always tell the whole story and do not always include enough involvement from children and their parents.
Learning Stories Approach
To properly assess a child's learning, the adult must know the child well.
Often the adult writing the Learning Story to provide an assessment of the child's learning, knows little about the child's behaviour, well-being and experiences outside of the context of the early childhood programme. Home-visits are rarely carried out by teachers.
Learning Stories are still generally the assessment form of choice for most ECE services although some have expanded or adapted the Learning Story concept to better suit their own needs.
There is no standard way of writing a Learning Story and the adults at your child's early childhood service will have their own way of doing Learning Stories.
Online Portfolios
Digital technology is enabling faster documentation of children's activities, faster and increased communication between parents and teachers, and greater attention to understanding children's interests and strengths.
Two of the main companies that provide a platform for the online publication of learning stories are Storypark and Educa. Storypark probably has the greatest market saturation and appears to be the most popular among early childhood service providers.
Here is an example from the demo page of the Storypark company.
Paper portfolios
E-portfolios have been in fashion, but the singular popularity of online recording seems to be dying with the paper portfolio making a come back - and for good reasons too!
Why? When photos, and stories are printed off and drawings or other things like cards are pasted into a book (e.g. a large scrapbook) or placed in a large clear file folder, the book or folder is for the child. It is something physical that the child can hold. It belongs to the child. It gives the child a greater sense of agency, and learning and teaching can become a much more strongly collaborative relationship between the teacher/ educator and the child. The paper portfolio can still go home in the child's bag each day or each weekend to share with parents and family members.
A paper portfolio is something that children can look at any time at their ECE service, without need to turn on a computer or device. Children can do this on their own, and reflect on past moments, activities, and learnings. They can share their portfolio anytime with their friends.
When they leave, they can take their ECE paper portfolios home with them permanently, to keep as a lovely reminder and memory refresher of their time in ECE.
Learning Stories Examples In Observation
This is the second of two posts co-written by Vanessa and Lani Peterson, Psy.D., a psychologist, professional storyteller and executive coach.
Learning Stories Book
Telling stories is one of the most powerful means that leaders have to influence, teach, and inspire. What makes storytelling so effective for learning? For starters, storytelling forges connections among people, and between people and ideas. Stories convey the culture, history, and values that unite people. When it comes to our countries, our communities, and our families, we understand intuitively that the stories we hold in common are an important part of the ties that bind.
This understanding also holds true in the business world, where an organization’s stories, and the stories its leaders tell, help solidify relationships in a way that factual statements encapsulated in bullet points or numbers don’t.
Connecting learners
Good stories do more than create a sense of connection. They build familiarity and trust, and allow the listener to enter the story where they are, making them more open to learning. Good stories can contain multiple meanings so they’re surprisingly economical in conveying complex ideas in graspable ways. And stories are more engaging than a dry recitation of data points or a discussion of abstract ideas. Take the example of a company meeting.
At Company A, the leader presents the financial results for the quarter. At Company B, the leader tells a rich story about what went into the “win” that put the quarter over the top. Company A employees come away from the meeting knowing that they made their numbers. Company B employees learned about an effective strategy in which sales, marketing, and product development came together to secure a major deal. Employees now have new knowledge, new thinking, to draw on. They’ve been influenced. They’ve learned.
Something for everyone
Another storytelling aspect that makes it so effective is that it works for all types of learners. Paul Smith, in “Leader as Storyteller: 10 Reasons It Makes a Better Business Connection”, wrote:
In any group, roughly 40 percent will be predominantly visual learners who learn best from videos, diagrams, or illustrations. Another 40 percent will be auditory, learning best through lectures and discussions. The remaining 20 percent are kinesthetic learners, who learn best by doing, experiencing, or feeling. Storytelling has aspects that work for all three types. Visual learners appreciate the mental pictures storytelling evokes. Auditory learners focus on the words and the storyteller’s voice. Kinesthetic learners remember the emotional connections and feelings from the story.
Stories stick
Storytelling also helps with learning because stories are easy to remember. Organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that learning which stems from a well-told story is remembered more accurately, and for far longer, than learning derived from facts and figures. Similarly, psychologist Jerome Bruner’s research suggest that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they’re part of a story.
Kendall Haven, author of Story Proof and Story Smart, considers storytelling serious business for business. He has written:
Your goal in every communication is to influence your target audience (change their current attitudes, belief, knowledge, and behavior). Information alone rarely changes any of these. Research confirms that well-designed stories are the most effective vehicle for exerting influence.
Stories about professional mistakes and what leaders learned from them are another great avenue for learning. Because people identify so closely with stories, imagining how they would have acted in similar circumstances, they’re able to work through situations in a way that’s risk free. The extra benefit for leaders: with a simple personal story they’ve conveyed underlying values, offered insight into the evolution of their own experience and knowledge, presented themselves as more approachable, AND most likely inspired others to want to know more.
Connection. Engagement. Appealing to all sorts of learners. Risk-free learning. Inspiring motivation. Conveying learning that sticks. It’s no wonder that more and more organizations are embracing storytelling as an effective way for their leaders to influence, inspire, and teach.
Read more about the power of storytelling in our brief, “Telling Stories: How Leaders Can Influence, Teach, and Inspire”
Vanessa Boris is Senior Manager, Video Solutions at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at vanessa.boris@harvardbusiness.org