ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the children's musical learning, documented by using learning stories. Learning stories, or learning narratives, were originally developed for the early childhood context. They were designed as a sociocultural tool to support New Zealand's curriculum framework, Te Whariki. Learning stories have become a popular method of documenting and assessing children's learning and have been widely used at the Early Learning Centre (ELC). Learning stories are seen as formative assessment as they document everyday events and discover the significance of these through an analytical frame based on identified learning dispositions. These dispositions are: taking an interest; being involved; persisting with difficulty; expressing an idea or feeling; and taking responsibility. Sequences of learning stories can provide a picture into children's learning and growing understanding. Learning stories are introduced as a method of documentation and analysis of children's experiences. Cultural activity theory and the notion of affordances are discussed as a means of theorising the children's learning.
