Storytelling can serve many functions in teaching and learning. I believe it is a critical part of all learning experiences because it serves as a bid for connection between the teacher and the learners and between individual learners. Telling your story helps people see behind the masks we wear in our societal roles. It provides opportunities for authentic human connection, which I believe is necessary for learning.
Application: In my “Share Your Story Now!” workshop, I use an exercise to get learners telling their own story and to illustrate how important authenticity is in storytelling. I begin by asking learners to introduce themselves to the others at their table. Usually, the introductions sound something like, “Hi. I’m Bob Bertsch, web technology specialist at North Dakota State University,” name, title, organization, that’s it. Next, I ask learners to reflect on three questions:
· What lights you up?
· What do you care most about?
· What are you an advocate for?
After taking some time to reflect on those questions, I ask learners to re-introduce themselves using one or more of their answers to those three questions. What results is a more meaningful bid for connection. Often other learners ask follow-up questions or share a personal story about the things they care about. The re-introductions sound more like this, “Hi! I’m Bob Bertsch. I light up when I see people come together, as equals, to work toward positive social change.”
Assessment: Storytelling/Digital Story (Barkley & Major, 2016, pp. 303-311)
In the storytelling workshop, I use an activity/assessment called “Origin Story.” Learners use the “re-introduction” statement from above as the start of their origin story and reflect on why they care about what they care about or advocate for the thing they are an advocate for. They then work on a relevance statement, a statement that ties the re-introduction statement and the “Why?” statement together. That’s their origin story. Like Barkley & Major’s Digital Story, this assessment involves multiple levels of reflection including making sense and making meaning.
References
Barkley, E. F., & Major, C. H. (2016). Learning assessment techniques: A handbook for college faculty. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Tate, M. L. (2012). “Sit and Get” won’t grow dendrites: 20 professional learning strategies that engage the adult brain. (2nd Ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.