Storyline in Scotland
Storyline in Scotland
Storyline is an approach to teaching and learning that allows for a co-created learning journey between teachers and students.
This video gives an overview of the Storyline process and what it looks like within a school setting.
Teachers in Scotland and many other countries have adopted the Storyline approach to promote an active partnership between teachers and learners of all ages. It places their shared construction of a story at the heart of learning.
Just as a story comprises a beginning, setting, characters and plot before coming to a clear ending, so a Storyline approach creates a clear structure onto which all learning and curricular requirements can be hung. The teacher designs the line using carefully worded key questions that require creative and imaginative thinking but also reveal pupils’ prior knowledge.
The learners create and develop the story itself, supporting motivation through ownership. A Storyline approach is not only about knowledge and skills but also about feelings and attitudes.
The five key features of the Storyline approach:
Story structure
Key questions
Ownership
Collaborative learning
Reflection, assessment and evaluation
Key benefits of the Storyline approach include:
Multi-disciplinary thinking and learning
Active, enquiry based learning
Increased engagement and motivation
Skills development, including problem solving, creativity and imagination
Pupil ownership of the learning context
Equity of access for a range of abilities and needs
Suitability for a wide range of learning settings
Makes complex and sensitive areas of study accessible
“I was inspired by the ideas promoted by Storyline teachers in two ways. Firstly, by the very powerful notion that education is about a holistic understanding of the world, particularly well expressed by the idea of telling a story. Secondly, by the notion that education demands the full co-operation and interaction between the teacher and the student where the former facilitates in an open but disciplined way the education of the latter.”
Jon Torfi Jonasson, Professor and Dean of the School of Education, University of Iceland.
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