Well I seem to have caught the creativity bug and I’m looking for opportunities to create. I’ve an outline of a story written down waiting for me to continue; however, in the meantime I am planning to transfer my storytelling to the classroom. The prospect of being able to use stories to support my teaching is exciting.
I had heard about using storytelling in teaching (and training) previously, but never had the confidence to use the approach. Just like I’m useless at telling jokes, I felt I wouldn’t be able to create or tell stories either. However, 2023 is my year and I’m going to explore and try new things, including storytelling at work.
Stories are effective means for getting a message across, whether that’s in teaching, training or even if you’re at a conference or meeting and delivering a presentation. According to New York University “stories engage our thinking, emotions and imagination all at once” (Bruner, 1986). That being the case, using stories in the classroom should engage the students and hopefully should help them learn more. It will also make complicated and complex concepts, theories etc more accessible.
I’m not sure yet how I’m going to use storytelling but from my research today the main benefits appear to be:
- The students should develop skills which will improve their employability and likely earnings.
- students are less likely to feel excluded or discriminated against
- Storytelling creates empathy and trust, tapping into emotions as well as cognitive reasoning.
- Creates better relationships in class between the students and their teacher/lecturer. This is particularly the case where students are involved in the story-telling process rather than simply listening to the stories.
I may not share any of the stories I will write for the classroom on my blog, but it is good to see that my blogging is introducing me to skills and techniques I’m taking back into the workplace.
Have you developed any skills you are able to apply outside of blogging too? I’d love to hear of your experiences in the comments section.
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What a great idea – and I love all your points for what story-telling helps facilitate. Even if you don’t publish the stories you incorporate in your classroom, I hope we’ll get to hear how it goes! So fun and inspiring, Brenda!
I’ll keep you posted Wynne. Thanks for commenting 🙂
When studying as a nurse I focused upon Complementary Therapies for assistance in Chronic Conditions Management. Storytelling is considered a valid Complementary Therapy. A powerful tool in the use of educating. Storytelling has a common Universal cultural acceptance I suppose. A well told story is always remembered and repeated. A ‘familiarity in common similarities’ acts as a comfort zone that provides better acceptance regarding themes. And opens up others to express their ideas for contributions too. Great idea for including in the classroom.
Thanks Gray. As ever, thoughtful input drawing on your own experiences 🙂
Love this! As a side note, not sure if you’ve heard of Kindra Hall, but she talks a lot about storytelling in business. I’ve found her stuff to be really great. I haven’t developed the skill yet, but I’m a believer, and she’s really inspiring and shares techniques. In any case, I look forward to hearing more from you here! This is something I need to work on, so I welcome anything you share. ❤️
Thanks I’ll check her out. And I’ll update everyone on my progress.
Story telling to the classroom…
A great idea. Thanks for your thoughts. We teachers are always looking for new and creative ways to engage the class in…🤍
Thanks Destiny. I didnt know you were a teacher too
Welcome Brenda … Enjoying your posts and tips on teaching. Lol teacher it is… 😉🤍
What do you teach? Is it primary school or do you specialise in a subject area?
… I’ve taught higher grades. Intermediate and senior but settled on foundation phase. Currently at a primary school.
That must be so rewarding. 😁
Lol yes it is… Though watching the shift in children over the years is scary… 🙃
I have a lot of respect for school teachers, I don’t think I could teach in a school 😁
physically, emotionally and mentally exhausting 😂 but the rewards of being able to teach a child to read, write, explore their minds-balance it somehow 🙏
Yes, I can see that. I know sometimes I can be exhausted after 2 hours of noisy teenagers 😁 but that said, I wouldn’t swap it
Love this! I think the stories stick better many times than “just the facts” 💞💞💞
Definitely… what I’ll need to watch out for is the stories appearing in the assessments 🤣
LOL, true!
A blogging skill I’ve been able to apply to life is general small talk. I’m horrendous at small talk, so it’s good to learn new things through my daily comments, and to find the common occurrences in typical conversations that I can fit into life. Wishing you all the best with this new creative experiment!
Thank you Stuart. I’m finding the more I write and run with the ideas and inspiration I get, the easier it’s becoming. I just need to keep tapping into the ideas and keep writing, of course