Storytelling


I love a good story. 

I remember I used to love them when I was a kid. I still love them, albeit, the type of stories that intrigue me now has changed a lot from the type that I used to like when I was a kid.

Most people love stories. I read somewhere that it is because human beings are hard wired to better process and store information when it is presented to them in a narrative form. This could be the reason why throughout human history information, morals and value systems have been taught and brought forward using stories.

Think about some pieces of information that were provided to you last week without any context or narrative and think about a movie you watched a few years ago. Chances are you would still remember the movie from a few years ago better than you remember the pieces of information from a few days ago. The reason behind this is that the movie told you a story, which means that the information provided in the movie was provided to you in a believable, memorable and entertaining manner. Our brain is better able to make sense of information that is provided in this manner and then stores this information for easy retrieval. On the other hand, our brain struggles with understanding any information that is provided in a way that is not believable, memorable or entertaining. To be sure, the brain might finally understand or ascribe meaning to that information but it may not be as effective.

Storytelling is an effective tool in learning because it engages the learner and keeps them curious about the content so that they stay motivated to go through the entire learning content instead of flicking or clicking to the next page or slide. Using a story to impart knowledge or induce a change in behavior can be a lot more successful than simply providing a do or do not list. This happens because it provides the readers with a character that they can relate to, a situation/challenge that they can understand and hopefully a solution that they can value and remember. All of this combines to provide the learners with a learning experience which their brain can make sense of and remember.


In future blog posts I will talk about the structure of a story and how it can be used to present the information in an effective and engaging manner.

Bye for now.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Scaffolding

Scaffolding In instructional/learning design we often use the term scaffolding. But what is it? Scaffolding is when we break up the learning or a concept into smaller chunks and support it with various activities that help in understanding and embedding what is being learned. Scaffolding also involves usage of different instructional techniques to gradually enhance learner understanding. The main aim of scaffolding is to make the learner comfortable with what they are learning. So, it should not be viewed as something that needs to be done out of compulsion or convention. Rather, it should be looked upon as the support that is provided to the learner that will make the learning process easier and more effective for them and enable them to apply the learning independently. But how is scaffolding done? Scaffolding is done every time the learner is provided with a tool or information that supports their learning. This may be a:          Clearly provided direction on
Keep reading

Change Managemnt

In this post I want to talk about Change Management. I am seeing an increasing convergence between learning projects and change management almost to the point where they seem part of the same process. A bit like two sides of a coin. So what is Change Management? Change management is the process of helping an organization adjust its strategies and structures to better meet its goals. It's a broad term that can be used in many different contexts and refers to a process for managing organizational changes and focusses on how individuals respond to change and managing their concerns and resistance to the proposed change. The goal of change management is to make sure that the changes you're making to your business or organization are as smooth as possible. You don't want people to feel like they're being forced into something they don't want, or that they don't understand why they're doing it. You also want to make sure that when you do make these changes, you ca
Keep reading

The Learning Hook

Can you recall a class that you took or a learning course that you had to go through that instantly grabbed your attention? What was it about the course that grabbed your attention like that? That was a learning Hook! What is a learning hook? A learning Hook is something that grabs the learner’s attention. Something that would make them instantly engage with the learning. So how can we go about developing a learning hook? Well, a learning hook can come from a number of areas. It could be talking about a current event. It could be talking about an ethical or moral dilemma. It could be talking about something that may have directly impacted the learner. It could even be a curious fact, or a mystery or an interesting story. For example, I was once teaching a sales and marketing course and prior to starting any course I usually try to   know my cohort as in, what would they like to do what is it that they find interesting and so on and so forth. So, during
Keep reading