NARRATIVE LEARNING
LITERARY REVIEW
LITERARY REVIEW
Kylie Hartman
Ball State
Narrative
learning is often used in teaching in adult educational setting today. Narrative learning is at the root a way to
teach people through story telling.
Narrative are stories, “the oldest and most natural form of sense
making” (Jonassen & Hernandez-Serrano, 2002, p.66), and they have a place
in adult learning because stories enable us to make meaning of our lives
(Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007, p.208). Narratives can take on many different forms
that can be useful in the teaching process.
Rossiter (2005) and Rossiter and Clark (in press) identify three ways in
which stories appear in practice: “storying” the curriculum, storytelling, and
autobiography (Merriam, Caffarella &
Baumgartner, 2007, p. 209). This type of learning can be used in just
about any education scenario and had long sense been a way to teach and pass on
knowledge. Narrative is not only a
method for fostering learning; it is also a way to conceptualize the learning
process. In this chapter, we describe the essential features of narrative
learning and discuss why this is such an effective way to teach adults (Clark, M. C. and Rossiter, M. (2008),
Narrative learning in adulthood).
Narrative learning has only in the past 20 to 30 years really gained
recognition as a way to teach. This type
of learning is a way to connect to the students and start forming bonds that
will make the learning experience better for all that are involved. The student will feel connected to their own
education.
Experience and sense of self are major factors in the
narrative learning process. The majority of the stories told are told about
one’s own personal experiences. That is
how people relate to different things.
To use one’s own experience can then be told as a narrative which
students can connect their own experiences to. Narrative is also how we craft
our sense of self, our identity. Rosenwald and Ochberg (1992, p. 1) argue,
“Personal stories are not merely a way
of telling someone (or
oneself) about one’s life; they are the means by which identities may be
fashioned.” McAdams (1985) works from a similar premise in his life story model
of identity in which the self is understood as an ever-unfolding story (Clark, M. C. and Rossiter, M. (2008),
Narrative learning in adulthood). “Being
storytellers means that this is our way to bring some kind of coherence to the
chaos of experience that bombards us daily. Narration is a sense-making act” (Clark, M. C. (2010).
Narrative learning: Its contours and its possibilities. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education,2010(126), 3-11).
This type of learning is different for everyone because no two people
will have come into class having lived and experienced the exact same
things.
Learning and finding
one’s self through stories is a natural way to learn and grow. As a student and a person. Learning as a narrative process is how people
find meaning in their own experiences.
People learn from stories in different ways. People learn from stories by hearing them, by
telling them, and by recognizing the narratives in which we are positioned (Clark,
M. C. (2010). Narrative learning: Its contours and its possibilities. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education,2010(126), 3-11).
Stories are told to get people or students to find a connection that has
meaning to them.
First,
the hearing of stories implies reception; the stories come from outside the
learner and must be received and interpreted by the learner. Second is the telling of stories, and now the
learner is the actor rather than the receiver.
The third element, recognizing stories, is more abstract. It presumes
that learners begin to understand the fundamental narrative character of
experience (Clark, M. C. and
Rossiter, M. (2008), Narrative learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult
and Continuing Education, 2008: 61–70.
doi:10.1002/ace.306).
Narrative learning is a way in which will allow students to find the
parts and pieces that they want to use to form their own stories.
Narrative learning can
be a very important aspect and dynamic tool in the classroom. Adult educators would be wise to learn and
know about narrative learning as it has so much connection to the student and
their own life stories and experiences.
Narrative leaning can be used in adult classrooms in many different
ways. It can break down the barriers
between students and teachers. It is a
way to give control of their education to the student. We make sense of all
experience by narrating it (constructing it as a kind of story), so
understanding how narrative works will make the practice of adult educators
more effective (Clark, M. C. (2010). Narrative learning: Its contours and its
possibilities. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education,2010(126), 3-11).
A
learning narrative is a way of evaluating what one has learned from one’s own
experience. The student learns to describe what he or she knows, assesses what
he or she can do and/or summarizes what valuable attitudes and insights
developed as a result of a particular task (Van der
Merwe, J. & Brewis, J. (2011). From Problem-Solving Paradigm to Co-Ontogenic
Drift: How Do Learning Narratives Self-Generate?Leonardo 44(2), 133-138. The MIT Press.
Retrieved September 25, 2016, from Project MUSE database).”
Learning today has changed and will continue
to change as the world does. Narrative
learning is just one step in making the adult educational process more
rewarding.
Although narrative learning has not
always been accepted it has come a long way from where it began. It has taken off and is widely viewed as not
only an important aspect of adult learning but a key piece in how to teach in
an adult classroom. It is a way to
connect from one’s own experiences to the story being told. Through the process of narrative learning
meaning adult
not learn
in a new way, they also learn about themselves through the experience. This type of learning is a way to break down
barriers and find common ground but also for adults to feel connect to their
own learning. Adult classrooms and the
ways adults are taught and learn have changed greatly over time. Narrative learning today more than ever plays
a key role in the adult classroom. It
may be a newer idea but one that all adult educators should know and learn the
vast impact it can have on their students.
I think this is a great way to teach and learn. I feel that if the student feels a personal
connection to the narrative they will be more apt to retain and learn from
it. Narrative learning can be much more
personal depending on what is being taught and the narrative being told.
The main themes about narrative
learning including one’s own experience, narrative learning to find one’s self
or identity, and the importance of narrative learning in the classroom are all
informative to adult learners and educators.
The ways adults learn today have changed over time. Through trial and error, they have found that
narrative learning works in adult educational classroom. People need to understand how it works and
why. Educators need to apply narrative
learning to their classroom curriculum to build connections with the students.
Once the
connections are built then the student is more likely to participate and open
up because they are a part of their own education and feel a level of
comfort. People need to understand that
not
everyone will understand everything but if you give the student something as
raw as your own experience or a strong story the audience or the class will be
more likely to connect, learn, and grasp part if not all of what is being
taught. It just seems that narrative
learning in the adult education field has so many positives that it should be
used more. Educators that have done the
same thing for years and years don’t be afraid to try something new like,
narrative learning in the
classroom.
Try it you may be surprised the impact it has on your students. They are more
likely because they will use their own personal experience to connect to parts
of the story that fit their own story or parts that impact them in one way or
another. The main thing is that
narrative learning is a growing trend in adult educational setting and it
should be accepted with open arms because it may have not always received the
most recognition but it is still here and it is here to stay.
References
Clark, M. C. (2010).
Narrative learning: Its contours and its possibilities. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education,2010(126), 3-11.
Clark, M. C. and Rossiter, M. (2008), Narrative
learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2008:
61–70. doi:10.1002/ace.306
Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. &
Baumgartner, L.M. (2007), Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.
Van der Merwe, J.
& Brewis, J. (2011). From Problem-Solving Paradigm to Co-Ontogenic Drift:
How Do Learning Narratives Self-Generate?Leonardo 44(2), 133-138. The MIT Press.
Retrieved September 25, 2016, from Project MUSE database.
Kylie,
ReplyDeleteYour review was very thought provoking. I am currently writing a life story based on the journals from my life. I didn't consider this true narrative learning until after I read the explanation in your paper.
Being Native American as a strong part of my heritage I think back to the times I sat and listened to the ancient stories of nature, love, and pride. This is the type of example I thought of when considering Narrative learning. This review was very interesting.
Lorrina
Kylie,
ReplyDeleteYou have captured some main ideas of narrative learning, which is good.
Suggestions:
1. Please use the same color in your text. It is too difficult to read your paper with the blue font.
2. Revise your grammar. For example:
As a student and a person.
--- This is not a sentence.
Through the process of narrative learning meaning adult
not learn in a new way, they also learn about themselves through the experience.
--- revise grammar.
3. Revise your APA format. For example:
they have a place in adult learning because stories enable us to make meaning of our lives (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007, p.208).
----You don’t need page number for the indirect citation.
Narrative learning: Its contours and its possibilities. New Directions For Adult & Continuing Education,2010(126), 3-11).
--- What is this? Check the APA format.
4. Add Implications.
5. Add Reflections.
6. Add table.
Bo
I agree whole heartedly with the narrative learning styles. Some people are intrinsic while others are extrinsic learners. Personal stories and thoughts are always entertaining and thought provoking as opposed to basic statistics and regurgitated information from the past. Adult learners learn in various ways, and m personal belief is narrative learning is the most exciting way to learn because it involves PERSONAL stories.
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