Kylie's Narrative Learning Literary Review

NARRATIVE LEARNING
          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.









3 comments:

  1. Kylie,
    Your 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

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kylie,

    You 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

    ReplyDelete
  3. 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.

    ReplyDelete