Mandy Lowe's Literature Review

I commented on Allison Wynbissinger's review in Group 3: Experiential Learning and on Scott Kenney's review in Group 1: Self Directed Learning. (9/30/16)

Narrative Learning

Literature Review

Mandy Lowe

Ball State University

Introduction

Narrative learning can be defined as learning through stories. As humans, we teach one another and learn from one another based on the narratives of our own experiences. “We live in a narrative-saturated world, which is to say that narratives are everywhere.” (Clark, 2010, pg. 4) From autobiographies, to the Bible, to our first elementary story books, stories are all around us. We take them in every day and then use them to make meaning of our own life story. No matter the time or place, and no matter the discipline, storytelling is a powerful and relevant method of learning. While an abstract concept may be difficult to grasp, it can become more understandable and tangible when related through the story of a real world example. Stories of childbirth or illness can be good examples of narrative learning. We may not have yet lived through one of these experiences, but hearing about it from another can enhance our own understanding and knowledge of that experience.

                Often narratives can have a larger social definition as well. Narratives of different types of experiences can vary greatly from culture to culture, or from time period to time period. Imagine the differences in stories of illnesses in the 1800’s to those in the modern day, or the differences between first world and third world illness. Narratives can help to define us as group, whether that is a nation, a gender, a race, or an ethnicity. Stories help us to see ourselves as part of a larger society, and can help us to see how we fit into that larger community.

                Narrative learning is a way of passing on knowledge that can be powerful, meaningful, and emotional. Effective storytelling can draw an individual into the experience being narrated. By using one’s senses and details to describe the individual’s feelings during an event, a person can almost feel what it was like to experience that event himself. Ultimately, narratives can provide an engaging means allowing for all types of individuals to connect and more thoroughly understand the material being presented.

General Themes

The use of storytelling has often been a practice in adult learning. As adults, we can think of past examples in our lives to complement a theory or idea being presented, as told by another. According to Clark and Rossiter, the “hearing of the stories implies reception.” (2008, pg. 65) The learner takes in the story and can begin to understand the details and concepts involved in the experience. The hearing of the story can be moving, engaging, and can evoke empathy for the narrator. Also important is the telling of the story. To verbalize a story to another person can lead to a better understanding of the material by both the learner as well as the narrator. To retell a story requires a deeper, more personal understanding on the part of the learner. “The learner is more connected to the course because of a personal contribution to it.” (Clark & Rossiter, 2008, pg. 65)

                Also important is the reflection and meaning making of the narratives, which connects the learner to the concept and leads him to better connect the event to his own life. Many professional areas can integrate narrative learning. One area often using this mode is the nursing profession. “Just hearing a nurse relate a situation that had a positive outcome helps nurses realize that with teamwork and proper planning, they, too, can achieve expertise.” (Ramsey, 2000, pg. 497) The ability to hear a story and to be able to apply that story to the learner’s own life is an important component. Clark instructs her students that the “task is to understand what the teller is trying to accomplish through the story.” (2010, pg. 4) The learner takes an active role in understanding the story and how to place his own experience in the context of the narrative.

                Storytelling can be an effective aid in teaching. Often, there are commonalities in the practices of how best to incorporate storytelling in learning. One mode of narrative learning is journaling. According to Clark and Rossiter, journaling requires students to “articulate what they are learning”, in a “sustained, regular way.” (2008, pg. 67) The student is allowed and encouraged to demonstrate their understanding of the concept in their own words, which often leads to a deeper reflection than simple regurgitation of facts. The student leads the conversation and can further delve into concepts as they further develop their own interest. This also allows for greater diversity in opinion and learning when coupled with the addition of other learners, who all bring their own set of experiences and beliefs.

                Another mode of storytelling would be autobiographical writing. This mode can be especially helpful with reflection, as the learner can focus on their own journey and how that fits in the larger societal picture. Coffey and Street quote Bruner’s claim that “we seem to have no other way of describing ‘lived time’ save in the form of narrative” as an important key in the autobiographical narrative. (2008, pg. 453) Clark and Rossiter note that in autobiographical writing, learners “construct a narrative of their life experience” (2008, pg. 68) which supports a larger concept.

                Case studies are also a familiar, common mode of narrative learning. Rae describes storytelling about accidents as an important component to safety education. (2016, pg. 1) A case study, Rae says, is “a constructed experience to give students the opportunity to acquire knowledge.” (2016, pg. 2) Often with this mode, students are presented with the story of a specific situation, real or fictional, and then the learner must put his own knowledge or theory to use in solving the problem. The learner is required to reflect on experience and view himself in the role of the individual in the narrative.

                The main ideas of this literature review on narrative learning covered how storytelling has long been a practice in learning. Inside and outside of the classroom, adults use stories to pass on knowledge and to take in knowledge. Adults take in the facts, details, and feelings that narratives evoke and use these to make meaning of larger concepts and even to construct a personal identity. Narratives can be intentionally incorporated in adult learning programs and can foster important development through the practices to follow.

Implications

Narrative learning can be especially powerful and effective in the adult education field. There are a number of ways that this type of learning can be designed to best impart the knowledge that the educator is wanting to exhibit. “We work to achieve coherence. We can do it in our heads, we can do it out loud, we can do it on paper, and it can be done alone or with others.” (Clark and Rossiter, 2008, pg. 66) How can one best tell a story? Rae says that “narrative choices can make the difference between effective story-based teaching and oversimplified hindsight explanations.” (2016, pg. 1) The telling of the story should be engaging and descriptive. The teller should lay the scene, so that the learner can envision himself and view all of the elements involved. What did the teller see, hear, and smell? What emotions did the teller feel – happiness, sadness, fear? These are important details to include, whether the narrative is oral or written. Oral narratives can often add special details such as “spontaneous humor” and more “moment –by-moment figuring” that can be lacking in written narratives, according to Coffey and Street (2008, pg. 452) Ramsey advises that “including personal thoughts and feelings will convey why this situation was meaningful to you and what you were trying to achieve.” (2000, pg. 497) As humans, we can better connect with a story if we can see the overall humanity in the subject, and see how that applies to us. This is especially important in narrative learning as it gives the learner a larger, overall social context.

                Three types of narrative learning practices were examined. Journaling is an open, somewhat less structured way of allowing learners to articulate their own stories and by doing so, demonstrate their understanding of an event or topic. Often with an open-ended question, learners are able to lead their own discussion of how they relate or what their experience is in a certain topic. “Writing is a way of making our thinking visible” (Clark and Rossiter, 2008, pg. 67) and so learners are exposed and can be much more vulnerable in their storytelling through journaling. Online discussion boards can be useful in allowing learners to post their entries and share and interact with our students to further expand their own understanding of the subject. Journaling over time allows the learner to also reflect back on their own journey.

                Autobiographical writing places the learner as the protagonist in the story. The author is able to specifically examine his own role in the story, and portray the knowledge and experience that he has gained along the way. This can be especially effective with portraying the successes and failures that all humans encounter throughout their life story.

                Case studies are also important because they present an open ended problem, and the learner must determine a solution by placing himself in the story. The challenge of case studies is that often the learner has questions that may not be answered prior the making of the decision, as is often the case in real life situations. Rae indicates that the instructor’s role here is to “reflect these questions back to the group, helping them to recognize that in real-world situations there would be no definitive response to their desire for more factual information.” (2016, pg. 6) The learning here is attained through hearing the narrative and decision making based on the facts as they are understood.

                Ultimately, the challenge of narrative learning is how to best connect the individual learner with the story. The methods above are implications of how to put storytelling into practice and how to enrich the learning experience of adults.

Reflection

When choosing a topic for the group project, I was immediately drawn to narrative learning. I view this type of learning especially engaging and meaningful to me personally, and feel that it makes learning theory and abstract topics much more real. When first reading about narrative learning, I immediately associated this mode with the current Broadway musical Hamilton. I must say that history has never been one of my favorite subjects, at least how it is often taught in schools. Memorizing dates and details about specific events has always been a challenge for me. I was able to see narrative learning in practice through this musical however. Taking the specific events of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the nation and laying it out through the story of Alexander Hamilton’s life has inspired a real interest in that time for me. Imagine if every History class was taught through the lives of those who lived through it! For this reason, I felt a deeper understanding of this type of learning.

                This is my first course that I have taken in the journey to my Master’s degree, and when beginning this literature review, I was intimidated and unsure. This is new territory for me, and so I have relied on the syllabus and grading rubric to better understand what is expected from this assignment. I appreciated the links provided to search for articles and journals in Bracken Library, as well as how to use RefWorks which has been a definite help to me. I also thought it was helpful to first put the general ideas into the table, and then write the larger paper from that. I have tried to spend time each day reading or reflecting on my references and some time in writing. I started early so that I wouldn’t feel rushed or overwhelmed. I have also tried to incorporate some of the practical tips that I was able to take from the articles used, so that the reader could directly place these into practice. I feel that narrative learning plays a very important role in adult learning and so is a highly relevant topic.

Tables

	Main Themes/Ideas	Application of Main Ideas in Practice (see Implications)
Idea 1	Storytelling – the telling and hearing of stories	Personal details are extremely important. Setting the scene in a realistic, descriptive way conveys the emotion and feeling of the story.
Idea 2	Reflection and meaning making of stories	Humans connect to a story when we can see ourselves as a part of that story, and as part of the larger social context.
Idea 3	Specific practices for narrative learning	·         Journaling ·         Case Studies ·         Autobiographies

References

Clark, M. C., & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education, 2008(119), 61-70. doi:10.1002/ace.306

Clark, M. C. (2010). Narrative learning: Its contours and its possibilities. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2010(126), 3-11. doi:10.1002/ace.367

Coffey, S., & Street, B. (2008). Narrative and identity in the "language learning project". The Modern Language Journal, 92(3), 452-464. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00757.x

Rae, A. (2016). Tales of disaster: The role of accident storytelling in safety teaching. Cognition, Technology & Work, 18(1), 1-10. doi:10.1007/s10111-015-0341-3

Ramsey, C. A. (2000). Storytelling can be a valuable teaching aid. AORN Journal, 72(3), 497-499. doi:10.1016/S0001-2092(06)61281-7