TOPs: The Power of Story: Using Narrative Writing to Improve Student Learning and Success
Facilitator: Jennifer Brooks, English Instructor Humans are storytelling creatures, and for decades, scientists have pondered the question of how our stories affect our development as individuals and as societies. Recent research has unveiled some fascinating connections between story and the brain’s natural tendency towards pattern creation in learning and memory. Therefore, this presentation will introduce the use of narrative/story writing as an impactful tool for student learning. First, I will briefly cover recent studies – including an overview of the field of Narrative Psychology – exploring the effects of narrative on the brain (in forging patterns and connections between concepts, in developing empathy/compassion, etc.). Then, I will walk through an example narrative assignment used in our PTA program that has yielded powerful results for those students. I have Susan Kimel’s permission to use her assignment as an example. Finally, I will end with concrete tips and techniques for developing narrative assignments (both low stakes and high stakes) that are engaging and that directly impact student learning. Attendees will spend some time brainstorming ideas for their curriculum then briefly share them.
Learning Objectives: An individual who attends this presentation will be able to:
- Explain the impacts of narrative/story on the human brain
- Explore their own curriculum/courses, considering use of a narrative assignment
- Develop several ideas for narrative assignments to take from the session to apply to their curriculum/course planning
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