The Power of Stories in Learning

The Power of Stories in Learning

© 2015 Nimble Narrative

Jennie Fennelle ATD-Cascadia Learning Leaders Forum

May 13, 2015

Today’s Discussion

  The science of stories

  Story framework that works well for training

  Practical design tips

  A couple paired activities

  Resources

Disclaimers!

  Story-based design is only one type of tool for engaging training.

  Stories don’t work for every type of training.

  Story-based learning doesn’t replace traditional approaches—it enhances them.

Tell Us About a Time…

…when you learned something through a story.

Human beings master the basics of storytelling as young children and retain this capability throughout their lives.

Stephen Denning!

Why Do We Train People?

…to influence a change in behavior

The Power of Stories

in Learning

Learning Equation

Connection + Cooperation

= Empathy

Leads to a change

in behavior.

Context & Authenticity

If you’re leaving stories out of your training, you’re missing an opportunity for

authentic learning.

Context & Authenticity

Learn From Other Disciplines

What Is a Story?

I find that most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.Flannery O’Connor!

What Is a Story?

  Tale of imaginary or real characters, told to inform, persuade, or entertain.

  A narrative, either true or fictitious, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct.

  A medium we can use to communicate meaningfully with each other.

The Basics: The Story Arc

1.  Setup: Introduce characters, setting, and the situation/problem at hand.

2.  Conflict: Elaborate on what the problem is.

3.  Resolution: Work out the conflict; come to a conclusion.

We experience life as a series of ongoing narratives, as conflicts, characters.

Beginnings, middles, and ends.Dr. Walter Fischer!

Where and when? Who’s the main character? What does he/she want?

What’s in the way?

The Basics: Four Questions

The Hero’s Journey

  Hero is in an ordinary world.

  He is called to a quest.

  He’s reluctant, but he accepts.

  He’s tested by enemies.

  He goes through an ordeal.

  He’s victorious!

  He is transformed!

  He takes his reward back home.


  Hero is in an ordinary world.

  He is called to a quest.

  He’s reluctant, but he accepts.

  He’s tested by enemies.

  He goes through an ordeal.

  He’s victorious!

  He is transformed!

  He takes his reward back home.

  Sales Rep = Character.

  Reduce theft, increase sales.

  Skeptical, but accepts quest.

  Major theft occurs.

  Uses crime prevention.

  Reduces theft 80%!

  He’s recognized/rewarded.

  Teaches others.


http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-makes-a-hero-matthew-winkler

Try It: Story-based Design Interview

1.  Find a partner.

2.  Decide who will be the SME,

and who will be the designer.

3.  Pick a “how-to” topic the SME

knows a lot about.

It can be anything!

4.  Designer interviews SME,

using SBID questions.

5.  Together, SME and Designer

answer worksheet questions.

Stories Are In Our Blood

Oxytocin! •  Empathy •  Cooperation •  Willingness to help •  Stronger social cues

Narrative Lights Up the Brain

Narrative Form

“The only way [kids] have of organizing the world, of organizing experience.”

- Jerome Brumer, NYU Psychologist

(quoted in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point)

Narrative World

“We live in a story-shaped world…with libraries of plots…that help us interpret our own and

other people’s experience.”

- T. R. Sarbin, Psychologist, UC Santa Cruz {Quoted in Third Update on Adult Learning Theory)

How Do Stories Engage?

1. Build emotional connections.


2. Construct knowledge.



3. Improve recall.

2. Construct knowledge.


The ID Role in Story-based Design

  Change the way you think about your job as an instructional designer.

  Reframe some basic vocabulary (e.g., assessments = challenges).

  The learner is a main character—a potential hero.

  Take your learner on a quest to solve a problem.

How We Learn Through Stories

By hearing stories, we learn what to do…and

what not to do.


By telling stories, we make connections with others.

We spread wisdom.


By recognizing ourselves in stories, we see patterns.

It is not the voice that commands the story; it is the ear.

Italo Calvino!

Practical Ways to Incorporate Story Into Your Training

Conduct interviews.

  Interview SME and learners.

  Ask “Hero’s Journey” questions.


Create learning objectives.

  Base them on interview answers.

  Focus on challenge, success, failure, useful tools, and obstacles.


Choose a level of immersion.

  Most immersive: Central challenge draws learner in.

  Less immersive: Answers add context to training.


Map challenges to objectives.

  Each objective should have a challenge.

  Create meaningful feedback and opportunities for recovery.


Establish a mood or tone.

  Create a setting that

appeals to your learners.

  Focus on making it come

to life.


Hook and engage learners.

  Throw them into the action.

  Focus on something your

learners care about, right

away.


Facilitate connections.

  Help learners connect the

links between the known

and the new.

  Build in opportunities for

discovery throughout.

There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.

Willa Cather!


Promote content retention.

  Make the narrative cohesive.

  Focus on what’s important;

leave out extraneous details.


Design ways to recover.

  Include custom feedback.

  Allow learners to try again.

  Provide resources to

uncover answers.


Reward successes.

  Recognize valiant efforts.

  Make the resulting

transformation obvious.

Making the Case for Story-based Design

Pitch an enticing “before and after”:

  Before: A 200-page manual on how to avoid sexual harassment at work

  After: An immersive “day in the life” online training in which the learner is a main character who must navigate sensitive situations, with custom feedback and opportunities for mistakes/recovery


Share some details on the power of stories.

  Humans naturally learn through stories, from the time we’re very young.

  There’s no learning curve in stories. We inherently tune in and understand a good narrative.

The universe is made of stories, not atoms.Muriel Rukeyser!


  Encourage stakeholders to collaborate on design.

  Story-based design works well as a team effort with multiple points of view represented.

Try It: Pitch Story-based Learning

1.  Find a partner.

2.  We’ll hand out one of 7 case

studies to you.

3.  Read the case study together.

4.  One person is the designer,

and the other the stakeholder.

5.  The designer should pitch

story-based learning to the

stakeholder, with reasons why

it could work.

Try It: Pitch Story-based Learning

Pitfalls of Story-based

Design

Steer clear of novelty. Remember: Authenticity rules.

Pitfalls of Story-based

Design

Avoid getting carried away. Things can get complicated and expensive, but they don’t have to.

Your Story-based Learning Experiences?

How have you used stories in learning—intentionally or unintentionally?

The Power of Stories in Learning

Business

Transcript of The Power of Stories in Learning