Reflection - Storytelling

I decided to tackle a problem related to education: How do we engage our

students into reading literary texts or books? The key word of this question, for

me, is “engage”. As a literature teacher, I don’t want my students to just go

through the pages mindlessly, I want them to include the habit of reading in their

lives and to develop a meaningful connection with the stories.

For that, me and other teachers decided to use the Storytelling tool, since this

exercise emphasizes the human experience in contact with a challenge or cause.

According to Corey Perez, in his lecture, Storytelling transforms a problem, which

should be tackled from a rational and linear perspective, into a cause, which

unites people’s interests and abilities. More than that, as he asserts, Storytelling

creates an emotional connection between the participants and this challenge.

These were exactly the features that we were looking for in our discussions. With

this tool, we could spark the interest of our students in the act of reading and

position them as active agents in these stories, which are the stories of their lives,

in the end.

We started the activity by asking one class of each grade (since we many) to

individually describe their daily lives. We offered a big weekly chart divided by

days of the week and hours of the day, in which they could map their days, from

when they wake up to their sleep hour. We asked them to include any relevant

information, be it extra courses, part-time jobs, commitments, study schedules,

favourite hobbies.

As a complement for this concrete representation of their routines, we invited

them to a group conversation on their impressions, feelings and opinions about

their lives. Their likes, dislikes, opinions on school, education, and work. We,

teachers, listened for more than one hour and we took notes of words and

aspects that called our attention.

At last, we compared our notes on the conversation to the weekly routine, in

search of patterns, causes and gaps to explore.

First of all, the teachers had a chance to actually listen to their students and to

understand them on a human level. We had to face their complaints on

homework, their tiredness and their hopelessness in the future. For me, it was

probably the most meaningful part of the activity.

Second, from the analysis we made, we could delineate some personae: “The

full-timer”: a student with commitments from early morning until night, be it extra

courses or part-time jobs. These students usually did not have enough time to

dedicate themselves on school. “The Idle”: a student easily attracted to forms of

leisure, such as videogames, series, movies, and social media. Because they did

not plan pockets of time to study and to relax, they usually slipped into any

amusing activity instead of study. “The workaholic”: a student completely

dedicated to school, for various reasons. Those students were easily

overwhelmed by the amount of homework and, as a consequence, they were led

to guilty and anxiety, to the point of exhaustion.

From this broad panorama, we decided to approach the problem in two ways: 1)

by offering personalized guidance for each persona, focusing on their

weaknesses and strengths; and 2) by devising more flexible, adaptable, and

personal evaluations in relation to readings and homework. We are still

implementing this change, and we planned to re-asses the question after the

exams.

I would have liked to add a Mind Mapping phase with the students, for us to

develop solutions together. However, at that time, the teachers thought that it

would be a little to risky to put so much power of deliberation in the hands of

teenagers. If these changes go well, I will suggest the use of Mind Mapping, to

engage the students into participating in the school problems, to encourage them

to think critically of their needs and of viable propositions.


Reflection - Storytelling I decided to tackle a problem related to education : How do we engage our students into reading literary texts or books ? The key word of this question , for me , is “ engage ” . As a literature teacher , I do n’t want my students to just go through the pages mindlessly , I want them to include the habit of reading in their lives and to develop a meaningful connection with the stories . For that , me and other teachers decided to use the Storytelling tool , since this exercise emphasizes the human experience in contact with a challenge or cause . According to Corey Perez , in his lecture , Storytelling transforms a problem , which should be tackled from a rational and linear perspective , into a cause , which unites people ’s interests and abilities . More than that , as he asserts , Storytelling creates an emotional connection between the participants and this challenge . These were exactly the features that we were looking for in our discussions . With this tool , we could spark the interest of our students in the act of reading and position them as active agents in these stories , which are the stories of their lives , in the end . We started the activity by asking one class of each grade ( since we many ) to individually describe their daily lives . We offered a big weekly chart divided by days of the week and hours of the day , in which they could map their days , from when they wake up to their sleep hour . We asked them to include any relevant information , be it extra courses , part - time jobs , commitments , study schedules , favourite hobbies . As a complement for this concrete representation of their routines , we invited them to a group conversation on their impressions , feelings and opinions about their lives . Their likes , dislikes , opinions on school , education , and work . We , teachers , listened for more than one hour and we took notes of words and aspects that called our attention . At last , we compared our notes on the conversation to the weekly routine , in search of patterns , causes and gaps to explore . First of all , the teachers had a chance to actually listen to their students and to understand them on a human level . We had to face their complaints on homework , their tiredness and their hopelessness in the future . For me , it was probably the most meaningful part of the activity . Second , from the analysis we made , we could delineate some personae : “ The full - timer ” : a student with commitments from early morning until night , be it extra courses or part - time jobs . These students usually did not have enough time to dedicate themselves on school . “ The Idle ” : a student easily attracted to forms of leisure , such as videogames , series , movies , and social media . Because they did not plan pockets of time to study and to relax , they usually slipped into any amusing activity instead of study . “ The workaholic ” : a student completely dedicated to school , for various reasons . Those students were easily overwhelmed by the amount of homework and , as a consequence , they were led to guilty and anxiety , to the point of exhaustion . From this broad panorama , we decided to approach the problem in two ways : 1 ) by offering personalized guidance for each persona , focusing on their weaknesses and strengths ; and 2 ) by devising more flexible , adaptable , and personal evaluations in relation to readings and homework . We are still implementing this change , and we planned to re - asses the question after the exams . I would have liked to add a Mind Mapping phase with the students , for us to develop solutions together . However , at that time , the teachers thought that it would be a little to risky to put so much power of deliberation in the hands of teenagers . If these changes go well , I will suggest the use of Mind Mapping , to engage the students into participating in the school problems , to encourage them to think critically of their needs and of viable propositions .