Telling tales leads to better learning

The history of Alberta's mining industry might seem like dry material for a Grade 4 classroom, but the right story can bring any topic to life, says a University of Alberta researcher.

Jillian Yawney, a graduate student from the U of A School of Library and Information Studies, is passionate about storytelling. She believes it's much more than entertainment. "It's an interactive teaching method that leaves students naturally wanting to learn more," she said.

Yawney did a storytelling study, with a group of Grade 4 Edmonton students. She wanted to see if storytelling was an effective teaching tool and if it would help the students understand how to conduct research.

She told the students the legendary tale of The Lost Lemon Mine, a tale of adventure, betrayal, murder and a curse in the years before the Klondike gold rush.

"It was a springboard to inspire, motivate and generate ideas," said Yawney, who has been a storyteller for eight years.

The students were instructed to write a one-page report and solve the mystery of the mine's location by making an informed decision based on research they completed. Yawney helped by teaching the students lessons in key-word searching, determining credibility and note-taking.

Although storytelling might seem like an intuitive way to pass on knowledge, Yawney said there wasn't a lot of research available on the subject.

"There's a great deal of literature about storytelling, but virtually nothing out there on storytelling as an educational tool," she said. "My goal was definitely to produce empirical research."

At the end of her study, Yawney discovered the storytelling approach engaged the students and got them excited about learning.

"I found there was a sharp increase in their motivation, their imaginations were definitely engaged," she asid.

In interviews, students made comments like "when you were storytelling a little mini movie was running in my head and that's just where all the ideas came from" and "I want to find out more because I liked your stories."

The difference between a story and a lecture is all in the presentation.

"It's a dramatic event," said Yawney. "It's an information exchange between a presenter and a listener, and when it's turned into a narrative, it has a beginning, middle and an end. It has conflict and it has characters. That's what grabs students' imaginations when I tell them stories."

Yawney believes this approach applies to more than fabled tales. "Other stories could be used for different disciplines."

For example she says high school teachers could use the storytelling approach when teaching about Galileo Galilei, Albert Einstein or World War II, even mathematics.

"The first step is really learning to storytell and it's easier than you would think," said Yawney. "Get a text that you love - a fairy tale or a family story - and practice. Then look for ways that you can work it into your curriculum."

(Source: Ileiren Poon: University of Alberta: March 2008)