Narrative Learning Literature
Review
William P. Cooper
Ball State University
Table 1.
Review and comments on other
student work
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Name
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Commented
on
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Will
Cooper
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Amelia Boggess (Group 5)
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Introduction
It would be easy to assume that the
idea of narrative learning is very straightforward and narrowly focused based
on the name alone, but even the most simple research on the topic yields a
whole array of data and tangentially related topics that displays it’s great
depth and power for learning. Although
relatively new within the field of adult education (Clark, C. M., &
Rossiter, M., 2008) as a learning or teaching model, the idea of narrative or
story is not foreign to most people.
Humans have used narrative as a way to share knowledge for millennia,
and there are more ways than ever to express your own story in the twenty first
century with the advent of highly accessible technology.
What follows is an overview of the
idea of narrative learning as it relates to adult education using four themes identified
in the body of literature on this subject.
These themes were specifically selected based on both their
representation of narrative learning as a whole, and their applicability in
practical settings moving forward.
General
Themes
Much of the literature on narrative
learning speaks to its close ties to the ideas of spiritual, experiential and transformational
learning, and how it can both add to those learning experiences or be born from
those experiences. Narratives help
connect individuals on a spiritual level, as they often depict very personal
experiences that are best communicated in story form and help provide an
increased sense of meaning for that experience (MacKeracher, 2004). Regarding experiential learning, Clark (2010)
argues that “experience itself is prelinguistic, it exists prior to and apart
from language” (p. 5) and that it is through the vehicle of narrative that we
make sense of our experiences. This
again is tied closely to the idea of spiritual learning, as the sharing of
one’s experience not only gives meaning to the individual, but also allows them
to connect with other individuals on a more spiritual level through shared
processing of the experience. Narratives
also help facilitate transformational learning experiences by providing a
personal perspective into the transformational experience, and allowing the
learner to have what might be described as a true paradigm shift (Merriam,
Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007).
Storytelling
This first theme is likely the most
commonly understood and widely used by learners around the world. Although storytelling may be easily thought
of as simply sharing one’s personal perspective or experiences, Jonassen and
Hernandez-Serrano (2002) argue that stories help individual leaners actually solve
problems ranging from everyday issues to more complex professional
problems. Their research focuses on how
stories, and application of past problem solving experiences from skilled
problem-solvers, can be directly used as a problem-solving method for learners
as they are exposed to archived versions of these stories. Storytelling is often a natural part of adult
learning as it engages in learners’ individual experiences, and it is often a powerful
vehicle for embodied learning as the storyteller transports other individuals
into their own sense of reality and experience (Lawrence & Paige, 2016).
Storytelling can also elevate the
level of relevance in a specific learning opportunity, as it can help remove
some of the abstract nature of a learning objective and ground it in a personal
reality. Somewhat in contrast to the
work of Jonassen and Hernandez-Serrano (2002), Sims and Swenson (2012) discuss
how stories can be employed to help lessen the frustration often experienced in
problem-based learning opportunities, and helped connect facilitator and learners
in a much more relevant way. They argue
that using stories helps to connect more abstract research and actual learning,
and that stories also support the ideas of constructivism which point towards the
creation of knowledge through collective experience and interpretation of that
experience.
Autobiography
This theme might be interpreted as
a more specific method of storytelling which focuses on recording one’s own
experiences rather than sharing them publicly, but the significant body of
research on autobiographical methods of narrative warrant further conversation
on this theme beyond its connection to general storytelling. The most common form of autobiography comes in
the form of journaling, but other forms include dream logs, therapy, and blogs (Merriam,
Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007).
Journaling within an educational setting can come in a variety of forms,
including reflective journaling, double entry journaling, metacognitive journaling,
and synthesis journaling. Journaling is
an important form of narrative learning, as it provides an individual space for
independent thinking, helps facilitate comprehensive understanding of complex
subjects or problems, and develops metacognitive skills (Liuoliene and
Metiuniene, 2009). Van Breda and
Agherdien (2014) discuss how reflective journaling also encourages deep
learning and understanding, and argue that by integrating personal experience
with educational content will cause a deeper level of learning that will
last.
With the advent of the internet and
access to personal computers, many personal journals have moved online in the
form of blogs. In many ways blogs offer
a sort of hybrid between journaling and storytelling, as they function for the
author as a journal, but their stories are archived in a public manner and
could be used in storytelling by other individuals. Erin Hollenbaugh (2011) discusses the motives
behind why individuals maintain personal or reflective journals in such a
format, which included motives ranging from helping or informing others, to
archiving and organizing which points more towards the journaling nature of
such narratives. This potential tension
between personal journaling and public blogs is explored by Drew Foster (2015),
who concludes that both methods tend to similarly encourage reflection
regardless of which form is chosen by the individual. Foster goes on to argue that personal
journals tend to allow more personal or emotional risk-taking, while peer-reviewed
public blogs “appear to compel students to take more intellectual risks and
engage in mental endeavors more associated with logic and rationality” (page
112).
Storying
A third, and seemingly less
documented theme that emerges from the review of narrative learning literature
is known as “storying”, and is worth exploring as it uniquely applies the ideas
of both storytelling and autobiography to learning opportunities. This theme is particularly helpful from the constructivist
perspective, as it essentially is taking one or more stories and using the
stories and their interpretation to help tell or construct a larger story about
a specific subject or problem (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Clark (2010) potentially unknowingly provides
an excellent example of storying as she uses a collection of stories to tell a
larger story about the transformational impact of narrative learning in
general. This idea of storying is
essentially narrative learning in-action, as it engages students in a broader
theme or idea through the active creation of a new larger narrative that is born
from the experiences of other individuals.
Dialogue
This final theme is important for
narrative learning within adult education, as it combines many of the ideas and
practices already discussed in this review.
Dialogue is generally considered a verbal or aural activity involving
two or more individuals, but dialogue can also be facilitated or supported
through written forms of narrative such as journals. There is an important distinction between pure
narrative and true dialogue, as MacKeracher (2004) points out that although
storytelling or narrative is not a dialogue in itself, “it can lead to reciprocal
storytelling and lengthy dialogues” (page 185). Witherell (2010) reviews several methods to
engage in dialogue as a form of narrative learning, which include dialogue
circles, jigsaw theatre read-aloud circles, and small-group journal writing
dialogues. Dialogue circles allow more
reflective and responsive conversation in response to a specific topic, while
the jigsaw method requires more individual interpretation as students in essence
reenact portions of an autobiography “that captures marker events from the writer’s
life” (Witherall, 2010, page 73).
Implications
There are varieties of ways that
practitioners can implement the ideas of narrative learning in adult learning opportunities,
many of which are detailed and evaluated by the authors of literature cited in
this review. Rather than repeat any of
the strategies suggested or reviewed in the literature, I will attempt to offer
some other strategies for each of the four main themes identified in this review. I will use one main idea to frame the
response in each of the following sections, as each theme builds upon on
another and therefore the main idea intends to be cumulative in nature as well.
Storytelling Implications
and Strategies
Because storytelling has been shown
to be so impactful on adult learning, a facilitator could frame an entire
course or learning opportunity around a single story or series of stories that
express the ideas embodied in the core course content. Rather than taking a purely intellectual
approach, the facilitator would invite outside individuals to share their own
personal stories regarding the course content, thereby establishing an overall
narrative for the course and creating multiple opportunities for learners to
react to the content in a more personal and experiential way. This framework would then set-up other
avenues for narrative learning, as detailed in the following three sections of
this review.
Autobiography
Implications and Strategy
Although journaling is detailed in
much the literature as a way narrative learning is impactful on a personal level,
there may be other ways to employ this technique with adult learners to
meaningfully impact their learning. Drawing
on the research by Foster (2015), a potential application for journaling would
be to have students author two journal entries.
One entry would be intended only for the student, and the second entry
would be read by their peers, but both would be based on the same prompt that
was used in the storytelling exercise. Because
the research done by Foster (2015) implies that both types of journal entries
will reveal different outcomes in student work, it would be beneficial for
students to see how each of these entries compare to one another, and how they
viewed the entry differently based on who they anticipated reading it after completion. Although this exercise is more of a
reflective journal entry, the comparison task would additionally provide a
level of metacognitive learning and analysis. These journal entries could be accomplished through a variety of formats,
including written, recorded audio, video, or some form of visual art.
Storying Implications
and Strategy
Storying
refers to the use of individual narrative to inform a larger story, one that is
built into the curriculum for the learning opportunity (Merriam, Caffarella,
& Baumgartner, 2007, page 210). Building
on the idea introduced in the storytelling section, the facilitator, in tandem
with the adult learners, would begin to construct a new broader narrative on
the specific prompt as initially introduced by the facilitator. The facilitator should ask guiding questions the
help the student connect the stories that were shared with a larger story that
is tied to a learning outcome. This
might occur as a conversation, series of conversations, or a written response
by the students. By introducing the initial
prompt but not fully revealing the larger learning objective, the facilitator
then allows the students to build an experiential basis for the learning opportunity. This should be particularly resonate with
adult learners who are both looking to apply the learning opportunity to their current
life situation, and use their experience to speak into a broader learning objective.
Dialogue Implications
and Strategies
Dialogue, or the interaction of two
individuals based on one or more narratives, can be incorporated into adult
learning opportunities in a variety of ways.
Building on the idea offered
under the autobiography section, a practitioner could create a group learning
opportunity that uses those specific journal entries to facilitate dialogue about
the original prompt. Students would only
be required to read and respond to the journal entries that were indented to be
shared with others, but would be welcome to add input to the dialogue based on
their responses in personal journal entries.
This exercise could then prompt another reflective journal opportunity,
which would be employed in subsequent dialogue sessions later during the course. At the end of the course students would have
a collection of narratives borne out of multiple dialogues that expresses the overall
learning outcome from their collective and individual experiences.
Reflection
Highlights
I thoroughly enjoyed digging deeper
into the ideas embodied in narrative learning, and was particularly drawn to
the idea of autobiography. Journaling
has always felt like a very personal way to express ideas and experience
learning on a deeper level, but knowing that learners are likely to have
different learning outcomes depending on the audience of such an activity is fascinating. Considering the evolution of blogging as a
form of journaling, and how it exists as a sort of hybrid between journaling
and storytelling was a particular highlight from the research conducted for
this review.
Process
The course textbook (Merriam, et al,
2007) was initially used as a jumping-off point, as the authors summarize some
pieces of the topic and cite other scholars who have completed research on
narrative learning. A preliminary search
of scholarly journal articles led to the discovery of other themes within
narrative learning, and helped frame the body of this literature review. Themes and ideas uncovered in this
preliminary search ultimately led to further research via the ball State
University Library online search engine, which provided additional scholarly
support for these themes and ideas.
One recommendation to other students
looking to complete a similar literature review would be to balance depth of
research on a given theme with the overall review of what the literature says about
the selected topic. One can very easily
write an entire paper on just one theme within a given topic, and it would be
tempting to focus your efforts in that way, but this would not provide a more
well rounded review of the overall picture of your selected topic. Finding this balance will likely prove
beneficial for your final paper, and may be more fruitful for your overall
understanding of the selected topic.
Table 2.
Summary of Narrative Learning
Literature Review
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Main
Themes
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Implications
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Storytelling
can take many forms, including verbal, written, or artistic. They can be archived and used by
individuals at a later date, or be an active form of sharing individual or
collective experience
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Facilitators
can incorporate stories that demonstrate the themes and ideas of the main
learning objectives, and invite learners and other individuals to share
stories that accomplish this same goal.
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Autobiography
is narrative about the individual self, and often takes the form of journals,
blogs, logs or other archival formats which allow the information to be accessed
at a later date.
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Facilitators
can create learning opportunities that incorporate journaling activities,
which are intended to be both personal and peer-reviewed. These journals can take many forms,
including written, recorded (audio or video) or visual such as artistic representations.
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Storying
is the narrativization of curriculum that uses storytelling to help learners
construct a larger narrative on a specific topic or problem.
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Facilitators
can identify stories that collectively create a narrative about the larger
learning objective. These stories
could be generated by adult learners, the facilitator, or outside
individuals.
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Dialogue
involves two or more individuals that engage in conversation on a specific
topic. The dialogue can be based on a
specific narrative or group of narratives, and the dialogue itself ultimately
becomes its own independent narrative.
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Facilitators
can use narratives developed by adult learners in journals or other formats to
support a dialogue about a larger learning objective. Dialogues can be small or large, and can be
cumulative throughout the course of a learning opportunity.
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References
Clark,
M. C. (2010). Narrative learning: Its contours and its possibilities. In Clark,
M. C. & Rossiter M. (Eds.) New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education,
126, 3-11. DOI: 10.102/ace.367
Clark,
M. C., & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 119, 61-70. DOI: 10.1002/ace
Foster,
D. (2015). Private journals versus public blogs: The impact of peer readership
on low-stakes reflective writing. Teaching Sociology, 43(2), 104-114.
Retrieved from www.jstor.org /stable/24887573
Hollenbaugh,
E. E. (2011). Motives for maintaining personal journal blogs. CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking,
14(1-2), 13-20. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0403
Jonassen,
D., & Hernandez-Serrano, J. (2002). Case-based reasoning and instructional
design: Using stories to support problem
solving. Educational Technology Research
and Development, 50(2), 65-77. Retrieved
February 14, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/30221151
Lawrence,
R. L., & Paige, D. S. (2016). What our ancestors knew: Teaching and learning
through storytelling. New Directions for Adult & Continuing
Education, 149, 63–72. https://doiorg.proxy.bsu.edu/10.1002/ace.20177
Liuoliene,
A. & Metiūnienė, R. (2009). Students’ learning through reflective
journaling. Coactivity: Philology, Educology 17(4), 32-37. DOI:
10.3846/1822-430X.2009.17.4.32-37
MacKeracher,
D. (2004). Making sense of adult learning
(2nd ed.). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press.
Merriam,
S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed.). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Sims,
S., & Swenson, M. (2012). Preparing teachers and students for narrative learning. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1(2), 24-37.
Retrieved from https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/josotl/article/view/1585
Van
Breda, A., & Agherdien, N. (2014). Promoting deep learning through personal
reflective e-journaling: A case study. Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk, 48(2).
https://doi.org/10.15270/48-2-93
Witherell,
C. S. (2010). Composing narratives and opening spaces—exploring intercultural
and gender themes through dialogue. In Clark, M. C. & Rossiter, M.
(Eds.) New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education,
2010(126), 63-75. doi:10.1002/ace.372
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