This Is Not a Fable: Using Storytelling in a College Classroom to Enhance Student Learning

This research endorses storytelling as means to enhance student learning in the college classroom. Indeed, many of our earliest learning experiences may have involved storytelling—from Esoph’s Fables to Grimm’s Fairy Tales. Rare is the American adult who has not heard “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” or “The Ugly Duckling”. Both are childhood stories that provided reflective life messages. As such, storytelling is an enduring form of communication. Although many educators use storytelling in their classrooms, the stories are often presented spontaneously and may not be considered integral to the day’s learning and teaching activities. In fact, in many fields, the perception exists that storytelling is not a real learning tool. This presentation seeks to dispel that notion. Using data collected from in-class examinations and on-line quizzes the researcher demonstrates that information tied to storytelling is recalled more successfully for the current semester’s examinations than material presented without storytelling. And the researcher will also demonstrate that same material is retained by students long after the semester is over. The presenter will make suggestions how educators and students can work together to create classrooms that thrive through storytelling