Storytelling for learning

TIS blogger Jon Revelos focuses on the importance of storytelling on learning.

Stories help to add meaning to new data. Meaning is a critical element in increasing retention. Without retention, there's no hope for application.

Stories are essential tools for learning facilitators. Often, concepts are few in a learning program, and it's the story that we weave that flesh out the concepts. However, not all stories need to be told. Some learning interventions make the learners make their own stories and therefore their own meanings.

Of course, how you use stories in a learning environment depends on the kind of learning you aim for. Experiential learning needs reflective thinking and therefore the stories have to be personal, and the facilitator's role is to only provide insight. However, most training/learning interventions have a 'fixed' set of learnings to provide and therefore the stories have to be provided by the designer/facilitator.

If you'd like me to help use stories to help your people learn, just drop me a line ;-)

By the way, have added two links to the webpages. One on my writings and another on the examples of the kind of work we do with organizations.