Storytelling and Students
How, and what, stories are our students telling us? And why we should listen. Are you sitting comfortable? Let me begin ...
Once upon a time, it was said that storytelling is as old as the hills.
And for those of us in teaching roles, we often tell anecdotes to provide context for the knowledge and skills that we are sharing in our teaching spaces.
However, it is the stories that our students tell us that can be most insightful – about their own learning journeys and also about our pedagogical approach.
Consider how we capture these stories about their learning journeys?
They may arise through discussion and debate – in tutorials, seminars, labs, or workshops, or in online forums or posts.
We can also see elements of these students’ stories appear in assessments, in learning activities such as presentations, as well as in evaluation surveys.
Sometimes these stories serve in the same way as our own anecdotes appear – to demonstrate knowledge, understanding – perhaps part of a reflective practice exercise.
However, there are also plenty of stories captured in evaluation surveys.
And, in my experience, a much overlooked aspect of the student digital footprint appears embedded in the data captured in learning analytics of the many technology-enhanced tools that are part of our daily lives, and that could prove to tell us so much more.
HEIs are great at looking at business intelligence regarding marketing and cross-sector rankings and metrics, but a deep dive into the stories and experiences of our students from a teaching and learning perspective can easily be much over-looked.
There is (ironically) more of a backstory there when it comes to foregrounding students’ experiences through data storytelling.
Of course it should be acknowledged that academics and professional services staff can be managing an ever-expanding remit.
But in a world where automation, AI and machine learning, is becoming mainstream in the HE sector, there is so much potential for more – for listening more, and for acting on it, closing the communication loop.
It can be argued therefore there is so much scope to ‘read between the lines’ of how, what, where, and why our students are sharing their stories.
And as any parent knows, stories can often emerge when we are least expecting them – sometimes at inconvenient times and when we are not necessarily looking straight at someone and asking them a question.
These ‘hidden’ stories still matter, they are not less worthwhile – from the teaching perspective or when it comes to enriching the learning experience.
So perhaps consider how you can provide avenues for your students to tell stories. And at the same time, consider how and why we should listen, and what you might respond as a result.
The End