Postings by group 6 members on other groups February Summaries: Aaron, groups 1 & 4; Wilisha, groups 1, 3 & 5; Jim, groups 1, 2 & 3

Group 6 EDAC 634 Monthly Summary for February 2013

February was a continuation of our expansion of awareness and understanding of teaching methodology for adult learners. All of the several theories we studied will inform and enhance our efforts as a team. Our team project topic is Narrative Learning. Each of us is excited about this topic, and we each have recognized that we have used aspects of Narrative Learning frequently in our careers and private lives.

Our immediate plans are to do a good job with our Program Investigation assignment. Aaron Bean and Jim Brunson are investigating and reporting upon two programs (one each). Wilisha Scaife will assemble what Aaron and Jim prepare into a final work product and will post it to this blog and the assignment tab on the EDAC 634 Blackboard site. Aaron intends to investigate an educational program associated with health care that utilizes Narrative Learning. His efforts are being hindered by the effects of a shoulder injury he recently suffered. His teammates wish him  a quick and complete recovery! Jim will investigate his own Building Construction Management program at Ivy Tech Community College Northeast, in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Our plans for the near future are directed toward doing a good job on the next phase of our team project, our Program Design paper. This team assignment is due on March 31, 2013.

EDAC 634 has been challenging for Group 6 during February 2013. Wilisha is balancing mid-semester requirements for two BSU courses she is taking, along with her family, work and other responsibilities. Aaron is dealing with the effects of his injury as he works to continue contributing to the team. And Jim is managing mid-semester requirements associated with two college courses that he is teaching which are new to him this semester, along with dealing with the sweet distraction provided by a brand new grandson! 

Wilisha -- Narrative Learning Lit. Review

Narrative Learning in Adult Education, Literature Review

Wilisha Scaife

Ball State University, EDAC 634

Monday, February 11, 2013

INTRODUCTION OF NARRATIVE LEARNING

“Storytelling in general is a communal act.

Throughout human history, people would gather around, whether by the fire or at a tavern, and tell stories. One person would chime in, then another, maybe someone would repeat a story they heard already but with a different spin.

It's a collective process.”  Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 Narrative and stories in education have been the focus of increasing attention in recent years. The idea of narrative is fertile ground for adult educators who know intuitively the value of stories in teaching and learning. Narrative is deeply appealing and richly satisfying to the human soul, with an allure that transcends cultures, centuries, ideologies, and academic disciplines. In connection with adult education, narrative can be understood as an orientation that carries with it implications for both method and content (Rossiter, 20030).

 “Fisher gives us the label ‘people as homo narrans’ (story telling human beings) 

who experience life as a series stories are shaped by history, culture, and characters.”

According to a very passionate examination by  Joel Friedlander (August 2012) in his article entitled, ‘Storytelling is US,’ no matter what realm we operate within, no matter what discipline we’ve learned or invented, storytelling has a central place. For instance, it’s how we transmit the news of our discoveries, how we describe who we are and where we want to go, how we account for what we’ve become.  Personal narratives involve a collection of stories that, taken together, create a personal history all our own.

How did you meet your wife? Where did you go to school? Why did you decide to start that business? How are you different from the person you were when you graduated high school? Each question evokes a story, or a chain of stories that weave into a narrative. We vary widely in how compellingly we tell these stories, both to others and to ourselves. Some stories we tell internally, in our own minds, are always accompanied by feelings, justifications, memories, the bits and pieces left with us from our own experience and the way we’ve processed that experience over the years (Friedlander, 2012)

Some of these narratives are truth in the sense that the events described really did happen. Many, many others are interpretive accounts, colored by the passing of time and the agendas and assumptions through which we filter our experience (Friedlander, 2012)  If it has not been clear to this point, in short, narrative learning is learning experienced through the telling and receiving of a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious. It is further the art, technique, or process of narrating.

THEMES OF NARRACTIVE LEARNING THEORY

Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner (2007) shares that narratives can take a number of forms, each useful as a vehicle for learning. Their research notes three ways in which stories appear in practice: “storying ” the curriculum, storytelling, and autobiography :

Ø  Storying the Curriculum – the curriculum or the text of a course is treated as a story and students interact with these texts to come to some understanding or interpretation of the subject matter. For example, in a graduate research seminar on the development of the knowledge base of adult education, Merriam made use of research journals dating back to the 1930s, periodic reviews of research, and historical literature on the founding of professional associations and graduate programs in adult education. These materials were read and examined with the goal of telling a story (not necessarily the story) about how the knowledge base of adult education has come to be constructed as it has. Each student was asked to interpret these materials and to write a paper (a story) about the development of the knowledge base.

Ø  Storytelling – comes in various forms such as fiction, case studies, role-playing, or critical incidents. These are common means of engaging students in understanding concepts, principles, or theories through this narrative form. Using stories to engage students in ideas that are part of course content may be the only way to allow understanding to occur. It is also a powerful means of making connections not only with ideas but with other learners, perhaps ultimately creating a learning community. Whether these stories are generated by students themselves, are case studies, or are fictional accounts, they draw us in, they allow us to see from another’ s perspective.

Ø  Autobiographies – are by the self and about the self and can include journaling, dream logs, therapy, blogs, and educational biographies.

Implications of Narrative Learning

Main ideas of Narrative Learning	Application of the main ideas in practice
“Storying” the Curriculum	Mode Example: Learning Journal à Students, in an adult learning course focusing on the value of ‘relationships in the leaning environment,’ have the assignment of sharing what they are learning in the course and to do so through a sustained and regular way. This journaling creates opportunity for students to watch their understanding of the topics grow over time.
Storytelling	Mode Example: Instructional Case Studies à Adult learners study case studies (true and fictional stories) of pedagogy and the unsuccessful outcomes. In groups, the adult learners examine and work to provide a positive ending by incorporating non-traditional learner approaches for reaching and connecting including immersive learning. This open structure brings students in and make them part of the story; they're both reader and writer.
Autobiographies	Mode Example: Concept-Focused Autobiographical Writing Over the course of a 10 week, a community-based adult learning environment whose objective is to create a strategic plan for encourage and empower young families in poverty to seek to gain resources and plan goals for economic and overall personal and community betterment, use the first 5 weeks to write short chapters of their life story. These chapters are specific to the 1)the backdrop of their own poverty and associated experiences of stereotyping, discrimination (family situation, school experiences, etc.); 2) their recognition of their depravity; 3) self-reflection, evaluation, and realization of life improvement (when, why, etc.); 4) Goals setting, planning, challenges, resources (education and otherwise) and supports (where they were found, etc.); and 5) the current chapter “where you are now” and where you plan to go. Students examine and write about their life journey in order to positively influence the life journey of juniors in their community.

Reference

Narrative and Stories in Adult Teaching and Learning. ERIC Digest. by Rossiter, Marsha (2003). Retrieved from http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-4/adult-teaching.html

Friedlander, J. (2012). Storytelling is us. Retrieved from http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2012/08/storytelling-is-us/

Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood.

San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Merriam, S. B. (2008). The third update on adult learning theory. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Aaron's Lit Review

I am attempting to add my document, we'll see how it goes... The only problem with cutting and pasting is the running header goes missing...So much for APA...

An Examination of Narrative Learning

Aaron Bean

EDAC 634

February 9, 13

Introduction

“We live in story like a fish lives in water. We swim through words and images siphoning story through our minds the way a fish siphons water through its gills.

We cannot think without language, we cannot process experience without story”(Baldwin, 2007).

This quote lays well to the greater meaning of explaining the concept of narrative learning; narrative learning is the use of stories in the construction of meaning, whether the meaning making has to do with the self, with the content of instruction, or with the world around us (Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007).

 Storytelling is a major part of the history of mankind, as stories, and the relation of stories have been a learning application for centuries. Before man could write, they used stories to convey concepts, bring about celebration, and to admonish failure. It is believed that the better storytellers were priests, judges, and rulers whose art in narrative helped bring respect to their position (Baldwin, 2007).

When you look further into the narrative learning theory, there are some key principles that are believed to be the focus points for exploration. First, hearing stories will in effect cause an interpretation by the listener, which can bring about a personal meaning and connection. According to Goodson, (2011) connections to stories are the way that individuals find purpose and meaning to their own experiences, by a relation that triggers self-interest. This is useful when examining the audience a teacher is trying to reach. With adults, stories can help illicit responses due to the vast life events, where as children may have to incorporate a visual counterpart to a story to help convey meaning.

The second key point in narrative learning is the telling of stories.  As a story is told, it becomes real, personal and immediate (Merriam, et al., 2007). The aforementioned connections now make new learning possible, as the listener moves to the teller and implements a story based on their own perceptions and values.  Each telling of a story relates the personal connection of the storyteller to their audience. This point may be made clearer by the actions of peer learning; where the peer teaches another, and the concepts become relevant.

The third aspect of narrative learning is to recognize stories.  In recognition comes a deeper sense of experience, which in turn may help a person define their heritage and culture by finding a connection to a narrative.

Themes

A constant I found from authors and scholars whom wrote about narrative learning theory is the general theme of this theory. It seems that most would agree that stories are the backbone to the skeleton of the body. The stories develop and form appendages, but even the appendage grew strength from the original backbone. Without that backbone, the stories lose strength, meaning, and purpose.  

Stories have the power to form and transform the world, (Moore, 1998).  This belief was adopted through most as the idea of narratives being transformational to humans.  A story has a message to send, and the listener gathers the message in the context and form, which is useful to them.  In this matter, storytelling and narratives are innately human.

Another common theme I found which was discussed in lengths by several authors is the notion that our lives are narratives.  Our lives unfold to reveal a narrative more personal than any other story.  Rosenwald and Ochberg (1992) found that “personal stories are not merely a way of telling someone (or oneself) about ones life; they are the means by which identities may be fashioned.” People write and rewrite their lives, day-by-day, experience-by-experience.  I feel this to be true as I remember back when I was a young student in high school, I had mapped out my life and felt that I had accomplishments that I wanted by twenty, twenty five, and so on. Of course those goals changed quickly as I grew older, and my life kept rewriting the story.  

A last theme I found authors shared was the idea that narratives are social in their nature, as well. Even though each person has their own narrative, it is shaped by their cultural norms and heritage.      It is through these stories told from other perspectives that we learn to develop an understanding of the world around us. A child whom has never been to the deserts in Africa can listen to a story about the desert animals in Africa and begin to understand the plight the animals go through to find water because they know the feeling of being extremely thirsty.  This perpetuates the learning process, and hits the key principles of narrative learning: hearing a story, telling a story, and recognizing that story. 

Implications                          

To me this theory is easy to establish in every setting. After researching many different views on narrative learning, the main focus is to tell a story. Stories, and the art of storytelling are common in many disciplines such as psychology, literature, medicine and even law. As an educator one needs to look no further than their life experiences to enrich content for their audience. 

To begin facilitating the learning theory an educator can start by developing stories that help convey the message they wish to be delivered by their content. Relating back to the story about African desert animals and water, teachers can use visual props to aide in the process of telling their story.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

Start today. Try to break out of the routine and tell a story to relate to your peers. If you teach math, tell a story of your struggles or highlights of math as a child. Even adult educators can begin by facilitating a story that brings in varied perspectives. Relate to your students on a different level, as they relate to the anecdotes you share with them. I personally feel that narrative learning is a gift in which when employed, gives educators an immense opportunity to expand beyond the typical.

One of the best books I had the chance to read when I was a new teacher was Teacher Man by Frank McCourt.  McCourt had already been recognized for his earlier memoir Angela’s Ashes, which highlighted his Irish upbringing and tormented childhood, this book, Teacher Man, focuses on his job as a public high school teacher, and how he developed a connection through his use of storytelling.  As I read the book I realized that I do have stories that may help my students find relevance in the content I am teaching. Little by little, each year I opened up a little more of me, and to my surprise that has fostered a respect that my prior years of discipline never mustered.

The reason I share this story, is to show the implications of my message, which is educators should begin to rewrite the narrative of their teaching career by telling a story.  See where narrative learning can take you.

Some different forms of narrative, which have been applied, are: journals, autobiographies, plays, blogs, and even videos can suffice.

Table 1.1 Summary of Literature Review

General Themes of Narrative Learning	Application in Practice of Themes
1. Stories make content relevant	Tell a story to relate either your experience in life, or a story that can help understanding of new content
2. Stories can change perspectives	A story helps people learn new and never heard concepts in order to develop new knowledge or opinion. Students can write blogs or share aloud to spark conversations
3. Stories have social implications	A story can unravel truths; it can also validate a person’s heritage and culture. Use the historical story of ancestors to help students visualize.
4. Our lives are a constant story	Help people develop their uniqueness by having them journal their life story each day

Resources

Baldwin, C. (2007). Story Catcher: Making sense of our lives through story. 1st ed. Novato, California: New World.

Goodson, I. (2011). Narrative Pedagogy: life history and learning.  New York, New York: Lang Publishers.

Moore, M.E., (1988). Narrative Teaching: An Organic Methodology, Process Studies, pp.248-261, Vol. 17, (4). Winter 1988

Rosenwald, G., Ochberg, R. (1992). Storied Lives. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

 

James Brunson -- Narrative Learning Literature Review

Abstract

This paper will examine literature representing narrative learning, focusing on publications made available since 1998. The paper will begin with an introduction to narrative learning as an adult learning methodology. Common concepts developed in the literature will be identified.  It will proceed to discuss the practicality of narrative learning and specific ideas for its application presented in the literature. The paper will conclude with a discussion about how examples of current literature addressing narrative learning can inform adult education practice. Authors whose narrative learning writings were researched for this paper were Sharan B. Merriam, Rosemary S. Caffarella, Lisa M. Baumgartner, M. Carolyn Clark, Marsha Rossiter, Elena Michelson, and John M. Dirkx.

Narrative Learning Literature Review

Introduction

          “Narrative is on the move.” (Clark & Rossiter, 2008) Narrative learning is simply teaching through stories. It has actually been “on the move” throughout human history, and in recent decades has begun to receive attention as an education methodology worthy of scholarly study. Narrative learning has applications for the education of students of all ages, but adult education applications will be the focus of this paper. Narrative learning occurs through use of a variety of narrative types, some of those that are commonly recognized are cultural, familial, individual, and organizational. (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007) The writer of this paper frequently uses cultural and individual narratives in the classroom.

          S.B. Merriam, R.S. Caffarella, and L.M. Baumgartner, The authors of “Learning in Adulthood” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007), the assigned textbook for EDAC-634, have been actively collaborating in the field of adult education since at least the early 1990s, when the first edition of the text was released. All three have long experience teaching adults at their respective institutions and have broad and deep experience outside the classroom that augments their understanding of adult education generally and narrative learning particularly.

          Per the aforementioned authors, acceptance and recognition of learning through storytelling, narrative learning, is long overdue: “Although it has only been since the 1990s that narrative learning has received some attention in adult education, the field’s historical recognition of the importance of experience in learning, as well as learning as a meaning-making activity, have made for the ready acceptance of narrative as learning.” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 209)

          Main themes of narrative learning are associated with the form of narrative being considered. “Rossiter (2005) and Rossiter and Clark (in press) identify three ways in which stories appear in practice: “storying” the curriculum, storytelling, and autobiography.” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 209)

          “Storying” the curriculum has to do with creating a story to communicate course objectives to students, which is especially useful in a historical context. The writer has used storying to explain the development of occupational safety and health regulations in the United States. This narrative learning experience was conducted in the context of classroom discussion, with spirited participation by students as their awareness of the extent of improvement such regulations have fostered over time increased.

          Storytelling is an approach to narrative learning with great potential for personalizing topic-specific elements of a lesson. This writer frequently uses storytelling to humanize what otherwise might seem arcane aspects of construction business management. Adult students in his classrooms seldom have significant identifiable experience with construction business management, estimating, project management and supervisory responsibilities. The writer’s objective in using storytelling is to provide students an opportunity to gain a little experience in these important areas vicariously. Students are encouraged to make these vicarious experiences personal as they complete associated written assignments and participate in classroom discussions.

          The third form of narrative learning, autobiography, is one that the writer has not used as frequently or intensely as the previous two forms (storying and storytelling). The writer recognizes that using autobiography more represents an opportunity for him to improve his teaching effectiveness and he is anxious to increase his use of this form. Reflecting on what has been learned cements new learning in the minds of adult students. Creative use of autobiography is a means for this process of cementing to occur.

          “Narrative learning in Adulthood” (Clark & Rossiter, 2008), chapter 6 in the ‘Third Update on Adult Learning Theory”, by S.B. Merriam (2008), expands upon the narrative learning foundation cast in “Learning in Adulthood” (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). Clark and Rossiter identify their task as follows: “Our task in this chapter is to examine what narrative learning is, how it works, and how it can be used more intentionally and effectively in the education of adults.” (Clark & Rossiter, 2008, p. 61) Narrative learning was defined in this paper previously. How narrative learning works in its three common variations was also described and exemplified previously. Drawing from Clark’s and Rossiter’s work in chapter 6 of the “Third Update on Adult Learning Theory“, “…how it (narrative learning) can be used more effectively in the education of adults.” will be the focus of the author’s observation and commentary. Making meaning of experience through application of narrative learning methodology is the general theme of this chapter. This “making meaning” is an aspect of transformative learning, as the process of re-storying plays out. (Clark & Rossiter, 2008, p. 62) The concept of describing adult educational development from the inside as it is experienced, rather from the outside as it is observed is significant and is a real advantage to narrative learning methodologies, in this writer’s opinion. Internalization of new learning is what education must consist of. Narrative learning aids this process as learners retell their experiences in the context of a particular lesson or share vicariously in the experience of the instructor. The phrase “narrative development” (Clark & Rossiter, 2008, p. 63) is used by the authors to name the process of adults changing their life narratives as they learn. The writer sees opportunity in developing this concept to guide students as they reflect upon their life experiences and re-frame them in light of what is being learned.

          “Narrative Learning: its Contours and Possibilities” by M. Carolyn Clark was published in the journal “American Psychological Association” in 2010. In it Clark defines narrative learning in a manner consistent with definitions found in the works reviewed previously: “…we make sense of all experience by narrating it (constructing it as a kind of story)” (Clark C. M., 2010, p. 3) One statement Clark makes that adds clarity to the definition of narrative learning is: “narration is a sense-making act. It’s what we do as individuals but, importantly, as individuals situated within various social contexts.” (Clark C. M., 2010, p. 3) Clark clearly develops the notion of narrative learning occurring at three levels, and idea with which the writer concurs. Clark’s three levels of narrative learning are:

1.     Learning from hearing stories;

2.     Learning from telling stories;

3.     Learning from stories by students recognizing narratives in which they are positioned.

      Clark’s third level of narrative learning, the idea of students recognizing narratives in which they are positioned, caught the attention of the writer. Here is one more valuable way for students to internalize narrative learning experiences. Discussions, journaling assignments, and even term papers could be improved by weaving requirements into them for students to recognize narratives in which they are positioned.

          “Autobiography and Selfhood in the Practice of Adult Learning”, by Elana Michelson (2011) focuses specifically upon autobiographical narrative learning. Michelson presents a perspective on narrative learning dramatically different from those expressed in writings reviewed earlier in this paper, even to the point of being jarring. Her objective is to strip away the sugar coating she believes many narratives acquire. She is interested in ‘keeping it real” concerning narrative learning: “There must be room in our practices for narratives that are jarring, unsatisfying, and/or structurally and emotionally jagged.” (Michelson, 2010, p. 18) The writer was a teenager that grew up during the Vietnam War. He found many familiar chords struck in Michelson’s article. He acknowledges and agrees with Michelson that there is nearly always a temptation to present narratives as favorably as possible and that there is value in striving to maintain genuineness in his own teaching narratives and in the narratives created by his students.

               ‘Transformative Learning Theory in the Practice of Adult Education: An Qverview”, by John M. Dirkx (1998), is a learning theory that embraces and incorporates narrative learning. In fact, narrative learning was not even specifically mentioned in this article. The reason for including this piece of literature has to do with Dirkx definition of transformative learning: “Thus transformative learning is essentially a way of understanding adult learning as a meaning-making process aimed at fostering a democratic vision of society and self-actualization of individuals.” (Dirkx, 1998, p. 9) Narrative learning is “a meaning-making process” for adults actively engaged in their education. I appreciate Dirkx opening sentence in his conclusion: “To think about adult learning as potentially transformative is to ground the content and processes of learning concretely within the lives of those with whom we work in an educative capacity, as well as within the socio-cultural context in which those lives are embedded.” (Dirkx, 1998, p. 11) Dirkx seems to advocate for activism as students lives are changed (transformed). This is a forward-looking concept that was not emphasized in writings reviewed earlier in this paper. The sort of activism he encourages could be regarded as a consequence of students becoming more aware of the narratives in which they are situated.      

Table 1. Summary of literature review
	Main ideas in the literature	Application of the main ideas in practice
Idea 1	Autobiography or journaling	Use the journaling feature in Blackboard and have students reflect on classroom experiences regularly.
Idea 2	Narrative Development	Have students consciously engage in re-framing life experiences in the light of new learning in discussions and journals.
Idea 3	Recognition of narratives in which students are situated	Encourage students to recognize the narratives in which they are situated and how they are being shaped by them.
Idea 4	Maintain genuineness and sincerity in narratives	Resolve to use teaching narratives as genuinely as possible and encourage genuineness and sincerity in narratives created by students.
Idea 5	Incorporate concepts of activism in narratives	As students experience narratives, encourage them to consider how they are may be energized for activism.