Week Four Discussion Posts

Q1) What’s the one thing that stood out to you from this week? One key idea? Strategy? Something that either validates what you are already doing, or has transformed the way you are approaching your learning experiences.

Storytelling as an active learning technique is so powerful because "your brain remembers pictures first. It then remembers the emotional context, and finally, it remembers language" (Stevenson, 2016, para. 4). There is a connection between the emotion, the image and then the language. This connection equates to the learner being able to successfully recall the key premise of the story or presentation. 

I am fascinated by the components of recall and memory in effective learning experience. How storytelling can improve memory because of the emotional connection to the information that is being shared, is an important concept for instructors to remember.

Storytelling is an excellent way to incorporate Indigenous Ways of Knowing into your curriculum. 

Q2) This course has a bit of a bias towards the digital side of experience design. But what about the physical world? What about the “Offline” space? How do we begin to reimagine this environment? Have you seen any good examples or strategies for transforming the classroom?

I think it is very important to transform our physical spaces so that they meet Universal Design for Learning principles, such as aisle space, accessibility and movement around the space. This is a difficult  question to answer though, as my mind immediately goes to the work that we have been doing to incorporate technology into our classrooms. 

And perhaps we also need to ponder, are we ever truly offline anymore?

Q3) Have you ever encountered a learning experience where storytelling made all the difference? Share your story.

I recently attended an Office of the Treaty Commissioner session on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. The presenter was an incredible speaker and shared her personal story of residential schools. The images and information that she shared will haunt me for a long time. She kept repeating "can you even imagine" - such a simple and powerful statement. 

It is important work and I was incredibly grateful to be a part of the session.

Reference

Stevenson, D. (2016, July 26). Storytelling and brain science: This is your brain on story [Blog post]. https://www.td.org/insights/storytelling-and-brain-science-this-is-your-brain-on-story