Narrative as a Teaching Strategy

1 The Journal of Correctional Education 57(3) September 2006 Narrative as a Teaching StrategySusan E. ButcherAbstractResearch shows that those who are incarcerated, as a whole, have come from difpcultpast environments. This leads to having a different way of learning than most otherswho have had successful educational experiences. Because of this, my research projectfocused on exploring storytelling/ Narrative , as a Teaching Strategy , and how itInfluences adult learning in a correctional facility. Three methods of research were the first method, a formal literature review was prepared to obtain backgroundinformation on storytelling, including past history and current use. Second, WisconsinDepartment of Corrections professionals were interviewed to explore their teachingstrategies and use of storytelling with offenders. The final element was a personalobservation Journal, in analyzing the data given, three themes emerged.

2 Theseinduded connection between teacher and student, validation of student experience andstudent perspective. Connection between teacher and student was seen in therelationship between student and teacher in the classroom. Validation of studentexperience was shown in developing empathy for self and others and being abie to seehow past behavior infiuences present circumstances. Student perspective includedlearning to broaden and challenge the student's current perspective, issues related tochanging thinking patterns, and approaches that involve 'In other words, by now almost nothing that happens benefits storyteliing;almost everything benefits information. Actually, It is half the art ofstorytelling to keep a story free from expianation as one reproduces most extraordinary things, marveious things, are related with thegreatest accuracy, but the psychological connection of events is not forcedon the reader.

3 It is ieft up to him to interpret things the way heunderstands them, and thus the Narrative achieves an ampiitude thatinformation BenjaminIlluminations (p 89)195 The Journal of Correctional Education 57(3) September 2006 Narrative as a Teaching Strategy ButcherThe aspiration and purpose to carry out this project on Narrative began because ofpersonal use of Narrative with students within the Department of Corrections,it seemed important to employ new strategies to teach life skills, different ways ofcoping with life situations, and problem-solving. It was aiso of utmost importanceto assist students in appiying the skiiis they were learning into practicai daily on prior research on the power of Narrative in adult learning,- storyteilingshowed to be a valuable Teaching method in portraying daiiy life situations andhow to deal with them.

4 The objective was to provide information of the possiblebenefits of Narrative , as a Teaching Strategy , specifically within the WisconsinDepartment of Corrections. The goai was to examine this subject and make ciearconnections to Department of Corrections educators, that by implementing a newstrategy of storytelling into the present curricuium, it wouid assist in developing alarger scope of influence in student Ieaming. Hence, students may be betterequipped to deai with daily life and problem was discussed with other staff, inciuding teachers, sociai workers andparole agents, whether they used Narrative as a Teaching method with studentsand ciients. The majority said they did use Narrative , in one way or another. Afew thought about using this approach, but were not sure about its feit it took too long to apply Narrative into their Teaching , those who did take the time to use Narrative found it an extremelyvaluable learners were incarcerated young men, ages 17-40.

5 They were chargedwith a first felony drug offense. Most have reading ieveis from the 1 st gradeievel through the 9th grade. When periodicaiiy questioned about whether theywere read stories by their parents when younger, there was a resounding 'no'.Some students had chiidren and stated they wouid love to be able to read totheir chiidren. During class times, when stories were read to them and followedby group discussions about the story, the characters, what was said, and howthe story appiied to their iives, students stated they ioved it and were able todiscuss new ways of iooking at are 19 adult correctional facilities in the State of Wisconsin and sixyouth facilities and programs. Fifteen of the nineteen adult facilities are medium orminimum security, in Wisconsin, it has been experienced that the Department ofCorrections is committed to the education of offenders. There appears to beopenness to new ideas and an open door to deveiop fresh, innovative andcreative ways to present education and use new Teaching Journal of Correctional Education 57(3) September 2006 Butcher Narrative as a Teaching StrategyResearch goals were to expand Icnowledge of the use of Narrative as ateaching Strategy in literaq/ curricuium, within the Wisconsin Department Importance and Role of NarrativeSchoiars agree that storyteiiing creates a iearning situation.

6 It aiiows our mindsto thini< outside the box of our own experiences and to deveiop creative waysto problem-soive. it also aiiows us to identify with the theme and character ofthe story and to see their way of thinking. Through this process, one s ownerrors in thinking tend to be realized. A number of professionals have linkedstoryteiiing as being reievant to iearning, aduit education and the research sample was taken from teachers, sociai workers, parole agentsand other professional staff, felt to be in a position to use storyteiiing as ateaching method, within the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. The samplesize was ten participants were all adults and willing to participate, as voiunteers, in thisresearch project and formai signed informal consent was iVIethodologyThe three elements used to evaiuate how Narrative /storyteiiing, as a teachingstrategy, Infiuences aduit iearning in a correctionai facility were: formaiiiterature review, interviews with other practitioner's in the fieid of Corrections,and a personai observation FindingsFormal Uterature reviewThe first method of data gathering was research.

7 Research was done in thefoiiowing areas: experts in the educational fieid; those who were activeiyinvolved using Narrative /storyteiiing within correctionai faciiities; theorists and;the theory of constructivism. Three themes were identified: definition ofnarrative, social and personai effects of Narrative , and infiuencing Journal of Correctional Education 57(3) September 2006 Narrative as a Teaching Strategy ButcherDefinition of Narrative - ScholarshipJerome Brunner states in his book Makmg Stories (2002) states that 'storiesimpose a structure, a compeiiing reaiity on what we experience, even aphiiosophicai stance' (p 89). He aiso states that 'we should not write off thispower of story to shape everyday experience as simpiy another error in ourhuman effort to make sense of the worid, though cognitive scientists aresometimes won't to do this' (p 8).

8 Steve Denning in his articie, 'What is a Story? What is Narrative meaning?Definitions" ( ) defines narrativeas having meaning and its connections, linking human actions and event intomuiti-reiated events, dispiaying the significance that events have on Eiiyatt, in her articie 'Action Guide: Storyteiiing and the Power ofNarrative" (2002) states it that storyteiiing/ Narrative is usuaiiy combined withhuman actions or events that affect human beings. The meaning of each eventis produced by the part it plays in the whoie episode'.Ciandinin and Conneiiy state in their book Narrative Inquiry (2000) thatnarrative becomes a way of understanding experience. With Narrative as ourvantage point we have a point of reference, a iife and a ground to stand on forimagining what experience is. Experience is the stories people live. Peopie iivestories and in the telling of these stories reaffirm them, modify them and createnew ones.

9 Stories iived and toid educate the self and others, inciuding theyoung, (p xxvi).S. Falter, states the foiiowing:Think of stories as the ciothesiine of your mind. You stub your teii yourseif a poor me' story and hang it on the ciothesiine next tothe fender bender that week and that broken nose in 10th grade. You havethese myth ciothesiines for reiationships, work and money. A great deai ofcurrent work is being done in psychoiogy on personai Narrative - thestories we teii ourselves. If you have a healthy personai Narrative , then youhave a better chance of having a better attitude about iife.(Story Maven, p 2)R. Ganzei (1999) in his articie Teiiing Stories' states:..Stories heip us make sense of the worid and give structure and order toour everyday iives. They teii us what is important, and what is not, and198 The Joumai of Correctional Education 57(3) * September 2006 Butcher Narrative as a Teaching Strategygive us a way to connect people's individual experiences to those ofothers, as weii as to universal truths.

10 Indeed, stories are yet another waywe put a human face on the worid, which is something we have aiwaysneeded and vaiued, whether we admit it or not" (p 36),Walter Fisher, in his book Human Communication as Narrative (1987),discusses this subject. In summary of his thoughts and ideas he definesnarrative as not merely fictionai stories, but any verbal or nonverbai accountthat has a sequence of events to which iisteners assign meaning. He beiievesthere are five aspects of Narrative . First, the story is a taie of vaiues. Second,these values are appropriate for the moral of the story and decisions made bythe characters. Third, the values are perceived to have positive resuits in theiives of people. Fourth, the vaiue is consistent with one's own , the value/s are part of an ideal vision for human conduct. Stories areuniversal, thereby Narrative is iiberating and was said that Narrative and life go together and that the principalattraction of Narrative is its capacity to render iife experiences, both social andpersonal, in relevant and meaningfui Ways, Livo and Rietz, in their bookStorytelling.