Narrative

For much of its history, the United States of America has not been so united. For instance, for a number of centuries, American society was racially segregated. From schools to buses, public restrooms to drinking fountains, restaurants to churches, the country was divided into black and white.

Hospitals were among the last institutions to desegregate. One reason for this is that people were afraid they might get the “wrong blood” during a transfusion. They feared that if they received blood from a person of another color or ethnicity, they might actually develop the characteristics of that race.

But all of that changed when Dr. Charles Drew came along. In the 1930s, Dr. Drew created the process we now use to make plasma. Plasma comes from blood, but it is not type-specific, which means it can be used to treat bleeding patients without the need for ‘whole’ blood.

Dr. Drew’s discovery was so noteworthy that he was asked to head the Blood for Britain campaign during World War II. After the war, Drew founded the American Blood Bank, which is still in operation today.

Ironically, Dr. Charles Drew died in 1950 at the age of 46 because he did not receive a blood transfusion or blood plasma in time.

Dr. Drew was injured in an automobile accident and taken to a hospital that was still segregated—a hospital that would not admit black people.

And since Dr. Drew was a black man, he bled to death.

 

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As an educator, I feel that it is my responsibility to be a storyteller. I’m constantly scribbling down narratives and examples on napkins, paper sandwich bags, or whatever is available! Stories are the glue that hold together many of the important theories and philosophies I teach in the classroom. And often, I use the same story in multiple classes, while simply adjusting the meaning or message. For example, in the above story of Dr. Charles Drew, think of how many topics could be covered. Ethics, blood, chemistry, international relations, leadership, vision, research, racism, history, culture, and the list goes on.   (For the record – this story is likely an urban legend of his death.  See the link for more information.)

However, a problem arises when we apply storytelling to our classes. Time. Storytelling requires a lot of preparation, thought, and possibly data entry (for online) and can seem overwhelming. As teachers, we create and translate all kinds of lecture material–PowerPoint presentations, exams, and even discussions, but as I view hundreds of courses each year, I rarely see one translated story or illustration.

As teachers, we often leave out what is so easy (and important) for students: Context. How can we achieve context? Story. I am a huge history buff because I had good history teachers who told me the stories surrounding battles, discoveries, and triumphs. I learned and retained more about the atom in two minutes from a television sitcom where an ex-teacher (is there such a thing?) illustrated the atom by using a gang/neighborhood metaphor. (See: http://science.csustan.edu/stkrm/MISC/Atom-by-Venus.htm for the WKRP transcript.) Simply put, the best teachers I have had–whether in elementary, high school, college, or post graduate–were good storytellers.

Narrative helps us make sense of our world and the information presented to us in classrooms. Illustrations help us remember facts and figures. Examples bring us closer to our instructors as we find connections and associations to hold on to. Metaphors give us insight and analogies bring understanding to our minds. Plain and simple: stories teach. And, depending on your point of view, the time it takes to illustrate a lesson point might be less if you do it in your lecture. For example:

I recently spoke with an online instructor who has been teaching online for about four years. He found that he was having to spend a lot of time answering specific questions about his journalism lectures and readings through emails, discussion boards, or chats. These were on top of his prepared classroom activities and lectures. He soon realized that he was relaying the examples and stories he used in his face-to-face class for these “extra” materials and sessions. So, the following semester he began adding links to HTML pages, special text boxes, and distinctive colored text to his typical lecture items. These new “special” sections contained only stories, examples, and illustrations. He relayed that a few students ignored the new information, but he estimated that 80-90% of his students did not. He also noticed that his course questions were nearly eliminated. Students understood the material better and they even infused his stories into their discussions (“remember Professor Smith’s story about…”). Test scores increased, as did his teaching evaluation scores. He expressed to me that he had learned a valuable lesson.

Isn’t that the beauty of story? Learning a lesson without having to experience it ourselves. So… have you learned anything today? What’s your story? Your students would love to know…
Want to tell better stories?  Interested in finding creative storytelling techniques? Contact jborden@jeffpresents.com for more information!