The best storytellers make it difficult for the listener to differentiate between reality and imagination. The instructor can enhance the story for both the student and the storyteller by creating a suggestive environment or using one or two props that the individual's imagination can lock on to. For example, for Allen Murray's first class in Foundations of Early Childhood Education, he invites a traditional storyteller to tell the creation story from her oral history. He sets the stage by using simple props to simulate a cave. The room is darkened and a makeshift fire pit is placed in the centre of the room.
Students enter the room by walking through a short tunnel constructed of tarps and blankets.
Technology is increasingly replacing human art forms and interactions. As technology takes over the role of storyteller, we realize that the story told by technology is hollow because it doesn't allow for alternative thinking. There is also a clear cut beginning, middle and end. As instructors, we can model the role of the storyteller to enhance our program, theme or topic. Different stories can be used for different purposes.