Teaching Technology Through Story: Learning to Make Sense of the Story Developer

There has been a tremendous resurgence of interest in narrative in many fields and disciplines including educational technology. Behind this concept of narrative is the idea that the story form is a fundamental structure of mind and an activity humans use to make meaning of experience. One demand we face as educators and technologists is to learn more about the role of narrative in teaching and learning. This study documents one case of a teacher educator teaching technology through narrative, or a "storied" curriculum. Evidence from this study suggests that teachers wanting to use a narrative approach must: (a) create a space for the sharing of stories; (b) support students in their development of a teleography; and (c) develop ways to document and evaluate the reshaping of original stories. Even without a storied curriculum, educators must begin to understand both the role of student as "story developer" and the fluidity of the story as "process." Suggestions for future research are offered. ********** Although it is debatable whether it originates in postmodern thought, a further analysis of Freud, or a reaction against Piaget, there has been a tremendous resurgence in the interest of narrative in fields ranging from Education to Psychotherapy (Bruner, 1996; Stone, 1996; White & Epson, 1990). Underlying this interest in narrative is the idea that the story form is both a fundamental structure of the mind and a primary activity used by humans for meaning-making and organizing experience (Lauritzen & Jaeger, 1997; Bradt, 1997; Bruner, 1996; Reissman, 1993; Polkinghorne, 1991; Schank, 1990; Levi-Strauss, 1970). Narrative is the study of how humans derive meaning from experiences by telling stories (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988). Narratives not only help make sense of our own experiences but also allow us to understand the experiences of others (Collins & Cooper, 1997). Following this mode of thought, if children can make meaning of their lives and are readily and powerfully engaged by stories (Egan, 1986), then one demand placed on educational researchers and research-practitioners is to find out more about the role of narrative in the classroom--especially in regards to teaching. Alasdair MacIntyre (1985) further challenges that if you "(d)eprive children of stories ... you leave them unscripted, anxious stutterers in their actions as in their words" (p. 201). Researchers have approached this challenge by focusing on two perspectives of narrative in education: teacher as storyteller (Witherall, 1995; McEwan, 1990; Egan, 1986) and the structure and importance of children's stories and storytelling activities in the classroom (Hamilton & Weiss, 1994; Nicolopoulou, 1996; Engel, 1995; Paley, 1990; Cazden, 1988). Although both perspectives offer insights into what it may mean to teach with and through narratives, the field lacks much empirical evidence of what actually transpires during narrative teaching episodes. Many of the articles and books written about narrative classroom experiences involve teacher autobiographies, brief anecdotal sketches or, paradoxically, undetailed stories about the classroom experiences (Wagler, 1994). Although these data sources lend better descriptions of the methods of narrative-centered teaching, most fail to address the actual classroom events surrounding teaching with story. Empirical evidence exploring teaching through narrative is needed to provide insight into this instructional approach and also to afford an examination of students' development, acquisition, and use of narrative thinking--a process Bruner challenged that we know very little about (Bruner, 1995). Moreover, the time is ripe for this type of evidence as educational technologists are beginning to grapple with supporting narrative instruction through the development of electronic artifacts and tools, and supporting technology instruction through narrative means (Jonassen & Hernandez-Serrano, 2002; Harlow & Johnson, 1998; Schank, 1990). …