Some tools for Storytelling
This post is part of a series. Earlier posts are linked at the bottom.
How can you get started being a storyteller?
Reflection is certainly an important component of what we do as educators. John Dewey, the great American education reformer…..he reminds us,
We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflection on experience.
There are all sorts of ways to reflect on our work and deeply and richly understand what happens over time.
One of the best ways to do this is to start a storytelling journal.
Spend just a few minutes a day reflecting…
Who was impacted by today’s work? What is the story behind that impact?
What obstacles did we face? How did we deal with them...as opportunities and possibilities? What did we learn?
What advice or insight would I share with others as a result of today’s work? What’s the story I'd Share?
Over the years, I’ve also used a protocol from the American writer and teacher, Howard Reingold.
It’s called the Describe-Interpret-Plan reflection protocol…and it’s based on three big questions: What? So what? Now what?
You first describe what you did…. What did I do, see, hear?
Then add your interpretation… What feelings did I have? What connections can I make? What might all this mean?
Finally, plan for what’s next… What would I recommend I do differently next time?
You can explore these prompts (or invent ones of your own) individually or collectively, through writing or even just conversations.
The important thing…reflect… and deeply understand your journey --- what you did, what happened and how it impacts your next move into the future...the next iteration….the next possibility.
Then…turn your insights into a new story you share with a waiting world.
What tools do you use to reflect on your work and tell your story?
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