It was a great day when…

1. It was a great day when… ….transformative learning through critical storytelling techniques Meta: From PDP to CPD Seminar Weds 30th April 2008 Angela Tomkins University of Gloucestershire

2. Introducing………. ‘Learning to learn’ A study Guide for Personal and Professional Development Developing Critical Stories for Reflective Learning

3. Storytelling and Critical Storytelling • Storytelling as a tool for personal, professional and academic development • Transformative learning • Reflection versus critical reflection • Enabling transformative learning to take place through storytelling techniques

4. Learning from stories One of storytelling’s strengths is its flexibility. We can work with stories or aspects of stories in many different ways: we can walk around them, wander through them, step into their centre or hover at the edge. Mc Drury and Alterio 2002:35

5. Transformative Learning • ….to make meaning means to make sense of an experience; we make an interpretation of it. When we subsequently use this interpretation to guide decision making or action, then making meaning becomes learning. Mezirow (1990:1)

6. Reflection v critical reflection ….reflection implies an element of critique, the term critical reflection will here be reserved to refer to challenging the validity of presuppositions in prior learning Mezirow (1990:12)

7. Contribution to student centered learning A greater capacity for ‘getting to grips with’……. • Self awareness • Self identity • Self authoring ………………………confidence building!

8. A case study of post work experience students at the University of Gloucestershire • Initially 42 post placement students • Preparing critical ‘stories’ in preparation for mock interview situations • Storytelling process overlaid with Moon’s ‘map of learning’ (1999) (see Guide page 6) • What happened during the process and why?

9. Map of Learning • Noticing • Making sense • Making meaning • Working with meaning • Transformative learning (Moon 1999) ‘Learning through storytelling’

10. Storytelling process • Story finding • Story telling • Story expanding • Story processing • Story reconstructing Storytelling process (McDrury and Alterio 2003)

11. What were the catalysts? Critical incidents – draws on real experiences (‘reflection on action’ Schon 1983) Support for the process - learning sets and mentors Working with digital stories

12. What were the strengths of the approach? • Students liked to do something new • Students welcomed the opportunity to stop to reflect • Students could engage with their learning at a deeply personal level

13. Some examples…… …….and some challenges

14. 5 challenges for the use of this approach? • Selling the idea of ‘story’ as a tool for academics • Designing modules incorporating a well defined process for encouraging reflective learning • Achieving student “buy in” for the idea • Personalised learning is time consuming • Articulating transformative learning and to whom?

15. Selling the idea of ‘story’ as a tool for academics Solution – produce evidence of students’ transition from descriptive learning to critically reflective learning

16. Designing modules incorporating a well defined process for reflective learning Solution - consider learning design within modules which create active learning scenarios to enable storytelling processes to take place – socialised learning

17. Achieving student “buy in” for the idea • Solution - Persuade academic staff of its relevance by identifying a range of applications and examples of student work • Solution - Allow students to ‘showcase’ their work

18. Personalised learning is time consuming! • Solution – promote peer support in the process • Solution – make the learning highly relevant to the learner

19. Articulating transformative learning From PDP to CPD…. What would persuasive evidence of transformative learning look like from a potential employer’s perspective?

20. References Mezirow, J. and Associates (1990) Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood. A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory learning. USA Jossey-Bass Mc Drury,J. and Alterio, M. (2003) Learning through Storytelling in Higher Education. London Kogan Page Moon, J. (1999) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development London Kogan-Page Schon, D. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: how professionals think in action. New York Basic Books INC