Using Story: In Higher Education and Professional Development

by Jennifer A. Moon

Overview

Story is everywhere in human lives and cultures and it features strongly in the processes of teaching and learning. Story can be called narrative, case study, critical incident, life history, anecdote, scenario, illustration or example, creative writing, storytelling; it is a unit of communication, it is in the products of the media industries, in therapy and in our daily acts of reflecting. Stories are 'told' in many ways - they are spoken, written, filmed, mimed or acted, presented as cartoons and in new media formats and through all these, they are associated with both teaching and learning processes but in different ways and at different levels. As a result of growing interest and simultaneous confusion about story, it is timely to untangle the various meanings of story so that we can draw out and extend its value and use.

Using Story aims to clarify what we mean by story, to seek out where story occurs in education and life and to explore the processes by which we learn from story. In this way the book intends to ‘bring story into the open’ and improve its use. Building on her wealth of experience in the field, Jenny Moon explores the theory of story and demonstrates both its current uses and new ways in which to enrich and enliven teaching, learning and research processes.

Ideal for anyone involved in education, personal or professional development or with a more general interest in story, the book begins by considering the range of what is meant by story, and then considers the theory behind the meanings. In the large final part of the book, Jenny provides a rich patchwork of different uses of story in education that cut across forms of story, story activities, disciplines and applications all of which will aid the use of story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415564694
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/24/2010
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Jenny Moon works at the Centre for Excellence in Media Practice at Bournemouth University and as an independent consultant running workshops and projects in higher education and professional development in the UK and internationally.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Part I Some introductory ideas 1

1 Introduction: bringing story into education and professional development 3

2 The multiple dimensions of story 12

Part II Theory: story and human functioning 31

3 Learning and the understanding of stories 33

4 The deployment of meaning in story 54

5 Social, cultural and communication functions of story 77

6 Taking stock: reflecting on insights and the educational roles of story 90

Part III Story in higher education and professional development: a treasury of ideas 99

7 Enhancing thinking and learning processes with story 101

8 Stories of experience in personal and professional development 115

9 Story as case study, scenario and critical incident 125

10 Story for promoting change 131

11 Story and research 138

12 Uses of fiction in education 145

13 Oral storytelling in education 153

14 New ways with story 162

Afterthoughts 169

References 170

Index 187