Week 3: The Arts, Innovation, and Making Connections: Storytelling in the Modern Classroom

Knowledge and Reasoning 

Mark Gura writes that educators "must make Creativity a priority learning goal and see to it that its a facet of thinking and working that is well developed," (2020).  Unfortunately, many schools still see few opportunities for creativity in the classroom outside of an arts curriculum.  However, we see in the concensus study report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine that in order for adequate knowledge retention, students must be able to make connections to new knowledge by integrating information with their own lived experiences and prior knowledge base.  Storytelling in the classroom has never been more important, as it helps students connect new concepts through their existing framework.  In addition, the study suggests that the most optimal strategies for educators include asking to students to use their reasoning skills, as well as summarizing and explaining new material.  This week's tip from a drama teacher:  Have students tell their own stories, and see how they can make connections to new material that you have introduced.  This can be relating to personal stories, or historically relevant material.  Have them explain how their prior knowledge helps them understand the new concepts, and share with one another.  As facilitators of educational technology integration, we can also utilize the ISTE standards to foster creativity by utilizing collaborative digital class presentations or even tasking students with personal blogs that require them to write about the new connections they are making, or summarizing what they have learned.  Remember, creativity doesn't just belong in the art classroom, but the art of storytelling is imperative in attaining and retaining new knowledge.  

1. Gura, M. (2020). Fostering Student Creativity. EdTech Digest the State of the Arts, Creativity, and Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators and Parents. p. 7. Gura (2020).pdf Download Gura (2020).pdf
2. Rivero, V. (2020). A Whole New Class of Art. EdTech Digest the State of the Arts, Creativity and Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators and Parents. p. 12-20 Links to an external site..
3. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures.Links to an external site. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press. http://doi.org/10.17226/24783. Links to an external site. You are responsible for the information contained in Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
4. ISTE Standards for Educators (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators Links to an external site.