We remember stories better than bullets. But are characters and drama really needed to learn better? A guide to storytelling in education that keeps the focus on outcomes.
Thank you. I have been deep diving into his idea whilst designing a new curriculum with a narrative drive built in to enhance schema building. Using the idea of a story to build a sense of cultural capital is very powerful and, as an English literature teacher, it packs a double punch - enhanced engagement and retention combined with understanding the deep charge elements of a good plot. Thanks for the detailed overview.
That sounds like a fantastic approach. Designing a curriculum with narrative as the backbone is such a powerful way to help students connect ideas and remember them. I love that you’re linking it to cultural capital too. It really amplifies how stories shape understanding, not just engagement. The key, as you said, is keeping every narrative element in service of the learning outcome rather than the story itself and avoiding the temptation of stories for stories' sake. That balance is where storytelling really shines.
This is so interesting! We’ve been using stories to anchor our science concepts and so far, students have always said that the lessons they remember the most are the ones with stories. Our focus is to humanize science but also to provide a context for the discoveries themselves.
I’ve also been reading up a lot on the science of learning and this is the first article Ive seen that mentions them both. I love the short discussion on why storytelling is effective and I’m excited to read more! Do you have any more articles or resources? Thank you!
So glad this resonated! Love your approach: stories are the perfect bridge between scientific discovery and human curiosity. I'd recommend reading the article you can find linked in "Keep learning" on the topic of seductive details. It's sadly the only one I could find without a paywall. Specifically on storytelling for science, you might find this article interesting: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11792018/
If you enjoyed this one, you might like a few of my other pieces on the science of learning (retrieval, interleaving, desirable difficulties). If you can only read one, I'd recommend the one on desirable difficulties. https://www.kognitivo.net/p/desirable-difficulties
The next piece is going to be on the power of analogies in learning, so keep an eye out for that!
I'm wondering: Do any of those findings about stories and story-telling bear upon other domains than only for teachers or others trying to foster learning? For example, what about for story-telling in public speaking? When speakers speak, any stories they include in their speeches are supposed to be the parts of their speeches that their audiences most recall after the speakers have delivered their speeches. Stories are supposed to be recalled much better than any facts or whatever else speakers may have presented to their audiences. And what about for any other areas? Such as if a job applicant would include a brief story about him- or herself in a cover letter? Is there any way in which the findings might be adapted to other domains, in other words? Even perhaps, maybe, by reasoning by analogy, somehow? Are my musings here relevant?
Absolutely, though with an important caveat. These findings are relevant whenever the goal is for the audience to learn something. In public speaking, for example, if you want your listeners to understand and remember a concept, then the same rules apply: define the learning outcome, build a story that serves it and trim the fluff.
But the goal of many speeches (and job interviews, cover letters, etc.) isn't really to make someone learn something. They’re about persuading, convincing, negotiating or often simply entertaining, even when they’re framed as ‘informational.’ In those cases, emotions play a stronger role. Rich detail, immersion and narrative tension can be powerful for persuasion, even though the same techniques might distract in a learning context. The key question is: what’s the goal of the speech? Is it to make the audience learn?
The opposite problem also happens in education. Teachers and writers often focus on entertaining or persuading, which leads to over-the-top characters or irrelevant seductive details. That’s why I argued for keeping stories lean and tightly tied to the learning goal.
I'm planning a whole article on analogies by the way!
Thank you. I have been deep diving into his idea whilst designing a new curriculum with a narrative drive built in to enhance schema building. Using the idea of a story to build a sense of cultural capital is very powerful and, as an English literature teacher, it packs a double punch - enhanced engagement and retention combined with understanding the deep charge elements of a good plot. Thanks for the detailed overview.
That sounds like a fantastic approach. Designing a curriculum with narrative as the backbone is such a powerful way to help students connect ideas and remember them. I love that you’re linking it to cultural capital too. It really amplifies how stories shape understanding, not just engagement. The key, as you said, is keeping every narrative element in service of the learning outcome rather than the story itself and avoiding the temptation of stories for stories' sake. That balance is where storytelling really shines.
This is so interesting! We’ve been using stories to anchor our science concepts and so far, students have always said that the lessons they remember the most are the ones with stories. Our focus is to humanize science but also to provide a context for the discoveries themselves.
I’ve also been reading up a lot on the science of learning and this is the first article Ive seen that mentions them both. I love the short discussion on why storytelling is effective and I’m excited to read more! Do you have any more articles or resources? Thank you!
So glad this resonated! Love your approach: stories are the perfect bridge between scientific discovery and human curiosity. I'd recommend reading the article you can find linked in "Keep learning" on the topic of seductive details. It's sadly the only one I could find without a paywall. Specifically on storytelling for science, you might find this article interesting: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11792018/
If you enjoyed this one, you might like a few of my other pieces on the science of learning (retrieval, interleaving, desirable difficulties). If you can only read one, I'd recommend the one on desirable difficulties. https://www.kognitivo.net/p/desirable-difficulties
The next piece is going to be on the power of analogies in learning, so keep an eye out for that!
Thank you for the resources! I will find the time to read through them. I like the term seductive detail! Haha
I'm wondering: Do any of those findings about stories and story-telling bear upon other domains than only for teachers or others trying to foster learning? For example, what about for story-telling in public speaking? When speakers speak, any stories they include in their speeches are supposed to be the parts of their speeches that their audiences most recall after the speakers have delivered their speeches. Stories are supposed to be recalled much better than any facts or whatever else speakers may have presented to their audiences. And what about for any other areas? Such as if a job applicant would include a brief story about him- or herself in a cover letter? Is there any way in which the findings might be adapted to other domains, in other words? Even perhaps, maybe, by reasoning by analogy, somehow? Are my musings here relevant?
Absolutely, though with an important caveat. These findings are relevant whenever the goal is for the audience to learn something. In public speaking, for example, if you want your listeners to understand and remember a concept, then the same rules apply: define the learning outcome, build a story that serves it and trim the fluff.
But the goal of many speeches (and job interviews, cover letters, etc.) isn't really to make someone learn something. They’re about persuading, convincing, negotiating or often simply entertaining, even when they’re framed as ‘informational.’ In those cases, emotions play a stronger role. Rich detail, immersion and narrative tension can be powerful for persuasion, even though the same techniques might distract in a learning context. The key question is: what’s the goal of the speech? Is it to make the audience learn?
The opposite problem also happens in education. Teachers and writers often focus on entertaining or persuading, which leads to over-the-top characters or irrelevant seductive details. That’s why I argued for keeping stories lean and tightly tied to the learning goal.
I'm planning a whole article on analogies by the way!
Super interesting 🙏
Thank you Enrique 👏