Engaging Young Minds: The Power of Story-Based Learning Techniques in Education

Storytelling has been a hallmark of the educational process for millennia. In fact, this was the primary means by which we learned throughout the vast majority of human history. It is estimated that only about 1.6% of human history is recorded, making the telling of stories the basis of most learning prior to written records.  The importance of storytelling in education has not waned, and in fact, continues to be used in twenty-first century classrooms. Story-based learning techniques are used in classrooms across the globe to engage students in their learning journeys in memorable ways, and to connect them with their communities and the world at large. This powerful learning tool is worth understanding further and implementing more thoroughly to reach students on a wide range of topics, and to enhance their understanding and retention.

What is Story-Based Learning?

At its core, story-based learning is a teaching technique that uses storytelling to further students’ understanding and improve retention rates of the material covered. By engaging students’ attention through compelling characters and stories that can relate to their everyday lives, lessons become more alive. Students can more easily focus on the content and concepts contained in the story. This increased engagement generally translates into more excitement in sharing what they are learning and to learn even more. Most of us inherently understand the concept of story-based learning. It is where most of our educational journeys began. Our parents and teachers would read us fairy tales or other stories to teach us important life lessons, keeping us interested through entertaining characters, plots, dialogue, and action. Combining education and entertainment is a powerful teaching tool and is sometimes referred to as edutainment. Stories provide learners with people and plots to grab hold of to make the lessons clearer and more understandable. By attaching human stories and emotions to a lesson, learners receive and process the lesson content more easily. They also retain it longer and at a deeper level. Story problems are one example of how real-world applications are introduced into classroom learning problems, allowing for real-world solutions to be attached to theoretical applications. It provides understanding of how skills learned in the classroom can be applied in real life. It gives a real sense of purpose to the subjects being studied. Again, story-based learning is nothing new, but creative applications of the technique allow it to be used in all types of educational environments.

Why Stories Matter in Education

Story-based learning teaches students lessons in ways that stick. Scientific studies on the human brain over the last few decades have shown that humans retain information told within a story 22 times more than through the presentation of facts and figures alone. Students will remember what happened to the protagonists when they made poor decisions, and also how they felt at the outcome.  Part of the reason for this increased retention is the attachment to emotion that accompanies storytelling. The reason we remember is because that is how WE felt at the outcome too. Connecting this human element to the learning of lessons increases the importance of those lessons and our connection to them. The lessons and the feelings both stick long after the initial engagement, reinforcing the retention of what was learned. The real-world impacts of incorporating story-based learning techniques into teaching is not something that is lost as we age. It is not only something to use while teaching young people, but a technique that continues to benefit life-long learners as well. Using stories to help learners make more memorable and actionable connections and remember important facts, procedures or behavior modifications can be beneficial at any age. There are wonderful reasons to keep storytelling and learning tied together throughout a learner’s educational journey, especially young people whose brains are still developing. While story-based learning techniques are a valuable approach for learners of all ages, from early childhood education to corporate training seminars, it is an especially powerful tool for young learners.

The Importance of Engaging Teaching Methods for Young Students

Every student comes from a different background, has experienced different life events and learns in a slightly different way. These factors make learning easier for some and more difficult for others, depending on the teaching methods being used. Utilizing engaging teaching approaches such as story-based learning techniques can assist in leveling the playing field in the classroom and beyond.  Students who are exposed to engaging teaching methods early in their academic journey are less likely to fall behind and more likely to develop a strong sense of self-esteem. A student’s ability to hold their own within their peer group has a powerful effect on their mental and emotional health. Keeping students interested in learning and succeeding in learning are some of the key reasons why storytelling is important in classrooms. It builds a strong learning foundation for young students..

Benefits of Story-Based Learning

There are a number of benefits that students enjoy through story-based learning techniques. Some involve a better ability to pay attention and increased information retention, while others deliver improved critical thinking skills and problem solving abilities that support students’ future success. Let’s look at some of the top benefits associated with educational storytelling.

Students Are More Engaged

Getting and keeping students engaged is one of the more difficult aspects of education, and one of the most important. Students who fail to engage in lessons are more likely to have trouble absorbing and retaining information. Without that information retention, students are less likely to absorb lessons at a deep level. Story-based learning improves student engagement by making the lesson fun and relatable, which helps capture their attention and drive more active participation.

Active Participation

When learners can actively participate in a lesson instead of just passively listening to a lecture, they gain a much deeper understanding of the subject matter. This is because they are engaging their minds in a more focused way. Story-based learning makes active participation easier and more fun, and helps boost a student’s ability to pay attention longer.

Develops Stronger Listening and Thinking Skills

One big result of active participation is that it helps enhance students’ listening and thinking skills. Young learners are more likely to actively participate and pay attention to entertaining stories than what they may perceive as boring lectures. This active participation drives them to not only improve their attention spans, but also to understand the subject matter better and improve their critical thinking skills.

Boosts Imagination and Creativity

One crucial cornerstone of critical thinking is the ability to use your imagination and think creatively. Utilizing narrative learning techniques in the classroom emphasizes the role of imagination and creativity in the learning process. This provides a host of important personal and professional benefits that can last a lifetime.

Connects Students to their Cultures and Boosts Empathy

Stories often feature characters from different walks of life. This exposure to different personality types and cultures helps students expand their worlds and connect more fully to their communities.  There are many students who very rarely see people like themselves represented in their local communities or popular media. Exposing them to stories wherein people from their cultures or with their personality types are the heroes of the story can improve self-esteem and confidence. For those who do see themselves represented in everyday life, exposure to different cultures through story can be a powerful tool that helps them develop empathy and understand communities that are different from their own. That empathy can give students an improved ability to work with others for the rest of their lives.

Provides Context

Embedding complex lessons into entertaining storylines provides context that allows students to better understand theoretical concepts. This context gives them real-life examples of how things work that can be hard to accomplish through lectures, rote learning techniques or the use of flash cards. It also gives them experience in using that context in combination with their creative thinking skills to solve problems, both large and small.

teacher having storytelling time with a student

Examples of Story-Based Learning Techniques

Now that we’ve looked at some of the benefits of including story-based learning techniques in educational settings, let’s look at how these techniques can be brought into classroom lessons. No matter what topic a class is learning or the age of the students, these fundamentals can transform any lesson into an immersive, story-based experience that students are sure to remember.

Incorporate Live Theater into Lessons

One great method for incorporating story driven learning into a lesson is to utilize live theater. Live performances have an advantage over the simple written word in that by bringing a story to life, actors can help students grasp important messages too. It gives them something to grab onto. Seeing actors play out a character’s trials and tribulations drives empathy and illustrates the real life consequences of decisions, and reinforces learning. If you have a topic where you want young people to be inspired, take action, and spread their new knowledge, using live theater to engage students is a powerful vehicle. NTC specializes in tailoring educational performances to support the learning of a wide-range of topics in schools across the country. Partnering with an educational outreach provider that specializes in creating interactive storytelling experiences for students is one of the easiest and most effective ways to bring important messaging to communities.

Utilize Technology Like Interactive Livestreams

Another way to bring interactive storytelling experiences into the classroom is through livestream events. Recent technology has made it possible for us to deliver entertaining and educational programming with a simple internet connection. Interactive livestreams offer many of the same benefits as live theater performances, but the fact that livestreams only require an internet connection and a monitor makes them more accessible to more classrooms. Even schools without auditoriums or with limited resources can watch stories unfold and interact with the actors or speakers. Students still get access to entertaining learning opportunities, but without the need for a field trip and everything that goes into putting one together.

Developing a Tailored Story-Based Lesson

Another great option is to create an engaging story to explain the subject matter being taught. This is one of the story-based learning techniques that is endlessly customizable and can be tailored to reach any specific audience, once we understand how to use storytelling methods effectively. Here is how we do it.

Identify the Topic

Stories require a well-defined problem to be solved. There is often more than one woven into a story, but there is typically one main driver that takes the protagonist from beginning to end. Once we have identified the topic, we have a framework upon which to build the narrative. That framework makes it easier to incorporate related lessons into the storyline, and ultimately develop a compelling story.

Develop a Story

The next step is to develop the story. We weave key concepts and ideas into a simple storyline that will engage learners. The story should be fun, audience appropriate and relevant to the students. Additionally, the lesson should fit into the context of the story in effective ways. For instance, stories based on mathematical concepts may be more effective if the story is built around problem solving. On the other hand, lessons on teamwork and problem solving may be better suited to a buddy story where the main protagonists must work together in creative ways to overcome obstacles and reach their goal. There are many ways to tell a story, and aligning the story to work with the subject matter is an important part of making it an effective learning opportunity.

Create Likable and Relatable Characters

For an audience to really care about the story, they must first care about the characters. Particularly, they need to care about the protagonist. This is why so many chapter books and movies open by connecting the audience to the main characters. By making these characters people that the students can relate to, they will want to see those characters overcome each obstacle and solve the main problem to complete their character arc.

Planned Activities around the Lesson

Following up storytelling learning techniques with activities that keep students engaged in the lesson can vastly improve retention rates. Things like turning post-story discussion time into games or designing projects aimed at furthering student knowledge on the subject allows students to revisit the information they have just taken in. Doing so in a group setting makes it a fun activity that helps students develop confidence and grow within their peer groups.

The Importance of Sponsoring a Story-Based Learning Program

Story-based learning services offer a range of proven, story-based educational opportunities that are delivered directly into the educational environment. This may include live theater performances, interactive livestreams, or other types of edutainment and gamification opportunities that are engaging for students of all ages.  Each service is carefully curated by educational and entertainment professionals who understand the power of story-based learning techniques in delivering important messaging to young learners in a way that sticks.  NTC offers the ability to customize programming around your specific messaging and to tailor it to your target age range. If you or your organization would like to fast track a story-based learning program that drives meaningful change in your community, engaging with a story-based learning company like NTC is an effective way to reach your education outreach goals.

Choosing the Right Story-Based Learning Service

Hiring an education outreach company that specializes in story-based learning techniques is a powerful way for you to spread beneficial education to your service community. Harnessing the power of story-based learning techniques to support the adoption of beneficial behaviors is an innovative and effective way to reach important constituents. NTC has spent 46 years perfecting the many ways story-based learning can be used to make an impact in communities across the country.

It Takes a Community

Story-based learning techniques are a powerful tool that can help students achieve much better learning outcomes. They give students the tools they need to learn new approaches to problem solving, adopt healthy habits, and inspire behavioral changes that benefit both them and their communities.  That is why storytelling in learning is just as important as ever. It instills concepts that students will retain for a lifetime, and it generates excitement in the learning process. By sponsoring programs in the schools and other organizations in our communities, we can effectively and efficiently deliver on-point messaging that helps develop beneficial behaviors in the future leaders of those communities.

Engaging Young Minds: The Power of Story-Based Learning Techniques in Education