Scientia Education Academy Lecture presented by Professor Richard Buckland

Storytelling for the Working Educator

Presented by Professor Richard Buckland

Zen Koans, Biblical parables, Aesop’s Fables, the cautionary tales of parents, two teenagers talking on a bus. From Aristotle’s civic rhetoric to the books, films, and songs which you cherish and are a powerful part of your sense of identity we are awash in a sea of narrative. There is something powerful about stories for Homo Sapiens – storytellers take sequences of facts and encourage the listener to turn them into a connected fabric of meaning.

We’ll explore this rich field from the point of view of being a working educator. How can the ideas behind storytelling help us teach powerfully? What are the elements of effective storytelling and what insights can they give us as educators? For example how can they help us in designing courses, assessments, in presenting material, in being creative, engaging, memorable, and in building connection?

We’ll look at some of the greats: Diana Wynne Jones, Michael Curtiz, Martin Luther King, Friedrich Froebel, Ursula Le Guin, Ernest Scribbler, Gary Larson, Roald Dahl, Deb Cox… – and also at some more humble applications of storytelling in my own classes over the years.

Happily, along the way we’ll get to talk about great songs, books, films, speeches and storytellers over the ages.

Price of admission: Bring along your favourite work to name / show the webcam so we can all share them by the end.

Register online to receive the link.