Storytelling-Based Learning

Storytelling-Based Learning

Storytelling-Based Learning (SBL) is a structured, socio-cognitive, and experiential learning approach that uses narrative as both a teaching tool and a learning process. It blends personal reflection, design thinking, and audience engagement to foster deeper understanding, creativity, and communication. 

Alternative/linked methods: Digital Storytelling, Narrative Pedagogy, Reflective Storytelling, Scenario-Based Learning, Critical Incident Technique, Storytelling-Based Learning (SBL) 

Why?

• Enhances Engagement: Stories activate emotional and cognitive pathways, increasing attention and retention. 
• Builds Communication Skills: Encourages clarity, empathy, and audience awareness. 
• Supports Reflective Practice: Promotes self-awareness and identity development. 
• Fosters Creativity and Innovation: Encourages ambiguity tolerance and lateral thinking. 

How?

• Tell: Students share personal or fictional stories through speaking, writing, or performance. 
• Make: Students co-create stories and design artifacts (e.g., prototypes, videos, visual art). 
• Engage: Students and instructors respond with feedback, reflection, and emotional cues. 
• Use Post-Its or Visual Prompts: Encourage spontaneous, low-stakes storytelling. 
• Create Story Circles: Peer groups for sharing and feedback. 

When?

• In Design and Engineering Courses: To humanize technical content and foster user-centred thinking. 
• In Reflective and Experiential Learning: For debriefing, identity exploration, and ethical discussions. 
• In Team-Based Projects: To align group vision and improve collaboration. 
• In Assessment: As a creative, multimodal alternative to traditional exams. 

Get Started

• “What’s the Title of Your Story?”: A prompt to initiate personal reflection. 
• Start in the Middle: Break from linear templates to find powerful entry points. 
• Use Post-Its or Visual Prompts: Encourage spontaneous, low-stakes storytelling. 
• Create Story Circles: Peer groups for sharing and feedback. 

Digital Enhancement

• Students submit stories via blogs, videos, or collaborative platforms (e.g., Padlet, Teams, Kaltura in Moodle Forum). 
• Use discussion boards for peer feedback and reflection. 
• Live storytelling sessions with breakout discussions. 
• Use “planned spontaneous” prompts to engage individuals in large groups. 
• Use digital narratives to introduce or reinforce content. 

Resources

• Green, M.C. and Brock, T.C. (2000) “The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives,” Journal of personality and social psychology, 79(5), pp. 701–21.
• Landrum, R. E., Brakke, K., & McCarthy, M. A. (2019). The pedagogical power of storytelling. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 5(3), 247-253. 
• Karobi Moitra (no date) “Storytelling as an Active Learning Tool to Engage Students in a Genetics Classroom,” Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 15(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v15i2.815.
• Vitali, F. (2016) “Teaching with Stories as the Content and Context for Learning,” Global Education Review, 3(1), pp. 27–44.
• Nassim, S. (2018) ‘DIGITAL STORYTELLING: AN ACTIVE LEARNING TOOL FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE SKILLS’, PUPIL: International Journal of Teaching, Education and Learning, 2, pp. 14-27.