Over a year ago, when I was first deciding whether to enroll in this Master's program, I reviewed the list of courses to see what sorts of topics were covered. The title of this course intrigued me even then. For most of human history teachers were only story tellers, and knowledge was past down through an oral tradition of stories and lessons that were told and re-told to each new generation. Only since the invention of the printing press, a mere 500 years ago, has the notion of the printed story taken the place of a spoken one.
I think at their heart all teachers have some of that original desire to be a story teller, to be a performer. They want to excite their students and give them the joy of learning. How better to do this than to engage them in a compelling narrative that they can become a part of?
In this class I hope to improve my story telling, which will in turn allow me to draw more students in to the classes that I teach. Rather than just reciting facts, I want to make the knowledge a living and breathing narrative that the students are a part of. This will make the classes personal to them, and further build their love of learning.
John---
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed your post. I especially like the way you touched on how oral tradition has been the medium of choice for the majority of mankind's history. I also agree with your approach of stimulating the students, versus a mere reciting of facts. What did you pick up from this first week of class that could help make your presentation more like a narrative for your students?
Living and breathing knowledge of content through story telling - perfect.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, John. I too am hoping that this course will present my with some tools to improve my presentation skills. So far I've looked at numerous examples of excellent presentations on the various sites that we were provided. I hope to implement some of what I've seen and what we will learn into my own briefings.
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