Storytellers
Why are some instructors very good lecturing?
They have the ability to be strong story tellers. This helps keep the students attention, and the instructor will relate the material being studied to an event or story that has taken place in the instructors life. This helps with attention of the students and retention because of the content being expressed in story mode.
I try to give examples and tell personal stories of my experiences to my students as well. I think that it helps relate the lecture topic to a memory and will help them retain the information.
Hi Melissa,
Thank you for sharing your story telling experiences. You are right on with the outcomes. A teacher that is a good story teller can really capture the attention and focus of students as you well know. Keep up the good work.
Gary
I am really involved in my story telling sometimes even acting out the scenario. The students love this. I have heard them saying to the each other "don't you remeber when she acted that out? or I will never forget that because of you singing that line." It is awesome when my story returns full circle et all of my entertaining has been educational as well.
I agree that personal stories are incredibly helpful in helping students to understand and better relate to the material. It also helps them to see what they themselves might have in common with what they are reading. I try to do a combination of lecture and then activity to keep students engaged.
Lecturing works for some, but doesn't work for others. I think the key is to include personal stories that relate to the subject matter to keep the student's interest.
I find this so true! Students respond much better when the can relate the material back to a story that I have shared. They remember the story and it triggers them to remember the class discussion. :)
