In Part 1, I talked about my own background that led me to narrative relational practices, and I referenced some of the theoretical influences as well as examples of reflective practice to support this work. Here I share a specific practice, which is an adaptation of one of the tools we used in CPE called story theology (Burbank, 1984) and which derives from outsider witness practice (narrative therapy) and the anthropological concept of definitional ceremony (Myerhoff, 1982). I think this practice can be adapted to almost any context, though it would be most effective if it’s engaged in as a team with ongoing reflective practice among all team members. I used it at the outset of a three-day staff development and training before the new year, and received a really positive response as well as a wish to continue the practice throughout the school year. I also introduced it to a religious organization that was in transition during a consultation project, and they liked it so much that they instituted the practice in an ongoing way during their board meetings. I do think it’s possible to use this pedagogy with children as well, though it may be easier to do it using a prop—a kind of show and tell—as a way of eliciting a story; and it would certainly require a lot of trust between both students and teacher and a classroom community that has already cultivated significant psychological safety. Hopefully this is a practice that those of you reading can find ways to implement in your professional learning communities.
In order to describe this practice further, it is a storytelling and listening exercise which helps participants reflect on the ways in which they bring themselves into the classroom (or hospital), family interactions, and their encounters with students (patients) and colleagues. It helps practitioners understand how we are always actively interpreting narratives, behaviors, and experiences, and it provides an example of interactive and experiential pedagogy through the co-construction of meaning, which can be practiced further in peer reflection groups and, perhaps, even in your classroom.
In this exercise, the listeners focus on the feelings evoked by and any personal associations with the story, in addition to identifying the themes and meaning present in the narrative. The exercise helps to illustrate how the act of interpretation and assessment is happening all the time, and how it can serve as either a point of connection or disconnection for the storyteller and story listeners—how we are or aren’t able to resonate or empathize with the life experiences of others.
The storyteller will choose any story from their life that can be shared orally within 5 minutes or less. The facilitator will start with their personal story, so as to model the level of vulnerability we’re going for with this. While the story is being told, the listeners attend completely to the narrative, without interrupting, asking for clarification, or otherwise impacting the way the story is told.
The facilitator distributes or writes on a white board the following questions:
- How do you understand the story from your own theology / worldview / value system? (or, if that language is difficult, what metaphors dawned upon you as you heard this story?)
- What does the story bring up for you / how do you connect to the story personally? (or, what in your own life reverberated with these images?)
- What does the story tell you about the storyteller?
After the story has been told, each question is responded to by each listener before moving onto the next question, creating a collective reflection that builds with each new sharing of experience. It is essential that the story listeners, when responding to the questions, speak in first person and draw from their practical knowledge—engaging in reflective practice—as opposed to a theoretical or analytic understanding of the story. Then the storyteller has an opportunity to respond and let people know what the experience was like for them. In this way, there is an explicit co-creation as each response builds on the other and reflects back something unique to the group and their life experience.
Ideally, everyone will have an opportunity to be the storyteller (in subsequent meetings one at a time; or, if it’s a one off grouping, then the smaller the group the better so several can be storytellers) and to have that experience of truly being heard, seen, and understood, but story listening also requires storytelling. No matter what, this exercise is a powerful relational experience where everyone shares something unexpected of themselves, and usually something that illustrates aspects of identity like class, race, and family culture without being as fraught as it would be in a more opinion/belief based discussion. Even if what a story listener reflects back to a storyteller doesn’t land exactly right, I haven’t once had the experience of someone saying they didn’t feel heard or of having the practice lead to anything but more connection. There is a responsibility on the part of the facilitator, of course, to maintain the expectations of pure listening and experiential reflection, and psychological safety depends on a lot of factors. But, this exercise provides an opportunity to strengthen relationships on a team and can be used at different moments for grounding and deepening the conversation.
I’d love to hear from others, especially those who engage in professional development with educators, or who otherwise educate educators, to see if you use similar practices already and/or if you think that this offers something new in some way. I’d also be interested to hear from classroom teachers who might use similar pedagogies with students and what subjects and age groups you’ve used it with. I’m hoping to get more comfortable with putting my “raw” writing out into the world again. It’s been a long, long time since I blogged and I have very different standards for my academic writing, but I won’t ever get anything up if I maintain that in this space. If you’ve made it this far, thanks so much for reading. I welcome your feedback and suggestions, questions and comments!
