May/June 2008

Making the Case

The Research on Storytelling is a "State-of-the-Heart"

Elizabeth Pollicino

Storytelling! The word conjures up the most traditional of images about our earliest memories – whether at home with family and friends, or our first experiences in a more formal learning environment, either in the classroom or at the library. Our diverse cultural backgrounds have in common the tradition of an oral sharing of tales that seek to explain nature, religion, or human strengths and weaknesses. Many public libraries have turned to this time-honored art form as a programming feature for sharing culture and literature, while school librarians and teachers have found that storytelling supports reading skills, comprehension and vocabulary development. Professional storytellers charge for their performances and are worth the price, but both school and public librarians have discovered the value of being librarian-storytellers, and including storytelling as a facet of their professional skills.

The school library media specialist is in a position to support the current focus on literacy by making storytelling a critical part of the school’s academic and cultural landscape. While the academic and pedagogical value of storytelling may be lost on administrators, who consider it entertainment alone, there is good news to be found in the research studies and professional literature that can be called upon when promoting storytelling among administrators, as well as teachers, parents, and other constituents.

Brian Sturm’s 1999 article in School Library Media Research, “The Enchanted Imagination: Storytelling’s Power to Entrance Listeners,” reports the results of his research into the “storylistening trance” experienced by many listeners.

This study employed a qualitative, naturalistic methodology involving participant observation and interviews. The author identified six characteristics of this trance condition described as a “qualitatively different state of consciousness while listening to stories” –

• realism (especially pertaining to the characters and/or environment)
• lack of awareness (particularly of immediate surroundings)
• engaged receptive channels (visual, auditory, kinesthetic, emotional)
• control (loss of such by the listener, or turning it over to the teller)
• “placeness” (transportation to the story setting) and
• time distortion (story proceeding at a different speed than the actual clock)

The two most important influences appear to be the listener’s rapport with the storyteller and the storyteller’s involvement; these two variables are interrelated, for without the second, the first is virtually impossible. These findings have implications for school library media specialists and their teacher colleagues, since the engaged, absorbed student is the one most receptive to new ideas. Employing storytelling techniques can open doors to reach students who otherwise might not excel under traditional teaching methods,  as well as to those usually engaged whose eyes might be opened further by this creative technique.

The school library media specialist has access to other research studies and literature within and outside our immediate profession that can assist with personal enrichment, preparation for collaboration with teachers, and advocacy with administrators. The third edition of the classic handbook Storytelling: Art and Technique (Greene, 1996) covers such relevant topics as working with administrators, conducting an in-service, the differences between the performer-storyteller and the librarian-storyteller, and conducting programs for special-needs children.

Literacy research in the cognate area of reading education includes the qualitative studies on storytelling by Robin Groce (2004), who explored teacher follow-up to an in-service training session in order to promote student interest and improve reading in content areas, including science, social studies, language arts, and bilingual education. Research conducted by Susan Trostle and Sandy Jean Hicks (1998) considered the effects of storytelling versus story reading of selections from children’s literature on comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Controlling for ability, the British primary school children in the study who were told stories outperformed those who had stories read to them. The authors note that “as an extension of children’s literature,” storytelling “is one means by which children with diverse literacy and diverse needs achieve unity of ideas and establish harmony, both within and among themselves” (p. 128).  Reilly and Pagucci (2007) engaged eighth grade students in a four-week project that culminated in small groups writing children's stories centered around mathematical themes from everyday life.  the illustrated stories provided students with opportunities to apply concepts from their math class to tales created using art, reserch and storytelling skills as well as learning to collaborate.  The interdisciplinary nature of this project was considered responsible for the students' retention and understanding of concepts when reviewing for exams. 

In addition to the reading and vocabulary performance improvements that accrue to children who hear stories told by adults, research has been conducted on engaging children and young adults in the telling of stories to each other. Jackie Peck (1989) had third-graders read different versions of the classic tale Jack and the Beanstalk. The students then participated in a 90-minute workshop that prepared them to write and perform their own storytelling sessions. They worked in dyads and triads in order to practice their stories for peer feedback. By employing this method, each student had eventually taken on the role of storyteller and listener, resulting in improved listening, writing, and oral expression skills.

Storytelling has also been reported to have been effective with young adults by engaging them in storytelling training as a preparation to sharing. Using the theme of urban legends (which appeal to this age group), a research team (Doll, et. al., 2001) observed that students who were usually shy about speaking in typical class situations nevertheless wanted to tell stories. Another observation was that the socialization that occurs during this process is undeniable and provides the opportunity for different cultures to share. Kay Bishop and Melanie Kimball (2006, p. 29) note that student participation in storytelling is “a way of respecting the heritage of a particular culture [and] reinforcing societal values.” The authors also mention the self-confidence and poise that storytelling experience provides for young people, which is one of the many themes identified by Judy Caulfield in her dissertation (2000, p. ii): community, language play, personal connections, modeling of narrative connections, imagery, story sense, awareness of structure, heightened listening, collaborative meaning-making, self confidence, ways of remembering, students taking on the role of storytelling and finding their voice, connecting to the audience, and finding an oasis.

Storytelling has been noticed by the corporate world as well, and is becoming a serious training topic in the realms of sub-specializations such as knowledge management and competitive intelligence. Noted filmmaker Peter Guber (Rain Man, Batman, The Color Purple) indicates that he has worked with many creative professionals—storytellers in their own right—including directors, novelists, screenwriters, producers, and actors. In a Harvard Business Review (December 2007) cover story, he shares that storytelling is essential in his work as a business executive as well. Valuable for motivation, the technique can be used effectively by the line manager, the CEO and the sales person. In keeping with the article title, Guber’s “Four Truths of the Storyteller” require truth to the teller (conveying values), the audience (worth their time), the moment (the context), and the mission (a cause beyond self). His commentary on the timelessness of oral tradition in this high-tech world praises state-of-the-art technology but reminds us “the power of storytelling resides most fundamentally in ‘state-of-the-heart’ technology. At the end of the day, words and ideas presented in a way that engages listener’s emotions are what carry stories (p. 59).

Storytelling has the potential to contribute to AASL’s Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, particularly the pursuit of personal and aesthetic growth. Specifically, Standard 4.1 requires “that students respond to literature and creative expression of ideas in various formats and genres.” The library media center should be the place in the school that harnesses this state-of-the-heart technology by combining the best of the new with the tradition of this art carried down for generations. It will serve the students of today not only by increasing their achievement but also by preparing them to share with generations to come.

References

Bishop, Kay and Melanie A. Kimball. “Engaging Students in Storytelling.” Teacher Librarian 33.4 (2006): 28-31. Research Library (ProQuest).

Caulfield, Judith (Judy) (2000) The Storytelling Club: A Narrative Study of Children and Teachers as Storytellers. Dissertation, University of Toronto ( Canada), 2000. Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. ProQuest.

Doll, Carol A., et al. “Unleashing the Power of Teenage Folklore: Research to Investigate the Power of Storytelling.” Journal of Youth Services in Libraries 14.4 (2001): 35-41. ( Wilson Web).

Greene, Ellin. Storytelling: Art and Technique, Third Edition, 2000. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Groce, Robin D.. “An Experiential Study of Elementary Teachers With the Storytelling Process: Interdisciplinary Benefits Associated With Teacher Training and Classroom Integration. Reading Improvement 41.2 (2004): 122-128.  Wilson Web.

Guber, Peter. “The Four Truths of the Storyteller.” Harvard Business Review 85:12 2007): 52-59. Business Source Premier (EBSCO).

Peck, Jackie. “Using Storytelling to Promote Language and Literacy Development.” The Reading Teacher. 43.2 (1989): 138-41. Research Library (ProQuest).

Reilly, Edel M., and Gian S. Pagucci. "Mathematics, Art, Research, Collaboration, and Storytelling: The High M.A.R.C.S. Project." Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. 12.9 (2007): 497-502.

Standards for the 21 st-Century Learner. Chicago: American Association of School Librarians, 2007. <http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards>

Sturm, Brian W. “The Enchanted Imagination: Storytelling’s Power to Entrance Listeners.” School Library Media Research. 2 (1999). <http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/slmrb/slmrcontents/volume21999/vol2sturm.cfm>

Trostle, Susan L., and Sandy Jean Hicks. “The Effects of Storytelling versus Story Reading on Comprehension and Vocabulary Knowledge of British Primary School Children.” Reading Improvement 35.3 (1998): 127-36. Wilson Web.

All electronic resources were accessed through St. John’s University, NY, on 21 July 2008.

Elizabeth Pollicino is the Associate Director of the Division of Library and Information Science and the School Library Media Program Coordinator at St. John’s University, New York.