Storytelling

Once upon a time....

With the reality of Practicum 2 just around the corner my nerves grow every day. Having Physics as a second teachable is exciting for me. I loved Physics in high school and I enjoy exploring new ideas of how things work. Having said this doesn’t mean that on February 11th stepping into that 3U (let alone 4U) Physics room is going to be smooth sailing.

How will I help these students learn?

I first look to the inspiration of why I like Physics. I am drawn to it most for its applications of mathematics. Taking all of these formulas and numbers and giving them contexts and solving problems that I see in the world around me on a daily basis. Now, I realize that all students are not nearly as nerdy as I am and if I have just one student that thinks this way then I am lucky. So what’s next?

I think of why I want to teach Physics. If I can share with my students my inspiration and goals then maybe they will pick up on it and share this passion. I recall attending a class with my brother at the University of Waterloo in his first year. I didn’t know why he invited his little sister to class with him but I was eager to go and check out the life he was living away from home. Shell shock sunk in when he neglected to inform me that in his theatre of a classroom I would be severely outnumbered. He told me that the class was huge and no one would notice me. Silly me believed him thinking “clearly my brother wouldn’t want to be seen with me here”. I have never felt like such a fish out of water. I sunk into my chair trying to overt the eyes of his fellow classmates. All I could think was how they were preying on me as a new girl in the classroom; one of only 4 or 5 others that I could see (also hiding out). I never forgot this day nor was it the only one. I found this same pattern in my high school Physics, as well as throughout my classes at Brock. Being a woman in Physics was rare. I was a special breed! This empowered me to think “Why?” Why are there no girls in this class, and what can I do to fix this? This has always inspired and pushed me to keep going in my education to succeed at accomplishing Physics as a second teachable. So maybe this will inspire a few more students to latch on and learn, but I still have the majority of the class to still hook.

Recently I stumbled across an article http://lifehacker.com/5965703/the-science-of-storytelling-why-telling-a-story-is-the-most-powerful-way-to-activate-our-brains talking about the power of storytelling. Listening to a story is a powerful way to activate the brain. It allows people to make the connection of cause and effect.

This is my “A-HA” moment. This is how I will teach Physics.

At least once if not 100’s of times we have fallen victim of the Power Point presentation where we are bored out of our tree.During this we only process the language for meaning but do not actually plant the ideas and activate the information being shared with us. Studies have shown this activation occurs through the science of storytelling!! This means that for my students to learn Physics storytelling is what my lessons must incorporate. Sure there will be slides. But interactive slides. Slides with pictures, quotes, videos, gadgets and gizmos. With these slides will be a story, tying the laws of physics to how the world works around us and a bigger purpose. Something for the students to relate to, for the brain to be activated by. Stories are how we think, explain, make decisions, justify, persuade, understand, create and teach. Instead of a text book question about calculating average speed there will be a video clip of Bolt’s 2012 Olympic Gold Medal Sprint. A simple problem, but a much richer context where students can draw on the story to go with it connecting it to their life. Where were they that day? Did they watch that race? Did they watch the Olympics? Do they participate in sports? Have they ever been to Jamaica? Suddenly a simple problem has sparked creativity and imagination. A story of information as well as a story for a problem.

(Or how about last night’s 108 yard touch-down in 11 seconds by Baltimore Raven's Jacoby Jones in an explosive 11 second kick-off return During Super Bowl XLVII???)

I believe that an active brain is a happy brain...and a happy brain learns.

So, this is how I will teach Physics February 11th, and hey- it may be a disaster. But that is okay. The day after I will fish through my tool belt and try another idea and another and another until I find the right tool.

...and they lived happily ever after.

“Great stories happen to those who can tell them. ”


— Ira Glass