An Experiential Study of Elementary Teachers with the Storytelling Process: Interdisciplinary Benefits Associated with Teacher Training and Classroom Integration
Journal article by Robin D. Groce; Reading Improvement, Vol. 41, 2004
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| |An Experiential Study of Elementary Teachers with the Storytelling Process: Interdisciplinary Benefits Associated with Teacher Training | |
| |and Classroom Integration. | |
| | | |
| |by Robin D. Groce | |
| |The purpose of this manuscript is to describe how elementary teachers used their experiences in a storytelling inservice training to teach| |
| |lessons in language arts, science, social studies, and bilingual education. Qualitative research methods were used in simultaneously | |
| |collecting and analyzing data. Storytelling was found to be a valuable tool for motivating students to listen and engage in content area | |
| |lessons, improve reading skills in the content areas, and as a springboard for beginning units and skill development. Teachers' | |
| |understandings and implementation of classroom storytelling were heightened as a result of their participation in the inservice training | |
| |and subsequent qualitative study. | |
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| |Introduction | |
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| |Storytelling has a long tradition of orally communicating ideas, beliefs, personal histories, and life-lessons. Most children begin | |
| |hearing and telling stories before they enter school or learn to read and write. Oral language experiences such as storytelling are a | |
| |valuable key in addressing students' academic needs (Snowden, 1995). The integration of classroom storytelling has been linked to reading | |
| |improvement by increasing children's comprehension and vocabulary development (Trostle & Hicks, 1998). The development of language and | |
| |literacy skills are not confined to the language arts classroom, but are embedded in the school curriculum. Language arts programs are | |
| |designed to develop skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking which ultimately improve critical reading skills in the content | |
| |areas. Jackson (1995) found that teachers of reading, social studies, science, and the arts use some form of narrative within the context | |
| |of their teaching. By hearing and using language within the context of curricular experiences, children are more inclined to learn | |
| |language (Kies, Rodriguez, & Granato, 1993). | |
| |Zipes (1995) stresses the need for long-range storytelling programs and storytelling training for both teachers and students in an effort | |
| |to foster more storytelling in the classroom. Baker and Greene (1987) discuss the need for storytelling inservice for administrators of | |
| |public libraries, schools, students of colleges of education, and employees of recreation centers. The literacy benefits of storytelling | |
| |researched by Trostle and Hicks (1998) advocate storytelling training as a means of implementing it in the classroom. Due to the | |
| |far-reaching benefits of storytelling and the call for more teacher training in it, I set out to learn more about how teachers implement | |
| |storytelling in their classrooms as well as how a storytelling inservice might influence their current teaching practices. The teachers | |
| |described in this manuscript were involved in a one-day storytelling inservice and participated in a subsequent qualitative study of their| |
| |experiences with the storytelling training session and the implementation of storytelling in their classrooms. | |
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| |Methodology | |
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| |Qualitative research was conducted through prolonged engagement within the natural setting in order to get the fullest understanding of | |
| |the participants' experiences (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Purposive sampling was used in selecting the schools and teachers with whom I | |
| |conducted the storytelling research and inservice. The data in this study came from interviews and observations, both of which provide an | |
| |effective medium for data collection and analysis (Merriam & Simpson, 1995). The purpose of the interviews was to gather direct quotes | |
| |regarding the teachers' feelings about their storytelling experiences that could not be determined through the observations. The | |
| |constant-comparative method and narrative analysis were used in grounding theory for the storytelling research. For the purposes of this | |
| |study, the use of both qualitative methods enabled me to look more closely at some of the teachers' responses and find patterns and themes| |
| |that would not have been apparent otherwise. | |
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| |The storytelling inservice was intended to introduce the teachers to the nature of storytelling and how it can easily be implemented in | |
| |the classroom. The teachers were engaged in telling stories by sharing family stories as well as telling traditional tales without reading| |
| |them from a book. Family stories such as the stories told at dinnertime have been shown to improve the oral language and literacy | |
| |development of children (Ochs, Taylor, Rudolph, & Smith, 1992). Students who are encouraged to engage in this type of higher-order | |
| |conversation are afforded valuable cognitive opportunities that will enhance theory-building, perspective-taking, and other variables in | |
| |analytic thinking. | |
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| |During the inservice training, the use of costumes and props were combined with personal qualities such as character voices, gestures, and| |
| |facial expressions to add "color" to the tellings. Merritt and Culatta (1998) found that literacy skills and comprehension are | |
| |strengthened through the use of gestures, props, modification of the language level, and voice intonation. ... | |
| |http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=4AD1AD4EA85228FB97CC8A32BB1D79C1.inst1_2a?docId=5006613946 | |

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