Storytelling is the art to tell a story so that the listener becomes interested and wants to know more. This function of storytelling makes it an essential concept when it comes to learning.
Curiosity leads to learning
It has been shown that the most effective learning happens when we are not reflecting on our learning process. This may seem strange, but the point is that the subject and how it is communicated should be so intriguing that you have no impulses to question how or if you are learning. The key is to evoke a natural curiosity that pushes you towards new insights spontaneously. Storytelling is an effective method to achieve this state.
Storytelling and pedagogy
Using the power of stories for teaching purposes has grown increasingly popular and been praised as a method by several scholars. Especially researchers in social psychology support the central function of storytelling in our way of understanding and making sense of the world. The format of the story is very familiar to us, which means we are well trained to acquire knowledge through narratives.
Activate your emotions!
Stories engage us and activate our emotions. This has a positive effect on the memory since the emotional stimuli makes us register the impression in larger parts of the brain. A pedagogical story follows a structure that sorts the information and its level of importance. For example, the most important information will be repeated while information that has inspirational purposes is conveyed during the climax of the story.