NEW WORKSHOP INTEGRATES STORY DEVELOPMENT TECHNIQUES WITH PEDAGOGY TO TEACH EARTH SCIENCES

The most effective way to engage an audience with new information is to frame the content within a story. Studies show that audiences process and recall new information more efficiently if the content is structured as a story. In consultation with artists at an animation studio and educators at a natural history museum, we developed a series of workshops that adapt story strategies from filmmaking for science communication. These workshops aim to 1) help scientists better articulate their research and career motivations, and 2) offer scientists practical tools to make their work accessible and engaging for any audience. We are now developing these methods for science instruction in classrooms.

The workshop focuses on principles of story development (including character dynamics, narrative structure, and theme), applied to common scientific narratives. Each unit includes hands-on exercises that help scientists translate their research into a cohesive and accessible presentation. In the classroom version, instructors learn how to develop a story for use in a lesson. They also develop activities that their students can use to analyze a science story, or to develop their own stories about new concepts as a form of assessment. This method will facilitate metacognition of new material and its significance throughout the learning process.

This approach is particularly effective for teaching earth sciences because the subject fits well into narrative frameworks: it chronicles dramatic events and changes; often follows unusual characters (e.g., foraminifera, Alfred Wegener) and evokes wonder in reconstructing lost worlds. We recently tested this approach with a group of earth science educators in a field program. Through the workshop, the participants developed treatments for lessons as well as novels, children’s books, and public service announcements.

In a follow-up survey to the communication workshops, 88% of respondents said they continued to develop their stories after the workshop (59%), or plan to do so (29%). They used their stories with general audiences (31%), as well as colleagues in their field (44%). We will have survey results from the teaching workshop soon pending the conclusion of the field program in August. We will continue to develop these methods in workshops over the next year.