Teaching science through the use of story

‘Narrative, it seems, both as a way of knowing and as a way of organizing and communicative experience, has become, if not lost, at least of less importance than it ought to be. The return to narrative suggests that we reconsider the value of the form and function of stories in all areas of human life, but especially in education, where a pervasive nonnarrative and behaviourist chill has prevailed’ (McEwan & Egan, 1995, p.xii). ‘All science is cosmology’ (Sir Karl Popper, 1959) This paper explores two practical suggestions. The first is that the use of story is both a highly productive and yet often under-valued teaching strategy. In other words, teachers, including science teachers, can considerably enhance their teaching when they perceive their pedagogical role in the classroom as closely akin to that of a storyteller, or, more precisely, as a creator of narrative. The second suggestion is that one of the great advantages of adopting a narrative approach to teaching is that it can help break down the conventional barriers within the school curriculum, for example, between the sciences, humanities and arts, in ways that can considerably enhance children’s personal understanding and learning. Copyright © 1998 Hong Kong Institute of Education.