Because I’ve read this statement so many times, I didn’t really think about it — other than to accept it’s probably true.<\/p>\n Also — I will admit — I spent some time feeling a bit smug. As an English teacher, I get to hang out with narratives\u00a0all the time<\/em>. If this claim is true, my discipline has it made.<\/p>\n I recently came across a meta-analysis<\/a> examining this claim of psychological privilege. Sure enough, it found that:<\/p>\n “Based on over 75 unique samples and data from more\u00a0than 33,000 participants, we found that stories were more easily understood and better recalled<\/strong> than essays.” (Emphasis added)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Technically speaking, 33,000 is a very large number.<\/p>\n Given this much data, I thought, SURELY teachers should teach with stories more than with exposition.<\/p>\n And then, I started feeling a bit queasy…<\/p>\n If you read this blog often, you know that I’m always trying to understand how a specific research finding can\u00a0actually be used in classrooms<\/em>.<\/p>\n So: how EXACTLY might teachers use this advice?<\/p>\n The obvious answer: when we have a choice, we should use the\u00a0narrative<\/strong> version of an explanation instead of an\u00a0expository<\/strong> one.<\/p>\n But here’s the catch: realistically speaking, how often do we have a choice<\/em>? How easily can we switch between these two modes?<\/p>\n For example: I know how to present\u00a0The Grapes of Wrath<\/em> as a narrative. (It IS a narrative.)<\/p>\n But if I want my students to know …<\/p>\n the definition of a sonnet, or<\/p>\n the difference between personification and hyperbole, or<\/p>\n the\u00a0qualities of a well-written thesis paragraph,<\/p>\n … how can I present that information as a narrative?<\/p>\n Of course, I could give examples<\/strong> of all those things. (I always do.) But examples aren’t narratives.<\/p>\n Honestly, I\u00a0was kinda stumped.<\/p>\n But wait!<\/p>\n An obvious solution tapped me on the shoulder. I have, right here on my computer screen, a meta-analysis about the superiority of narrative! I can simply review the studies it meta-analyzes, and find strategies to accomplish this task.<\/p>\n I reviewed the document, and identified all the studies showing the benefits of narrative published after 2000. (Yes, that’s an arbitrary cut off, but it seemed handy and plausible.)<\/p>\n Believe it or not, only ONE of the studies even attempts to answer this vital question.<\/p>\n That is: almost all of the studies show that students understand<\/em> narrative passages better than exposition, and remember<\/em> them better.<\/p>\n But only this one<\/a> tries to present the same information both ways.<\/p>\n Specifically, students read short passages about the circulatory system.<\/p>\n Some students read a version as a story<\/em>: a young man named Alex shrinks himself into a tiny person, gets pulled into a passer-by’s lungs, and travels through the circulatory system to escape.<\/p>\n Other students read more traditional textbook explanations of the circulatory system.<\/p>\n In other words: my quick survey found only one example of expository information (the bad stuff) being translated into narrative (the good stuff).<\/p>\n One example doesn’t give teachers lots to work with.<\/p>\n And, the situation gets worse — in two ways.<\/p>\n First:<\/strong>\u00a0students in this study\u00a0don’t (exactly) understand and remember the narrative better that the traditional exposition<\/em>.<\/p>\n Instead, the researchers find that that the student’s prior knowledge is the key variable. I quote directly from the abstract:<\/p>\n “Learning and recall did not differ<\/strong> as a function of text genre overall [that is: narrative vs. exposition], but did\u00a0interact with prior knowledge.” (Emphasis added)<\/p>\n In other words: we’ve got only one example to go on — and the example didn’t work as promised<\/em>!<\/p>\n Second<\/strong>: more subjectively, I found the “tiny-man-pulled-into-the-lungs-story” rather confusing.<\/p>\n You can the sample passages here<\/a>: check out Appendix B at the end.<\/p>\n![\"Young](\"https:\/\/braindevs.net\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/AdobeStock_620377958.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nLet’s Get Practical<\/h2>\n
Let the Quest Begin<\/h2>\n
Double Trouble<\/h2>\n