A Better Pedagogy: Narrative
Graduate school! C’est la vie… I was an undergraduate 6 years ago in the United States, and I am now attending an MBA in France. The transition has been a clash of epic proportions: returning to school after years of an increasing lifestyle that comes with a increasing paycheck, to paying for tutelage under an international cast of lecturers. Never have I been so aware of teaching quality than sitting through a six-figure graduate education.
Great leadership and teaching has been a passion since I was 15. I have continually sought to catalog habits of great leaders and teachers — you will note my Medium articles written as an undergraduate were consumed with the practice of crafting compelling vision through winsome story. I should not be surprised to find the best of my teachers tell great stories, with complex and rich narrative arcs hidden behind powerful questions.
“Narrative pedagogy” can be simply and painfully reworded as “facilitating a class.” Group facilitation is a commonly discussed skill with plenty of seminars, books, etc., on the subject, yet commonly falls victim to a mutually exclusive, ternary relationship between teaching, facilitating and participating. Teaching is delivering content; facilitating is leading the class without teaching (unfortunately often leading nowhere); participating is to just sit there and take what you get.
Narrative pedagogy strikes an appropriate balance between introducing new taught theory and exploring collective participant knowledge as would Socrates. The goal is to lead the participant to an inescapable “Ah-hah!” so sticky, it could never be forgotten. “Leading a purposeful exploration” might be an appropriate summary.
How can a narrative become a pedagogy? What are examples of narrative pedagogy? In which situations is narrative pedagogy best applied? Continuing reading for answers to these questions.
Narrative Structure
Middle school literature would have taught students a form of narrative journey… Begin with a conflict, follow the conflict to rising action, ascend to the climax and fall to the conclusion. The story will have an underlying theme.
Narrative pedagogy has these same elements.
Theme (sarcasm alert) Oh woe! Woe unto us, the teachers! Why must there be relevance to that which we teach? Cannot students be inherently passionate to learn of any subject, especially my own? Surely, students will appreciate a theoretical lecture and will best pursue applications independently! (The moral hidden therein: know thy audience and have a relevant goal for them to achieve.)
Conflict A thorny question illustrates the purpose and context necessary to begin the narrative arc. But be logical: the question must be answered in your conclusion, and be the purpose for which you speak. Keep your question within the universe about which you teach.
Rising action Give a little, get a lot. You did intend to teach an idea, but your audience may not have the requisite knowledge to carry the narrative burden alone. Introduce mini-conflicts and engage with the class through facilitating discussion. Redirect students with powerful questions that lead to the appropriate conclusion for each mini-conflict. Each conclusion is a piece of the overall theory intended to be taught.
Climax You are reaching the end of the session. Increase the heat, do not let your students look at the clock. This is the time to challenge them. Pull them into the trap of understanding. Ask questions that cause them to search for patterns from everything that has been discussed. By searching for patterns, they begin to start critically applying new knowledge.
Conclusion The masterful reveal of the final slide. A flourish. Veritable light bulbs flash blinding white throughout the room. There should be a sense of achievement by students as if they discovered great meaning independently. This is active learning; because you made them search for patterns and apply pieces and parts of the theory to reach the conclusion, the likelihood is high that they will remember the conclusion.
My description of the narrative elements might be abstract, but such is necessary. In each of the following examples, the professor followed the same progression, but with entirely different story genres.
Examples
Statistics and Business Analytics in an MBA might be a difficult class. Some will have experience or interest in fields like startup where data science might be profitable, but many lack the context and interest. Yet, this professor regularly wins awards for best teacher. He understands that MBAs are more likely to lead analyst teams and report analytical results to executives, so his emphasis is to require students to accurately interpret statistical tools in a business context.
His theme is interpretation, his conflict is a business situation, his rising action is the introduction of each element of a theoretical formula — not to derive the formula mathematically but to conceptually explain each element as it relates to the theme — his climax is unlocking the full formula, and his conclusion is a business interpretation your “stupid” manager would understand. (He is French. “Stupid” is not as offensive in France as it is in the United States… and he says it with a full French accent. Fantastic.)
Problem Solving and Communication is a perfect candidate for narrative pedagogy. A professor might be able to abstractly present problem solving frameworks, but communication is more of an art developed through practice. To combine the two requires a story teller. Would it surprise you that this professor was a global practice leader at McKinsey? This professor uses narrative to engage the class in discussion in which students iteratively learn to spot core issues and articulate problem statements, rather than learn academic theory.
His theme was to learn problem framing and presentation of solutions, his conflicts were typically business situations, rising action was class discussion on the factors inherent to the situation, the climax an opportunity to begin the transition from the business situation to a explicit discussion in problem solving and communication, the conclusion the theory itself followed by a breakout sessions with teams to practice.
Biblical Theology is not taught in my MBA, but a class teacher in my hometown church is narrative pedagogy master. A seminarian-turned-volleyball coach, he would weave together advanced theological concepts and practical application much as one would unwind a ball of yarn until a final tug straightens the yarn, revealing the full narrative in a big “oh! I see it all now.”
His theme is to teach foundations and tools to accurately interpret scripture. His conflict was a relevant cultural dilemma, his rising action controversial questions interwoven with academic definitions of the major theological positions, his climax a call to recognize your prior conceptions (which you suddenly realize you had), and his conclusion a call to harmony and respect for interpretations of the non-absolutes.
A Final Word
A narrative pedagogy is likely best used with experienced critical thinkers, as those used to thinking critically will have the tools in logic and pattern recognition to catch onto the story.
I was once introduced to the differences between mentoring, coaching and counseling. A mentor fills the cup of another when the other’s cup is empty. A coach helps one with a full cup understand what it holds. A counselor patches a leaking cup.
If a teacher tries to draw out knowledge when there is none, blank stares and frustration ensue. Narrative pedagogy teaches theory through hints and drawing out ideas, but relies on those that can pick up on the hints.
Ultimately, narrative pedagogy is an immensely respectful teaching method, setting high expectations for both the teacher and students; preparing to teach requires preparing a narrative that weaves together theory, and listening requires full attention and critical thought lest an element of the story be missed. It is a a great alternative to death-by-slides.
Did I capture the essence of narrative pedagogy? When has this method worked well for you, and when has it not? What are other creative and effective pedagogies, especially in MBA programs? Leave a comment below.
