Storyline
News
updated 7 December
Sanna Ranweg 1958 – 2011
An appreciation
It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Sanna Ranweg on 7th November 2011 in Lulea, Sweden. She was only 53 but had experienced some years of ill health before her death. As a talented teacher, tutor and educational designer Sanna was one of the Storyline Sweden Team and was deeply involved as the financial organiser for the International Conference held in Gothenburg in 2007. Many of us remember the energy and enthusiasm she exhibited in all the projects she undertook. Her involvement with the Jokkmokk Museum of Sami Life led to the most interesting of Storyline designs. She was extremely talented musically and we have enjoyed her singing on many informal occasions over the years. We send our deepest sympathy to Leif, Petter & Olle and also to Anders. She will be greatly missed by all her friends around the world.
Dr Sharon Ahlqhist
University of Kristianstad, Sweden
It is with great pleasure that we announce that Sharon has been awarded a Doctorate in Education from the University of Leicester with a study called: The impact of the Storyline approach on the young language learner classroom: a case study in Sweden.
The purpose of the study was to identify in what ways working with Storyline motivated young language learners and how this influenced the development of their English language skills. I studied a class of 11-13 year olds who worked on Storyline, Our Sustainable Street, which was based on the syllabus goals for English, art, natural science and social studies. The children were families moving into a new street in the fictive town of Danbury, near Manchester. With a theme of sustainable development, the story saw the families taking part in a project to live in a more sustainable way. They also had to deal with the problem of anti-social neighbours. The key questions were designed to practise the skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening, to consolidate grammatical knowledge and basic vocabulary areas (family, home and other everyday subjects) as well as to introduce words to do with sustainability. The children had worked with the concepts of carbon footprint, greenhouse gases etc in Swedish before the start of the study. The Storyline came to an end with a street party.
The most popular aspects of Storyline work were found to be group work, art work, variety and for the girls, the chance to write more freely and use their imagination. I found a development in all the language skills, such as a greater willingness to speak English in class, the ability to understand English instruction more quickly and without need for translation into Swedish, longer and more complex written texts, and increased vocabulary. Many children also stated that they felt braver about speaking English in class - an important first step to actually doing so.
Launch of new Website
Congratulations to Jill Wells, headteacher of Sinnington Primary School in North Yorkshire, on establishing a Storyline England website. Jill and her colleagues have been enthusiastic Storyline teachers for many years and I am sure this opportunity to share their experience will be welcomed by many other educators in England. www.storyline-england.co.uk
Congratulations to Dr Wendy Emo
Minnesota State University, Mankato, USA
I completed my doctorate through University of York in fall 2010. The topic was teachers' innovations; I interviewed 22 teachers regarding their innovations and followed another 8 teachers (primary, secondary, and university) as they innovated with Storyline and repeated their Storylines. The teachers all found that there were many more benefits to teaching in this manner than they had anticipated, both objective and affective; all also remarked on the surprises of the students' contributions to the learning.
I am now teaching at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and I am using Storyline in my class "Creating Learning Environments." Each of my pre-service teachers has created a ninth grader. Storyline is definitely engaging my students; they contribute quite a bit in the online portion, which applies course concepts to the characters. more >
Storyline: A circus at our school!
Circus "Zaretti" is currently visiting our school. There is a big circus tent on our football field! Ponys and goats are grasing in front of our classroom windows!
While we are waiting to be invited to "Zaretti" to perform in our own real circus show, we are creating our own circus.We are making circus tents, but also many of the characters and animals who are part of a circus. more >
Additional article in German >
Global Storylines
Diana Ellis
Currently in the second year, WOSDEC (www.wosdec.org), Glasgow City Council and Strathclyde University are working together on this exciting three year joint partnership project. This project enables WOSDEC and partners to:
- create new ‘Global Storylines’, where pupils explore challenging global issues within the safe forum of the fictional community that Storyline offers;
- train a cohort of teachers to implement a pilot of the Global Storylines and support their reflection and evaluation;
- provide evidence of positive impact on teachers, pupils and wider community to advocate that Global Storylines are used in all Glasgow Schools;
- build a cohort of confident mentor teachers to support future teachers through peer education beyond the scope of the project.
Last year sixteen primary teachers were involved in the piloting, reflecting and evaluating of the first two Global Storylines. These were The Giant of Thistle Mountain (Level 1 CfE), which explores peace and conflict, and The Water Source (Level 2/3 CfE) which examines interdependence and sustainability.
This year, eighteen primary teachers and four secondary teachers will continue to trial the revisions to last year’s Global Storylines and begin the process of piloting, reflecting and evaluating two more Global Storylines. These new storylines are: Our Food, Our World (Level 1 CfE) which investigates fair-trade and organic farming, and The Farming Community (Level 2 CfE) which explores the issues of food security and land grabbing. For more information contact diana.wosdec@btconnect.com
Storyline in Practice
in Different Countries
Kinnaird Primary School has just completed its first year of a two year Comenius-funded partnership project with Herrhagsskolan, a primary school in Karlstad, Sweden and the Oslo Mottessori School, Norway. All three schools use the Storyline methodology as a framework to support inter-disciplinary learning and were keen to further develop their skills while comparing its impact in different education systems. The project group comprises 3 class teachers from Sweden, 2 from Norway and 2 class teachers and the headteacher from Kinnaird Primary. The initial meeting of the project group took place in Sweden in September 2010. This gave everyone a chance to get to know each other, something which would be vital to the success of the project. The visit included time in classrooms, an explanation of the Swedish education system and an opportunity for each school to share examples of the Storyline work they had previously undertaken. The major part of the visit was creating a Storyline plan which would be implemented in all three schools simultaneously in January and February 2011. More >
Great Scots Storyline
Alison Campbell
Throughout April, May and June, the 26 pupils in P6C at Lochside Primary School, Montrose, Scotland learned about Great Scots through the use of the Scottish Storyline Method.
The aim of the project was to encourage the pupils to discover the numerous famous people that have come from Scotland, and for the pupils to learn in an active, dynamic and exploratory setting. Initially, the idea was presented to the pupils as a task – pupils would be creating a TV programme for the BBC on 7 ‘Great Scots’. The pupils were to split up into 7 'Design Teams' and each created individual characters (and personalities!) who worked for the BBC (e.g. Special Effects, Stylists, News Presenter, Camera Man).
Innovative Teaching Award
July 2011
Congratulations to Fiona McGarry, Lecturer in Education at Dundee University who designed a Storyline Unit as part of the B Ed programme and has been awarded a Highly Commended for Innovative Teaching from the College of Arts and Social Sciences at the University.
Fiona, seen here on the right, was presented with her award on 30th June 2011
International Storyline Project
- Hathaway Brown, Cleveland, Ohio USA
- Skutskar, Sweden
For a period of five-months, classrooms in Cleveland, Ohio in the U.S.A. and Skutskar, Sweden shared a literature-based Storyline using the book Ronia the Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren. Mary Boutton, a teacher at Hathaway Brown School in Cleveland, Ohio, and Michael Haglof, a teacher at Alvboda Friskola in Skutskar, Sweden jointly developed this international collaboration between the two groups of students as an outgrowth of their pen pal relationship that began after the International Storyline Conference in Portland, Oregon. More >
The miraculous
journey of Edward Tulane
During 10 weeks from January-April 2011, 4th-graders at Älvboda friskola in Skutskär, Sweden and 2nd-graders at Hudson Elementary School in Hudson, Wisconsin in the USA shared a literature-based Storyline using the book “The miraculous journey of Edward Tulane” of Kate DiCamillo. More >
Report from Trondheim University NTNU
Anna-Lena Østern and Alex Strømme
Combining art and science through the Scottish Storyline Method in explorations of themes connected to water locally, nationally and globally. 4 tutorials for teachers and teacher educators More >
News from Japan
On May 21st of this year Bruce Lander gave a short presentation about Storyline to fellow foreign language instructors at an educational conference in Matsumoto, Japan. The main objective of Bruce’s talk in Matsumoto was to give an insight into the Storyline Approach, which for the most part is unheard of in the region. The talk was based on a previous meeting with Steve Bell who kindly spared a few hours of his time back in the summer of 2010 to inform Bruce of the value and learning experience that Storyline provides. Steve introduced Bruce to his colleagues in Germany who currently use Storyline in the English as a Foreign language (EFL) context. More >
New Storyline Book in Brazil
Andressa Felipin
We have more news from Storyline Brazil: our third book has been published. aimed at 7th graders, Storyline The Break Time's setting is the school yard and break time activities. It's about fun and about dealing with common problems, such as fighting and bullying. The students' response to this new book has been very positive, just like the previous Storylines - The Farm (5th graders), and The City (6th graders).
There are pictures of our book, our students receiving their books on the big night, the launching, and also from the group of teachers.
Thank you for Storyline.
News from Alaska
Ken Brown, kindergarten and first grade teacher in Two Rivers Elementary School has sent this description of a Storyline recently described in the local press there. Click here for more >
Storyline Conference in Slovenia
Lea Nakrst | 1st April 2011
This conference was held in Ljubjlana, Slovenia. To read the report click here.
Storyline in year 5 at Løkeberg School
Kumi Tømmerbakke
Løkeberg School has established a tradition of carrying out a Storyline in English in year 5. Norwegian pupils start English in the first year of school. By the time they are in year 5 Løkeberg pupils are often familiar with Storyline from using the method in other subjects. The Storyline used in year 5 is called Our Street and centres around families in a street in England. English customs and school life is a major focus. This year two teacher training students from University College of Oslo participated in the Storyline. As a finale to their work, year 5 invited guests who have worked with Storyline from a teacher training perspective from the University College of Oslo.
Storyline Course at
the Police Academy in Oslo
Marit Storhaug & Knut Age Teigen
On February 10th March 2011 the Police Academy in Oslo was the scene of a mini-storyline about "Conflict tackling in a multicultural society". The storyline was part of an inservice course for police officers from different parts in Norway and the course holders were Marit Storhaug from the Teachers College in Oslo (HiO) and Knut Åge Teigen. The main questions were: Should hijab be allowed in the police forces? And what is a good way of performing ID-controls? Read more here...
New books in Norwegian about Storyline
Knut Åge Teigen, March 2011Over the last one and a half years three textbooks have been published in Norway containing articles about Storyline. The articles relate Storyline to reading and writing as basic skills and Storyline as a method for differentiated learning.
"Language - And Reading Guidance - In Theory and Practice"
The book "Språk- og leseveiledning - i teori og praksis / Language- And Reading Guidance - In Theory and Practice" give insight about theory, scientific research and experiences in the field of reading and language guidance. Readers will find many useful ideas and lesson plans designed to improve the reading skills. Cecilie Falkenberg from University College UCC in Copenhagen has written one article about how storyline can a great help when the pupils are acquiring the written language. The article is called "Adventure and involvement in reading education through the storyline method" and in it Falkenberg displays the many possibilities the storyline topic "Forest of the Trolls" gives for varied and systematic language training.
Frost, Jørgen (editor): Språk- og leseveiledning - i teori og praksis. Cappelen Akademiske Forlag
"A guide to differentiated teaching"
In this book, "Veiledning i tilpasset opplæring / A guide to differentiated learning" published by Fagbokforlaget, Marit Storhaug at the Teachers College in Oslo has written a lengthy article about how Storyline can be an effective tool to differentiation in the classroom. She elaborates on this by showing how differentiation is expressed in three different Storyline topics; the Multicultural Street (3rd grade), Parvana - a book based Storyline (7th grade) and Factory town 1850 - the early industrialisation in Norway (8th grade).Stålsett, Unn, Marit Storhaug and Ruth Sandal (editors): Veiledning i tilpasset opplæring. Fagbokforlaget
"Basic skills in all subjects"
According to the Norwegian curriculum there are five basic and obligatory skills in all subjects; reading, writing, oral, math and digital competence. In the book "Grunnleggende ferdigheter i alle fag / Basic skills in all subjects" the authors give examples of how these five skills can be trained in different subjects. Barbara Blair and Hege Emma Rimmereide from the Teachers’ College in Bergen has written an article about "The web competencies in English" in English. In the article Blair and Rimmereide present "The Detective Agency"-Storyline intended for implementation at lower secondary school, years 8-10. This Storyline is inspired by Roger Fisher´s "Detective Agency", Storyline Design, USA, and all the basic five skills are included in a number of activites.Traavik, Hallås and Ørvig (editors): Grunnleggende ferdigheter i alle fag. Universitetsforlaget
Japan – a new Storyline Connection
Bruce Lander | March 2011
Bruce, a university lecturer of foreign languages in Matsuyama University, Ehime Japan, has recently been following the development of Storyline Scotland with the intention of starting an interest group in Japan. Bruce met Steve Bell in the summer of 2010 where he learned about the adaptation of the Storyline Approach. Steve kindly put Bruce in touch with several contacts in Germany who utilize the approach in foreign language education there. A short paper introducing Storyline to the education industry and English language educators in Japan will be published in March of this year. Bruce will also be hopefully talking at a national conference in May of this year to introduce the concept to his Japanese counterparts. There is potential to further increase the international boundaries of Storyline, now to Japan.
Storyline News from Hamburg
Simon Bower, 28th February 2011
The teachers are having a good time here at Schule An der Gartenstadt in Hamburg working with storyline. We have just had a project week storyline where the whole school worked with that approach. It was great! You will find some links to articles on our homepage below (but they are all in German).
Website Links: Link 1 | Link 2 | Link 3 | Link 4
Fred W Rendell 1931 – 2011
An appreciation and official obituary
Storyliners worldwide will be sad to hear of the death of Fred Rendell on 9th January 2011. Soon after his retirement Fred became ill with a form of Parkinson's disease. During the long years of his illness he was cared for by his loving and supportive wife Sheila. He ended his days in Erskine Park Care Home with Sheila, son John and daughter Susan at his bedside. He is survived also by three grandchildren who were indeed the apple of his eye.
Fred Rendell was an inspirational teacher and leader of the Inservice Staff Tutor Team at Jordanhill College from 1973 until he retired in 1987. His keen intellect and natural sense of humour proved irresistible to those who attended his courses. He was a ‘born teacher’ and enjoyed immensely using these natural gifts and his rich educational experiences to the full. It was in those years of the 70s and 80s that what we now call Storyline was ‘born’. No-one knew then how well this approach would spread and develop into a worldwide movement – a tremendous legacy. Recent Storyline publications have paid tribute to his influence by being dedicated to him.
Several of our international colleagues who remember working with him have contacted us to express their sorrow at his passing and to describe how grateful they were for his influence. Cecilie Falkenberg of the University College of Copenhagen, Denmark, Prof. Jos Letschert of Twente University in the Netherlands, Dr Beate Grabbe of Hamburg and Gudmundur Kristmundsson of the Teachers’ University of Iceland are old friends who gained much from studying his work.
Jeff Creswell, Director of Storyline Design in Portland, Oregon, remembers his first meeting with him. “Fred's death is a great loss to Storyline and to education. I can only imagine the number of children's lives he touched both directly and indirectly over his long and creative career. I had the pleasure of attending one of Fred's last workshops at Jordanhill when I came up for the Fulbright workshop the year I was teaching on Mersea. Although Fred had already retired, he came back to do this workshop with Steve, a workshop he had done many times. We worked on his Early Islanders Storyline. He was charming, engaging, intelligent, and warm. I have always been grateful that I had this experience with him."By clicking on ‘more information’ you can read the official obituary written by Arnold Bell, a colleague and close friend, published in the Herald, Glasgow, on 17th February 2011.
Storyline in Trondheim
10th and 11th February 2011
John Alexander Strømme & Lise Vikan Sandvik
For two days Steve Bell visited the University in Trondheim (NTNU), Norway in order to arrange two Storyline courses for teacher students, teachers and teacher educators. The aim of the course was to create a better understanding of the concept of Storyline. The teacher education at NTNU has for the last three years promoted Storyline as an inquiry based teaching method in all subjects, and the method has also been explored in a school based research EU-projectlead by Professor Anna-Lena Østern, involving teacher educators, teacher students and teachers at the research school. After two successful days discussing and exploring the Storyline method and its potential, we are even more inspired to continue our work on creating new stories for our student teachers and pupils!
My Scottish Experience
Theresa Kuenzel, Karlsruhe, Germany, February 2011
The Storyline Method extended my opportunities in life – 16 fabulous weeks in a Scottish school
My name is Theresa Künzel and I will be a teacher for Primary and Secondary Schools in Germany. I got to know the Storyline Method during my stay abroad at Halmstad University, Sweden 2007/2008. Then I decided to attend the International Storyline Conference in Gothenburg in Spring 2008. Both, Steve Bell and Ulf Schwänke, whom I got to know at the conference, encouraged me to write my final paper at my home university about the Storyline Method - which I did sucessfully but I wanted to learn more about the Storyline Method. That is why I got in contact with Steve and Sallie. Steve suggested that I get in touch with his daughter Pamela Adamson who is the headteacher of Kinnaird Primary School in Falkirk, Scotland.
It was arranged that I could spend the beginning of September to Christmas 2010 there. Thankfully the stay was funded by the ERASMUS scholarship through my home university in Karlsruhe, Germany.
At Kinnaird I worked mainly in a P5 class (age 8/9) as a teaching assistant but was always warmly invited to other classes working with the Storyline Method. During my stay I saw Storylines about fairy land, a shopping centre, elderly people in the community and junior apprentice.
In short it was a great time with lots of experience! I could not only learn from my fabulous teacher and her colleagues who allowed me to have a 16 week insight into their teaching, class routines and school life from which I will definitely profit in my own teaching career but also from the amazing experience to live in this stunning country. Scotland is inhabited with warm and welcoming people who I already miss! I cannot thank them enough for the wonderful time I enjoyed during my stay.
Our Farm
A Storyline Topic in a primary school in Pargas, Finland
Ann-Catherine Henriksson
The curriculum in year five in the primary school in Finland tells us to teach about how our food is produced and about the plants and the animals that provides us with food. Although we live in a small town many of the pupils have never seen a living cow or been on a real farm. More >
Storyline & Maths Courses
In May and September 2010 two sucessful courses were run in Stockholm combining Storyline and mathematics. More >
Storyline articles in German magazine
Doctorate Success for Rhonda
Congratulations Rhonda Mitchell-Barrett who will receive
her doctorate in Janurary
Her thesis was based on an analysis of the Storyline method in primary school; its theoretical underpinnings and its impact on pupils’ intrinsic motivation. This study explored the relationship between the Scottish Storyline teaching method and pupils’ levels of motivation when engaged in a Storyline topic. It also examined the theoretical underpinnings for Storyline drawn from constructivism, progressive education, drama methodology and intrinsic motivation. more>
Sallie Harkness brings Good News from Portland, Oregon!
When the invitation to attend the marriage of Storyline Design Director, Jeff Creswell and Caryl Menkhus, Director of Training for the Godly Play Foundation, arrived in Newton Mearns I was delighted to find that my diary was clear for the last week in November so I wasted no time in contacting my travel agent.
In less than twenty four hours I was booked with KLM/Delta through Schipol direct to Portland.
Storyline in North Yorkshire
Jill Wells and Kathy Robson
A new, exciting Storyline project involving three secondary schools and five primary schools is taking place in North Yorkshire, England at the moment. Inspired by an ‘Introduction to storyline’ presentation run by Jill Wells, Kathy Robson, Subject leader and Assistant Headteacher at Lady Lumley’s School in Pickering, researched the potential of using the Storyline approach for second language teaching and then decided to bid for a grant to undertake a transition venture based on Modern Foreign Languages with three secondary schools and five primary schools. This was organised through the ‘Links into Languages’ group from Yorkshire and The Humber. After a great deal of hard work Kathy was successful and a storyline group was formed. Continued >
17th The Golden Circle Seminar
Kloster St Lioba, Freiburg, Germany
Doris Kocher – Organiser
1st to 3rd October 201034 participants from 11 countries met in the very comfortable conference centre connected to the Convent of St Lioba in Freiburg. The outstanding feature of this Seminar was perhaps that there was a larger group of young teachers and a widening representation from new countries. Pauline Adams from the Netherlands replaced recently retired Golden Circle members. Serkan Guney and Sule Tepetas from Istanbul and Ankara described their interest in spreading Storyline in Turkey. Lea Nakrst has already created a Storyline Slovenia website. This development was balanced by the attendance of our old and dear friend Ingelise Jorgensen from Copenhagen, who struggled through ill health to join us, supported by her caring friend Anelise Birkvad. We are always thrilled with the support of the American contingent and Jeff Creswell & Todd Stewart Rinier of Storyline Design attended together with Jeff’s fiancé Caryl Menkhus. Wendy Emo from South Dakota University was also an active participant. It was great to have them with us.
Marie Jeanne MacNaughton told us of her new research project Storyline in Global Education. Sharon Ahlquist from Kristianstad University in Sweden described her research on ESL teaching using Storyline. This also featured in the presentations by Gisela Ehlers from IQSH Kiel and Inga Riedel a young German teacher who talked about her experience of using Storyline in Hauptschule. Mait Adegard, a regular member of the group and now an adviser working for the Stockholm Education Authority was very active in the discussions as was her Swedish colleague Erik Lindberg, a Storyline tutor. It is always fascinating to hear from Cecilie Falkenberg, University College of Copenhagen, who described her design for a teaching training certificate for older members of the Royal Danish Ballet. Karen Margrethe Sorensen described the classroom results of a most entertaining topic about Emil (which has been developed in collaboration with Hanne Jacobsen who was not able to attend.) Edith Mark added to the strong Danish presence by representing the use of Storyline in nurse research and training and her husband Niels-Peter Lund Jacobsen has a special interest in religious education.
It was good to welcome our two headteachers from England in the persons of Jill Wells and Lorna Karetnyk and also to have elder statesman Ulf Schwaenke with us from Hamburg. Ase Paulsen Skiftun a librarian and teacher in an Upper Secondary School in Kvinesdal was the sole representative from Norway and described her close Storyline association with Agder University.
A very important programme item was the presentation by Gudmundur Kristmundsson and Bjorg Eiriksdottir of Iceland in which they told us of their plans for the 5th International Storyline Conference to be held in the University of Iceland, Reykjavik, from 9th to 11th August 2012. The discussion which followed was designed to provide ideas for the content of the conference programme.
As the seminar was coming to a close Sallie Harkness thanked all the participants and paid tribute to Steve Bell who in the year 2010 has completed 50 years in education and coincidentally 50 years of marriage. Steve was presented with a book that contained tributes from his Storyline colleagues all over the world.
Our hostess Doris Kocher had planned everything to perfection including cultural visits to places of historical interest and we are very grateful for all her hard work on our behalf. Freiburg is beautiful and we all felt that we had enjoyed a rewarding and stimulating weekend.
Doris Kocher and Ingelise Jorgensen
Links to News items from Hamburg
Simon Bower
Link to website Fortbildung Storyline mit Steve Bell (in German)
Link to website Newsflash Project (In English)
The Story of a School
Ox Close Primary School, Spennymoor, Durham
“Spennymoor Ox” was a community celebration of the history and contemporary use of Ox Close Community Garden adjacent to the primary school. It was designed to offer a lyrical evocation of the relatively recent but easily forgotten past and provide a permanent link to it. The Grand Opening took place on Friday 17th September 2010 with afternoon and evening programmes of a variety of events marking the main features of the garden: the pathways, the beech circle, the new log cabin, the mound, the mini beast zone, the pond, the bird hide and the growing beds... Continued >Opening of Art Exhibition
by Jos Letschert “Double Dutch”
Levantehaus, Hamburg, 22 Oct 2010
Dr Jos Letschert, founding member of Storyline International and host to the first Golden Circle Seminar in 1989 held in Enschede, Holland, retired last year from his joint position as Professor at Twente University and Curriculum Designer at the SLO Institute for Curriculum Design in the Netherlands. Now he has entered a new career as artist and painter. Encouraged and supported by his wife Beate (host of the 1997 Golden Circle Seminar in Hamburg) he has presented his first major exhibition in the Galerie Levantehaus. At the official opening by the Gallery manager on Friday 22nd October 2010 several colleagues from the SLO attended as did a host of other friends from Germany and abroad. Over 60 paintings and drawings of stunning quality provided a rich focus for all the visitors.
Oslo University College
Studytour to Glasgow
11th to 15th October 2010
This annual visit by Norwegian student teachers to Glasgow once again involved Sallie Harkness and Steve Bell in a Storyline presentation in the Pearce Institute, Govan, on Tuesday 12th October. Around 70 participants attended led by lecturer Sigurd Bergflod, supported by three of his colleagues, Knut, Paal & Sissel. As always we shared an enjoyable educational workshop as an introduction to the Storyline Approach and Sallie also described Book-based Topics as an alternative to using our own stories. The study tour included a historical study of Govan, visits to Glasgow Art Galleries and Science Museum, to New Lanark and Edinburgh - not to mention a tour of Glengoyne Distillery.
Storyline Conference in Denmark
22nd September 2010
The above conference was held in the lecture theatre of the University College Syddanmark in Haderslev, Denmark and organised by Merete Vaerge and a team of Nurse Tutors who have a special interest in Storyline. The full programme in Danish can be seen by clicking on ‘more information’. The keynote speakers were Edith Mark, a nursing researcher specialising in clinics for eating disorders in young people, Lynda Schumann Scheel, a member of the Nurse Education Board which has included Storyline in its training programme and Steve Bell of Storyline Scotland. These presentations were followed by short workshops by Karen Margrethe Sorenson, Poul Hansen and Bente Reggelsen. As can be seen from the photographs the event was well attended by students, teachers and lecturers who seemed enthusiastic about the experience.
Photo: from L to R : Edith Mark, Karen Margrethe Sorensen, Linda Schumann Scheel, Steve Bell, Merete Vaerge, Bente Reggelsen, Edel Thomsen.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
The Storyline Teaching Method -
Encouraging Children to Become Independent Learners
On Tuesday 24th August 2010 Sallie Harkness and Steve Bell gave a presentation on Storyline as an educational approach to cross-curricular teaching at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. They were delighted to discover that there was a full house of 175 people, mostly teachers, in the RBS Corner Theatre in Charlotte Square. The chairman, Carol Woods, an educational consultant, film maker and member of the organising committee introduced the session explaining that she had experienced Storyline as a young teacher and was convinced of its value. Steve began by describing how teachers could design a storyline topic in partnership with their pupils. Sallie then explained how book-based Storylines had been developed, quoting from picture and chapter books, and showing examples of classroom work. Audience questions followed but all too soon time was up. The United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) minibook "Storyline – Language across the Curriculum" was on sale in the Festival Bookshop so the evening finished with a book-signing which enabled further discussion with members of the audience.
International Trio meet in Sweden
Steve Bell
During the year 2008 three young international student teachers benefited from the Erasmus scholarships to do their practical teaching studies in Halmstad, Sweden. They were Sule Tepetas , from the University of Ankara in Turkey, Lea Nakrst from Slovenia and Theresa Kuenzel from Germany. The three became firm friends and discovered a mutual interest for their studies in Storyline. In the Swedish schools they could see Storyline in action and this attracted them. Click here to continue >
Theresa Kuenzel, Sule Tepetas & Lea Nakrst
“Sunshine Tours”
The Comenius Summer Course in Glasgow
Using Storyline for Teaching ESL
Inga Riedel | August 2010
During the first week in August, a group of international primary teachers met in Strathclyde University, Glasgow, to find out more about the Storyline approach and its use in teaching English as a Second Language. In this special environment, we created the Storyline “Capital Tours”, in which our families “travelled” to different European capitals: Rome, Paris and London. The creative work on the Storyline made it easy to relate it to our different classroom situations and to pack a suitcase full of new ideas. Many thanks to Gisela Ehlers, Hannelore Tait and Steve Bell, who presented an eventful, motivating and unforgettable week for the group. Working on the Storyline in this warm and inspiring atmosphere was great fun and helped create family-bonds for life.
Storyline for Secondary teacher?
Yes, it’s possible!
Christina Roewe
A day later a group of European Secondary teachers arrived in Glasgow. We also created a Storyline with the topic “Capital Tours”, but with the emphasis on Secondary teaching. The colleagues from Portugal, Spain, Rumania, Germany, Italy and Sweden had the chance to find out how the method Storyline works and motivates pupils and teachers. It was a great pleasure to work with Steve Bell and to meet Sally Harkness. A special thanks goes to Gisela Ehlers and Hannelore Tait who did a perfect job in planning and organising the week and in motivating and inspiring the group. We all went home with a suitcase full of ideas! Thank you!New Storyline Slovenia Website
Lea Nakrst, a primary teacher in Slovenia, has created the first Storyline website in that country. She is hoping that it will prove to be a useful resource for her colleagues. Her first contact with Storyline was while she was studying at the University of Halmstad in Sweden. This impetus encouraged her to use it on her return to Slovenia and now her interest just grows and grows.
www.storyline.si
Storyline in Ohio, USA
18th June 2010
Sallie Harkness, Storyline Scotland and Jeff Creswell of Storyline Design are busily engaged in presenting a two-day Storyline course to the Teachers in Hathaway Brown School in Ohio. Teachers there have been experimenting with the approach for some time and their interest in this pedagogy is demonstrated by the most attractive booklet which they have produced describing their experiences in using Storyline in the school.
MEd Children’s Literature & Literacies
This exciting new programme, the first of its kind in Scotland, offers students the opportunity to consider the central concerns of the field of children’s literature and literacy teaching in the light of new perspectives and offers the chance to deepen expertise in specialist areas. It affords course members the opportunity to take a literary and critical stance to well loved texts as well as introducing them to contemporary authors and texts which push the boundaries of children’s literature.
Association for Development of Early Childhood Education in Turkey
Spring Conference, Ankara University,
4th March 2010
Steve Bell
Prof. Dr. Gelengül Haktanır, Executive Committee Chair of the above association had come into contact with Storyline through the interest of her PhD student Sule Tepetas. While an Erasmus scholar working in teaching practice in Halmstad, Sweden, Sule had observed Storyline in action. She was attracted to the approach and decided to use it in her research study. It was for this reason that Prof. Haktanir wrote to invite Sallie Harkness and Steve Bell of Storyline Scotland to be keynote speakers at the Spring Conference of the Association. The event was held in the magnificent lecture theatre in Ankara University and was followed by two workshop courses which lasted for the rest of the day. Simultaneous translation helped the presenters enormously during their lectures and these same interpreters continued to assist the tutors during the workshops. A team of organizers led by Dr Arif Yilmaz had prepared the workshops so effectively that it made it very easy for Sallie and Steve and the participants were enthusiastic in their response. Although this was a first Storyline visit to Ankara it is hoped the links will continue and develop. Many thanks are due to all those involved.
First Storyline Conference in Turkey
Steve Bell
Avrupa College in Istanbul is a large and prestigious private educational institute linked to Kent State University in USA.
Serkan Guney, Director of Curriculum Development in the College had spent some years in Denmark both as a child and as a student teacher and had thus come into contact with the Storyline Approach. In 2003 he attended the 2nd International Storyline Conference in Elsinore, Denmark, and his interest and enthusiasm for the pedagogy continued as a teacher in his homeland. He is at present studying for his PhD using Storyline and he has established a website at www.storylineturkiye.com
So, it was because of his interest that Ebru Arpaci, Vice General Manager of Avrupa College, wrote a letter of invitation to Sallie Harkness & Steve Bell to be keynote speakers at a Storyline Conference held in the College, followed by a series of workshop sessions for participants. Simultaneous translation was provided for the lectures and language teachers from the College provided an excellent service as interpreters during the workshops. Around 100 delegates attended and everything went very smoothly. The organizing team deserves sincere thanks for its efficient preparation.
Vildan, Serkan and Sule
Steve, Ebru and SallieLearning Foreign Languages
through Storyline
Knut Age Teigen
Snöball Film, Norway
How can students learn a foreign language through the Storyline approach? A new film from Snöball Film documents how this is done in an 8th grade class at Ringstabekk skole in Bærum.The students had been learning German for half a year when their teacher, Ulrikke Smith, introduced Storyline to the class. For the next six weeks the students created their own little town in Germany which they decided to call Kleinstad.
The Storyline film is part of a series of films showing different approaches in teaching foreign languages. The project is a collaboration between Snöball Film and the Norwegian Centre for Foreign Languages in Education.
In December 2009 the DVD with the films was sent to all middle and secondary schools in Norway.
Click here to see the film >
Storyline Courses in Sweden
Steve Bell has been invited to give courses for Stockholm City Council Education Department on Storyline and Mathematics.
Course 1 - 20 & 21 May 2010
Course 2 - 23 & 24 September 2010
The Scottish Parliament – A Storyline
Samantha Todd, 3rd Year B.Ed student
Moray House, Faculty of Education, Edinburgh University
Working in Roseburn P. School, Edinburgh
This Storyline was designed as a study of the Scottish Parliament. The plan was that the pupils would use their existing knowledge of the parliamentary system and learn more within a structured role-play activity. They would look at what the parliament does, how it is run and how elections work. As a culminating event we would make a visit to Holyrood and benefit from the ‘parliament outreach’ visiting the school.
The aims of this study include learning to investigate the features of an election and the work of representatives at a local, national and European level in order to develop a deeper understanding of how democracy works.
Storyline Tour from Norway to USA
Jeff Creswell
Director, Storyline Design, Portland, Oregon
26 Feb 2010This week we welcomed four teachers from Ringstabekk School in Oslo, Norway, who were on a study tour to Oregon. They have come to find out more about Storyline because they want to get it going again in their school and there are so many new teachers at the school who have not had a Storyline experience.
During their programme they visited Sunnyside School on Wednesday and then we had a dinner reception for them at my house with about fifteen people, most of them from last summer’s Storyline conference planning committee. They spent Thursday at MLC and were able to see Storyline in two different high school classes and in the 4x6 team. This morning we toured Jefferson High School and then they went to Irvington until noon when I took them to the airport. All four of the visitors were in their late twenties so they are young teachers with a lot of energy. I think it was a good way to spread the Storyline message as they are going back to Ringstabekk with lots of enthusiasm and new ideas. I think each one of them found a teacher to do some kind of exchange with. We really enjoyed having them here.
Photo from left. Erland, Idar, Georg, Jeff, and Olav at IrvingtonStoryline Courses in Turkey
Sallie Harkness and Steve Bell have been invited to present courses in Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey, on the 13th & 14th March 2010.
Chydenius University
Kokkola, Finland
Steve Bell
Storyline Course on 8th & 9th February 2010
33 Teachers from the Kokkola area of Finland attended this two day course on Storyline which was organised by Anette Dahlvik, Director of Inservice at the University. The new building provided a beautiful working environment for the participants. There was a wide variety of experience and interest in the group and several of those attending wished to find out how Storyline could be used in Second Language Teaching. Ann-Maj Björkell-Holm, Rector at Vasa Arbis, an old friend and Storyline tutor, also attended and supported the course.
Staffansby Primary School
Helsinki, Finland
Storyline Course on 10th & 11th February 2010
In 2009 the staff of Staffansby Primary School came on a study tour to Scotland. Although based in Edinburgh they made the trip through to Old Kilpatrick to see Storyline being used very successfully by the staff of Gavinburn Primary School in the District of West Dunbartonshire. They were so impressed by what they saw of the work by Gillian Penney, HT, and her staff that they decided to organise a Storyline course in their own school in Helsinki. Steve Bell was invited to present a two-day course on 10th and 11th February 2010. He was most impressed by the fact that the teachers worked each morning, teaching until 1230 and then attended the course from 1300 to 1800. It must have been exhausting for them but it didn’t seem to affect the interest and enthusiasm of the group. Many thanks should go to Birgitta Ponthin, the headteacher, for her efficient organisation and generous hospitality.
Village Storyline
Fiona Kilpatrick
Wallacestone Primary School in Falkirk Council District
The Dinosaur Museum
Rebecca Hamilton
Onthank Primary School, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.
This past term I used the Storyline approach to implement an environmental studies topic of dinosaurs with my P3 class in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire. The children became palaeontologists for the term and worked together to open a dinosaur museum! They were very excited to get to work and loved wearing their palaeontologist identity badges whenever we worked in our museum. The Storyline offered many cross-curricular opportunities for learning and I focused on developing critical thinking skills. The palaeontologists were very busy with museum life – making a giant model brachiosaurus, filming an advert for the museum, experimenting with how to make a volcano explode and reading eye witness testimonies when our fossils were stolen! The Storyline culminated in planning a grand opening and inviting parents to come and visit our dinosaur museum. The Storyline harnessed the children’s enthusiasm to learn and was enjoyed by all.A Danish Experience
in a Scottish School
Ana Sofia Pimenta
I am a student from Denmark who, for the last couple of months, has experienced life working in a Scottish school. This has been quite an adventure for me and what a culture change I met.
more...
Storyline News from Brazil
Andressa Felipin who is a member of the team of Second Language teachers (pictured below) has indicated how useful they are finding the books produced by Gisela Ehlers and her group for the Comenius Project “Creative Dialogues”. “This sharing can only be of great assistance to us,” she says,” and it will help us develop new ways to design our own teaching materials. So far we have been amazed at the children’s responses and this has motivated us to continue our Storyline work here in South Brazil."
Angela de Jesus, Andressa Felipin, Liane Risso, Irmgat Nielsen, Maria Luiza Luchese
Simone Schmitt, Ana Betine Mueller, Zelir Schneider and Márcia Schmalz
B.Ed 4 Storyline
Elective Workshop Course
Lorna A Reid
As a class we have approached Storyline as pupils, fully participating in the activities and becoming engaged with the characters we have created. This has given us insights into how children might feel as they are involved in their Storylines. This is probably the best class we have attended over the four years as it enables us as teachers to embrace the spirit of a Curriculum for Excellence and teach across the curriculum. Storyline is a must for all teachers, experienced and trainees.
Visit of students from
Oslo University College
6th October 2009, Sigurd Bergflødt
Nearly seventy students with teachers from Oslo University College met Steve Bell and Sallie Harkness at the Pearce Institute in Govan, Glasgow on Tuesday 6th October 2009. This was the fourth year in a row that we got our annual introduction to the Storyline method. The previous years we`ve had an introductory course before attending the lecture in Scotland, but this year Steve and Sallie gave the students their first meeting with Storyline. The students had an inspiring and eye-opening morning with the Storyline presenters. They were introduced to the core principles of Storyline in a “learning by doing “manner. They created families and played different roles as fathers / mothers / children. They went travelling throughout Europe, focusing on both geography and social issues, and always with a focus on learning, thanks to the “key questions”. Since their return home many of them have already tried out the Storyline method in different classes during visits to schools. Their responses to the method have been nothing but positive, and their reaction has been that Storyline has proven a useful teaching tool for them."
Storyline at a Distance
Todd Stewart-Rinier
One of the most valuable components of Storyline is collaboration. The social skills that develop through working and problem solving with others in a Storyline are exactly the kinds of collaborative skills that are necessary in larger arenas. Increasingly the problems we face are such that they require collaborative solutions: within communities, between states and between countries. So collaboration between students working on a Storyline project can truly prepare students for the future. That said, the question arises, how might one group of students work with another group of students in another town on the same Storyline? Or on a larger scale, how might an international collaboration be achieved between groups of students who live thousands of miles apart, or are in different time zones or who speak different mother tongues? More information >
Der Storyline Approach
Task based teaching für die Arbeit mit heterogenen Lerngruppen
Martinshaus, Rendsburg
18th to19th September 2009
This popular annual workshop course is organised by Gisela Ehlers of the Institute for Teacher training in Kiel. It attracts teachers of general subjects working in primary and secondary schools who also wish to teach English as a Second Language. The course started with a practical workshop using the topic Circus. The presenters for the first day were Hannelore Tait, a tutor working for the Institute, and Steve Bell of Storyline Scotland. The characters, members of the performing acts in the Circus, were created and a frieze of the Circus Tent was made. This lively context led to the discussion of the many language activities which can be practised as the story develops. On the first evening Gisela gave a presentation on Second Language Teaching based on the contents of the two books she and her team had produced for a recent Comenius Project. The second day continued with this interesting mixture of practice and theory. The discussion focussed on the many ways in which the individual development of language skills can be enhanced and supported by the use of Storyline.
EED Changes name
to Storyline International
at 9.00am on Monday 10th August 2009
at Menucha Golden Circle Seminar, Oregon, USA
Storyline "Yes, we can"
Inga Riedel
This Storyline has been designed by me and then implemented by a seventh grade class in a lower high school (Hauptschule) in Schleswig Holstein, Germany. Starting with a fact file of Hurricane Katrina, the students decided to rebuild an area of New Orleans - the characters, the houses and shops. The Storyline has seven episodes. As part of my teacher training examination I wrote a dissertation about its design. The goals were to help the students to work on their speaking and writing skills in English and, in my opinion it was successful and the class participated well. My dissertation is, of course, in German.
For further information please don’t hesitate to contact me: inga.riedel@gmx.netStoryline outline
Thesis (in German)
Storyline, a Strategy for
Active Learning & Adapted Education
September 2009
Bodø University College, Norway
Anne Grete Solstad is a lecturer in pedagogy / educational theory at Bodø University College in Northern Norway.
She knew of Storyline from the writings of Liv Torunn Eik of Tønsberg University College but she says that the "revelation” came after attending the 3rd International Storyline Conference in Elsinore, Denmark in 2003. While there she bought Jeff Creswell’s book ‘Creating Worlds, Constructing Meaning’ which she found extremely good, and has used a lot since then. It has increased her understanding and reflection and demonstrated the learning possibilities, and also what to think about and plan to avoid the "pitfalls”.
Every year since 2004 she has arranged a two day compulsory induction course for all their first-year teacher students. The practice teachers are invited to participate because they want the students to do a Storyline in the following practice period. In that way they hope to prepare the students to implement storylines later on as qualified teachers. The idea is that doing the method themselves is one important qualification. But it is even more important to do a Storyline with pupils, thus gaining experience and skills and perceptions in a safe situation.
She has written an article based on the project which is called
“Storyline, a strategy for active learning and adapted education.
A co-operative project between teacher education and practice schools”.
To read her paper click hereStoryline Approach
in the Foreign Language Classroom
Strathclyde University Glasgow, 26 July to 8 August 2009
Medical Research & Storyline
Edith Mark PhD
Aalborg Hospital, Aarhus University, Denmark
Some years ago I became interested in the use of narrative to help encourage children to communicate in situations where we were discussing sensitive issues. Shortly afterwards I read about the Storyline approach to education. I noticed that an American workshop course was being run by Storyline Design in Portland, Oregon and applied. I welcomed the experience and this convinced me of the efficacy of creating a context which supports the learner and provides a structure for discussion. The outcome is in the form of a publication explaining my PhD studies. It describes my attempt to use Storyline in my research of children's experiences with restrictive eating (the children were overweight or suffered from type 1 diabetes). The book in Danish is called "Restriktiv spisning i narrativ belysning" 2009, published by Aalborg Sygehus, ISBN 978-87-90880-21-7
Report on 4th
International Storyline Conference
Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Maria & Michael Haglöf, Swedish Participants
Maria & Michael Haglöf are teachers at Älvboda Friskola, Stockholm, Sweden and have had a long association with and interest in the use of Storyline in the classroom. This summer they attended the 4th International Storyline Conference in Portland, Oregon. The conference planning team was led by Jeff Creswell, Director of Storyline Design, Shelly Othus, Office Manager of Storyline Design, Cheryl Livneh, Director of Continuing Education at the Faculty of Education, Portland State University and Cathie Anderson, Program Specialist, Graduate School of Education. The conference was supported by the European Association for Educational Design which was renamed Storyline International in honour of this first International Storyline Conference being held outside Europe. This comprehensive description is their personal experience of the Conference and a Swedish version can be found at www.storyline.nu
Click to the Report in Swedish
Click to the Report in EnglishAncient Egypt Storyline
with a Surprising Outcome
After Bernadette Kelly, class teacher, Bowhouse Primary School, Falkirk Council District had attended a Storyline presentation in Edinburgh she was persuaded to try to introduce the approach into her P3 classroom and with the help of Yvonne MacBlain, a Creativity Support Teacher, she found it very rewarding. So, when she started a topic on Ancient Egypt she did so with enthusiasm but was amazed at the outcome and the turn of events. To read more click here.
Who are the US Americans?
'Article from the Catlin Gable Caller'
.jpg)
.jpg)
