News Archive 1
Storyline
News
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Archive 2
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Archive 3
Class 8.c working on The International Storyline Conference 2 in Elsinore
Class 8.c working on The International Storyline Conference 2 in Elsinore.
During The 2nd International Storyline Conference in Elsinore the students of Class 8.c (14-15 years old) from Rosenlundskolen, Denmark, were working at the conference with their Storyline "The Negotiation Policy in occupied Denmark during the 2nd World War", written by their teacher Simon Fougt. The pupils' characters are met with the historical German demands to the Danish government and are to analyse them and decide what to do. The objective of the Storyline is to give the pupils a deeper understanding of the situation - being occupied with a limited freedom - NOT to teach them the content - what the Danish government actually did.
Simon Fougt is working with the Storyline approach with older pupils, especially in history - and society, teaching in the public school in Denmark.
International Energy Project
Ringstabekk School, Norway
A new multinational energy company, ENERTIBE, was established in Baerum, Norway, last autumn. The company has branches on all continents and you'll find ENERTIBE in countries such as USA, China, South-Africa, Chile and India. It's all about green and alternative energy and ENERTIBE tries to follow up what was discussed at United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Johannesburg in the same period.
The teacher Knut Åge Teigen, Ringstabekk skole, Baerum, together with two students are the authors of an article where they present and comment on this storyline.
Read the article here;
http://klikk.ls.no/article.cfm?id=1351&cat=52&theme=3International Business Development
Using Storyline in Haram Upper Secondary School, Norway
Two years ago a group of staff and colleagues from local businesses working in Haram Upper Secondary School in Norway visited Glasgow to find out more about using Storyline for their educational purposes.
Jan Magne Helland and Ivar Roald, the leaders of the study tour, have just been in contact to inform me about the latest developments. They report that since then they have expanded and developed further their way of using Storyline in close co-operation with industry and commerce.
They state that for the next few years they will develop a new future-oriented study offer which they call International Business Development (IBD). Storyline as a method has turned out to be suitable when they use industry and commerce as an extended learning area. They will try to develop this further when their students accompany the local firms to their international learning area. A report and a summary of their experiences can be reached by clicking here.
Storyline Summer School 2003: Portland, Oregon
This summer Barbara and John Frame of Edinburgh University were invited to work with Jeff Creswell to run two courses at Parkrose Community School in Portland, Oregon, from August 13th and 22nd.
The first course was the alumni course, specially organised for experienced Storyline teachers and held over three days. The focus this year was to explore the nature and use of key questioning. During the course participants also produced articles for the Storyline Design newsletter and designed topic outlines for the forthcoming semester. The newsletter articles were broad ranging and stimulating and were indicative of the depth of Storyline thinking experienced by the participants.
The second course was held over five days for teachers new to Storyline. For the first two and a half days the participants worked on a ‘restaurant’ theme, bringing to life a whole mall of varied and stimulating eating places. The remainder of the course was devoted to reflecting on learning and teaching, examining their curricular targets and planning their own topics.
Both courses were characterised by high levels of enthusiasm, commitment and creativity amongst the participants. Good humour was also in abundance. Examples of the restaurants they produced can be accessed by clicking here
News Item in Norwegian E-Magazine
Knut Aage Teigen, a teacher at Ringstabekk skole, Oslo, has written about the forthcoming International Storyline Conference and its significance to Norwegian teachers. The article can be reached by clicking on http://www.klikk.ls.no/article.cfm?id=1350&cat=46
Storyline Provides a Lifeline in Post-War Kosovo
A personal reflection by Sallie Harkness
Storyline was first transported to Kosovo (previously part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and now under the administrative control of the United Nations) by Danish colleagues Anelise Rasmussen and Ingelise Jorgensen. Topics used as exemplars on their courses were 'the Community House', 'the Flower Shop' and 'Trucking'. In June 2003 I had the privilege to work with Anelise in Pristina where we gave a fourth Storyline course for teachers using 'Land of Storybook' as our exemplar. Please click here to read about our experience and to see some photographs
New Storyline books in Norwegian
Tor Arne Wølner of the Vestfold College of Education has just informed me that two new books have been published by the University Publishers in Oslo this August. The authors are Liv Torun Eik, Janne Fauskanger, Knut Rune Olsen and Tor Arne Wølner. To keep up to date with all the Storyline literature available in Norwegian and other Scandinavian languages please click on:
www-lu.hive.no/storyline/litteratur/Vancouver Conference
The international Conference on Imagination and Education held in the Coast Plaza Hotel, Vancouver from 16th to 19th July attracted over 300 international participants and proved to be a very stimulating forum for discussion on a wide range of educational topics. This conference was the first organised by IERG (Imaginative Education Research Group) established just over two years ago in Simon Fraser University and I am sure that, after this successful venture, it will not be long before it is repeated. To find out more about the members of the group and about the conference please visit the Ierg website by clicking here: www.ierg.net
Professor Jos Letschert
Many of you will know Dr Jos Letschert as the Director of Primary Education at the SLO (Institute for Curriculum Development in the Netherlands) as well as being a founder member of the EED (European association for Educational Design). Recently the SLO decided to create a new chair at the University of Twente and Jos has been invited to be the first Professor in the field of Curriculum Studies in Basic Education. This is a part-time post and will not affect his present position with the Institute. One of his intentions is to start research activities in Storyline. We congratulate him and wish him all the very best in his new post.
First news of Storyline in Turkey
Serkan Yaþar Güney is an elementery school teacher in Bilkent University Preparatory School, an international school in Ankara, Turkey. He teaches 4th and 5th graders in social studies and science. He heard about the Storyline method 3 years ago and shortly afterwards decided to experiment with it. He is presently completing his master's degree at Hacettepe University and hopes to finish by July. As part of his research thesis for this he has designed and implemented a social studies Storyline called "Our Beautiful Country, Turkey". The teaching of the topic was begun on 17th February and a photographic record has been made. For a summary of his work and some of the photographic evidence please click here.
Article in Stockholm Teachers' Magazine
This article covers the major principles in Storyline teaching as it describes the reaction of the children to their topic, taught by Mie Petterssons and her colleague Susanne Laudon in Södermalmsskolan. The excitement, fun and motivation lead to memorable learning situations
"Activate the Attic"
This is a series of materials designed for the functional teaching of mathematics through the solving of open-ended problems based in architecture and design. Assessment is naturally and functionally integrated in the methodology. The material encompasses elements from the storyline method and also incorporates the concepts of aesthetic learning processes and democratic values. It is, moreover, inspired by Howard Gardner's theories about the powerful ways into education offered through such areas as narrative, mathematical/logical processes, hands-on methodology, aesthetics, existentialism and interpersonal relationships.
Authors are Lisser Rye Ejersbo and Jette Kantsø.
Publisher: www.forlagmallingbeck.dk Copenhagen 2002.
Storyline Tour of Germany
Gisela Ehlers who is based in the IQSH Neumünster (a teacher training institute) is an experienced tutor and adviser on the teaching of English in primary and secondary school in Germany. Over many years she has been adapting ideas from the Storyline approach for this work. As a prolific author and editor she has produced many articles about her experiences, encouraging teachers to use this contextual process.
To develop this work and supported by several of her publishers including Domino, Spectra and Schroedel/Diesterweg Gisela invited Steve Bell to join her on a course tour in several German States. Over the period 2nd to 10th May workshop courses were presented in Halle (Sachsen Anhalt) , Hamburg, Dresden, Burg Altena, near Dortmund (Nord Rhein Westfalen), and in Neumünster (Schleswig-Holstein). The teachers involved responded with great enthusiasm and interest which we hope will be translated into excitement and success in the classrooms. As there were participants from primary schools as well as from secondary schools it was highly interesting that both groups see the method as a help in the transmitting process.
Gallery of Images
Education for Road Traffic Safety in Sweden
Camilla Henriksson of the Traffic & Public Transport Authority in Gothenburg, Sweden, has become very interested in how Storyline can be used to affect children's attitudes to road safety. Working together with Ylva Lundin, a Storyline tutor, they have been experimenting with topics, which could help teachers to focus on traffic issues in schools. As a result, Ylva has designed three topic outlines for different age groups. The one for the younger children is about a school neighbourhood; the one for the middle group is about traffic pollution where the children will try to change the behaviour of Karl who uses his car every day to get to work and finally, the Storyline for 13 to 15 year olds is about Johan and Lisa who have been involved in a moped accident. The students' work in this topic is to try to see how some accidents like this one can be avoided.
These topics have now been published on www.trafikforlivet.nu under the link 'material'. Each of these contains the topic outline, instructions, copy-material and even sound files where the children can hear Karl speaking.
