Learning from other people’s stories

Stories are among the most basic and most useful
learning resources.
If you mean to use Real Lives in your work, the ideas and links on this page will be useful to you.

questions for learning coverage

… ‘Who are the people and what are they like?’'
… ‘How is anybody influenced by anybody else?’'
… ‘What feelings about things do they have?’'
… ‘Who is in a good position to get things done?’'
… ‘Do people do things differently in different situations?'’
… ‘Does family and upbringing make a difference?'’
… ‘Is anybody changing his or her mind?'
… ‘Or sticking to what he or she has always believed?’'
… ‘Is this the only possible version of the story?''
… ‘Can you see why people do what they do?'’

questions for learning process

… ‘Does the story give you enough to go on?’'
… ‘What question have you got?’'
… ‘If you were in the story, how would you find answer?’'
… ‘Can you work out who are the main people?’'
… ‘Can you work out who is doing what, and what happens where?'’
… ‘Can you get things sported in the right order?’'
… 'How would you know who you could trust?’'
… ‘And why you can trust them?'''
… ‘How do you work out why people do what they they do?’
… ‘And know what the results will be?'’

Questions like these help learners get inside the story.

They can be related to working life, citizenship or any other aspect of life-role-related learning.

They can be used on café material in Real Lives (see below).
But they can be used on any narrative material - from any part of curriculum, media, work experience, and learners’ experience.

They can be used as handouts, showing learners a range of questions that can be asked of a story - see below.

But they are best first used selectively - in interview or discussion - expanding the repertoire as learners become more practised in their use.


You are in Real Lives, in the magazine section of The Career-learning Café - www.hihohiho.com.
Where now...

...Stories in 'Real Lives':
...Help elsewhere in the café
> 'Turning Points'
> 'Insights'
> 'The Music Room'

> The thinking - on story content
> The thinking - on learning process

> ‘Handout’ versions of the questions
> Future plans for material like this
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the memory

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