Introduction 

What can we learn when we truly listen to Higher Education (HE) disabled students’ stories? In this blog, I reflect on how the experiences shared during my doctoral research, together with critical reflection on my own practice as a HE lecturer, led to my adoption of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), an educational framework which supports learners of all ages across a wide range of educational settings. I also explore how storytelling can serve as a pedagogical approach to support the implementation of UDL. 

How people identify themselves is personal and should be respected. This blog uses ‘identity-first’ terminology,‘ disabled students’, rather than ‘person-first’ ‘students with disabilities’, aligned with the social model of disability.

Listening to students’ stories

My experience as a primary teacher and SENCO, alongside evidence that disabled HE students face barriers and achieve lower degree outcomes (OfS, 2025) led me to focus my doctoral research on attitudes toward disability inclusion in HE and their impact on disabled students. Phase 2 applied Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) of interviews with disabled students, an approach to qualitative research concerned with ‘how individuals make sense of their major life experiences’ (Smith et al., 2009). By listening to the voices of disabled students’, researchers can help prevent the continuation of ableism (Brown et al., 2019; Whitburn and Goodley, 2022). Findings revealed lecturers and students contribute to a continuum of experiences ranging from ‘muddling through’ to ‘flourishing’. My research increased my awareness of the barriers faced by disabled students, particularly concerning stigma, disclosure, and ableist teaching approaches, rooted in historical misrepresentations of disability remaining intact in contemporary society (Shaw 2024, 2025). My research recommendations include training for lecturers in UDL. 

Reflecting on students’ stories 

Engward and Goldspink (2020) describe how in IPA the data makes an impression on researchers sometimes momentarily or staying with us for some time. The Phase 2 interviews with disabled students stay with me to this day. The disabled students told their stories about ‘what works’ in terms of inclusive practice but they also shared feelings of anger and frustration when describing experiences of barriers to inclusion. I found listening to the struggles faced by some of the disabled students at earlier stages in their education and continue to face at university immensely powerful and concerning. One student’s story has stayed with me because she repeatedly described her educational experience as one of merely “muddling through”.  Many of the struggles could be alleviated by a shift in attitudes and approaches of staff and students. In a previous blog I acknowledged how my research had led to somewhat uncomfortable reflections on my practice. These reflections prompted me to endeavour to better embed UDL in my teaching with the aim of maximising every student’s opportunity to thrive at university. 

Storytelling as a pedagogical approach to support the implementation of UDL

UDL is an ideal pedagogical approach that educators can apply in their own teaching practices to reduce the barriers faced by students. CAST UDL Guidelines advocate educators follow 3 core principles when designing learning experiences: providing multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression, which accommodate a wide range of learner needs as illustrated in Figure 1:

Figure 1

Creative storytelling supports inclusion and aligns with UDL principles because it:

• Increases engagement for learners with diverse identities, abilities and experiences.

• Fosters a sense of belonging by ensuring different voices and experiences are represented. 

As you read the following examples of how creative storytelling can support all three principles of UDL, you may realise that you are already incorporating aspects of UDL into your teaching practice, while also identifying opportunities to strengthen and extend these approaches further:

1. Multiple Means of Engagement (Supporting motivation, interest and participation)

• Begin lectures with a real-world narrative, case study or dilemma

• Create suspense, conflict, or curiosity to encourage participation

• Use professional stories or personal experiences to humanise abstract concepts

• Invite students to contribute their own stories and perspectives

2. Multiple Means of Representation (Presenting information in different ways)

• Present difficult theories through narratives, scenarios or analogies

• Use digital storytelling podcasts, videos or interactive narratives

• Combine spoken storytelling with audio, visuals, timelines, or multimedia

• Translate technical language into relatable human experiences

3. Multiple Means of Action and Expression (Allowing different ways for students to show learning)

• Allow students to create podcasts, videos, reflective narratives, or digital stories instead of only essays

• Use simulations role-play or scenario-based assessments

• Encourage students to explain concepts through storytelling formats

UDL in HE Research Connections

UDL, with its roots in earlier stages of education, is gaining traction in universities, supported by a growing body of evidence highlighting its value in HE (Advance HE, 2021; Borkin, 2023; Disabled Students’ Commission, 2023; Flood, 2024; Martin et al., 2019; Morina et al., 2025) and its compatibility with Block Teaching (Wilkinson and Merry, 2024). Emerging research aligns creative and digital storytelling with UDL as a pedagogical approach by supporting multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression within HE environments (Aijaz, 2025). If you are interested in learning more about how to embed UDL into your teaching, the reference list includes useful sources (Gordon, 2025; Merry, 2023; Quirke et al., 2023).

Conclusion/call to action

Students’ stories have taught me that meaningful change in education begins with listening and reflection. My advice to trainee teachers, regardless of the learner age-group, is simple: embrace UDL, listen to your learners, and continually reflect on how your teaching can become more inclusive and responsive.

References:

1. Advance HE (2021) Inclusive teaching and learning in higher education. York: Advance HE. Available from: inclusivelearningandteaching_finalreport_1568036778.pdf

2. Aijaz, R. (2025) Empowering Marginalized Voices: Digital Storytelling as a Tool for Inclusive Higher Education Pedagogy. Journal of Tertiary Education and Learning. 3(3), pp. 1–7. doi:10.54536/jtel.v3i3.5548. Available from: https://www.scilit.com/publications/1dd324de6ac8187db134c94509e99317

3. Borkin, H. (2023) The experiences of staff working within Disability Services in Higher Education. Journal of inclusive practice in further and higher education. 15 (1), pp. 534. Available from: JIPFHE-15.1-Summer-2023-2.pdf

4. Brown, K., Peña, E., Broido, E., Stapleton, L. and Evans, N. (2019) Understanding Disability Frameworks. In Huisman, J. and Tight, M. Theory and Methods in Higher Education Research. 5:1 pp. 9-36. Available from:  https://doi.org/10.1108/S2056-375220190000005003

5. CAST (2024) Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 3.0. Available from: http://udlguidelines.cast.org

6. Disabled Students’ Commission (2023) The Disabled Student Commitment. York: Advance HE. Available from: https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/advance-he/The%20Disabled%20Student%20Commitment_1681910327.pdf

7. Engward, H, and Goldspink, S. (2020) Lodgers in the house: living with the data in interpretive phenomenological analysis research. Reflective Practice. 21(1), pp.41-53. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2019.1708305

8. Flood, M. (2025) Universal Design for Learning in Irish Further and Higher Education: Educators’ Knowledge & Practice. The International Journal of Universal Design and Universal Design for Learning. 1(1), pp 72-89. doi: 10.34874/PRSM.ijududl-vol1iss1.4981.Avalable at: file://holly03/AS16$/Downloads/Universal+Design+for+Learning+in+Irish+Further+and+Higher+Education_+Educators'+Knowledge+&+Practice%20(2).pdf

9. Gordon, D.T. (2025) (Ed) Universal Design for Learning: Principles, Framework, and Practice: 3rd Edition of Anne Meyer and David H. Rose's Foundational Text. CAST Professional Publishing

10. Martin, N., Wray, M., James, A., Draffan, E.A., Krupa, J. and Turner, P. (2019) Implementing Inclusive Teaching and Learning in UK Higher Education–Utilising Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a Route to Excellence. Available from: https://openresearch.lsbu.ac.uk/download/97cc3ce39fb4b9c06d631188fac19ac43c3f e317915210dad4d54e5f7d1a5309/817348/Nicola-Martin-SRHE-Research Report.pdf

11. Merry, K.L. (2023) Delivering Inclusive and impactful instruction: Universal Design for Learning in higher education. Wakefield, MA: CAST Professional Publishing.

12. Moriña, A., Carballo, R. and Doménech, A. (2025) Transforming higher education: a systematic review of faculty training in UDL and its benefits. Teaching in Higher Education. 30(7), pp. 1722–1739. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2025.2465994

13. OfS, Office for Students (2025) One size doesn’t fit all: Equality of opportunity for disabled students. Insight brief 25. Available from: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/one-size-doesn-t-fit-all-equality-of-opportunity-for-disabled-students/

14. Quirke, M., Mc Guckin, C., & McCarthy, P. (2023) Adopting a UDL attitude within academia: Understanding and practicing inclusion across higher education. London: Routledge.

15. Shaw, A. (2024) Inclusion of disabled Higher Education students: why are we not there yet? International Journal of Inclusive Education. 28(6), pp. 820–838. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1968514 

16. Shaw, A. (2025) Inclusion of higher education disabled students: a Q-methodology study of lecturers’ attitudes. Teaching in Higher Education. 30(4), pp. 821–842. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2023.2280266

17. Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., Larkin, M. (2009) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. London: Sage.

18. Wilkinson, M. and Merry, K.L. (2024) How Can Block Teaching Adopt Universal Design for Learning to Meet the Needs of Disabled Students? Gateway Papers, 5(1), p. 2. Available from: https://ouci.dntb.gov.ua/en/works/4VON66Yl/

19. Whitburn, B. and Goodley, D. (2022) Storying disability’s potential. International Journal of Inclusive Education. 26(4), pp. 415–428. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2019.1668487

About the author: Dr Anne Shaw has extensive experience as a Teacher in Primary Schools and Colleges of Further Education. Her Doctoral Research focused on Disability Inclusion in Higher Education. She is a strong advocate of Universal Design for Learning (UDL), a framework that supports educators in addressing the needs of all learners. 

Connect with Anne: LinkedIn, BluSky

On paper, a student can look fine. Full attendance. Assignments handed in on time. Nothing to flag. In the room, the picture can be very different. The laugh that no longer comes. The hood that stays up. The chair that drifts, week by week, towards the back row.

No system captures that. I saw it because I was there.

I have spent my career in student support, and for several years I lectured too. Most lecturers already know that relationships matter. Working in both worlds showed me how much support already happens in the classroom, and how easily it gets lost at the point of referral.

The gap between teaching and support

Academic staff are now frontline responders to student distress, yet many are unsure where that role begins and ends (Ramluggun et al., 2022). In one UK study, more than 70% of university staff had no mental health training (Margrove, Gustowska and Grove, 2014). In our own survey, only 46% of academic staff had formal wellbeing or disability inclusion training in the last two years (Buhtina and Kaplunov, 2026).

The case for relational teaching is clear. Rogers (1969) argued that learning flourishes when teachers bring genuineness, acceptance and empathy. Zepke and Leach (2010) identify teachers, and the learning relationships they build, as central to engagement, and Thomas (2012) places belonging at the heart of retention and success.

The structures around lecturers tell a different story. Hughes et al. (2018) found academics' frontline role in student mental health largely invisible. Nationally, UCU's 2021 workload survey found higher education staff working more than two unpaid days a week (University and College Union, 2022), and in our survey, time was the barrier mentioned most. The gap between classroom and support service is not just structural. It is relational.

From the front of the room

I never planned to lecture. While leading student services, a role I loved, I took my PGCHE and DET qualifications simply to understand the academic world from the inside. Then, the moment I graduated, I was offered a role lecturing on a teaching qualification programme. It was not a path I had imagined, but I said yes straight away, fitting it around my day job in the evenings, at weekends and on a freelance basis

My students were subject specialists from a wide range of disciplines, training to become the next generation of lecturers and professors. I was not just teaching them. I was modelling the kind of educator they might become.

I knew every one of them. Not just a name on a register, but their stories, their struggles and their dreams. What did not always work was the handover. When a student needed more than I could give, the referral process felt long and opaque, and I rarely heard what happened next. That silence made it harder to promise the next student that reaching out would make a difference.

What worked most reliably was the relationship. In my experience, the students who felt known were the ones who stayed, who disclosed, and who asked for help before things became a crisis. Some now lecture themselves, and email to say a conversation we had found its way into their teaching. Those emails are the evidence I carry with me.

Six ways to make noticing routine

Learn names, then ask real questions. Names build the psychological safety that makes disclosure possible. Asking how students are really doing, not just how the content is landing, shows you when something shifts.

Notice the change. A student who was engaged last week and silent this week needs a brief, private check-in, not a referral trigger. Rosenshine's (2012) frequent checks for understanding are a natural moment to spot it.

Follow up. A short message after a difficult conversation puts the empathic understanding Rogers (1969) describes into practice.

Script the handover. Tell students exactly what happens next: who will contact them, roughly when, and what to expect. Uncertainty about what follows can stop students accepting help.

Close the loop. Agree with your support team how, with consent, you will hear that a referral has been picked up. One line of confirmation lets you reassure the next student.

Design noticing in. An early anonymous check-in, or engagement data used to prompt a conversation, makes noticing less dependent on chance, especially in large or online groups (Buhtina and Kaplunov, 2026).

And look after yourself. Supporting students can be emotionally demanding (Ramluggun et al., 2022), so know your limits and lean on peer support.

What lecturing taught me

The noticing is the support system. The lecturer who knows their students is often the earliest intervention. Yet that noticing rarely appears in workload models.

Think of a student you almost missed. What helped you notice? What got in the way? And what would change if your institution made noticing part of the job?

What the research shows

My survey of 181 academic staff with Dr Elizabeth Kaplunov, published by Advance HE (Buhtina and Kaplunov, 2026), found that 82.9% had supported a student with wellbeing difficulties or a disclosed disability. Staff felt more knowledgeable about support when they were confident, when line managers recognised this work, and when they had enough classroom contact to notice who was struggling. Years of experience and recent external training did not predict it.

Making the invisible work visible

I was never supposed to be a lecturer. Yet standing in that room, with exhausted, determined, extraordinary students who showed up when they had every reason not to, gave me the clearest view I have had of what education is for.

The relationships we build sit at the centre of the job, not alongside it. For leaders, the question is where that work is visible: in workload models, appraisal conversations and how we define excellent teaching.

Student support taught me to look. Lecturing taught me where.

References

1. Buhtina, E. and Kaplunov, E. (2026) Supporting student wellbeing: what academic staff need from their universities. Advance HE, 10 April. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/news-and-views/supporting-student-wellbeing-what-academic-staff-need-their-universities (Accessed: 17 September 2026).

2. Hughes, G., Panjwani, M., Tulcidas, P. and Byrom, N. (2018) Student mental health: the role and experiences of academics. Oxford: Student Minds. Available at: https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/9516y/student-mental-health-the-role-and-experiences-of-academics (Accessed: 17 September 2026).

3. Margrove, K.L., Gustowska, M. and Grove, L.S. (2014) 'Provision of support for psychological distress by university staff, and receptiveness to mental health training', Journal of Further and Higher Education, 38(1), pp. 90-106.

4. Ramluggun, P., Kozlowska, O., Mansbridge, S., Rioga, M. and Anjoyeb, M. (2022) 'Mental health in higher education: faculty staff survey on supporting students with mental health needs', Health Education, 122(6), pp. 601-616.

5. Rogers, C.R. (1969) Freedom to learn. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill.

6. Rosenshine, B. (2012) 'Principles of instruction: research-based strategies that all teachers should know', American Educator, 36(1), pp. 12-19, 39.

7. Thomas, L. (2012) Building student engagement and belonging in higher education at a time of change: final report from the What Works? Student Retention & Success programme. London: Paul Hamlyn Foundation. Available at: https://advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/building-student-engagement-and-belonging-higher-education-time-change-final-report (Accessed: 17 September 2026).

8. University and College Union (2022) Workload survey 2021: data report. London: University and College Union. Available at: https://www.ucu.org.uk/media/12905/WorkloadReportJune22/pdf/WorkloadReportJune22.pdf (Accessed: 17 September 2026).

9. Zepke, N. and Leach, L. (2010) 'Improving student engagement: ten proposals for action', Active Learning in Higher Education, 11(3), pp. 167-177.

About the author: Emma Buhtina is Head of Student Support, leading multi-campus services supporting over 12,000 students. With a background in higher education teaching, HR, and specialist support, she focuses on specific learning differences (SpLD), mental health, and long-term conditions. She holds a degree in psychoanalysis and is a trained dyslexia assessor, bringing a strong analytical and student-centred approach to her work. Emma leads on developing whole-institution approaches to inclusion and wellbeing, driving improvements in student success, experience, and equitable access. 

Connect with Emma: LinkedIn

Introduction

Picture the first day of rehearsal. A circle of actors, scripts in hand, coffee cups steaming. The director asks: 'So…what do you think about the play?' What follows is usually a mix of silence, cautious generalities, and the loudest voices in the room filling the gap. The quieter actors, the ones who may have the most interesting instincts, sit back, waiting for permission to contribute that never quite arrives.

This is not a failure of individual actors. It is a structural problem: actors are asked to have opinions before they have been given a safe or creative way to form them. This blog explores two linked techniques — story completion (SC) and story-mediated discussion — borrowed from qualitative research methodology and applied to the early rehearsal room, with the goal of giving every actor an 'emancipatory experience' (Gravett, 2019) and genuine agency over their creative work.

Background / Context

The concept of actor agency is central here. Drawing on Davies' (1991) feminist post-structuralist framework, agency means having 'presence (rather than absence)' — the right to speak, to be heard, and to author one's own meaning. In conventional rehearsal structures, actors often surrender agency to the director's vision before they have had the chance to develop any of their own. Bogart and Landau observe that 'actors assume too often that their job, first and foremost, is to do what the director wants' (2014, p.18).

Story completion (SC) as a research method was developed within qualitative psychology (Clarke et al., 2019; Gravett, 2019). Participants are given the opening of a fictional scenario, a 'stem', and asked to complete the story in any way they choose. What makes it distinctive is that it invites engagement with hypothetical, third-person scenarios, bypassing the self-consciousness and performance anxiety that often block more direct questioning.

Crucially, story completion is not new to theatre. It underpins Forum Theatre (Boal, 2002), Viewpoints character work (Bogart & Landau, 2014), Mitchell's character biographies (2009), and countless improvisation exercises. What is new is applying SC explicitly and systematically to the pre-rehearsal period, naming it as a method, and pairing it with structured story-mediated discussion.

Personal Experience: A Case Study

The practice explored here originated in my MA research at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2020), using Tennessee Williams' one-act play Mr Paradise. Fourteen participants; actors, directors, teachers and students, completed a three-part SC task based on the play's two characters (Mr Paradise and The Girl), without having read the script. Ten then participated in one-to-one story-mediated discussions, during which they compared their story completions with the original text.

The results were fascinating. Participants independently generated character traits and narrative events that closely aligned with Williams' original.  Not because they had read it, but because the stems had engaged their instincts as storytellers. More importantly, they arrived at the discussion with something of their own: a version of the story they had authored, an emotional investment, and, crucially, a voice.

One participant described gaining a sense of ownership over a script for the first time: before the SC task, there was always that feeling of not knowing anything, but the exercise changed that (P6). Another noted that it gave every student a voice, including those who would never volunteer an answer in class (P2).

Perhaps most unexpectedly, participants reported that the SC task had begun to establish a sense of collaboration with the director even before they had entered the rehearsal room. As P9 put it: 'It feels safe... because you know that somebody has an expectation of guiding you, steering you somehow in a direction that means something.'

Practical Implementation: How To

Step 1 — Design the story stems. Read the script carefully and identify two or three key 'events' (Merlin, 2014) moments without which the story could not occur. Write a brief story opening for each event (two to four sentences), giving just enough context to prompt imagination without revealing plot. Ensure stems can work across characters. Include the genre, setting and time period if you want actors to engage with those elements, or omit them if you want maximum creative freedom.

Step 2 — Set the task (ideally before the first rehearsal). Send participants the stems digitally, or hand them out at the end of a preliminary meeting. Ask them to complete each stem in any form they wish, written or typed, spending 15–20 minutes in total. Make clear there are no 'right' answers. The only instruction is to let imagination lead.

Step 3 — Hold story-mediated discussions. These can be one-to-one or in small groups. Begin by asking about the experience of doing the task itself, this relaxes participants and validates whatever they produced. Then move through each stem, asking what choices were made and why, before reading the relevant section of the original script alongside. The discussion is not about whose version was 'closer' to the text, but about what the comparison opens up.

Step 4 — Bring the discussions into the rehearsal room. Use the themes, images and questions raised in the SC discussions as early rehearsal material: character improvisations based on participants' own story versions, ensemble discussion of recurring images across the group's completions, and world-building exercises grounded in details actors have already imagined and invested in.

Research Connection

Gravett (2019) identifies SC as giving participants an 'emancipatory experience', engaging them creatively and giving them authorship over meaning-making. Clarke et al. (2019) note that SC bypasses the 'barriers of admissibility' that prevent people from articulating feelings when asked directly; highly relevant to actors navigating the vulnerability of early rehearsal.

From a pedagogical perspective, Barba (2011, p.99) argues that exercises before working on text create 'invisible structures' that give 'greater vitality to scenic fiction'. SC operationalises this: actors build invisible structures for the play's world before they have a script in hand. Chekhov's concept of 'Entirety', seeing the whole arc of a play, is similarly served by the three-part stem structure, which maps onto beginning, turning point, and resolution (Rushe, 2019).

This approach intersects with several TIRIgogy themes: it is an innovative teaching and learning strategy; it promotes equity, diversity and inclusion by ensuring quieter voices are heard; it operates as research-informed pedagogy; and it has clear potential as a co-creation model, with actors as partners in the construction of the story world from day one.

Conclusion: An Invitation

The question is not whether actors have creative instincts and opinions about the plays they work on, they always do. The question is whether the structures we build around rehearsal allow those instincts to emerge before the loudest voices, most confident performers, or most authoritative directors fill the available space.

Story completion and story-mediated discussion offer a low-cost, adaptable and research-grounded way of changing that structure. They give actors something they have made themselves to bring into the room. They build collaboration before a single scene has been run. And they offer educators a way of modelling, from the very first interaction with a text, that creative contribution is expected, welcomed, and always valid.

If you teach acting, direct student work, or design drama curricula, I would invite you to try it: pick a short scene or play, write three story stems, and see what your students bring back. You may be surprised how much they already know.

References

1. Alfreds, M. (2013) And What Happens Next? Storytelling and Adapting for the Theatre. London: Nick Hern Books.

2. Barba, E. (2011) 'An Amulet Made of Memory' in Zarrilli, P.B. (ed.) Acting (Re)Considered. Oxon: Routledge, pp. 99–105.

3. Boal, A. (2002) Games for Actors and Non-Actors (2nd edn). Oxon: Routledge.

4. Bogart, A. and Landau, T. (2014) The Viewpoints Book. London: Nick Hern Books.

5. Clarke, V., Braun, V., Frith, H. and Moller, N. (2019) 'Editorial Introduction to the Special Issue: Using Story Completion Methods in Qualitative Research', Qualitative Research in Psychology, 16(1), pp. 1–20.

6. Davies, B. (1991) 'The Concept of Agency: A Feminist Post-structuralist Analysis', Social Analysis, 30, pp. 42–53.

7. Gravett, K. (2019) 'Story Completion: Storying as a Method of Meaning-Making and Discursive Discovery', International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 18(1), pp. 1–8.

8. Merlin, B. (2014) The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit (revised edn). London: Nick Hern Books.

9. Merlin, B. (2018) Acting: The Basics (2nd edn). Oxon: Routledge.

10. Mitchell, K. (2009) The Director's Craft: A Handbook for the Theatre. Oxon: Routledge.

11. Rushe, S. (2019) Michael Chekhov's Acting Technique: A Practitioner's Guide. London: Methuen.

About the author: Matthew Morgan-Stevens is a Senior Lecturer in Acting at Falmouth University (AMATA), where he leads on BA(Hons) Acting. With over fifteen years of experience as a director, educator and practitioner in UK Higher and Further Education, his research interests centre on actor agency, rehearsal pedagogy, and creative collaboration.

Connect with Matthew: LinkedIn

Who gets to tell a teacher’s story?

The Playing Teacher Project is a three-year research project, the aim of which was to develop a mentoring intervention for early career teachers (ECTs) focused on teacher professional identity. The project recognised that people joining the teaching profession are exposed to different discourses concerning what it means to be a teacher - some are negative, some positive, some more persuasive or overt, and others more tacit. For example, everyone who chooses to become a teacher will be aware of the inspirational teacher archetype from films like Dangerous Minds, Dead Poet’s Society and School of Rock. However, once they enter the classroom, ECTs soon become aware of negative constructions of teachers by politicians and journalists (Mockler, 2022), and how such narratives impact on the way parents and colleagues interact with them.

Navigating teacher identity through play

The aim of the Playing Teacher Project was to co-design a playful intervention to support ECTs to think and talk about their professional identity and the cultural discourses which they are required to navigate as teachers. The intention was to use a card deck to create a ‘magic circle’ (Huizinga, 1970/1938) where ECTs and their mentors could play around with stories about teacher identity, opening up spaces for more personalised, supportive and empathetic conversations than suggested by the Early Career Framework. Fifteen ‘expert panellists’ were recruited as research participants, to collaborate on designing the mentoring intervention. These included teacher educators based in universities (like myself), as well as mentors based in schools, ECTs themselves, and playful learning designers. 

Mentoring for exploration, not evaluation

The Playing Teacher Project was inspired by research in linguistics which aims to impact positively on the way people think about themselves, in light of critical reflection on the cultural discourses and expectations which position them in certain ways (e.g., Semino et al., 2017). In terms of educational research, the project drew heavily on work which recognises that current accountability and performativity frameworks in education have the potential to lead to disillusionment amongst new teachers (Perryman & Calvert, 2020). Once the mentoring game is prototyped, we will be able to explore its impact on ECT-mentor relationships. The project has highlighted the potential for research-informed, participatory processes to reshape how mentoring is experienced. A move from compliance-driven mentoring toward opening up a safe, judgement free, space that allows for agency and exploration of teacher identity would support a key component of effective mentoring (Murtagh et al., 2024; Bond, 2023), that arguably could not be achieved by any formal training course. For me, taking part in the research challenged my assumptions about what quality mentoring looks like, and highlighted that these assumptions were often informed by policy rather than the needs of new teachers. I imagine this sentiment was shared by other participants on the project.

Creating together, learning together

I was one of the panellists recruited to work on the study. The innovative nature of the research piqued my interest, as participation requirements aligned with my own personal interest in board games and my experience mentoring early career and trainee teachers in schools and universities.  From the outset we were encouraged to engage creatively with the other researchers, using Padlet, which fostered a genuinely collaborative approach. It was fascinating to work with such a diverse group of colleagues, from the early stages of refining the teacher character cards through to exploring how they might be used to facilitate short games or as storytelling prompts.

This iterative process modelled the kind of dialogic, exploratory approaches discussed within the project and prompted me to consider how similar approaches could be applied within mentoring conversations. The research format created a risk-free professional space to test out ideas and to consider and learn from a wide range of perspectives. However, translating this sense of openness into the mentoring space could prove more challenging, considering the constraints and limited emphasis on exploratory approaches offered by the ITTECF. 

Meet the characters

The project resulted in the development of 18 ‘teacher character’ cards, and more than 10 potential mentoring activities, which are currently being reviewed and worked up into prototypes. A prototype of some of the character cards can be seen in Figure 1, and a ‘print and play’ prototype game is available for anyone to access and use at https://canva.link/pzsojc05kwvmttr

Figure 1

An invitation to rethink mentoring

Content and performance seem to be central to the discourse presented in reports that examine current mentoring practices,(e.g., National Institute of Teaching’s 2023 report, Mentoring and Coaching of Teachers). Whereas, through engagement with the Playing Teacher Project, we have attempted to reframe our ideas about early career teacher mentoring. Mentors who are interested in using the cards will hopefully see their potential for building and sustaining more positive mentor-mentee relationships, ultimately creating happier, more resilient teachers who have a deeper understanding of their own personal and professional teacher identities. This feels particularly pertinent in a climate where mentoring is not always experienced as intended, with only 34% of mentees agreeing that mentors create a safe and supportive space for open dialogue, compared to 69% of mentors (Allen et al., 2022, p. 16). As such, educators and mentors may need to reconsider how far current ITTECF-endorsed approaches genuinely create space for dialogue, and how more playful, collaborative methods might enable richer, more meaningful professional learning experiences.

FUNDING

This research was funded by the British Academy, grant number PF22/220048.

REFERENCES

1. Allen, B., Ford, I. and Wespieser, K. (2022) Mentoring and coaching for trainee and early career teachers: Current practice survey. Report to the National Institute of Teaching, November 2022. Available at: https://niot.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Survey_Mentoring_-_Nov_22.pdf (Accessed: 15 June 2026).

2. Bond, M. (2023) Mentoring and coaching of teachers: Thematic synthesis. National Institute of Teaching, July 2023. Available at: https://niot.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/NIoT_Mentoring_-_Thematic_Synthesis.pdf (Accessed: 15 June 2026). 

3. Hordern, J., & Brooks, C. (2024). Towards Instrumental Trainability in England? The ‘Official Pedagogy’ Of The Core Content Framework. British Journal of Educational Studies, 72(1), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2023.2255894 

4. Huizinga, J. (1970/1938) Homo Ludens: a study of the play element in culture. London: Paladin. 

5. Mockler, N. (2022) Constructing Teacher Identities: How the print media define and represent teachers and their work. London: Bloomsbury.

6. Murtagh, L., Dawes, L., Rushton, E.A.C. and Ball-Smith, C. (2024) Early career teacher mentoring in England: a case study of compliance and mediation. Professional Development in Education. 

7. Perryman, J., & Calvert, G. (2020). WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE TO TEACH, AND WHY DO THEY LEAVE? ACCOUNTABILITY, PERFORMATIVITY AND TEACHER RETENTION. British Journal of Educational Studies, 68(1), 3–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2019.1589417 

8. Semino, E., Demjén, Z., Hardie, A., Payne, S. & Rayson, P. (2017) Metaphor, Cancer and the End of Life: A Corpus-Based Study. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.  

About the authors: Lucy Hughes (Lincoln Bishop University) is a Delphi project panellist and a Master’s Education and PGCE Secondary Senior Lecturer, formerly led ITT/ECT mentoring in a Secondary School.  

Kathryn Spicksley (University of Glasgow) is the Principal Investigator of The Playing Teacher Project, funded by the British Academy (Grant number PF22/220048).

If you ask students what they remember from your lesson, they will rarely tell you facts or definitions. Instead, they will recall a story. They will remember how a hero was betrayed, how a civilisation rose and then fell at the hands of a king, or the anecdote that the teacher used to explain a difficult concept. Storytelling is at the heart of teaching. Bruner (1991) argues that narrative helps us to give structure to the events surrounding us. In our early years, fairy tales helped us to make sense of the world around us. Yet by secondary school the art of storytelling as a device seems to have disappeared.

I am a storyteller, and I would like to tell you about how Christopher the Camel helps me in my History and English classes.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then let’s begin.

Imagine a time when archaeologists were uncovering the mysteries of ancient Egypt. Christopher the Camel had been chosen to carry supplies for the dig. He was strong, but not huge. Each day he was loaded with the equipment needed for the journey to the dig site and carried the supplies across the desert.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Each day Christopher carried his heavy load, and over time he began to tire. When he slowed down, his rider, Hans, would kick him to make him move faster. This happened more often.

One day, after months of travelling, Hans saw a bale of straw at the base camp. Thinking it would be more comfortable than sitting on the sand, he lifted it onto Christopher’s back.

SNAP.

Christopher collapsed.

This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

In practice I keep the process simple. I tell this story without any context and look at the confused faces.

At this point I ask my students a question: what caused Christopher’s back to break? Was it the bale of straw? The repeated kicks from Hans? Or the months of carrying heavy equipment?

This question usually sparks a debate. Some will argue that it is the straw, as this was the last thing placed on his back before he collapsed. Others will argue that the repeated kicks weakened him. Some may point out that without the long-term weight of the supplies, the straw didn’t matter.

This is the point of the story: to discuss the long-, medium- and short-term causes of an event. Christopher then becomes a scaffold for the lesson’s learning outcome. There is enough support for students to organise their thinking, and like all good scaffolds, that support can be reduced as confidence grows, forming part of adaptive teaching (Aubin, 2022).

When students are asked a historical question such as, “Which factor had the greatest impact on the Great Depression in the USA?” they usually look for a single short answer. However, history does not work in this way. Major events are usually a combination of long-term conditions, medium-term developments and short-term triggers.

By the time I have finished my story about Christopher, students have already begun thinking about causation and linking the different causes to the story. In the context of the Great Depression, the ‘long-term weight’ could represent the weaknesses in the economy. The ‘kicks from Hans’ are the medium-term irresponsible banking practices. The short-term straw could represent the Wall Street Crash.

The story provides a way for students to visualise how different causes interact, making an abstract concept easier to understand. I usually reinforce this by drawing a curved line representing Christopher’s hump on the whiteboard and mapping events onto it. The spoken story alongside the diagram reflects dual coding theory, supporting understanding and memory (Paivio, 1990). Landrum, Brakke and McCarthy (2019) describe storytelling as a pedagogical tool that creates interest through a familiar and accessible form and provides a structure for remembering course material.

Christopher also acts as an analogy. Gentner’s (1983) structure-mapping theory explains how relationships within something familiar can be mapped onto something less familiar. Here, students map the accumulated weight, repeated damage and final straw onto different timescales of causation. Christopher is not just a funny story used to break up a lesson, but provides a structure for analysing causation, a skill that is essential for GCSEs.

Interestingly, this story works in other subject areas. When analysing Romeo and Juliet, students tend to focus on one moment that caused the tragedy. However, the lovers’ fate can be understood in the same way as Christopher the Camel: the long-term feud between the families, the medium-term impulsive decisions made by the characters or the short-term failure of Friar Lawrence’s letter. Through this narrative students can understand how tragedy develops through a succession of events, not just one.

Christopher the Camel has lived up to his name in my classroom. He does a great deal of heavy lifting when it comes to explaining complex ideas such as causation and carries a great deal of the discussion. But, like any strategy, storytelling must be used carefully. Overusing the same story means it quickly loses its impact, leading to disengagement – potentially breaking the back of the lesson (pun intended).

Effective teaching relies on building a repertoire of stories, metaphors and examples that help students to visualise complex and difficult ideas. The challenge is knowing when a story will illuminate the concept, and when it’s time to try a different one. Storytelling remains a powerful tool for engaging students and connecting ideas long after the lesson has ended. For me, Christopher the Camel has helped with causation, but I feel that it is time for him to be joined by some new friends.

So, my final question is ... Who is your Christopher?

References

1. Aubin, G. (2022). ‘Scaffolding – more than just a worksheet’. Education Endowment Foundation, 22 September. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/scaffolding-more-than-just-a-worksheet [Accessed 18 Aug. 2026].

2. Bruner, J. (1991). ‘The narrative construction of reality’. Critical Inquiry, 18(1), pp. 1–21. doi:10.1086/448619.

3. Gentner, D. (1983). ‘Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy’. Cognitive Science, 7(2), pp. 155–170. doi:10.1207/s15516709cog0702_3.

4. Landrum, R.E., Brakke, K. and McCarthy, M.A. (2019). ‘The pedagogical power of storytelling’. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 5(3), pp. 247–253. doi:10.1037/stl0000152.

5. Paivio, A. (1990). Mental representations: A dual coding approach. New York: Oxford University Press.

About the author: Kerri Phillips is an English and History teacher working in a Pupil Referral Unit. She completed a PGCE in Secondary English and has worked with SEN adults. Storytelling and adaptive teaching are central to her practice. She believes topics should begin with a story, confused faces and, occasionally, a camel.

Connect with Kerri: LinkedIn

In the context of widening participation (WP) in higher education, promoting student involvement, inclusion, and retention continues to be a significant concern. Students from varied and frequently marginalised backgrounds may face obstacles pertaining to confidence, sense of belonging, and academic self-efficacy[A1] [A2]  (Hunt, King, and Barnes, 2023). Confronting these difficulties necessitates educational strategies that transcend conventional material dissemination and prioritise the student experience. An increasingly recognised method is storytelling, an activity fundamentally embedded in human intellect and social interaction. This post presents the findings of the authors’ mixed-methods research study, examining whether structured storytelling is an effective pedagogical intervention for enhancing student outcomes.

Storytelling is not merely a creative or ancillary pedagogical method; it is an essential means by which people comprehend the world. Jerome Bruner contends in Acts of Meaning that story serves as a fundamental method of cognition, allowing individuals to order experiences and derive meaning (Bruner, 1990). In educational contexts, integrating learning within story frameworks can render complex or abstract concepts more accessible, coherent, and relatable. For WP students, who may feel estranged from conventional academic discourse, storytelling serves as a conduit between personal experience and disciplinary knowledge.

Research increasingly supports the pedagogical value of storytelling. Niedermeier's review emphasises that narrative improves motivation, understanding, and critical thinking in educational contexts (Niedermeier, 2020). Similarly, studies on digital storytelling demonstrate its effectiveness in improving engagement and reflective learning (Smeda, Dakich and Sharda, 2014). These findings are particularly relevant in WP contexts, where engagement is closely linked to retention and academic success[A3] [A4]  (Thomas, 2012). However, storytelling’s impact extends beyond cognitive outcomes. It plays a critical role in fostering inclusion and belonging - key determinants of student persistence. Hunt, King, and Barnes (2023) emphasise that ‘storying’ student experiences can surface diverse identities and promote recognition within higher education environments. By creating space for students to share their narratives, educators validate individual experiences and challenge dominant academic norms that may otherwise marginalise certain voices.

This relational dimension of storytelling aligns strongly with Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism, which posits that learning is inherently social and mediated through interaction (Vygotsky, 1978). Within this framework, storytelling becomes a dialogic tool through which students co-construct knowledge. Sharing and discussing stories allows learners to engage in meaningful dialogue, compare perspectives, and deepen their understanding through collaboration. For WP students, this process can enhance confidence and create a sense of community within the classroom.

A structured storytelling intervention was implemented as part of the authors’ research study to demonstrate the application of these theoretical principles in practice. This approach organised teaching sessions around narrative elements: lecturers presented concepts via stories, students created their own narratives, and peer sharing promoted discussion and reflection. This process was scaffolded to support students within their Zone of Proximal Development, ensuring that learning is both accessible and challenging (Vygotsky,1978).

The competed interventions produced measurable changes in student engagement and sense of belonging. Preliminary data from pre- and post-intervention questionnaires indicated increased student participation, motivation and confidence. Meanwhile, qualitative findings revealed that storytelling helps students understand content by linking it to personal or relatable experiences. These outcomes are consistent with previous research demonstrating that narrative-based approaches can enhance academic confidence and reflective capacity (Wang, Su and Wang, 2022).

The research project addressed a key gap in the literature. While many studies highlight its potential, fewer provide a rigorous empirical evaluation. Systematic reviews have noted that research into storytelling in higher education is often descriptive rather than evidence-based (Austen, Jones and Wawera, 2018; Turner, 2023). The study used a mixed-methods design that integrated quantitative measures with qualitative insights to examine both the effectiveness of storytelling and the mechanisms underlying its potential impact.

Storytelling's essential contributions are its roles as a cognitive scaffold and a social bridge. It systematically organises information into coherent sequences, facilitating understanding and memory retention. It fosters opportunities for discourse, acknowledgement, and connection. Collectively, these aspects addressed the interconnected issues of engagement, inclusiveness, and retention in WP higher education (Vygotsky,1978; Bruner, 1990). Nonetheless, effective implementation requires careful research design. Storytelling must be structured and inclusive, with clear boundaries to ensure that students feel safe and not pressured to share personal experiences. Providing alternative prompts, offering varying levels of participation, and ensuring cultural sensitivity are essential for maintaining an inclusive environment. Lecturer facilitation is also critical, as educators must guide discussions, connect narratives to learning outcomes, and support equitable participation.

In conclusion, storytelling is a dynamic, academically substantiated instructional method with considerable potential to improve the experience of widening participation students in higher education. Preliminary findings from the authors' ongoing research study suggest that a structured storytelling intervention can enhance student engagement, confidence, participation and sense of belonging, while supporting their understanding of academic content. By adhering to core principles of human cognition and social learning, it improves engagement, promotes inclusiveness, and facilitates retention. Structured storytelling may be a practical and effective way of creating more accessible and engaging learning environments in widening participation in higher education. Additional empirical study will enhance the evidence base; nevertheless, current findings already indicate that storytelling is an effective mechanism for addressing disparities in access, experience, and success. Further empirical research involving larger and more diverse samples is needed to confirm the generalisability of these findings and their long-term impact. Nevertheless, the preliminary results of the present study provide empirical evidence in favour of using structured storytelling as a pedagogical approach to tackling inequalities in student experience and success in higher education for underrepresented groups.

References

1. Austen, L., Jones, M. and Wawera, A.S. (2018) Exploring digital stories as research in higher education. Sheffield Hallam University Research Archive. Available at: https://shura.shu.ac.uk/ (Accessed: 1 November 2025).

2. Bruner, J. (1990) Acts of meaning. Harvard University Press

3. Hunt, R., King, G. and Barnes, C. (2023) ‘Storying student belonging in UK higher education’, Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 48(4), pp. 615-6352Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03098265.2023.2266995 (Accessed: 1 November 2025).

4. Niedermeier, W.J. (2020) ‘Driven to teach, compelled to learn: A review of the role(s) of storytelling in education’, IDE Journal, 7(2). Available at: https://www.ide-journal.org/article/2020-volume-7-number-2-driven-to-teach-compelled-to-learn-a-review-of-the-roles-of-storytelling-in-education/ (Accessed: 1 November 2025).

5. Smeda, N., Dakich, E. and Sharda, N. (2014) ‘The effectiveness of digital storytelling in the classroom: A comprehensive study’, Smart Learning Environments, 1(6). Available at: https://slejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40561-014-0006-3 (Accessed: 1 November 2025).

6. Thomas, L. (2012) ‘What works? Facilitating an effective transition into higher education’, Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning, 14(Special), pp. 4–24. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.14.S.4 (Accessed: 17 August 2026).

7. Turner, A. (2023) ‘Story-driven learning in higher education: A systematic literature review’, ASEE PEER. Available at: https://peer.asee.org/story-driven-learning-in-higher-education-a-systematic-literature-review (Accessed: 1 November 2025).

8. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

9. Wang, Y., Su, Z. and Wang, D. (2022) ‘Enhancing postgraduate taught students’ engagement: A storytelling pedagogical approach in higher education’, Journal of PGR Pedagogic Practice, 2, pp. 54-60. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364458246 (Accessed: 1 November 2025).

About the authors: 

Dr Alicja McGarrigle

Interdisciplinary higher education academic, researcher and Senior Lecturer with a PhD in International Governance from Loughborough University London and an MBA. My research expertise centres on political myths, narratives, identity, discourse and contestation, with a particular interest in how these shape political and social meaning. My research in the field of teaching and learning focuses on how students construct meaning, develop confidence, and build academic identities and capabilities.

Dr Michal Lytovka

Higher education academic, researcher, Senior Lecturer and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy with a PhD in Social Sciences from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Poland, specialising in the sociology of medicine. My interdisciplinary academic profile spans both health and social care management, public health, sociology and medical humanities. Informed by experience in university teaching, interdisciplinarity and NHS acute care. Alongside my research, I contribute to academic leadership, curriculum development and assessment, with a particular focus on critical thinking, student engagement and academic development. My research into teaching and learning focuses on teaching innovation, student engagement and how students develop academic confidence within higher education.

Elisabeth Fiz Borg

Interdisciplinary higher education academic, researcher, and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy with a background in Psychology and Mental Health, also an accredited Hypnotherapist with the Professional Hypnotherapy Practitioner Association and an Accredited Social Prescriber with the National Association of Link Workers. My interdisciplinary professional profile brings together health, wellbeing and social prescribing, with a particular interest in understanding human mentality, behaviour and the factors that influence change. Alongside my teaching, I contribute to student development and support, drawing on academic and clinical knowledge and professional experience to promote academic excellence and personal growth. My professional interests include mental health, psychological wellbeing, student engagement, and approaches that empower individuals and communities.

I can still remember a lesson in my early teacher trainee days, when I was still finding my feet. I was teaching a session on safety and risk assessments. Students did not appear interested, faces were blank, and you could see hands angling for phones. So, I paused and told them about a time in the lab where health and safety precautions had gone wrong, and a staff member had been significantly burned with liquid nitrogen. Suddenly, the room shifted. Students leaned in, asked questions, and, more importantly, understood the importance of the lesson. That moment reinforced something I have come to rely on: storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have as biology educators.

Biology is, in many ways, a subject built on stories. From the evolutionary journey of a species to the ongoing battle between pathogens and the immune system, it naturally lends itself to narrative. However, students at all levels often experience biology as a dense collection of facts and terminology. Storytelling helps bridge this gap, providing context and supporting memory by linking abstract concepts to something more meaningful.

Having worked in a lab has been invaluable in shaping how I teach. Real-world experiences, whether failed experiments, unexpected results, or the routine frustrations of troubleshooting, offer authentic insights into what working in science actually looks like. Sharing these experiences not only enriches lessons but also gives students a clearer sense of potential career paths and the realities of laboratory work.

Storytelling also plays a practical role in shaping student behaviour, particularly in lab-based settings. Students are far more likely to follow protocols when they understand the real consequences of ignoring them. Explaining aseptic technique in theory does not have the same impact as describing the challenges of tracing persistent mould contamination and the disruption it caused over months of work. These stories make expectations tangible and reinforce professional standards.

When it comes to explaining complex concepts, storytelling is particularly effective. Instead of presenting processes as static diagrams, they can be framed as journeys or conflicts. Molecules can travel through the body, encountering barriers and undergoing transformation along the way, while the immune system becomes a coordinated defensive force responding to invasion. These narratives help students build mental models, moving beyond memorisation towards genuine understanding.

Beyond conceptual understanding, storytelling strengthens engagement and connection within the classroom. A well-told story fosters curiosity and creates a shared point of reference between teacher and students. In my experience, this leads to greater participation and more confident questioning. It also helps to level the playing field in classrooms where students arrive with differing levels of knowledge and confidence.

Perhaps most importantly, storytelling offers students a glimpse beyond their studies. It connects classroom learning to the wider world: research, industry, and real-life applications of biology in areas such as nursing or forensics. For many students, particularly those still unsure of their future direction, this can be highly motivating. It allows them to see themselves as part of the story, rather than just observers of it.

Storytelling is not an optional extra; it is a powerful pedagogical approach that can transform how students experience biology. By drawing on real experiences and framing content through narrative, teaching becomes more engaging, more accessible, and ultimately more meaningful. Biology is not just a subject to be learned - it is a collection of stories waiting to be told.

About the author: Sarah Hall was a former PGCE student in science and technology at the University of Greater Manchester and is currently a skills coach in Biology and Chemistry for degree apprentices at the Manchester Metropolitan University. 

Connnect with Sarah: LinkedIn

Storytelling within higher education is increasingly recognised as a powerful way for learners to demonstrate knowledge, reflect on experience, and integrate theory with practice (Bagley, Wilson and Kime, 2025). Through narrative, students make sense of complex concepts, articulate professional identity, and position themselves within disciplinary communities. Within non-medical prescribing (NMP) education, however, storytelling also plays a quieter but equally significant role within formal assessment processes.

In this context, storytelling does not take the form of creative writing or traditional reflective journals. Instead, it unfolds through structured self-assessment, supervised practice, and ongoing professional dialogue. Over time, these processes reveal how learners interpret assessment requirements, construct narratives about competence, and engage in self-regulated learning.

Within the NMP programme, students complete a series of structured self-assessments across a 26-week period. These are recorded within a Competency Assessment Document (CAD) and mapped against the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Competency Framework (2021). To support reflective judgement, Benner’s (1984) Novice to Expert model is used to guide learners in selecting and justifying their perceived level of competence.

At the beginning of the programme, students assess themselves on a scale from one (novice) to five (expert). This initial score is discussed with their Designated Prescribing Practitioner (DPP) and forms the basis of a personalised action plan. Students identify perceived gaps in knowledge, clinical reasoning, or confidence, and outline how these will be addressed through supervised practice, independent study, and targeted feedback.

For many learners, this first assessment is also a moment of self-positioning. Some cautiously rate themselves low, emphasising inexperience, while others demonstrate early confidence grounded in prior professional roles. In both cases, students begin to construct a story about “who I am” as a developing prescriber.

At the midpoint of the programme, the CAD is revisited. Although no formal re-scoring is required, it aims to provide a structured framework for reviewing progress. Tutorials at this stage often focus on consolidating strengths, addressing persistent uncertainties, and refocusing learning priorities. The document thus continues to shape both learning activity and professional development. 

However, the absence of a formal midpoint self-assessment could be considered a missed opportunity for feedback and reflection for both the student and the DPP.  While students meet with their DPP to discuss their progress, there is no requirement to reassess their perceived competence against the RPS framework at this stage. This means that the focus of the discussion can be shaped by the individual DPP’s judgement and experience.  Repeating the self-assessment at this point could provide greater structure to the conversation, allowing students to reflect on how their perception of competence has changed and identify areas for further development while there is still time to address them.

By this point, many students have begun to revise their original narrative. Experiences in practice, exposure to complex cases, and feedback from supervisors frequently prompt more nuanced self-evaluation. Some learners recognise that early confidence was premature, while others discover previously unacknowledged strengths.

At the end of the programme, following completion of academic assessments and 90 hours of supervised clinical practice, students repeat the full self-assessment. To meet course requirements, they must demonstrate competence across all domains, with this judgement agreed and signed off by the DPP. This final stage represents both an academic milestone and a professional transition.

Across these three points, the CAD captures more than numerical scores. It records a developing narrative of confidence, capability, and professional identity. Each entry reflects how students understand their learning journey at that moment in time, shaped by experience, feedback, and reflection. However, this narrative is not always coherent or stable…

In some cases, students reach the end of the programme confident in their perceived proficiency, only to find that academic outcomes do not fully align with this self-story. A learner may believe they are functioning at an advanced level, yet receive feedback indicating gaps in clinical reasoning, documentation, or pharmacological knowledge. This misalignment can be unsettling and emotionally challenging.

Such moments raise important questions about how confidence influences judgement and how assessment literacy shapes students’ understanding of competence (Yang et al., 2025). Overconfidence, limited benchmarking experience, and misinterpretation of criteria can all contribute. Equally, anxiety and impostor feelings may lead some learners to underestimate their capabilities.

From an educator’s perspective, these tensions are highly informative. They reveal not only what students can do, but how they understand standards, evidence, and professional expectations. They also highlight the relational nature of assessment, in which trust, dialogue, and shared understanding are essential.

Viewing competency assessment documents as storytelling tools offers educators a powerful way to engage with learner experience over time. These narratives illuminate how students position themselves as emerging professionals, how they interpret feedback, and how they respond to challenge and uncertainty.

Importantly, this perspective creates space for dialogue. When discrepancies arise between perceived and demonstrated competence, they become opportunities for reflective conversation rather than simple judgements of success or failure. Supervisors and tutors can explore with learners why certain perceptions developed, what evidence supports or contradicts them, and how future practice might be strengthened (Hui et al., 2024).

To make this process more visible, a visual storyboard was developed to map the learner journey from initial self-assessment to final academic outcome. This storyboard illustrates how confidence rises, falters, stabilises, and matures across the programme. It highlights key transition points where professional identity is reshaped through experience and feedback.

By recognising assessment as a form of storytelling, educators can better support learners in developing realistic self-evaluations, stronger assessment literacy, and more resilient professional identities. These capacities are central to employability, lifelong learning, and safe clinical practice.

Ultimately, helping students to revise and refine their professional narratives is not about correcting confidence, but about cultivating reflective practitioners who understand both their strengths and their limits. In doing so, we support them to move beyond ‘I thought I was proficient’ towards ‘I know how to continue becoming proficient.’

References 

1. Bagley, L., Wilson, J., & Kime, A. (2025). The story so far… current opinion in the use and applications of interactive storytelling in physiology and clinical education. Current Research in Physiology Edu [online] accessed from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crphys.2025.100142 [20.01.26] 

2. Benner, P. (1984) From novice to expert: Excellence and power in clinical nursing practice. Menlo Park, CA: Addison-Wesley. 

3. Hui, L., Ippolito, K., Sarsfield, M., & Charalambous, M. (2024). Using a self-reflective ePortfolio and feedback dialogue to understand and address problematic feedback expectations. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49(3), 334–347. [online] accessed from https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2023.2232960 [24.01.26]

4. Royal Pharmaceutical Society (2021) A Competency Framework for all Prescribers. Royal Pharmaceutical Society [online] accessed from A competency framework for all prescribers - Royal College of Pharmacy [17.08.26]

5. Yang, M., Yan, Z., & others (2025). Using self-assessment to develop student assessment literacy, in Understanding and Developing Student Assessment Literacy. Springer [online] accessed from Using Self-assessment to Develop Student Assessment Literacy | Springer Nature Link [20.01.26] 

About the author: I am a registered nurse with a degree in Nursing and a Master’s in Higher and Professional Education. My clinical background is in emergency and urgent care, where I worked as an Emergency Nurse Practitioner and Practice-Based Educator. I have always had a strong interest in continuing professional development and supporting staff development, and during my clinical career I developed an in-house minor injuries module alongside a wider curriculum to support the development and progression of clinical staff. For the past six years, I have worked within the Non-Medical Prescribing team at the University of Greater Manchester. My interest in supporting the development of others has continued within higher education, where I have mentored several members of the NMP team through their postgraduate qualifications in education. I am currently undertaking a Doctorate in Education, with my research focusing on aligning clinical and academic assessment in non-medical prescribing, with particular interests in assessment literacy, authenticity and the development of prescribing competence.

Introduction 

Teaching is sometimes a didactic routine, consisting of PowerPoint slides and talking. Yet while the traditional ‘lecture’ may rely on explaining other people’s views, storytelling can help develop conceptual knowledge and ideas by synthesising and understanding interrelated material (Rose and Johnson, 2025). Storytelling can also help recognise different points of view and ask whose story is being told (McDowell, 2018) to bring an understanding which is both clear and informative. This approach supports developing a critical angle to identifying alternative perspectives, which is particularly important in higher education (Aura, Hassan and Hamari, 2021). 

Background/Context

Engaging students in storytelling, narrative delivery, and visualisation can enhance learning outcomes because these techniques foster deeper comprehension, analytical skills, and creativity (Fini Maris, 2024). Moreover, narrative transportation theory (Green and Brock, 2002) suggests emersion in a narrative can help modify attitudes to reflect different viewpoints. Learning is a constant process of building new information on top of existing knowledge and Piaget’s theory of scaffolding this process can help students integrate relevant material as part of the narrative (Advance HE, 2025). Developing these academic skills also gives students ownership of their ideas and work, encouraging inquiry-based learning and supporting knowledge construction to improve educational attainment and employability (Fini Maris, 2024; Higher Education Policy Institute, 2025). 

Personal experience

I showed students a series of contrasting pictures of homeless people and rich people as a basis for discussing different perspectives, stereotypes, and how different people can explain and understand them. I then shared a photograph of a smiling elderly couple and asked what the picture showed. I explained the man had Alzheimer's Disease and has since died; the woman has subsequently developed dementia symptoms. As a group, we discussed first impressions from the picture and what the circumstances would mean for these two people, their family, and others around them. I said this is a photo of my parents and this formed the basis of further discussion about the impact of different life circumstances.

These stories added value to the discussion because many of my students come from professional practice and, alongside personal experience, are familiar with homelessness, inequality and different health conditions. Emotions are a pivotal aspect of the learning process (Woodhouse, 2011) and these stories helped provoke strong emotions, which stretched students’ thinking and encouraged them to engage in discussion and explore both their own reactions as well as those of others. Following this exercise, some students also shared similar personal experiences, which helped reduce the ‘power distance’ between tutor and student (Ouyang et al., 2025).

Practical implementation/How-to

I chose to share my personal story in a specific point in the module and include it alongside other stories to incorporate it seamlessly rather than just start talking about it randomly in class. This also allowed me to build a prior relationship with the class and determine how appropriate it was to share.

The key is to be prepared and ready: with images to share, to be open and honest, to set boundaries about what to share, and to be vulnerable. It is important to create a safe environment for students to be able to talk and share what they want but not be forced into speaking if they don’t want to. Some topics provoke discussion but might be too sensitive or difficult to discuss, particularly for students from different cultural backgrounds. Sharing a personal experience is about the values and atmosphere of generated in the classroom and my experienced showed personal narrative storytelling is more successful where all opinions are valued and every view is welcomed.

Reflections 

Sharing a personal story put me in a vulnerable position and is not something I would necessarily do with unfamiliar students. It was important to set boundaries and  ensure I did not overshare personal information. Telling a personal story helped students see the ‘bigger picture' in one aspect of life but I had to be careful not to simply offload information or treat it like a counselling session. Careful planning and thought went into how and what I would share and the experience helped students see a different side of me, which I hope built trust between us. After sharing my story, I mentioned support information because I felt that the story and discussion had the potential to trigger different emotional responses in students. 

Conclusion/Call to action

Using a personal story is about putting yourself out there and using what you already have to build capacity in students. Stories bring vulnerability but can be extremely valuable to engage students and develop thinking skills. Many students experience difficult personal situations and being vulnerable in front of students is not always easy but it is empowering for everyone if approached carefully and with consideration. The key now is to think about what to share, how and when to share it, and who to share it with.

References

1. Advance HE (2025) Learning through storytelling. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/learning-through-storytelling-0 (Accessed: April 16, 2026).

2. Aura, I., Hassan, L. and Hamari, J. (2021) “Teaching within a Story: Understanding storification of pedagogy,” International Journal of Educational Research, 106, pp. 1–11. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101728.

3. Fini Maris, S. (2024) “Storytelling Method in Learning Process-Thematic Analysis”, West Science Business and Management, 2(4), pp. 1329 -1335

4. Green, M.C. and Brock, T.C. (2002) “In the mind’s eye: Transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion.,” in M.C. Green, J.J. Strange, and T.C. Brock (eds.) Narrative Impact: Social and Cognitive Foundations. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, pp. 315–341.

5. Higher Education Policy Institute (2025) Essential skills for 2035. Available at: https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2023/06/13/essential-skills-for-2035/ (Accessed: April 16, 2026).

6. McDowell, K. (2018) “Storytelling: Practice and process as non-textual pedagogy,” Education for Information, 34(1), pp. 15–19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-189003.

7. Ouyang, S. et al. (2025) “The Cultural Compass: A Systematic Review on Cultural Dimensions Theory in Educational Settings,” SAGE Open, 15(2), pp. 1–19. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251342160.

8. Rose, M.S. and Johnson, M. (2025) “The Power of Storytelling: Creatively Facilitating Conceptual Change in the Classroom,” Journal of Educational Research & Practice 2025, 15, pp. 1–18. Available at: https://doi.org/10.5590/JERAP.2025.15.1983.

9. Woodhouse, H. (2011) “Storytelling in university education: emotion, teachable moments, and the value of life,” Journal of Educational Thought, 45(3), pp. 211–238.

About the author: I have worked in education for over 20 years and am an Assistant Teaching Professor at UoGM where I teach on the Masters programmes and supervise doctorate students in the School of Health, Science and Society. My interests lie in teaching and researching around marginalised groups.

Connect with Ben: BSky

There is a particular kind of silence in a lecture that every educator recognises — not the silence of concentration, but the silence of polite absence. Students are physically present, eyes occasionally meeting yours. But no one is there. I spent the early years of my teaching career mistaking this silence for engagement. It took one honest end-of-module survey to disabuse me of that notion.

“I didn’t see how any of this connected to me,” one student wrote. No anger, no blame — just a quiet, devastating truth. That comment became the starting point for my most significant pedagogical shift: moving from delivering content to designing for student engagement and intrinsic motivation.

As a module leader in International Marketing, this realisation was particularly uncomfortable. The discipline is inherently grounded in lived experience — global brands, cultural difference, ethical tensions, and rapidly shifting consumer behaviour. Yet I had been presenting international marketing frameworks in abstract ways, assuming students would automatically recognise their relevance. In reality, they could not locate themselves within the material — a key barrier to meaningful engagement.

Student disengagement in higher education is not new, but its urgency has sharpened. Following the disruptions of the pandemic, research by the Higher Education Policy Institute found that a significant proportion of UK students experience low motivation when learning lacks personal relevance (HEPI, 2023). Engagement, therefore, is not simply about attention — it is about connection, identity, and perceived relevance.

This reflection explores how storytelling can function as a pedagogic bridge between disciplinary knowledge and students’ lived experience within International Marketing. It is written deliberately as a practice piece rather than a manifesto: it names a specific session, a specific assessment, and — because an uncritical account of any single technique is of limited use to another educator — the specific places where storytelling has not worked as cleanly as the theory promises.

Why story, not just frameworks

Narrative is not a stylistic flourish laid over content. For cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner (1991), it is one of two fundamental modes through which human beings organise meaning, alongside logico-scientific reasoning. Frameworks classify and generalise; narrative particularises — it locates abstract principles inside specific people, choices, and consequences. Research in neuronarratology suggests this distinction matters pedagogically: narrative comprehension activates cognitive and affective systems associated with lived experience, not simply information-processing (Mar and Oatley, 2008). When students encounter narrative, they do not just process information — they simulate experience.

In this sense, engagement is not primarily a behavioural issue but an identity-based one. Students disengage when they cannot locate themselves within the material.

My first experiment was modest. Rather than opening a session on professional identity in global marketing careers with theoretical frameworks, I began with a personal story — a moment early in my career when I faced a professional challenge in an international business context and realised I lacked a coherent narrative about who I was as a practitioner. The room shifted. Students leaned forward: a visible transition from passive presence to active engagement.

A concrete example: the Week 6 rebrand case

That early experiment now shapes how I teach a core session on cultural misalignment in global branding. Rather than opening with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as an abstract taxonomy, I open with a story student often half-know: HSBC’s 2009 global rebrand, in which the tagline ‘Assume Nothing’ was mistranslated in several markets as ‘Do Nothing’, an error reportedly costing the bank around $10 million to correct (Robinson, 2009).

Rather than presenting the case as a cautionary anecdote to file away, I ask students to reconstruct the decision points inside it: who signed off the tagline, what cultural knowledge was missing from that room, and what a culturally attentive marketing team would have asked before launch. Working in small groups, students then draft — and defend — an alternative campaign for a market of their choosing, drawing where relevant on their own cultural backgrounds or lived experience of that market.

The impact is visible in the same register as the first experiment. Contribution in the group-work portion increases noticeably compared with framework-first sessions — a shift I track informally through speaking turns across seminar groups rather than through formal data — and, more usefully, students carry the discussion into the case studies that follow, rather than treating each new case as unconnected to the last.

From story to assessment: the Global Brand Narrative task

If storytelling matters, it should show up in assessment, not only in delivery. The case-study reconstruction above feeds into a summative task I call the Global Brand Narrative. Students select a real or hypothetical market entry and write it as a first-person account from inside the marketing team, embedding the theoretical frameworks — segmentation, cultural distance, ethical positioning — as decisions characters make rather than concepts they cite. Marking criteria explicitly reward analytical depth delivered through the narrative form, not narrative polish for its own sake, since the risk with narrative assessment is rewarding good storytelling over good marketing analysis.

Reception has been mixed in an instructive way. Students who arrive confident in conventional essay-writing sometimes find the narrative form initially unsettling — unsure how much of themselves to put on the page, or whether a story ‘counts’ as rigorous academic work. That discomfort is worth naming rather than smoothing over, and it connects directly to the critical caveat below.

Do students share their own stories?

Increasingly, yes — though I ask rather than assume. In seminar, I invite (never require) students to connect a case to something from their own cultural or professional background. Several international students in particular have used this space to bring market knowledge into the room that no textbook case study would have surfaced. This aligns with the literature on students as partners in curriculum co-creation, where students contribute as active co-producers of disciplinary knowledge rather than as recipients of it (Healey, Flint and Harrington, 2014).

Where storytelling can fail: a critical caveat

None of this should be read as storytelling being pedagogically neutral or risk-free. A purely celebratory account of narrative teaching would be intellectually thin and, in an international marketing context, faintly ironic.

The first risk is narrative reductionism. Adichie’s (2009) well-known caution about ‘the danger of a single story’ applies directly: a single vivid case, however effective at generating engagement, can flatten a market or culture into a memorable anecdote rather than a site of genuine complexity. I now deliberately pair the central case with at least one counter-case, precisely to stop the rebrand story calcifying into a stereotype about ‘markets that don’t understand English’ rather than remaining a case about organisational process failure.

The second risk is unequal comfort with self-disclosure. Storytelling pedagogy implicitly asks students to make themselves more visible, and that request is not culturally or personally neutral: what counts as appropriate self-disclosure varies considerably across the international cohorts typical of this module, and students who are less willing — or able — to share personal narrative should not be penalised for it (Alterio and McDrury, 2003). I have adjusted the Global Brand Narrative task accordingly, allowing a constructed third-person case as a full alternative to first-person narrative.

The third risk is more fundamental: narrative can substitute for analysis rather than sharpen it. Andrews (2007) warns that an uncritical turn towards narrative form in higher education assessment can come at the expense of argumentative and analytical rigour, if the two are treated as alternatives rather than integrated. My response has been to keep the marking criteria anchored in analytical depth, using narrative as the vehicle rather than the destination — a distinction that took a full assessment cycle, and a rewritten rubric, to get right.

What this means for my teaching

Structured feedback across two cohorts has reinforced the direction of this shift: students consistently describe story-based sessions as more engaging and more memorable than framework-first equivalents, a pattern consistent with Thomas’s (2012) identification of belonging and relevance as key drivers of sustained motivation in UK higher education. But the more useful finding, methodologically, is the set of caveats above — evidence that storytelling is not a technique to be deployed uncritically, but a pedagogy that needs its own quality assurance.

This shift also marks a significant moment in my ongoing development as an educator: a move from a content-driven approach towards a more relational, research-informed pedagogy — one that foregrounds identity, relevance, and authentic learning, while remaining alert to where that same approach can mislead or exclude.

Conclusion

What storytelling offers, at its best, is a mechanism for engagement — a bridge between theory and lived experience, between International Marketing concepts and students’ emerging professional identities. But a bridge needs maintenance: chosen cases need counter-cases, invitations to share need genuine opt-outs, and narrative needs to serve analysis rather than replace it.

As part of my ongoing CPD, I am continuing to refine the Global Brand Narrative assessment, exploring in particular how student-generated — rather than instructor-selected — cases might address the single-story risk directly, by building the counter-narrative into the cohort itself rather than into my own teaching material.

If there is one practical starting point, it is this: before your next session, ask not only what content you need to deliver, but how students might see themselves within it — and then ask whose story is missing from the version you were about to tell.

References

1. Adichie, C.N. (2009) The Danger of a Single Story. TEDGlobal [video]. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story (Accessed: 14 September 2026).

2. Alterio, M. and McDrury, J. (2003) Learning Through Storytelling in Higher Education: Using Reflection and Experience to Improve Learning. London: Routledge.

3. Andrews, R. (2007) ‘Argumentation, critical thinking and the postgraduate dissertation’, Educational Review, 59(1), pp. 1–18.

4. Bruner, J. (1991) ‘The Narrative Construction of Reality’, Critical Inquiry, 18(1), pp. 1–21.

5. Healey, M., Flint, A. and Harrington, K. (2014) Engagement Through Partnership: Students as Partners in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. York: Higher Education Academy.

6. Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) (2023) Student Academic Experience Survey. Oxford: HEPI.

7. Mar, R.A. and Oatley, K. (2008) ‘The Function of Fiction is the Abstraction and Simulation of Social Experience’, Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(3), pp. 173–192.

8. Robinson, G. (2009) HSBC tries to ‘do something’ in private banking. Financial Times. [Online] 10th February 2009. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/883b36c7-cb11-3b9d-b76c-144d5067738b [Accessed: 16th September 2026]

9. Thomas, L. (2012) Building Student Engagement and Belonging in Higher Education at a Time of Change. London: Paul Hamlyn Foundation.

About the author: Lasta Dangol is a Senior Lecturer in Business with extensive experience delivering UK partnership programmes across multi-campus environments. Lasta holds a Doctorate in Business Administration with a strong background in finance, management, and strategic leadership. With proven expertise in curriculum leadership, quality assurance, academic governance, and student progression, Lasta is an active researcher with publications in women entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence in higher education, digital marketing and many more. Lasta is also a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, committed to inclusive pedagogy, academic excellence, and innovation in teaching and learning., integrating them into practice to maintain the highest standards of teaching and learning.

Introduction  

This blog presents a case study of Steve’s learning package, a digitally designed storytelling intervention developed using Articulate Rise and embedded within Moodle. The package supports students to develop employability-relevant skills through structured narrative learning, reflective activities, and interactive digital content. While wider debates around technology informed the context of this work, no AI tools were used in the design or delivery of the learning package itself. 

Background   

Storytelling has long been recognised as a fundamental pedagogic practice, supporting how learners make sense of experience, construct meaning, and develop professional identity through reflection and narrative (Moon, 2013). Within higher education, narrative-based approaches are closely aligned with experiential learning and reflective practice frameworks, which emphasise the integration of knowledge, experience, and self-awareness in professional formation. What has evolved more recently is the digital context in which these stories are created, shared, and revisited.  

As universities respond to shifting employability expectations, widening participation, and increasingly diverse learner cohorts, digital storytelling has emerged as a significant pedagogic approach for supporting reflective depth, communication skills, and learner confidence. In a higher education landscape shaped by digital transformation and growing emphasis on graduate attributes, digital storytelling offers a structured yet flexible means of enabling learners to articulate learning, connect theory to practice, and develop a coherent professional voice.  

Digital storytelling allows learners to construct and refine narratives about their developing professional identity, linking values, actions, and learning. The structured yet flexible framework supports authentic voice while maintaining academic rigour (Kolb, 2015). 

The Intervention: Steve’s Digital Storytelling Learning Package  

Steve’s learning package was designed as a standalone digital resource, authored using Articulate Rise and embedded within Moodle, the institution’s learning management system. This enabled accessibility, scalability, and consistency across multiple health and social care professional programmes from HE Level 5 to Level 7. Importantly, scalability was not simply about delivering the same resource to larger or different cohorts, it enabled a common lived-experience narrative to be explored at progressive academic levels of complexity according to learners’ disciplinary context and professional experience, without loss of quality. This created a shared language for storytelling and reflection, strengthening learners’ ability to articulate experience across academic, professional, and employability contexts. 

The package was intentionally implemented from HE Level 5 rather than Level 4. Its current design assumes that learners have already developed some foundational understanding of professional practice, reflective learning, and the health and social care context, enabling them to move beyond describing Steve’s story towards analysing its implications for their own practice and employability. At Level 4, where learners are often still developing these foundations, the existing reflective prompts and expectations may require greater scaffolding. This does not mean that digital storytelling is unsuitable for Level 4; rather, an adapted version with more structured guidance and introductory reflective activities would be more appropriate for learners at this stage. 

The package includes: 

1. Interactive storytelling modules guiding students through Steve’s lived experience in a narrative structure 

2. Prompted reflective activities encouraging independent critical thinking and self-awareness 

3. Scenario-based learning linking academic content to real-world policies and practice 

4. At the end of the Steve’s digital learning package, students produced digital outputs, including short written narratives, reflective summaries, and portfolio-ready artefacts. 

The emphasis throughout is on authentic storytelling based on the lived experience of a service user and carer. The digital design allows learners to work at their own pace, revisit content, and engage with reflection as an iterative process. Importantly, while GenAI is increasingly shaping conversations about digital employability, this package demonstrates that effective digital storytelling does not depend on AI, but on intentional pedagogic design.  

Reflections  

1. Learning in Action: Storytelling as a Pedagogic Tool 

2. Students engage with the learning package in a staged and supported way: 

3. Initial Narrative Briefing - Before accessing the digital learning package, learners take part in an initial briefing that situates the storytelling activity within the specific context of their module and developing professional practice. Attention is drawn to key aspects of professional practice, such as communication, decision-making, ethical awareness, teamwork, or service-user engagement. Learners are encouraged to observe and reflect upon as they progress through the digital package. This briefing provides a clear narrative lens, enabling learners to engage with the digital storytelling activities in a purposeful and practice-informed way.  

4. Guided Reflection - Embedded prompts encourage students to consider what they learned, how they responded, and why the experience matters for their future practice or employment.  

5. Reflection on Transferability - Learners explicitly map their learning to their professional practice, employability skills such as communication, compassionate care, problem-solving, resilience, and ethical awareness.  This approach reflects evidence that storytelling enhances reflective depth and supports meaningful learning transfer (Moon, 2013).  

Research Connection  

Impact: Evidence of Educational Value  

Evaluation of the learning package highlighted several key outcomes: 

1. Deeper reflective engagement - Students demonstrated more structured and analytical reflection compared to previous cohorts using non-digital formats. 

2. Improved articulation of employability skills - Learners reported increased confidence in explaining their learning experiences and how it will inform their future practice 

3. Digital confidence - Engagement with Articulate-based content embedded in Moodle supported students’ comfort with digital learning environments, an increasingly important workplace skill. 

4. Authenticity and inclusion - The structured storytelling approach supported diverse learners to share experiences in ways that felt safe, meaningful, and personally owned.  

These findings align with wider employability literature emphasising reflection and narrative competence as key graduate attributes (National Association of Colleges and Employers, 2024)  

Why This Matters for Teaching and Learning 

This case study illustrates how digitally designed storytelling, when grounded in sound pedagogy alongside technology, can have meaningful impact on student learning. At a time when GenAI dominates educational discourse, this work offers an important counterpoint, that is, thoughtfully designed digital learning tools remain powerful in their own right.  

Conclusion 

Steve’s learning package demonstrates that digital storytelling can be embedded effectively within higher education using established tools such as Articulate and Moodle. By focusing on narrative, reflection, and real-world relevance, the package supports students to make learning visible, transferable, and meaningful for employability.  As institutions continue to explore emerging technologies, this case study reminds us that impactful teaching begins with pedagogy, not platforms.  

References

1. Institute of Student Employers (ISE) (2024) Is career readiness in decline? [Online] Available from: https://ise.org.uk/knowledge/insights/195/is_career_readiness_in_decline/ (Accessed 09/01/2026)  

2. Kolb, D.A. (2015) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development. 2nd edn. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.  

3. Moon, J. (2013). Reflection and Employability. Abingdon: Routledge.  

4. National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) (2024) Competencies for a Career-Ready Workforce [Online] Available from: https://www.naceweb.org/docs/default-source/default-document- library/2024/resources/nace-career-readiness-competencies-revised-apr-2024.pdf (Accessed 09/01/2026)  

5. Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) (2025) The learner-earner journey and bridging the digital skills gap [Online] Available from: https://www.qaa.ac.uk/membership/benefits-of-qaa- membership/collaborative-enhancement-projects/employability-enterprise-entrepreneurship-global- citizenship/learner-earner-journey-and-bridging-the-digital-skills-gap-graduate-and-employer-viewpoints (Accessed 09/01/2026)  

About the author: Bimpe is Operational Group Lead for Medical Associate Professions and Programme Lead for Public Health Programmes at the University of Greater Manchester. With over 10 years’ experience across practice, academia, and research, she specialises in Public Health, Social Care, and Service User and Carer Involvement. As University Lead for Service User and Carer Involvement, she champions the integration of lived experience into curriculum, teaching, and assessment. Her ongoing PhD research explores how co-production and involvement of people with lived experience can drive health and social care transformation, underpinned by a strong focus on health equity, inclusion, using qualitative research methodologies. 

Connect with Bimpe: LinkedIn, X - @bimp10