Four Creative Ways to Surface Stories that Matter and Catalyze Change
Stories connect people, help them learn, support healing, and introduce lived experiences of those most overlooked to others. They are powerful tools to motivate others and inspire action. They are also critical in equity work as they open up and share the diverse voices of community members.
For those like you who dedicate time and energy to forward the mission of school transformation and upending inequity in education, storytelling is crucial to the process of introducing and pulling people into the vision. School leaders, educators, students, and other community members strengthen these stories when they get involved.
There are intentional practices to surface these impactful stories while continuing to build relationships. Here are four ways that you can sustain school transformation efforts through creative approaches to revealing stories that matter most to your community.
“Team playlist” compilation
Have each team member select a song that represents how they feel about a particular aspect of their work for the school year. Some examples of themes are biggest areas of growth, biggest accomplishments, most impactful a-ha moment(s), and proudest development.
Compile the songs into a playlist that can be played at team events, shared out with team members, or used in a slide show. Team members can share why they picked their particular songs and how they tied to the themes.
This can be an opportunity to better understand individual team members’ stories as well as gain a great playlist to enjoy and get motivated by. You might even want to create multiple playlists for different themes so that the team can enjoy more than one fun compilation.
Close-up photo of colored pencils of multiple colors on a white table next to an eraser and small black manual pencil sharpener. | Photo by VD Photography on Unsplash.
“Year as metaphor” exercise
Ask individuals or groups to come up with a metaphor for the school year. For example, “this year was an adult coloring book.” Have them write their metaphor and draw a corresponding image on a piece of chart paper.
Then have each group/individual present the metaphor they chose and further explain why. Does it resonate with the other participants? How could the choice of metaphor help you better understand the group members and tell their story?
Think about if you could do this activity for more than one topic. Since school transformation work could include various projects or initiatives, consider doing the metaphor activity for each one to also surface unspoken insights and feelings.
Photo of a person seated at a wooden bench reading a newspaper. Their face is not visible as the newspaper is at the center of the image. In the background is a street scene including graffiti on walls. | Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash.
Headline activity
It is important to celebrate successes and insights gleaned from projects that struggled. Encourage a variety of celebrations with the headline activity.
Have participants write a “headline” highlighting a key success or accomplishment for the school year. You can add a visual element to the activity by asking participants to include a picture along with the headline.
To go one step farther, have participants explain their headline in more detail or even write a short blurb describing what is so important about the headline picked.
Photo of a corkboard where colorful paper letters are tacked onto. The letters spell out “Storytelling” and are assorted purples, greens, and blues with random designs. | Photo by Elena Mozhvilo on Unsplash.
Storytelling “Mad Libs” game
For those unfamiliar with Mad Libs, it is a word game where one player prompts others for words to substitute blanks in a story before reading the final result aloud. For this exercise, you will mimic a Mad Libs game and can use the following template:
This year was a story about [noun or phrase]. It began with [blank]. By winter, my kids and I were [blank]. We ran into some hurdles, like [blank]. But we also had some laughs, some fun, and some successes, like [blank]. My time with my students is almost over, but we have [blank], and my practice has grown - I have [blank, blank]. And now I'm ready for the next chapter. The title of that chapter might be [blank].
Each participant or small group writes and shares the ‘story of their year’ by filling in the blanks in a preset template. Tip: Make sure to have the story template available in multiple languages and provide support needed for everyone to engage regardless of ability. Invite participants to add photos, drawings, or movements to their story to really tell the whole story.
Graphic with title "Key ingredients to help you go deeper with your reflection and surface stories that matter most to your community" at top and a storybook graphic in the center that has rainbow, star, and circle icons. Arrows point out from the storybook to the tips, as noted in post, and the Partners in School Innovation logo sits at bottom.
Key ingredients to go deeper with reflection and storytelling
Now you have multiple creative ways to surface stories that matter and catalyze change in school transformation. As you begin telling these stories, remember to
Carve out a dedicated time for reflection and discourse
Get clear on your purpose
Honor diverse perspectives
Practice deep listening
Involve those most impacted by inequity
Embrace failure as a path to learning
Make joy central!
Continue learning with these educator resources
Get the full “Stories that Catalyze Change” resource here. Find additional tools like it in our free-to-join Community where 575+ equity-focused leaders in education are sharing resources weekly.
Ready to dive even deeper? Enroll in our complimentary course “Using Stories to Drive Change”to learn how to craft stories that become powerful tools to showcase progress, spark change, and inspire action towards education reform.
