by editor | Jun 2, 2010 | Arts and Humanities
by Brian “Fox” Ellis
I learned early on that storytelling is one of the most important tools for teaching science. If you think about it . . . what is science? Science is an attempt to understand the universe.
A well-told science story does three important jobs: It brings facts to life; it makes abstract concepts concrete; and through the virtual reality of storytelling, it walks listeners through the process of scientific inquiry.
Children are curious about information and science facts if they’re presented in an intriguing way. Historically, teaching science education meant spending an inordinate amount of time memorizing facts. Facts are important, and storytelling is one of the most effective ways of delivering them. But if you stop with facts you are not teaching science. Science is a verb, an activity, not simply a body of knowledge.
Ideas such as the food web, evolution, the water cycle, and animal adaptation are examples of the “big picture” ideas that are critical to understanding modern science. But if you stop with concepts, you still are not teaching science. You are building a necessary conceptual framework for ordering and understanding facts. Again, science is something you do, a way of asking questions and seeking answers.
Storytelling can be used to introduce or implement all of the science standards. Though it is obviously a prime example of language arts and science communication skills, I often include mathematics problems in the science stories to emphasize the importance of mathematics in science education.
Science-process skills are the methods or strategies that scientists employ to discover and understand the story of the universe. A good story involves the listener in many of the strategies of gathering the facts of the story, making predictions about the outcome, and checking their hypothesis against the unfolding details of the tale. Also, you can use a story to make abstract concepts personal and tangible. Important facts can be conveyed within a dynamic context so the facts stick; they have more meaning and impact
Let me share a short story that will show you what I mean.
Starting with a Story
When I was a student at Oberlin College, one of my favorite biology professors was a man whom I only remember as George. At 94 years old he taught an occasional class. Because his father had also been a biology professor at Oberlin College, George had grown up on campus. Botany was his specialty and he spent his entire life studying the flora and fauna of northeastern Ohio.
Once a month on Sunday afternoon, George led a hike in the arboretum. Every month that I could be there, I was. He meandered through the arboretum telling stories about whatever plant caught his fancy.
One Sunday afternoon as we were walking in the flood plain of Plum Creek, he stopped next to an ancient cottonwood. This huge tree was almost a meter wide and maybe 30 m tall. He leaned against this giant tree and said . . .
When I was a seven-year-old boy, my father told me that cottonwood trees had a unique characteristic: If you break off a branch and stick it in the mud, it will sprout.
When my father told me this I thought, “Poppycock! If you break off a branch it is dead. A dead stick will not sprout.” Note that I did not say this; I have more respect for my father than to openly dispute him without a bit of evidence, but I did not believe him.
A few weeks later I was walking through the arboretum when a huge storm blew in. I love those Midwestern summer thunderstorms. As the clouds roll across the Great Lakes they pick up steam, literally. You can see the dark clouds gather in the distance as the winds start to blow and you know the heavens are going to open. Most kids might run home, but not me. I love the crack of lightning, the roar of thunder, and the warm rains that pummel the earth.
As I was walking along Plum Creek a strong gust of wind snapped off a branch from a cottonwood tree and it stuck in the mud. I thought, “Aha! This is my chance to prove my father wrong.” I came back each day for five days to gather evidence. Sure enough, after the third hot summer day it started to wilt. Because of the heat it was losing more water than it could absorb; evapo-transpiration is the scientific word for tree sweat. By the fifth day the leaves were curled. This branch was dead.
I went home and told my father he was wrong, and I had the proof. My father calmly listened to my interpretation of the facts. He said, “Son, you’re jumping to conclusions. You need to collect more data.” He told me to go back to that tree every day for the next 10 days, write down what I saw, and then tell him what I thought. Being a good son, and wanting to be a good scientist, I went back to that stick every day for 10 days.
Sure enough, after five more days the leaves started to uncurl. After seven days they started to plump up, to fill with fluid. By the 10th day the stick was indeed alive. I wanted to know why or how, so I carefully dug down around one side of the stick. I saw the small sprouting roots that had begun to grow. So, my father was right. Cottonwood do have a unique characteristic in their ability to sprout if you plant a stick in wet earth. It’s called regeneration. This is why cottonwood and willow are very important tools in preventing erosion. Streamside stabilization projects use willow posts and cottonwoods to help hold the stream banks in place.
I’ll never forget this idea because, you see, this giant cottonwood tree that we are standing next to is that cottonwood stick I watched wilt 87 years ago. Obviously, my father was right because that stick has grown into this huge tree.
And now having heard the tale, you will never forget that cottonwoods are able to regenerate either.
Making Stories Work for You
While the story is still fresh in your mind, make a short list of some of the facts you learned from this story. Which major concepts stand out for you? What are the science-process skills modeled in this study of the cottonwood? (At this point in a performance or workshop I often ask the audience to turn to a partner and answer these questions aloud. Obviously this is difficult in an article! But before you read on, please take a moment, read back over these questions, and make a list, at least a mental one.)
Through George’s story we have collected data about transpiration, root growth, and regeneration. We have formulated the hypothesis that sticks cannot regenerate and then designed an investigation to prove or disprove our theory. We have drawn an incorrect conclusion and collected more evidence to discover the truth. We have learned about trees but more importantly we have learned the process skills we need to learn about the unfolding drama that is the story of the universe. To paraphrase an old proverb, we have been given fish for supper and a net for catching all the fish we desire.
Think about it another way: Do you remember what your third-grade teacher said on November 4, nineteen hundred and . . . whenever? Do you remember stories that you heard when you were a child? If you have something important to say, put it into a story! Stories are like the glue that helps things stick. By giving facts an exciting context, they are more meaningful and more likely to be remembered.
Stories can make abstract theories concrete by bringing the listener into direct experience with the concept. The food web is not just an idea in a textbook; it is what you had for lunch. The water cycle flows through your blood streams. Storytelling engages listeners in the scientific process through the suspense and virtual reality that a good story creates. Students make discoveries along with the author or main character in the tale. You can tell stories from your life and experience, or you can dramatize important discoveries in the history of science. Even works of realistic fiction, if grounded in good science, can be written or told to illuminate a concept, introduce a chapter, or prepare students for a science experiment.
Having said all that, I’ll say something more: If you stop here, it isn’t enough.
Students must be energetically engaged in the activity of designing investigations and conducting research. After listening to this story about the cottonwood, what questions does it raise for you? How could you design a study that would find the answers? Go ahead and conduct this investigation. Remember: Science should be a verb!
After a recent retelling of this story, one student’s hand shot into the air immediately. When called upon he asked if this ability to regenerate was true of other trees. I asked what he thought. Several students’ hands shot up. They discussed different trees that might regenerate. One child said, “We could plant sticks from different trees and see if it was true.”
This is the other important role of storytelling in science education. A good story can motivate listeners or readers to want to become scientists. Think about it . . . who were the professors or teachers who inspired you to pursue this field? I’ll bet they were all good storytellers.
What are your stories? How can you share your discoveries in a way that could inspire and instruct your students? What are some of the classic tales of science that you remember from your education?
One of my favorite anecdotes from history is about the smallpox vaccination. Edward Jenner noticed that milkmaids did not get pox. He found that they had been exposed to a germ called cow pox. This allowed milkmaids to develop an immunity so they were not affected by smallpox. From this discovery he developed a vaccine that saved thousands if not millions of lives.
Another of my favorites, though tragic, involved Marie Curie. She discovered radioactivity and opened the doors to the new science of nuclear physics. She would wear radioactive jewelry to dinner parties as a conversation piece. She later died from cancer because no one knew of the dangers of radioactivity. These are just two examples of classic tales you could tell.
In any discipline from astrophysics to molecular biology there are great stories about the scientists and their discoveries that you could dramatize. If you want to invigorate your teaching, tell your students the stories of science and the scientists that have inspired you. Tell the tales of the universe and your students will gain a deeper understanding of science facts, concepts, and methods.
Resources
Print
Cherry, L. (1990). The Great Kapok Tree. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Deedy, C.A. (1991). Agatha’s Feather Bed. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.
Ellis, B. (1997). Learning from the Land: Teaching Science Through Stories and Activities. Englewood, CO: Teacher Ideas Press.
Frasier, D. (1991). On the Day You Were Born. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Haven, K. (1994). Marvels of Science; 50 Fascinating 5-Minute Reads. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Leopold, A. (1970). A Sand County Almanac. New York: Ballantine Books.
Muir, J. (1994). The Wild Muir. Yosemite, CA: The Yosemite Association.
Reed-Jones, C. (1995). The Tree in the Ancient Forest. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications.
Yolen, J. (1987). Owl Moon. New York: Philomel Books.
What Makes a Good Science Story?
The most important scientists have all been good storytellers. Think about the scientists who have had the most lasting contributions to our understanding of scientific principles and the way things work. They have all been great writers and storytellers.
I believe that Rachel Carson changed the world in the first few pages of her landmark book Silent Spring (1962). Her modern parable about pesticides and the absence of songbirds in the spring helped to write new laws and radically transformed our relationship with the wild world. Her story took you inside the dilemma of a toxic environment and the long-term implications of what was then acceptable behavior. Her story, like the writings of Stephen J. Hawkins, Stephan Gould, Annie Dillard, Aldo Leopold, and others, can give you a front-row seat on scientific discoveries.
Through their stories you feel like a voyeur, looking over their shoulders as they fumble through their mistakes and stumble upon the truth. A good science story needs this sense of immediacy, this in-the-moment insider’s view. Think about some passionate moment in your work as a scientist or science teacher. This passion and enthusiasm is important to the writing and telling of the tale.
Like all good stories you need well-defined characters. Who was there? Help us get to know something about these people and their motivations. You need a clear setting. Where were you? Describe the place using all of your senses; take us into this unique moment and specific location. You also need a dynamic plot with a sense of mystery or surprise. What happened? What led to your discovery? What did you learn from your mistake or success? Take us step by step through the questions that led to the research, the methods you used, and your “Aha” moment, when things clicked for you. Let the reader or listener share your sense of discovery. Use this outline to build your tale.
Recreate the moment. Exercise your science vocabulary while defining terms with explanatory clauses. If young children can memorize the Latin names of dinosaurs, they can certainly learn science vocabulary if they hear the words in a meaningful context. The truth is they will never learn these words unless they hear them in a meaningful context.
Interrupt the story to ask questions, engage the audience as guinea pigs in your experiment, or have the audience members choose a partner and tell each other their hypotheses.
When the story is over create a space for them to process the ideas, ask questions about the outcome, and internalize the concepts. Challenge them to design and conduct follow-up studies.
If the story motivates students to be active participants in scientific inquiry you know you have a great story!
How to Tell a Tale
What do storytellers do to bring the story to life? Who were your favorite professors, teachers, preachers, and politicians? What techniques did they employ to hold your attention?
Different personalities tell stories differently. The most important thing is to find a presentation style that suits your personality. With this said there are a few general techniques to consider:
• Use your voice to create characters, express emotions, and experiment with pacing, tone, accents, and sound effects.
• Use your body language, facial expressions, and gestures to convey the unspoken and reinforce the words you are speaking.
• Use your imagination and all five senses to be in the tale as you tell it. The more real you can imagine it, the more real it becomes for your audience even if it is a work of fiction.
• Involve the audience with simple rhetorical questions or complex sing-a-long songs. Within the body of the story allow them a chance to discuss a prediction or formulate a hypothesis.
Engage the audience as a partner in the telling of the tale. Use your voice, body, imagination, and the audience to tell, not read, the story. Beyond technique, the most critical element is your passion for the content. If you can tell the story in a manner that conveys this excitement, your contagious enthusiasm will be the key to a successful telling. [/password]
by editor | Jun 2, 2010 | Arts and Humanities
by Eric J. Fitch, Ph.D.
Abstract: In the contest of ideas, environmental educators put themselves at disadvantage by not availing themselves of the tools of humor. From satire to ridicule to comedy, the ability to connect through humor shouldn’t be overlooked. Humor has often been looked down upon by environmental professionals. Many environmental scientists, advocates, and educators view “Environment” so seriously that “having fun” with it would be “inappropriate”. This puts educators of all stripes at a disadvantage. Opponents of environmental education regularly use ridicule and satire to degrade the message and demean the messengers. Environmental professionals are often portrayed as purveyors of “gloom and doom” and their pronouncements the ranting of Cassandras. These comments often come clothed in mean spirited jest. Willingness to take up the tools of humor simply means leveling the playing field. This paper addresses how humor can inform; approach serious subjects humorously, and can be incorporated into different environmental education forums.
There’s a story that goes back at least until the early 1980s. It is a take off on the biblical story of Creation. It is usually titled something like “God and the EPA” or “God and the Environmentalists”. Instead of God being able to create the known universe at will and on His timetable, He finds himself stymied at every turn by the requirements and concerns of various Heavenly bureaucratic agencies and angelic environmental interest groups. When it becomes apparent that impact assessment, public comment and review, and many of the other things we take for granted as normal in the environmental community are going to stand in His way, God creates Hell. Although it is a funny piece and sure to draw a laugh from a great range of audiences, environmental audiences often miss the underlying message: that processes and protocols that lie near and dear to our heart and are looked at as good, right, just and even dare I say Holy, are infuriating to others in society. In subtle ways, environmental angelic surrogates in the Heavenly Host are subtly mocked and presented as a bit “fuzzy”. The story brings to light a very important point that is often overlooked; those who control the discourse most often control the outcomes.
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In the contest of ideas, environmental educators often put themselves at disadvantage by not availing themselves of the tools of humor. From satire to ridicule to good natured comedy, the ability to reach through humor shouldn’t be overlooked. The use of humor has often been looked down upon in formal and informal environmental education. Many environmental scientists, advocates, and educators often view their subjects as so serious that it would be inappropriate to “have fun” with them. It is often forgotten that humor often provides a tactical advantage in discourse. As Neil Postman pointed out in his seminal work Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, we live and work in a society where many interpret veracity from the level of entertainment derived from the presentation.
This entertainment mentality clearly puts environmental educators of all stripes at a disadvantage. Opponents of environmental protection and education regularly use ridicule and satire to degrade the message and demean the messengers. Environmental educators are often portrayed as purveyors of “gloom and doom” and their pronouncements as the ranting of Cassandras. What makes it worse is that these comments often come clothed in mean spirited humor. Look at the language used by Ron Arnold, James Watt, Fred Singer, and other past and present enviro-skeptics and wise use activists. When they are not attempting to draw doubt to the underlying science, they are using satire, ridicule and the darker elements of humor to attack the intellect and motives of the proponents of environmental protection.
The point is that willingness to take up the tools of humor simply means leveling the playing field. This paper addresses how humor in its different forms can be used to inform, how to approach serious subjects humorously, and how humor can be incorporated into different forums. Regarding the conference theme, “Casting a Wider Net”, adding humor to the arsenal of many environmental educators and the ability to defend oneself from the “meaner” forms of humor would certainly expand the scope of environmental education. To paraphrase the apocryphal dying actor “Dying (or talking gloom and doom) is easy, Comedy (or using humor to educate) is hard”.
So, one might ask the question, “What is humor and how do we use it?” There are six or seven basic definitions to the term humor. Humor is:
• The trait (personality characteristic) of being able to appreciate and express the humorous
• The quality of being (or not being) funny
• The liquid parts of the body (still related to the topic in that medieval medicine believed the outer disposition or personality was dependent upon the balance or imbalance of certain essential body fluids)
• One of these four essential humors in medieval medicine
• A characteristic (permanent or temporary) state of being
• A message designed to evoke laughter or
• A good mood.
Why is the use of humor important and powerful? The more painful and/or complex the concept, in the right hands/using the right words, the more powerful the opportunity to teach using humor. Consider the moments of highest tension or grief in ones own life: a birth, a death, a pressurized educational or work situation. How often is resolution or at least momentum changed by the challenge of humor? The medievalists may have been on to something when they spoke about balancing the humors; for humor itself helps to restore balance in discourse.
How can humor be applied to the processes of environmental education? First of all, there is only so much planning that can be done. Even the most skilled professional comedian utilizes the moment and the setting to provide opportunity for comedy to happen. Robin Williams is a master of this as was once again demonstrated during an appearance on “Inside the Actor’s Studio” (June 10, 2001). Being amongst students, he often broke into “professorial” riffs, including a masterful one on the history of comedy (“far back in time, two Cro-Magnon were looking down a hill at a group of Neanderthals. The one Cro-Magnon said to the other ‘How many Neanderthals does it take to light a fire? None, they don’t have it!’”). Humor/comedy is often for educators an opportunistic enterprise. Very often, it can resemble a verbal form of the Japanese martial art Jujitsu. Those who ridicule environmental academics and teaching are often themselves in superior power positions: politicians, leaders of industry or labor, columnists or journalists with regular access to media outlets or “experts” underwritten by moneyed interests.
Think about some common critics of environmental regulation and education, and the great opportunities for ridicule and satire. The U.S. Department of Defense comes readily to mind. Despite the fact that they are arguably the strongest military force in the world, they feel overly constrained by current environmental regulations and they and their allies in Congress have been pushing for exemptions. Imagine the fun one could have with the concept of the U.S. Army being held up by the black footed ferret, the gopher tortoise or some other endangered species. Rep. Tom DeLay is on the record as referring to the EPA as Nazis; think of the imagery that could be used turning this vile comparison on its head. It is important to remember that those who control the terminology often control the discourse and win the argument before it begins. Consider the success that the Wise Use movement has had in labeling acts of vandalism as “ecoterrorism”. It has transformed in the minds of many often minor criminal acts into something seriously subversive and dangerous to the society as a whole.
The use of humor in environmental education does not always have to be defensive or used to ridicule. Consider the sheer wonder of the natural things that surround us. Nature can be pretty funny. Once again to reference Robin Williams, he did a marvelous routine in his standup days on the platypus as proof that God gets stoned. Almost anyone who truly tries to explain the wonders of life and the universe must see a thousand amazing things a day in nature, but even more amusing things. I explain to my students that if we are ever going to really understand how to protect species and their habitats, we must get inside their heads (as best as humanly possible). For instance, when one drives in the southeastern United States, one regularly sees dead armadillo by the roadside. Here is a creature whose ancestors roamed the Earth 60 million years ago, yet is being wiped out by the thousands along lonely stretches of southern roads every summer. I proceed to explain how this can happen by getting down on all fours and invoking audience participation to demonstrate that last few moments of an unlucky armadillo’s life. It is guaranteed not only to evoke laughter but to teach the audience that evolution isn’t fast enough to keep up with technological change.
Every day presents us with opportunities as educators to take what unfortunately may be boring subjects and transform them not only into something that entertains, but teaches. The sci-fi author Harry Harrison referred to one of his characters as being a “stainless steel rat in the wainscoting of society”. We can not simply rely on tradition pathways to deliver information and increase knowledge, understanding and commitment about the environment. I’m not advocating turning teaching into standup comedy. On the other hand a little humor, like chicken soup, couldn’t hurt. As was pointed out in the NEETF/Roper report Understanding Environmental Literacy in America, the levels of understanding and commitment to environmental sustainability in this country are astonishing low. As educators we should be willing to stretch ourselves to “make fun” of serious subjects with that most subversive of goals: to teach.
Eric Fitch teaches in the Environmental Science Program, Dept. of Biology and Environmental Science, Marietta College, Marietta, OH, USA 45750
Reference List
Coyle, Kevin J. (May 2004) Understanding Environmental Literacy in America: And Making It a Reality Washington, D.C.: NEETF (National Environmental Education & Training Foundation
Fitch, Eric J., 2004, National Security and Environmental Protection: New Realities in American Public Policy in Interdisciplinary Environmental Review (Vol. 6, Issue 1): Worchester, MA & Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield
Postman, Neil, 1986 Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business New York, NY: Penguin Books
Postman, Neil and Charles Weingartner, 1971 Teaching as a Subversive Activity New York, NY: Delta Publishing
Williams, Robin, June 10, 2001 (originally aired ) Inside the Actors Studio Exec. Producer/Host James Lipton, Director Jeff Wurtz, New York, NY: Television Program
Williams, Robin (1993) Robin Williams – Live at the Met : Producer Troy Miller. 60 min. Lionsgate New York, NY: Videocassette
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What we have called the “environmental crisis” is the most significant challenge humanity as a whole has faced in its recorded history. How we understand and frame this crisis—and how we summon the political courage to change—will determine the extent to which we are able to continue existence on Earth in a way that is worth living.
