Teacher Practical Guidance:
Analogy & Storytelling
Category: Strategy
Rank Order
10
Effect Size
0.92
Achievement Gain %
32
How-To Strategies
Storytelling Techniques reference link
- Hero’s Journey – where a hero goes on an adventure, faces challenges, and returns transformed
- Reverse – starting in the middle of the action to grab attention immediately before explaining the backstory.
- Nested Loops – Involves layering multiple stories within one another, with each loop supporting a central theme or message.
- False Start: begins with a predictable narrative that is unexpectedly disrupted, engaging the audience’s curiosity.
- Converging Ideas – demonstrates how various narratives or ideas come together to form a cohesive conclusion, ideal for illustrating collaborative efforts or innovations
6 Steps for Teaching with Analogies reference link
1. Introducing the new topic that is about to be taught and giving some general knowledge on the subject.
2. Reviewing the concept that the students already know to ensure they have the proper knowledge to assess the similarities between the two concepts.
3. Finding relevant features within the analogy of the two concepts.
4. Finding similarities between the two concepts so students are able to compare and contrast them in order to understand.
5. Indicating where the analogy breaks down between the two concepts.
6. Drawing a conclusion about the analogy and comparing the new material with the already learned material.
How-To Resources
Link – ARTICLE (Teach Hub) Storytelling in the classroom as a teaching strategy
Link – ARTICLE (NCTE) Teaching storytelling
Link – ARTICLE (Study) Storytelling definition, history, examples
Link – ARTICLE (Webpage) 8 classic storytelling techniques
Link – ARTICLE (Maven) 15 storytelling techniques
Link – ARTICLE (Edutopia) Why storytelling in the classroom matters
Link – ARTICLE (Ohio Univ) Storytelling in the classroom
Link – ARTICLE (APS) Storytelling in teaching
Link – ARTICLE (Harvard) What makes storytelling so effective for learning?
Link -ARTICLE (Wharton) The value of storytelling in learning
Link – ARTICLE (Teach Thought) 30 storytelling tips
Link – ARTICLE (Arora) 8 Effective storytelling tips
Link – ARTiCLE (Edutopia) Encouraging students to be storytellers
Link – ARTICLE (Beatrice) Types of analogies
Link – ARTICLE (Eye) Marzano’s 9: Analogies
Link – VIDEO (Turner) The power of storytelling in teaching
Link – VIDEO (Brown) Using storytelling in Art class
Link – VIDEO (Teach Mint) How to use storytelling to teach
References
Andrews, D. H. , Hull, T. D. , & Donahue, J. A. (2009). Storytelling as an Instructional Method: Definitions and Research Questions. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 3(2). Available at: https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1063
Aveling, N. (2001). ‘Where do you come from?’ – Critical storytelling as teaching strategy within the context of teacher education. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 22(1). Link
Brown, P. C., Roediger, H. L., & McDaniel, M. A. (2014). Make it stick. Harvard University Press.
Bruner, J. (1994) ‘Life as a Narrative’, in A. Dyson and C. Genishi (eds) The Need for Story: Cultural Diversity in Classroom and Community, pp. 28-37. Urbana, IL: National Council for Teachers of English
Buchholz, D. (2011). Effective openings or how to hook your reader from the start.
Carter, K. (1993) ‘The Place of Story in the Study of Teaching and Teacher Education’, Educational Researcher, 22(1): 5-12 .Google Scholar
Caruthers, L. (2008). Using storytelling to interrupt a paradigm of sameness in schools. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 2, 153-162
Combs, M., & Beach, J.D. (1994). Stories and storytelling: personalizing the social studies. The Reading Teacher, 47(6), 464-471.
Connelly, F. and Clandinin, D. (1990) ‘Stories of Experience and Narrative Inquiry’, Educational Researcher,19(5): 2-14 .Google Scholar
Davidhizar, R. and Lonser, G. (2003) ‘Storytelling as a Teaching Technique’, Nurse Educator 28(5): 217-221 .
Eldridge, N. (2009). To teach science, tell stories. Issues in Science & Technology, 25(4), 81-84.
Glynn, S. M., & Takahashi, T. (1998). Learning from analogy-enhanced science text. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 35(10), 1129–1149.
Gunawardena, M., & Koivula, M. (2023). Children’s social–emotional development: The power of pedagogical storytelling. International Journal of Early Childhood. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-023-00381-y
Fairbanks, C. (1996) ‘Telling Stories: Reading and Writing Research Narratives’, Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 11(4): 320-340 .Google Scholar
Green, M. C., & Brock, T. C. (2000). The role of transportation in the persuasiveness of public narratives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 401-421.
Harris, R. B. (2007). Blending narratives: a storytelling strategy for social studies. Social Studies, 98(3). pp. 111-116.
Kosa, J. R. (2008). Tell a story. Education Digest, 74(2), 43-47.
Landrum, R. E., Brakke, K., & McCarthy, M. A. (2019). The pedagogical power of storytelling. Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 5(3), 247–253. https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000152
Nikitina, S. (2003) ‘Stories that Stayed “Under the Skin”’, Qualitative Studies in Education 16(2): 251-265 .
Perplexity. (2024). *Perplexity.ai* (AI chatbot). https://www.perplexity.ai/
Razack, S. (1993) ‘Story-Telling for Social Change’, Gender and Education 5(1): 55-71 .
Schank, R.C. (1990). Tell me a story. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1995). Knowledge and memory: The real story. In R. S. Wyer, Jr. (Ed.), Advances in social cognition (Vol. VIII, pp. 1-85). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Walan, S. (2017). Teaching children science through storytelling combined with hands-on activities: A successful instructional strategy. Education, 47(1). Link
Analogy & Storytelling
DEFINITIONS
Analogy: are comparisons between two otherwise unlike things that highlight similarities in specific aspects. They serve as a rhetorical device to clarify concepts, illustrate relationships, and enhance understanding by connecting familiar ideas to unfamiliar ones. For example, saying “the brain is like a computer” illustrates the brain’s function in processing information by comparing it to a well-known technology.
Analogies Enhances Understanding by helping students grasp complex or abstract concepts by relating them to familiar experiences or objects. Encourages Critical Thinking by helping students develop reasoning skills as they identify relationships and draw conclusions from comparisons. Facilitates Memory Retention asanalogies create vivid mental images that can make information more memorable. When students relate new knowledge to something they already understand, they are more likely to retain that information. Promotes Engagement because lessons are more interesting and relatable, capturing students’ attention and encouraging participation in discussions. Perplexity (2024)
Storytelling: is the act of portraying real or fictitious events through narrative, sometimes enhanced with improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment. Serves as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation, or instilling moral values. Includes crucial elements such as plot, characters, and narrative point of view.
Storytelling serves as a powerful tool for communication across cultures and throughout history. It can entertain, educate, and inspire audiences by making complex ideas accessible and relatable. The interactive nature of storytelling allows both storyteller and listener to engage in a shared experience that can foster understanding and empathy. Reference Link
DATA
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5 meta-analysis reviews
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179 research studies
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13,000 students in studies
5 meta-analysis reviews
179 research studies
13,000 students in studies
Perplexity (2024)
QUOTES
“Storytelling as a teaching method is a highly effective tool for building up new knowledge and learning a variety of 21st-century skills. A story-based learning approach moves children into the world of imagination while acquiring new skills, which simplifies the educational process and makes it more effortless.” Perplexity (2024)
“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.”
– Native American Proverb
This is by far the most important skill listed by Marzano for increasing student achievement. Marzano draws on research that shows thinking used to identify similarities and differences is basic to human thought and possibly the core of all learning. Development of this skill yields the greatest improvements, boosting student achievement by a whopping 45%. link