Pedagogical Merit of Storytelling in Nursing Education: A Qualitative Study of Student Perspectives.

BACKGROUND

Nurse educators use storytelling in their teaching in an ad hoc manner. The utility and implementation of storytelling in the classroom setting need to be better established.

PURPOSE: To establish nursing students' perception of educators' use of storytelling in the classroom.

METHODS

This study was an exploratory qualitative investigation, involving the analysis of free-text responses from an anonymous survey. Survey responses were analyzed through thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Educators' stories were highly valued by students, as they effectively bridged theory and practice and established a classroom atmosphere conducive to meaningful learning experiences. Stories effectively engaged students' interest and attention and appealed to students' preferred learning style.

CONCLUSIONS

Stories assist students to scaffold new information onto their own preexisting knowledge, and new information is retained.