dr. regina l. schinker
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Stories for the “Road Scholars, Freeway Fliers, Easy A’s and Gypsy Geeks”: Connecting the Adjunct Community . Dr. Regina L. Schinker. Memorable Messages. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Stories for the “Road Scholars, Freeway Fliers, Easy A’s and Gypsy
Geeks”: Connecting the Adjunct Community
Dr. Regina L. Schinker
Memorable Messages Verbal messages which may be
remembered for extremely long periods of time and which people perceive as a major influence on the course of their lives (Knapp, Stohl, & Reardon, 1981)
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Memorable Messages Organizational Storytelling! in Customer Service
Schinker, Ellis, & Ford, 20??
So what is storytelling? What is your definition?
“…socially constructed accounts of past sequences of events that are of important to organizational members” (Feldman, 1990, p. 812)
Characteristics of a story (Brown, 1990):
Ring True/Are Accurate Have Relevance/Are Pertinent Have a Sequence of Events Sense of Temporality
Ring True/Are Accurate (Brown, 1990):
Hansen & Kahnweiler (1999)› Window to organizational life› Focus on norms› Natural way to discuss past events, problems,
and people Sax (2006)
› Different people = Different meanings Seglin, 2000; Swap, 2001; Love, 2008;
Carr, 2011; Volker, 2011› Be wary of artificial stories!
Have Relevance/Are Pertinent (Brown, 1990):
Hansen & Khanweiler (1999)› Open lines of communication
Ready (2002)› Not speeches but catalysts for discussion
Sax (2006)› What is important?
Sequence of Events (Brown, 1990):
Dennehy’s (1999) 5 Steps:› Establish the setting› Build the plot› Resolve the crisis› Describe the lessons learned› Explain how the characters were changed
Just last week…This week I had the pleasure to work with my colleagues on a project. My past
experiences with teams has always been bad, so I must admit this was one of the best school related group projects I was involved in (Thank you Earthwise Consulting).
My group members quickly responded with their recommendations on the Bucknell project, and were in agreement with choosing a leader.
Victor and I had some fun with the name of our group, and I was reprehensive in making silly jokes (as I normally do), since it’s often hard to convey emotions in an online course.
I further learned, that it’s somewhat hard to be personable when working on a project online. My wonderful team members were on tasks, but its hard for me to fully collaborate our efforts simply because we didn’t meet in person and perhaps were not fully understanding of each other’s view’s
I really didn’t know if I offended Victor, when I unintentionally shortened his name to Vick for in one of our group discussions. He quickly told me that he dislikes being called Vick, and as I apologized, I couldn’t help but think of how slow it was for me to get to know my group members in this online course.
I certainly think we would have had a more interesting conversation, Victor and I, about names.
For instance, I would have told him about my longtime friend, Vick (not to mention my favorite NFL player’s last name); but of course I felt that conversation would have taken away from our focus from the task (very transactional if you will).
Instead, I apologized and hoped I didn’t offend him (sorry again Victor).
Sense of Temporality (Brown, 1990):
Hansen & Kahnweiler (1999); Pentland (1999); McLellan (2006)
Three Major Functions of a Story in an Organization (Brown, 1990):
Reduce Uncertainty Manage Meaning Bonding Through Shared Identity
Reduce Uncertainty (Brown, 1990):
“Stories are like ruts in the road that people follow and thereby recreate. For this reason narrative can be a particularly valuable source of insight about organizations” (Pentland, 1999, p. 712).
“Stories are a safe way for newcomers to be ‘shown the ropes,’ without getting thrown the ropes” (Pentland, 1999, p. 717).
Reduce Uncertainty, cont. (Brown, 1990):
By easing change (Sax, 2006)› “Just tell ‘em” (Adamson, 2006)
Assumptions… Employees don’t need have a need for background
information Employees totally accept decisions by leadership Employees don’t have valid ideas of their own It’s just an information issue No fluff/entertainment is needed
By lessons learned (Harris & Barnes, 2006) By breeding trust (Harris & Barnes, 2006)
Manages Meaning (Brown, 1990).
ALL RESEARCHERS AGREE
Bonding Through Shared Identity (Brown, 1990):
This is “us” and we’ve lived it! (Sax, 2006; Love, 2008; Thorpe, 2011)
Brown’s Take-Away:
“…understanding an organization’s stories may be critical to understanding the organization itself” (Brown, 1990, p. 185).
Criteria for Story Effectiveness (Harris & Barnes, 2006):
Disclose something about you listeners didn’t know Have a clear and compelling message Avoid being boastful Avoid sarcasm or implied negativity about listeners or
someone known to them Avoid “preaching” Include an element in which others can identify Be relevant to a current issue Communicate empathy or understanding Open door to new ideas or solutions Start a conversation Include playful or self-deprecating humor
Themes to Incite Stories (Harris & Barnes, 2006):
Mistakes and failures Unexpected opportunities Risk and reward Choices and consequences Lessons learned Obstacles and challenges Advice from a mentor Someone who inspired me
What is your story…
Situations for Storytelling (Harris & Barnes, 2006):
Mentoring opportunities Introducing self to a new team Orienting new employees Starting a meeting about a new/different issue Illustrating a concept Reenergizing a team that has failed Coaching Leadership development Getting a key point across to a team that needs to hear it Beginning a conversation about a common problem Moving organizational culture towards greater openness
and a focus on learning
Other Applications for Storytelling…
Adult Learning Digital Storytelling
Storytelling and Adult Learning
“Storytelling can clearly be viewed as the foundation of the teaching profession” (Abrahamson, 1998, p. 449).
Deep engagement with context (Clark, 2006)
Reinforces oral and listening skills (Bishop, 2006)› Facts easier to recall
Ways to Involve Students in Stories (Bishop, 2006):
Discuss alternative endings Discuss peripheral factors that may
have influenced the characters Have others retell the story after
hearing it Retell the story from another point of
view
Digital Storytelling (Rule, 2010)
“Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling”
Weaves…› Images› Music› Narrative› Voice
Transformational
Adjunct Instructors The benefits (Dedman & Pearch, 2004)
› Filling positions› Expertise› Student recruitment› Financial relief
The concerns› Teaching method/class prep› Relationship with students and colleagues› Grading practices
Assimilate, orientate, and mentor
DU 2011 Adjunct Headcount
Location Total
Lettinga 210
Online 350
Campuses 351
991
Let’s Explore the Use of Storytelling with DU Adjuncts…