The stories we tell about ourselves are the key to our wellbeing
The way we shape the story of our experiences influences our perceptions of ourselves and the world around us. But sometimes other people's opinions or criterion based assessments can cause us to self-doubt. We can even become so influenced by external judgements that we end up losing sight of the strengths that make us the wonderfully unique people that we are.
Learners of all ages are achieving remarkable things, working on real projects in maker-spaces, growing capabilities through play and learning using new technologies. Yet much of this work in real world contexts sits outside the scope of traditional testing and traditional notions of 'success.'
To be able to clearly 'see' our strengths and capabilities in a world that needs thinkers, creators and problem solvers more than ever, is probably the most important thing we can learn to do.
Story Hui helps us to do this. It's a method of collecting personal stories with an emphasis on strength rather than adversity. The story arc frames the teller as rebounding - an important ingredient of a growth mindset.
Learners of all ages are achieving remarkable things, working on real projects in maker-spaces, growing capabilities through play and learning using new technologies. Yet much of this work in real world contexts sits outside the scope of traditional testing and traditional notions of 'success.'
To be able to clearly 'see' our strengths and capabilities in a world that needs thinkers, creators and problem solvers more than ever, is probably the most important thing we can learn to do.
Story Hui helps us to do this. It's a method of collecting personal stories with an emphasis on strength rather than adversity. The story arc frames the teller as rebounding - an important ingredient of a growth mindset.
I’m Liz Stevenson, founder of Story Hui, and I'm constantly amazed at what can happen when we deeply listen to each other's stories. For the past 20 years, I’ve been working with story circles in the areas of health, education and the arts.
It all began (working as a Speech/Language therapist) with visual story boards that I created for patients who were hospitalised after brain injury. The smiles on the faces of people who had difficulty in verbally communicating were rich testament to the fact that a visual method of storytelling, focusing on strengths and capabilities, raised morale far better than anything else I did. The process encouraged them to recall times where they had risen to the challenge, and demonstrated resilience and fortitude. This work through story acted as a forcing mechanism to help patients use different brain areas to compensate for damaged function and it contributed valuably to their speed of recovery.
A shift to high school teaching, (Visual Arts), and the shock of working with 35 students at once, saw me morph the story circle into a virtual classroom for art students and real world designers/artists [F7@WoW]. This story is told in my book, Alice's Room, Online Mentors in Class.
As a follow-up, my MEd thesis looked at personalised learning online and developed, in partnership with Auckland University of Technology (AUT), a custom made online coaching room, SportLink. In here, high school elite athletes conversed with national sporting identities.
More recently, time spent revisiting early Māori hui protocols and learning about the indigenous Australian languages has found all of this story work coming back full circle to the development of the kanohi ki te kanohi, (face to face) Story Hui methodology for my PhD research into wellbeing in schools.
THE STORY HUI TRUST is a not for profit trust established by the Stevenson family. It's purpose is to fund the ongoing research into Story Hui as an initiative that continues to improve, empower and enrich the lives of children, young people, families and communities.
It all began (working as a Speech/Language therapist) with visual story boards that I created for patients who were hospitalised after brain injury. The smiles on the faces of people who had difficulty in verbally communicating were rich testament to the fact that a visual method of storytelling, focusing on strengths and capabilities, raised morale far better than anything else I did. The process encouraged them to recall times where they had risen to the challenge, and demonstrated resilience and fortitude. This work through story acted as a forcing mechanism to help patients use different brain areas to compensate for damaged function and it contributed valuably to their speed of recovery.
A shift to high school teaching, (Visual Arts), and the shock of working with 35 students at once, saw me morph the story circle into a virtual classroom for art students and real world designers/artists [F7@WoW]. This story is told in my book, Alice's Room, Online Mentors in Class.
As a follow-up, my MEd thesis looked at personalised learning online and developed, in partnership with Auckland University of Technology (AUT), a custom made online coaching room, SportLink. In here, high school elite athletes conversed with national sporting identities.
More recently, time spent revisiting early Māori hui protocols and learning about the indigenous Australian languages has found all of this story work coming back full circle to the development of the kanohi ki te kanohi, (face to face) Story Hui methodology for my PhD research into wellbeing in schools.
THE STORY HUI TRUST is a not for profit trust established by the Stevenson family. It's purpose is to fund the ongoing research into Story Hui as an initiative that continues to improve, empower and enrich the lives of children, young people, families and communities.
