Once Upon a Time, There was Me; Constructing and Deconstructing Narratives to Make and Remake Knowledge, Worlds and Futures

This paper acknowledges the importance of self-constructed narratives in curriculum and encourages ways of learning through story making. By the term story making I mean (re) writing the stories and also (re) designing physically their medium, while applying our personal experiences in them. These self-constructed narratives might be stories that children write from the beginning or by deconstructing and reconstructing existing stories. In the second case, existing stories are brought back to life being rewritten by allowing children’s input. Story making could not only be used to enhance children’s learning, but also as a platform for design, while children also (re) design the medium of the story. Making/designing is used primarily as a process, helping to get ideas for the writing of the story and finally as an outcome by redesigning the story. Having entered into fantasy we are able to have a better grip of reality and realize the design possibilities. By applying their innate fantasy and creativity, children could challenge the conventional perception of ‘how things look’. Story making and fantasy can then be used to design futures and come across new worlds. I will analyze workshops I have conducted; case studies from schools, which explore the interconnections of story making, learning and designing and also an outline study that I am currently working with. Through these cases, I am exploring how the role of teacher and learner, author and reader, designer and client can be reversed. This process not only might help children to acquire design and writing skills, but also fosters dialogue over children’s and story’s ethics. The educator/designer/researcher has a role of facilitator in order to assist them through the process.

Book republished in 2020 with Brill
https://brill.com/view/title/54852
ISBN: 978-1-84888-006-1

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