Narrative has always been used for learning both in school
and in informal contexts. Only recently, however, the literature in education
has witnessed a growing interest in narrative. Originally confined to the framework
of literary critics, narrative is now also the object of research concerning
learning and understanding. Following early studies in cognitive psychology (in
particular the work of J. Bruner), also the area of Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) has begun to focus on the use of narrative as a tool to support
learning.
This increasing interest for narrative is due to the important roles that it
can play in human thinking, such as external representation; organizational
principle and cognitive process. Some authors even claim that narrative
could form the basis for the entire curriculum, since it appears to play a central role
in giving meaning to new experiences and in knowledge construction.
The term “narrative learning environment” refers to a variety of different
applications making use of narrative in different ways.
First of all, two kinds of narrative environments may be distinguished:
- the environment is a mediating tool for the development of narrative
competence.
- the narrative environment is a mediator for the development of other kinds of
competence.
In general, three aspects appear to influence the learning experience afforded by NLE:
- the user's role, namely, constructing a narrative, receiving one, and
participating (with other individuals or with synthetic characters) in a narrative
construction;
- the educational approach underlying the narrative activity afforded;
- the technology used, which can include generic tools and specifically designed ones.
Focusing on narrative and ICT in the context of learning, some basic questions are currently
object of research:
- Is there an added value in using technology to realize narrative learning experiences?
- What are the advantages of embedding narrative in technology-based learning environments?
- In either case, under what conditions?
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