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The art and science of storytelling | Aparna Athreya | TEDxBMSCE


good morning everybody good to see a
crowd of smiling faces and hopefully you
can open your up okay so when I’m in an
institution like this
I remember my college days there are few
standout movies I have and then I thank
you I actually mean one you see I used
to finish my days sitting in the back
fence I was a bad mentor throughout
right and where is that on the last vent
there was this beautiful ornate engraved
painstakingly John tombstone last night
along
I had a message on it and it attached
and it read this in loving memory of all
those who died waiting for large men to
reach and I completely related with that
right I didn’t stop there I remember in
the restroom right into deep inside that
really matter
it’s a slash twice it’s a long way to
the blackboard so and it was the one of
things happen year after year it became
a culture thing you know to put these
messages out to keep these tombstones
alive pun intended right so by the time
I left college I remember that the
lasting places look like a full-blown
cemetery but I’m not here to talk about
two stones or cemeteries I’m here to ask
the question why is there such a mind
death in a learning environment in a
classroom and here is here is a report I
came across which was done a study done
in Indiana University in
here there was a survey done with high
school students to study their interest
loans and it was astounding
two-thirds of every class of sixty six
percent of the high school students said
that they were born at least every day
and if you read this report there is
more horrifying detail stood right so
here and the reason why I chose this
report to talk in this movement is
because this is one of the most
comprehensive studies done for interest
levels in the classroom it was done over
hundred class schools over 27 states in
the United States and it is very
representative of any Asian classroom
particularly and I know that I am a
living example of the world that are
talking about so on one hand we are up
against huge boredom in the classroom
won’t let me just keep that aside and
talk about content learning content
knowledge even from my college days I
remember there was tons of information
available freely textbooks guides learn
a series like and now we are coming on
the Internet
it has exponentially listen there is
enough and more information available
content available everywhere in fact I
was curiosity I did a Google search how
to solve a binomial equation for black
plus results and because it’s Google in
point for two seconds
right so it must kind of content
available online and then I did a check
on how many textbooks are there in
algebra which was any way to talk about
my normal equation four thousand six
hundred thousand a textbook
the point is content is available for
the one hand everywhere and on the other
hand you have a learner and there is a
classroom in which this learning
has to be assimilated with the learner
but that is where there is a great great
divide there is huge boredom that exists
this content is on appeal it’s like a
room full of goodies which is waiting to
be discovered
waiting to be learned want you to be
curious about waiting to be taught but
it’s inside for dead footballs with a
very boy don’t like in front of it a lot
and I don’t want to look inside I’m not
motivated look inside it’s just your
body all those burning precious learning
material is locked up not good for
learning so the overarching question is
how can we be this content more lovable
more appealing to the none I like you
hang on to that question while I
generate a contemporary version of a
very famous ESOP thing Emily it was a
very very hot day and I was burning up
inside
I’m City you don’t lie in the corner of
a street on any given day is not an
ideal spot and definitely not to deal
with the Sun acting up
oh I was feeling like barbecue inside
and Amazon’s wallowing around in
frustration I suddenly saw two humans
walking down the road with their heads
bent and sweat streaming down their
faces and began to wonder what would it
be
how would it be if I would sweat if I
could turn off sweaty but here I almost
dry and I wish i
cry and I don’t like this complaining I
suddenly heard of corner oh oh there she
was there she was good blackbird what
was she doing oh she looked upset very
upset indeed and she was going around in
circles
I wondered why but then I let it pass
you see I noticed not women going on in
circles without thinking in their
thoughts I thought a minute possible
suddenly towards me I was off the ground
this was the first time ever off the
ground this takes all good Oh in the
meat of this bird it felt so good
probably not humans have stopped
fighting Fisher but smart this comb is
really really good
it’s wonderful makes me feel so good I
want to sing could we have some more
makeup okay but in a OD dedication more
makeup on cable
Oh Yaya
FLE this song washable me so good life
could be like this but then suddenly no
life could not be like that
because I saw that she swooped down on
me telling me all the way down at my
first bite was coming to an end
oh gosh I don’t and she just dropped me
drop me like a stone but that’s who I am
I stole she dropped me right inside cop
I’ve been to the bottom of a picture
it’s better than water
ah but water on this hot day this water
felt good oh yeah he wants everything
one of the meats to be like this
oh I was feeling so good I wanted a tag
this black lady forgive me Oh more
stones falling down why my friends
joining me it was like a stone reunion
and we did a third team huddle together
we felt almost good that’s when I
noticed the water it was me all the way
to the top up there she won oh my gosh
it reached to the top and she didn’t she
took a gulp of water she felt so much
Sheen without a victorious we were all
happy we broke into another happy song
having the deep blue sky through water
about me I drew her Barney Barney one
bunny bunny they’ll be sunny sunny sunny
sunny sunny sunny as you’re on the beach
and that’s how they all lived another
happy day together thank you
[Music]
there are two reasons why I chose this
story to tell you
reason one is because with hundred
percent certainty
I knew that each one of you in the story
at least once and the name of the story
is the third secret and cue yeah you’re
all knowledgeable geniuses and I decided
to tell the story was because I wanted
to underpin how a simple story such as a
thirsty crowd which is heard which is
been heard a million times in households
and classrooms and boardrooms and I so
the reason why the story appeals each
one of you I know it did the reason why
I did was not just because you’re the
great audience thank you you are yes but
it’s also because you are multi
intelligent you see Howard Gardner a
great scientist in the early 80s
propounded the theory of multiple
intelligence it’s a very complex unit
but for the relevance of the stop
simplistically put he suggests that each
one of us has been the stone with a
blend of distinguishable intelligences
as against a single unilateral indexing
that was earlier thought to be so he
talks about he suggests a blend of eight
distinguishable intelligences musical
linguistic interpersonal naturalistic
right and this blend of intelligences
each of us has a few dominant ones
versus C which are not so dominant and
that is different for each one of us and
when we appreciate that we have a
roomful of people who have different
then I’ll commemorate a story to you
which has incorporated some more of
these intelligences a story which is
musical Estonian it is intrapersonal a
story which is naturalistic or a story
which is logical
will appeal to every listener who’s
dominant intelligence is aligned with
this intelligence and that is why this
story of these to each one of you your
power and intelligence kicks in you
connect you want to hear it but you
might ask me so what has this story got
to do with learning right and I want to
introduce you to a new dimension of how
a simple story can be made into a
learning experience in a multi-faceted
manner right so this simple story of the
thirsty crow can be used to trigger
thought to trigger learning and to the
discussion in a topic such as water
conservation or ecological balance the
same thirsty crow can be used to trigger
thought and learning in a life skill
such as Brazilians or crisis management
the black lady was pretty good at
managing a crisis or percipient she
never gave up me she the same thirsty
crow who thirsty crow can be used
through the discussion learning and
thought in the concept of the Archimedes
principle of buoyancy and displacement
would you agree upon the weight of the
permission release so you see a story
such as this can be used to trigger
thought and learning how that water gets
displaced when you drop that stone
inside the point is Archimedes principle
is learning content its knowledge
that’s your the state for good it’s a
constant when there are many spoons
it is symbolic of any learning content
it could be it could be VR
Howard business theories it could be
anything
it could be any scientific theory it
could be any theory about how the
applicant italics it may happen and the
learner there is never going to be a
dearth of learners
that’s another constant you will keep
having content you will keep having
learners but when you make this content
rich rich multi intelligent and faculty
does a story that learner comes closer
to this content and you’re bridging the
gap between the content and in the
learner so if you use a story a simple
story can be used to plug in different
content based on the way you tell the
story and that same story can be told by
using multiple intelligences doing this
you bring the learner closer to the
content I like to call stories the firm
ones of learning it attracts the loner
irresistible to the content it makes
learners go like this towards content
and I can tell you because I have done
enough research to know that it does and
I’m not talking about just the classroom
the same logic wave fulfilled in a
boardroom or a classroom or any
conferred space or inside a lab so I
will end with this once I make a very
flamboyant businessman in Airport in San
Francisco him sitting by my side and he
was so stylish
I couldn’t take my eyes off him but we
were having different destinations there
was one thing we hadn’t come passion his
passion for cigars
my passion for stories an Easter and we
chit-chatted about this and that and I
was most waiting and then I saw him put
his hand inside his pocket and pull out
of beautiful-looking Cuban cigar clearly
an expensive wonderful intricately Cuban
cigar lovingly and he brought it to his
nose took a great whiff of it
inhale and then he said something to me
I will never forget he said when it
comes to a cigar it’s not the tobacco
but the lava that’s the most precious it
gives tactic Geneva color even the name
to the Cuban cigar and I wanted to do
the deep green color you see sometimes
the wrapper is so exquisite
it makes what’s inside more valuable to
me stories and historically are like the
wrappers to the cigar they give
character flavor and op2 context to
learning content so it is a gentleman
let’s go and wrap it all up thank you
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