The problem / intent

Bruner (1986; 1990) shows, narrative is a powerful cognitive and epistemological construct. The language of mathematics is often perceived as propositional; a formalism which defines terms, states axioms and rules, then derives theorems and proves them. Its structures are static, devoid of time and person. This would appear to be antithetical to narrative form, which is always personal, contextual and time-bound. The challenge is even greater in non-linear interactive media is a major challenge (Laurillard et al, 2000).These patterns address the issue of harnessing narrative to support learning in a computer-mediated, constructionist, collaborative setting.

Elements of narrative

Context

Identifies a narrative's frame or reference, and thus constrains its interpretation.

Plot

A temporal sequence of events, chosen by implied casual relations, from which the moral can be deduced.

Voice

Characteristics identifying the speaker, or storyteller, and establishing a sense of personal contract between speaker and audience.

Moral

The general, transferable proposition implied by the narrative, its Raison d'être.

Some patterns in this collection

• Narrative spaces
• Narrative representations
  

Related patterns

Follows: Construction, Communication, Collaboration
Elaborates: Structure
Elaborated by: Narrative spaces, Narrative representations

References

• Benjamin, W. (1968), The Storyteller: Reflections on the Work of Nikolai Leskov, in Hannah Arendt, ed.,'Illuminations', Schocken Books, New York, pp. 83--109.
• Bruner, J. (1991), 'The Narrative Construction of Reality', Critical Inquiry 18.
• Bruner, J. & Lucariello, J. (1989), Monolouge as Narrative Recreation of the World, in Katherine Nelson, ed.,'Narratives from the Crib', Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, pp. 73-97.
• Decortis, F. (2004),'Survey of narrative theories for learning environments''kaleidoscope technical report', Kaleidoscope, Liege, Belgium.
• Decortis, F. & Rizzo, A. (2002), 'New Active Tools for Supporting Narrative Structures', Personal Ubiquitous Comput. 6(5-6), 416--429.
• Genette, G. (1980), Narrative Discourse, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
• Healy, L. & Sinclair, N. (2007), 'If this is our Mathematics, What are our Stories?', International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning 12(1), 3-21.
• Juul, J. (2001), 'Games Telling stories? - A brief note on games and narratives.', Game Studies 1(1).
• Laurillard, D.; Stratfold, M.; Luckin, R.; Plowman, L. & Taylor, J. (2000), 'Affordances for Learning in a Non-Linear Narrative Medium', Journal of Interactive Media in Education(2).
• Mar, R. A. (2004), 'The neuropsychology of narrative: story comprehension, story production and their interrelation (review)', Neuropsychologia 42(10), 1414-–1434.
• Mor, Y. & Noss, R. (in press), 'Programming as Mathematical Narrative', International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning (IJCEELL).
• Nehaniv, C. L. (1999), Narrative for Artifacts: Transcending Context and Self, in Phoebe Sengers & Micheal Mateas, ed.,'Narrative Intelligence: Papers from the 1999 AAAI Fall Symposium, (5-7 November 1999 - North Falmouth, Massachusetts)', AAAI Press, Technical Report FS-99-01, , pp. 101--104.
• Paiva, A.; Machado, I. & Prada, R. (2001), Heroes, villians, magicians, ...: dramatis personae in a virtual story creation environment, in 'IUI '01: Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Intelligent user interfaces', ACM Press, New York, NY, USA, pp. 129--136.
• Riedl, M. O. (2004), 'Narrative Planning: Balancing Plot and Character'.