Just a little story: the use of stories to aid reflection on teaching in higher education

Abstract

In the context of teaching in higher education story writing as an aid to reflection on practice would seem to be a little-used research tool. We examine its value as part of an action research project focusing on dissertation supervision, in which five lecturers were invited to write stories on this theme. The ways in which this dimension was introduced into the project are explored, and its distinctive contribution to the research, together with the use of interviews and group discussion, is discussed. We consider the purposes of story writing within action research, and the ways in which it might benefit both writer and readers, and offer suggestions for how others might develop this aspect of action research into teaching in higher education.