The topic I am looking at for my project is digital storytelling in algebra. I am interested in this topic because it combines multimodal literacy with mathematical understanding, offering a creative and engaging way for students to communicate algebraic concepts. It can bring more abstract concepts into more concrete and relatable ideas. Digital storytelling can help students stay engaged and motivated because they have a personal connection to the information. Some different ways to make this practical are lesson integration, using student talks, differentiation, and assessments. Lesson integration can be where students create short stories or videos explaining solutions to algebraic problems. By having the students be heard, students can narrate their process of solving a problem, creating a deeper understanding of the material. Differentiating the way the lesson is being presented can help the students who learn differently understand the material. Some students learn visually, while others learn auditorily. Then, having an assessment will help with making sure that the learning is on track.
Knight, D. (2020). Microsoft Power BI quick start guide: Bring your data to life through data
modeling, visualization, digital storytelling, and more. Packt Publishing.
This practical guide introduces Microsoft Power BI as a tool for transforming raw data into interactive visual narratives. The book covers things like data modeling, visualization, and publishing reports, telling us how storytelling techniques can be used to make data more accessible and impactful. While not education specific, the text provides instructions on building dashboards and integrating narrative elements into data presentations. This book has useful applications for educators interested in incorporating data storytelling into math classrooms. For algebra students, tools like Power BI can be used to create projects where students model real life data with linear functions and communicate what they find through digital stories, graphs, and narrative voiceovers, bridging math content with new literacies.
Mercat, C., Lealdino Filho, P., & El-Demerdash, M. (2017). Creativity and technology in
mathematics: From storytelling to algorithmic with Op’Art. Acta Didactica Napocensia, 10(1), 63–70. https://doi.org/10.24193/adn.10.1.10
This article explores how mathematical storytelling can be connected to creative visual patterns using Op Art (Optical Art) and algorithmic thinking. The authors describe classroom experiences in which students used digital tools to create Op Art images, engaging with geometry and algebraic transformations. The process encouraged creativity, narrative construction, and mathematical reasoning, moving from artistic expression to algorithm-based explanations. This article supports the integration of digital storytelling in math education by demonstrating how narrative, creativity, and mathematical structure can intersect. While its focus is on geometry and Op Art, the framework can be adapted to algebra classes, where students tell stories through graphing, equations, and transformations. It reinforces the idea that math learning becomes more meaningful when students create and narrate their work using digital tools.
Matthews, J. (2014). Voices from the heart: The use of digital storytelling in education.
Community Practitioner, 87(1), 28–30.
This article tells us how digital storytelling serves as a meaningful teaching and learning tool, particularly by enabling individuals to present personal narratives through images, music, and voice. Matthews highlights the emotional depth and authenticity that digital storytelling can bring to education, especially in health and community settings, by fostering empathy, reflection, and understanding of others' lived experiences. Although focused on healthcare education, this article emphasizes the power of personal narrative and emotional connection in digital storytelling, key elements that can enhance student engagement in algebra classrooms. Students can reflect on their experiences with math, build confidence, and express their thinking processes creatively. This supports the use of digital storytelling as a tool for humanizing math instruction and connecting content to student identity.
Ohler, J. (2013). Digital storytelling in the classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning,
and creativity. Corwin.
Jason Ohler’s book is considered a foundational text in the field of digital storytelling in education. It offers practical guidance for integrating digital storytelling across content areas, emphasizing student agency, creativity, and digital literacy. Ohler outlines frameworks for planning and assessing student work, and he advocates for blending traditional narrative structures with media tools to enrich learning. This is a seminal work that remains highly relevant for understanding how digital storytelling can transform teaching and learning. It provides essential strategies that can be adapted to the algebra classroom, such as helping students vocalize problem solving processes or personalize math experiences using voice, images, and narrative. Ohler’s work helps ground your project in a pedagogical approach.
Yang, Y.-T. C., & Wu, W.-C. I. (2015). Digital storytelling for enhancing student academic
achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation: A year-long experimental study.
Computers & Education, 59(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.12.012
This experimental study examined how digital storytelling (DST) affected high school students learning English as a foreign language. The researchers found that students who participated in DST activities demonstrated significantly higher academic achievement, improved critical thinking skills, and increased learning motivation compared to those in a traditional instruction group. The study used both quantitative data and qualitative feedback to support its findings. Although the focus is on English language learning, the findings are highly applicable to math education. The results support the idea that digital storytelling can foster deeper understanding, reflection, and motivation, which are also crucial in algebra. Implementing DST in algebra class can help students process abstract concepts more meaningfully, present their thinking clearly, and build confidence in their math abilities.
Hi Tiffany,
ReplyDeleteYour idea of using digital storytelling in algebra is very creative and intriguing! Digital storytelling would not only enhance math learning but would also allow students to build confidence as they articulate how they solve problems. By inviting students to narrate how they arrived at a solution via visually, verbally, and emotionally, it provides deeper student engagement and encompasses a wide range of learning styles. Studies have shown that students engaged in digital storytelling, demonstrated increased academic achievement, motivation, and critical thinking compared to those in traditional learning environments (Yang & Wu, 2015). The project could impact both how students learn algebra and how they feel about learning it. In the context of algebra, students creating animated slideshows, video journals, or voiceovers that walk viewers through their approach to solving a linear equation or interpreting a graph also enhances their foundational digital skills.
In a recent study, researchers discovered that digital storytelling significantly improved middle school students’ attitudes toward learning by fostering a stronger emotional connection to the material (Roy, 2024). While this specific study focused on English language learning, the findings suggest that DST can be a powerful pedagogical tool across several subjects (Roy, 2024). Students who often feel intimidated by math (much like myself with math) may reframe their mindset through storytelling, potentially seeing themselves as capable problem-solvers from shared student insights (Roy, 2024).
It will be exciting to see how your students' understanding of algebra deepens when they are not just solving equations, but also telling the stories behind them. Just out of curiosity, what kinds of story formats or media platforms do you think your students would gravitate toward most when sharing their mathematical thinking?
References
Roy, A. (2024). Impact of digital storytelling on middle school students' attitudes toward english language learning. International Journal of Web-Based Learning and Teaching Technologies, 19(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJWLTT.352496
Yang, Y. C., & Wu, W. I. (2015). Digital storytelling for enhancing student academic
achievement, critical thinking, and learning motivation: A year-long experimental study.
Computers & Education, 59(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2011.12.012
Hi Tiffany! This is such a wonderful idea! Algebra can be a tough subject for some to wrap their head around. Reframing it in the mode of storytelling engages different parts of the brain and learning, making the material more accessible as well as more likely to be connected with. Students get the opportunity to become the teachers when they create narratives to share and can find inspiration through someone else's lens when they feel that it is so different from their own, yet relatable. The "ah ha!" moments that happen in your class will be mind blowing! This is will help students who are in different places academically as well as ELLs, helping to expand everyone's academic vocabulary and understanding.
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