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Like Stephen Krashen's important work in The Power of Reading, Story Proof collects and analyzes the research that validates the importance of story, story reading, and storytelling to the brain development and education of children and adults. Accomplished researcher and storyteller Kendall Haven, establishes the need for understanding the research findings in neural psychology and brain development and the value of a common definition of story if one is to fully grasp the importance and necessity of story to the development of the human mind. To support his case, he reviews a wealth of research from storytellers, teachers, and others who have experienced the power of story firsthand.The author has collected anecdotal experiences from over 100 performing storytellers and from 1,800 story practitioners (mostly teachers) who have made extensive use of stories. He has read more than 150 qualitative and quantitative research studies that discuss the effectiveness of stories and/or storytelling for one or more specific applications (education, organizational management, knowledge management, medical and narrative therapy, etc.). Forty of these studies were literature reviews and comparative studies including analysis of over 1,000 studies and descriptive articles. He has also gathered research evidence from his own story performances for total audiences of over 4 million and from conducting story writing workshops with 200,000 students and 40,000 teachers.
E-Book Content
STORY PROOF STORY PROOF The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story KENDALL HAVEN Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haven, Kendall F. Story proof : the science behind the startling power of story / Kendall Haven. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-1-59158-546-6 (alk. paper) 1. Storytelling. 2. Brain—Growth. 3. Cognition in children. I. Title. LB1042.H386 2007 372.670 7—dc22 2007017728 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. C 2007 by Kendall Haven Copyright All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2007017728 ISBN-13: 978-1-59158-546-6 First published in 2007 Libraries Unlimited, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 A Member of the Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.lu.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Introduction: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night vii PART 1. STORY SMARTS 1 Chapter 1. Opening Arguments: More Than You Imagined The Power of Stories The Inside Story 3 7 9 Chapter 2. So, What Is a Story? The Blanket Myth The Binary Association Myth The Childhood Myth The Dictionary’s Turn: The Final Myth The Story Step: What It Means to Us 11 13 15 16 17 19 Chapter 3. Starting at the Top: A Nod to the Noodle What’s in This Gray Goo? Watching You Think A Few Relevant Parts of the Brain Brain Development Cells That Fire Together Wire Together What It Means for Us 21 21 22 23 24 26 27 Chapter 4. Noggin Know-How: The Mind Is What the Brain Does Owner’s Manual for the Human Mind: The Concepts That Govern the Mind’s Story Map The Magnificent Seven in Action What It Means for Us 29 32 43 44 Chapter 5. Mind Mechanics Eleven Mental Tools Why Do We Do It? What It Means for Us 45 45 64 vi CONTENTS Chapter 6. Thanks for the Memories Memory Mechanics: Making Memories Remember the Alamo!: What You Remember Reme