Transfomative Learning: Digital Stories

Background and Purpose: Digital storytelling is adopted in the partnership as a method to facilitate students’ deep reflection in order to make sense and meaning of their field placement, research training, and/or social work course work experience. Recognized as a powerful transformative tool, digital storytelling impacts both creators and viewers with firt person narrative accounts. This presentation shares the results of TEFL students and postdoctoral fellows digital storytelling documenting their training, mentoring, and research experiences. The guiding research question is: In what ways does the storytelling process enhance student learning about research training and mentorship? Appreciative feedback is used to enhance students’ ability to refine elements of their stories and their delivery styles.

Methods: Digital storytelling workshops were designed for undergraduate and graduate social work students to learn about the methodology and process. Students in field practicum and research assistants were invited to participate in the training workshops, and to create a digital story. In addition, a Field Image Showcase was organized to invite virtual practicum students during the COVID-19 pandemic to take a photograph and write a reflective narrative on the meaning of the image for the student. The digital storytelling methods were approved by the University Research Ethics Board.

Results: Digital stories and Field Image Showcase submissions will be shared with the Symposium participants with the permission of the student creators. The impact of digital storytelling on student learning will be discussed.

Conclusions and Implications: Digital stories provide a creative approach for students to understand and share their transformative experiences in social work field education and research. A digital storytelling guidebook created by students will be shared with Symposium participants as a resource for the field seminar. The role of digital storytelling in field education will be discussed as an opportunity to promote deep and meaningful engagement and reflection.