Ambika Raj

Storying Teacher Ambika Raj

The Storying Teacher: Processes and Benefits for the Classroom and Beyond introduces future and current educators to the inherent power of story and teaches them how to apply it to address social, cultural, and critical issues in various instructional settings.

The text is divided into three parts. Part I defines storytelling, storying, and introduces a new concept that the author calls emotional truth. It demonstrates how storytelling is used across academic disciplines and introduces critical components of effective storytelling, including the creation of a unique narrative, the construction of identity, and the cultivation of a cultural-historical being. In Part II, readers explore the educational relevance of story and are provided with strategies for incorporating storytelling in the classroom. Part III connects storytelling with practice. Readers learn about the performative aspects of story and discover how story can foster emotional resonance, shape worldviews and attitudes, elicit specific responses, and more.

Featuring insightful anecdotes and numerous application activities, The Storying Teacher helps educators successfully incorporate storytelling into their teaching repertoire. The text is well suited for educational programs and can also be used by novice or veteran teachers who would like to introduce new teaching methodologies to their classrooms.

Ambika G. Raj, Ph. D., received her doctoral degree in education from The Ohio State University and specialized in culturally relevant pedagogy and educational drama. Currently, she is a professor of education at the division of curriculum and instruction at California State University, Los Angeles. Dr. Raj coordinates and advises students at the graduate and doctoral levels in various programs such as the Creative Literacies, Curriculum and Instruction, Early Childhood, and Storytelling certificate. She has taught at all levels, from Pre-K through doctoral-level courses, always incorporating concepts of story and educational drama to enhance learning and enrich the classroom experience.