The Hero’s Journey Using Story to Teach Economic Principles Neil B. Niman University of New Hampshire

“…we all care intensely for the narrative of our own life and very much want it to be a good story, with a decent hero.” (Daniel Kahneman, 2011 p. 387)

Millennials A PORTRAIT OF GENERATION NEXT Confident Connected Open to Change Pew Research Center

Yet we still teach the same 83% of Economics Instructors Teach Using LECTURE. This number has not changed since 1995.

Isn’t There a Better Way? Passive ListeningActive Learning

We are all storytellers now

Which stories? It is more than personalization It is about telling our own stories

Service Dominant Logic Students are not customers Students co-produce a learning experience

Lecture or Value Co-Creation? LectureValue Co-Creation Instructor Student E 1 E 2 E 3 Student Instructor

Why Story? do we ever really grow up?

Co-creation as part of learning is not about ceding control of the educational process to the student, nor is it about joint knowledge creation, rather it is about creating an experience environment in which students can have an active dialogue and co- construct personalized experiences that facilitate the learning process (Prahalad & Ramaswamy, 2004). It is about creating an environment where a student can take abstract constructs and turn them into relatable concepts that have meaning for them.

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Hero’s Journey

Benefits to the Story Approach Learning is connected to life Ideas are placed in context and given meaning Provides a framework for ordering concepts Helps to establish & affirm a sense of self Encourages risk taking with respect to learning