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Storytelling for education and training: using stories to engage, communicate, and innovate
Storytelling for education and training: using stories to engage, communicate, and innovate
Storytelling as a tool for educational communication: from traditional practices to the possibilities offered by digital media and artificial intelligence.
Course description
Storytelling is now a widespread practice across all fields of communication, but it can play a particularly significant role in the context of education and training. Telling stories, constructing narratives, and organizing content in a narrative form allows for greater engagement among learners, fostering attention, participation, and deep understanding.
This MOOC offers a course in exploring and designing storytelling for educational purposes, combining classic narrative approaches with the opportunities offered by multimedia technologies and generative artificial intelligence. The course provides theoretical insights, practical examples, tools, and strategies for integrating storytelling into your teaching contexts, with a particular focus on the potential of new media and large language models (LLMs).
Total workload of the course: 15 hours
This MOOC is provided by Politecnico di Milano.
This MOOC was produced as part of the Edvance project – Digital Education Hub per la Cultura Digitale Avanzata. The project is funded by the European Union – Next Generation EU, Component 1, Investment 3.4 “Didattica e competenze universitarie avanzate".
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the MOOC, participants will be able to:
- Understanding the cognitive, emotional, and communicative functions of storytelling in educational and training contexts
ESCO: pedagogy ESCO: instructional design models - Analyze the structural elements of an effective screenplay or narrative—characters, conflict, structure, and point of view—to understand its form, themes, and dramatic development
ESCO: analyse a script ESCO: instructional strategies - Assess the applicability of storytelling in teaching by selecting educational strategies that are appropriate for the context, learning objectives, and students’ needs
ESCO: adapt teaching to student's capabilities - Design educational narratives that align with the target audience’s profile, support learning, and facilitate the achievement of educational objectives
ESCO: develop educational resources ESCO: apply teaching strategies - Create digital educational resources and materials, such as e-learning courses, educational audio and video content, using digital technologies to transfer knowledge and enhance learners' skills
ESCO: develop digital educational materials - Use digital tools and technologies to generate knowledge, innovate processes or products, and solve conceptual problems in digital environments
ESCO: creatively use digital technologies ESCO: principles of artificial intelligence
Prerequisites
No formal knowledge is required.
Activities
In addition to engaging with the content, participants will be invited to:
- design an educational storyboard (individually or collaboratively);
- experiment with an AI tool for generating narrative scripts;
- participate in discussion forums on the role of storytelling in their professional practice.
Section outline
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The first week introduces the fundamentals of educational storytelling, exploring what it means to tell stories in educational and training contexts and why stories are an effective tool for communicating, engaging, and promoting learning. Through examples drawn from educational, corporate, and cultural contexts, participants reflect on the cognitive and emotional role of storytelling: stories help organize information, facilitate memorization, stimulate attention, and create meaningful connections between content and personal experiences. The week includes activities for reflecting on one’s own narrative experiences and observing real-life examples of storytelling, to begin recognizing the forms, languages, and contexts of storytelling.
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The second week is dedicated to designing effective educational storytelling. Participants analyze the structural elements of a good story: initial situation, problem or challenge, development, transformation, and conclusion. Classic narrative models—such as the canonical plot, the three-act structure, and the hero’s journey—are introduced and reinterpreted from an educational perspective to organize content, activities, and learning pathways. Specific attention is given to the target audience: tone, style, language, and narrative strategies must be consistent with the needs, prior knowledge, and context of the audience. The week also guides participants in writing educational micro-scripts and using AI tools to experiment with variations in tone and style.
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The third week explores storytelling as an augmented, multimedia experience supported by artificial intelligence. Participants learn to integrate images, video, sound, audio, interactivity, and AI tools to design more immersive, accessible, and engaging narratives. The focus shifts from the structure of the story alone to the construction of multimedia narrative environments, in which every element—visual, auditory, textual, or interactive—contributes to meaning and supports learning. The week includes workshops on multimedia micro-narration, the use of apps and AI tools for training, and the final production of a personalized educational storytelling project. The goal is to use technology not merely as a decorative element, but as a design lever to amplify understanding, participation, and educational impact.
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Video transcripts Folder
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Bibliography Page
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Assessment
Your final grade for the course will be based on the results of your answers to the assessed quizzes. You have an unlimited number of attempts at each quiz, but you must wait 15 minutes before you can try again. You will have successfully completed the course if you score 60% (or higher) in each one of the assessed quizzes. The maximum score possible for each quiz is given at the beginning of the quiz. You can view your score in the quiz on your last attempt or on the 'Grades' page.
Certificate
You can achieve a certificate in the form of an Open Badge for this course, if you reach at least 60% of the total score in each one of the assessed quizzes and fill in the final survey.
Once you have completed the required tasks, you will be able to access ‘Get the Open Badge’ and start issuing the badge. Instructions on how to access the badge will be sent to your e-mail address.
The Badge does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.
Information about fees and access to materials
The course is delivered in online mode and is available free of charge.
Course faculty
Stefano Manici
Teacher of history and philosophy, educationalist, trainer, and social innovator
For years, he has focused on teaching methodologies, educational strategies, and socio-pedagogical programs aimed at adolescents, preteens, and children.
He is a trainer for CASCO Learning and has gained experience in designing educational, preventive, and training programs.
Program designer at the Olivetti STEAM International High School in Parma and with diverse pedagogical experience in the nonprofit sector.
He is the author of the book Adole-scemi? A Manual of Resistance for Girls and Boys, published by Erickson, and of Educating Beyond the Chalkboard: Toward a Student-Centered School, published by Casco Learning.
Michelle Mazzotti
Psychologist, trainer, and professional educator, she specializes in cognitive-behavioral psychology and neuroscience
She is a member of the scientific committee and coordinator of well-being and school psychology services at CASCO, the Center for Learning and Skills Development.
She focuses on learning, metacognitive study methods, educational innovation, and teacher training, integrating digital tools, coding, and storytelling. She provides clinical services and psycho-educational interventions to support students, families, and schools.
Contact details
If you have any enquiries about the course or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.