Once upon a time, there was the idea to use the potential of stories and storytelling in adult education [Link EPALE article "Stories as a key to the target group? Thoughts on the potential of storytelling in relation to learning motivation in adult education"). Now it is no longer just an idea: the StoryComp online course offers educators in the fields of basic and civic education a practical introduction to the method. Whether you just want to get an overview of how stories and storytelling can be used for competence development in these educational areas, or whether you want to be initiated step by step into the art of storytelling – the online course is structured in such a way that everyone can choose and follow their own (learning) path, at their very own pace and according to their respective interests.

Online course for storytelling in adult education 

The online course looks like a board game in which the users decide where they want to place their token, i.e. on which topic they want to learn more. The following five modules are available:

• Basic Education Module

This module shows how the educational field of "basic education" was defined in the context of this project and what potential we see for storytelling in it.

·          What is meant here by the term "basic education"?

·          Which basic education target groups do we have in mind?

·          How can storytelling be used in basic education?

• Civic Education Module

Equivalent to the module described above, this module aims to define the term civic education.

·          What is meant here by the term "civic education"?

·          What challenges, opportunities and prerequisites do we focus on? 

·          How can storytelling be used in civic education?

• Storytelling Module 

This module is the core of the course – here the focus is on the method of storytelling. The individual topics contain both concrete exercises to apply what has just been learned and a short test at the end for self-assessment.

·          How can storytelling be used for competence-based learning?

·          How do I choose suitable stories?

·          How do I structure stories and how do I remember them?

·          How do I present stories? 

·          How do I design the framework for my story?

·          How do I involve my learners, my audience? 

·          How do I support them to (further) develop their competences? 

• Learning Scenarios Module

In this module, concrete possibilities for using storytelling in adult education are presented. The learning scenarios for basic or civic education can not only be used as motivation and inspiration. The descriptions are also structured in such a way that a direct implementation or adaptation for one's own group of learners is possible.

·          How do I plan a course, a lesson with storytelling?

·          Learning scenarios for storytelling in basic education

·          Learning scenarios for storytelling in civic education

• Story Collection Module

This collection of (not only) European stories can be searched for specifically, depending on the purpose or aim for which a story is to be used. 

Currently, the online course is available in the test version in English. In September, it will also be online in German, Slovenian, Flemish and French. The use is free of charge, the complete course is available as an open educational resource under the Creative Commons license CC BY-SA 4.0 .

The Erasmus+ project StoryComp

StoryComp stands for "Competences in Storytelling for Adult Educators in Basic Education and Civic Education" and started in November 2020, funded as an Erasmus+ project. The partnership behind it consists of experts from seven European countries. 

The first result of the project was the development of the methodological framework for the project, which is freely available in English on the project website https://storycomp.eu. The online course is intended to enable adult educators to learn the basics of storytelling as a method. The guide for storytelling workshops, which will also be available soon, will then offer them the opportunity to try out, apply and deepen the knowledge they have acquired in the course together with colleagues in peer-to-peer workshops. For this purpose, concrete training activities for small groups will be available, whose thematic sorting corresponds with the contents of the online course. It will be possible to hold introductory workshops with colleagues to get started with the method as well as in-depth training on specific topics, for example the selection of suitable stories or the presentation of a story.