Story Hour in the Management Classroom

Abstract

Using stories written for young children can be effective in the education of college students. Storytelling is a helpful instructional method that is relevant to many management topics. This activity uses picture books, which can be read to students in “story hour” fashion and then tied to management principles being taught. This activity can be done successfully with either undergraduate or graduate students. The activity is described from a general perspective; in the appendices, we provide seven examples of book summaries, learning objectives, teaching notes, potential challenges, and debriefing questions that have been used to address a variety of management topics.

Interweaving positive and critical perspectives in management learning and teaching

“…Examples include work on energy audits (Spreitzer and Grant, 2012), playing to one’s strengths (Roberts et al, 2005), strengths-based leadership (Spreitzer et al, 2009), strengths-based teaching (Liesveld et al, 2005), and the growth of relational agency in executive education (Sundet and Carlsen, 2019). The influence of a positive lens has also been documented in books on learning (Clifton et al, 2002; Liesveld et al, 2005; Quinn et al, 2014), and significantly through widely used classroom and organizational tools, stories (Peterson et al, 2020) cases, videos, and exercises such as Job Crafting, Reciprocity Ring, and The Positive Leadership Game. Overall, though, there remains much to be learned from applying POS research and practice to build better learning and teaching environments.…”

Evaluating and Embodying Exemplary Leadership

“…practices that impacted them the most and be able to articulate which leadership practices were the most valuable to them personally and professionally. and related business scenarios that help students not only learn the leadership practices, but also reflect in their own hearts and minds on where they can apply these practices now as growing leaders (Kouzes & Posner, 2017;Luck & Swartz, 2020;Peterson et al, 2020). Finally, this project is recommended because it is undergirded by a book and leadership content that has shown to positively impact students, and below are a sample of student feedback quotes from AACSB business students who greatly enjoyed engaging in this book and project: "Having to do this presentation made me really take a look at this entire semester and review all the material.…”