THE POWER OF STORY: AN ONLINE EXPERIENCE

To begin collecting data for my project, I wrote a curriculum using the Introduction and first Chapter from the book Women Who Run With the Wolves (WWRWW), I reached out to approximately fifty women who I believed had not had previous interaction with the book. I used a pre-reading survey tool to gather information about the reader’s prior knowledge about archetypes, Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, their impressions of storytelling, and prior retreat or group adult learning experiences. 

For those who took the first step and completed the presurvey, I shared a link to a webpage that I had created, ThePowerof-Story.com that provided four modules containing content that served as pre-reading background information. 

Although the page graphics for the buttons were simple one-word titles: Storytelling, Transformation, Archetypes, Myths, I utilized the caption opportunity to list questions as well: 

• How does storytelling impact my life?
• What can lead to transformational learning experiences?
• What are archetypes and how can they help me?
• Are myths good or bad for us?

The website then directed participants to PDF links of the Estés text: 

• Introduction: “Singing Over the Bones” 
• Chapter 1: “The Howl: The Resurrection of the Wild Woman”

An optional opportunity was presented to the participants for an online Zoom gathering. I conducted a post-experience survey to look for reflections from the participants. The feedback that was provided during and after the Zoom Gathering motivated me to continue developing this curriculum. 

CONSTRAINTS

Constraints emerged and I was surprised that my email request for volunteers caused academic anxiety symptoms. I had a few of my close friends tell me that they felt like they were thrown right back into finals week from the days of their undergraduate degrees or high school. I am constrained by time, so I reached out to adults that I knew, but since I am a white, cis, post-menopausal women, most of the volunteers are peers so there is not much diversity in my volunteers. As I worked through this pilot, I found questions constantly popping up: Who will I measure change and/or growth? How do I measure awareness? How will I determine prior knowledge and how it impacts change or awareness? Does the age of the participant matter? I am constrained by the participants having access the internet and when the response was low at the start, I questioned whether the website was confusing. 

The constraints for the multimedia project feel no different than starting an online business or marketing a book. How will I drive “customers” to the site? Will the technology be in working order when they want to access it? How will they find this opportunity to learn and grow? I do not have a far-reaching platform in which to shout out that I am open for business. We all must start somewhere, so I will continue to develop and refine the idea. 

ADJUSTMENTS AND ADDITIONS

I am proposing a multimodal application project that will extend upon the website I created for the pilot project. This website will be a container for curriculum and options for communication with the instructor and other participants. The best analogy is a portal into a membership online book club. The adult learner can work independently and journal with the teacher and/or engage with a community of other learners using a platform such as Zoom. 

Since my pilot study, Sharon Blackie has created and launched a membership website for a yearlong program called Hagitude. Using her book as the foundation of the curriculum, she has created monthly background curriculum modules, Zoom® presentations that she and monthly guest speakers lead at set times, and a bulletin board chat platform to upload writing reflections and/or engage with other participants. Having worked through the first three modules, I am actively involved in March – Module 6 of the membership program. She has challenged the group to write “into their elderhood” using the archetypes of the Major Arcana of the Tarot to follow the Fool’s Journey as an elderhood story structure. I will report my written personal Heroine Journey in the following section: Results and Analysis. 

After the pilot study ended, I have gathered a new group of participants who I have become acquainted with in my personal SoulCollage® work. I wanted to explore combining the Book Club model from the pilot study with artistic representations to anchor understandings and insights from the text. In December 2022, I launched SoulCollage®ing Women Who Run With the Wolves. Nancy Somera, my sister, is the only pilot study participant. Jessica Snow, along with other artists from ARTxMAGIC offerings joined the inaugural group. In January, we added a few more participants and discussed Chapter 2 of the text. We recently We are planning to meet monthly to complete the fourteen chapters. 

I plan to adapt and build additional modules into The Power of Story website. These additional topics will better prepare participants for the SoulCollage®ing Women Who Run with the Wolves (SCWWRWW) and a Personal Myth exploration of the Eco-Heroine Journey and Tarot Major Arcana Fool’s Journey as outlined by Sharon Blackie her Hagitude program. 

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