The Teacher as Storyteller

Photography, Film and Journalism for Educators

At a Glance

Dates: [dates]

Location: [city, country]

Who it's for: teachers, school leaders and anyone driving change in a school

Language: English

Group size: up to 20 participants

Facilitator: Jasper [surname]

In collaboration with: [organisation]

Fee: from €[fee]. Erasmus+ KA1 fundable.

About the Course

Your students and their families spend hours every day inside stories told with pictures, sound, and short video. Much of what they learn about the world, and about school, reaches them this way.

Teachers have always been storytellers. A good lesson has a beginning, a problem, and a turn. Research on memory shows that people understand and remember stories more easily than other kinds of information. But the tools of storytelling have changed, and most teachers were never taught to use them. A phone can take photographs, record interviews, and shoot and edit a film. What is missing is the craft.

Teachers do not need to become influencers. They need to see like a photographer, listen like a journalist, and think in shots like a filmmaker. With these skills, a teacher can hold a room, reach families, and help students read and make the media that surrounds them. Teachers can also share those skills with students, turning them into powerful storytellers.

The same craft has a second purpose: documenting children's learning. When teachers photograph, record, and write about what happens in the classroom with care, they notice more and understand their students better. They can also make that learning visible to children, families, and colleagues. Documentation is not decoration. It is a way of seeing.

This is a practical course, led by the co-founder of a media production company. Each day explores one craft (story, photography, journalism, film, editing) and then applies it to the classroom. Participants leave with finished work and a plan for telling their school's story all year.

What We Do

We align technical insight with disciplined execution to provide measurable gains across operational, financial, and strategic domains. Our integrated methodologies streamline multifaceted workflows, enabling organizations to deploy resources efficiently and capture emerging opportunities.

*The programme is provisional and subject to change.

  • Course Introduction


    • Introduction to the course and the Academy;

    • Introduction to the host city and the week's cultural activities;

    • Icebreaker activities;

    • Presentations of the participants' schools and institutions.


    The teacher as storyteller


    • Why stories work: what research on memory tells teachers;

    • A lesson is a story: beginning, problem, and turn;

    • Reading a short video like a text: the hook, the first three seconds, the cut;

    • A story or an announcement? Why most school posts do not work;

    • Activity: retell one lesson or one school moment as a story.

  • Photography: seeing like a photographer


    • The craft: light, framing, distance, and the decisive moment;

    • Craft study: how photographers tell a story in a single frame, and in a sequence;

    • In the classroom: photographing the process of learning, not the posed result;

    • Activity: a five-picture photo essay about one street in the host city, then a five-picture sequence showing one learning process.

  • Journalism: listening like a journalist


    • The craft: finding the story, asking good questions, and then listening;

    • Checking facts and being fair: what journalists owe their audience;

    • Writing clearly: headlines, captions, and short text that people actually read;

    • In the classroom: interviewing children about their work, and recording their exact words;

    • Activity: interview a person in the host city about their work, and write it up as a short story with photographs.

  • Film: thinking in shots


    • The craft: wide, medium, close, and detail shots, and how they build a sequence;

    • Sound is half the film: recording clear audio with a phone;

    • Short and long: how a 30-second vertical video and a three-minute documentary tell the same story differently;

    • In the classroom: filming learning without interrupting it;

    • Activity: in small groups, shoot one story in the host city for two formats.

  • Editing, ethics, and sharing


    • Editing is where the story is made: what to keep, what to cut, and what order to show it in;

    • Titles, captions, and music: helping the audience without telling them what to feel;

    • Documentation and promotion: two different jobs, two different audiences;

    • Children's images online: consent, data protection, and when not to post;

    • Where school stories live: families, colleagues, community, and social media;

    • Screening: participants show their films and give each other feedback;

    • Course evaluation: a round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;

    • Awarding the course Certificate of Attendance.

  • Structured cultural activities


    • Structured cultural activity(ies) based on the hosting location;

    • Learning journal: an individual written reflection on the course experience;

    • Course reflection: self-reflection and review of course materials and resources.

What You Take Home

    • Understand why stories work: how they shape attention, memory, and understanding;

    • Apply the basics of photography: light, framing, distance, and moment;

    • Use the core skills of journalism: finding a story, interviewing, listening, checking facts, and writing clearly;

    • Plan, shoot, and edit short films on a phone, for both short social media formats and longer ones;

    • Document children's learning through images, recordings, and children's own words, and use it to reflect on teaching;

    • Tell stories about children and schools ethically, with consent and respect for privacy;

    • Produce a storytelling plan for their classroom or school.

  • We engage stakeholders as partners, not spectators.

  • Every proposal is anchored in empirical evidence.

Meet Your Facilitator

Theodore J. Weiss

Since our inception, we have advanced organizations across sectors by pairing strategic insight with disciplined execution.

Learn more

Further Reading & Useful Resources

  • Carr, M., & Lee, W. (2012). Learning Stories: Constructing Learner Identities in Early Education. SAGE.

  • Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2021). The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect (4th ed.). Crown.

  • Lambert, J., & Hessler, B. (2018). Digital Storytelling: Capturing Lives, Creating Community (5th ed.). Routledge.

  • Project Zero & Reggio Children. (2001). Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners. Reggio Children.

  • Willingham, D. T. (2021). Why Don't Students Like School? (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Fees & What’s Included

Two ways to join.

Both include the same course and the same participant services; the full package adds your accommodation and three lunches.

Course and services · €700

Six days of professional learning, facilitation, materials and certificate, plus the participant services and cultural programme.

You arrange your own accommodation. We share suggestions once your place is confirmed.

Full package · €1,445

Everything in the course fee and participant services, plus:

  • Six nights of accommodation with breakfast

  • Three lunches during the programme

Limited availability, depending on the location. Tell us when you register and we will confirm it with you.

  • Course fee, €480: full participation in the programme, facilitation and pedagogical accompaniment throughout the week, interpretation where needed, Certificate of Attendance.

  • Participant services and cultural programme, €220: welcome packet with schedule, readings and practical information; translation when required; course materials and documentation with a photo and video package; transport within the programme; coffee breaks; welcome aperitivo on the first evening; closing celebration meal; half-day cultural programme.

  • Six nights of accommodation, with breakfast, near the course venue, and three lunches during the programme, on top of everything above.

    The full package depends on the accommodation we can secure at each location, so places are limited. Tell us when you register if you would like it, and we will confirm availability.

What’s NOT Included

Travel to and from the course location, and meals outside the programme. With Option 1, accommodation is not included; once your place is confirmed we share suggestions for where to stay and how to get there.

The programme is deliberately a small-group experience, to leave room for dialogue, reflection and real exchange among participants.

Dates and Registration

Next Dates:

Location:

The course runs once enough participants have registered; please wait for our confirmation before booking travel.

Pre-Register

  • We confirm each course by email once enough participants have registered. Book flights and accommodation only after that, and choose flexible bookings; if we have to cancel a course, we refund you in full, but we can't cover travel costs.

  • No. Pre-registration is free and there is no deposit. You pay by bank transfer only once your place is confirmed, and the amount is the one shown on the course page, with no extra fees. If your Erasmus+ grant hasn't arrived yet, tell us and we'll agree a timeline.

  • Yes. All our courses fit Erasmus+ KA1 staff mobility. We provide a confirmation letter, a Learning or Mobility Agreement on your institution's template, a fee breakdown and a Certificate of Attendance. Our OID is E10299488.

  • Tell us as early as you can. You can pass your place to a colleague or move to a future course at no cost. If you need a refund instead, the terms depend on how close to the start you cancel; they are in our Terms and Conditions.

  • See the full FAQ.

FAQ

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