Book Review: Instructional story design: Develop stories that train

Abstract

In Instructional story design: Develop stories that train, Greene proves the benefits of using stories in training and demonstrates how to do that successfully. With practical instruction and examples, Instructional story design leads the reader through developing stories, working with subject matter experts (SMEs), and producing story-based training. Greene illustrates his expertise in story design by using story to instruct his design methods throughout the book. The reader follows a fictitious instructional designer, Dayna, as she grapples with, learns to, and triumphs in using stories in her elearning projects. She works with SMEs, clients, stakeholders, and managers and follows instructional design (ID) practices while developing meaningful stories to connect with her learners and convey the training. Through Dayna’s struggles and victories, the reader learns how to create audience personas, build relatable characters, and focus on the action and conflict of the story as it relates to training objectives. Greene further describes how to produce stories using common technology tools, champion stories to convince doubting stakeholders, and overcome common pitfalls.