Narrative creativity training: A new method for increasing resilience in elementary students

Narrative creativity training has recently shown promise as a tool for increasing self-efficacy and resilience in adult learners. The training employs dramatic and literary techniques such as perspective-shifting, counterfactual (i.e., what-if) thinking, and causal (i.e., why) thinking to improve real-world problem solving. To explore whether narrative creativity training could have similar benefits for younger populations, this study piloted a test on elementary students. A five-minute randomized controlled trial conducted with 32 third, fourth, and fifth grade students yielded increased self-efficacy and creative problem-solving, and a five-day longitudinal trial conducted with 28 students from the same population was associated with increased resilience. The results suggest the potential practical benefits of incorporating theater, literature, comics, and other story-based art into elementary school curricula.