The Neuroscience of Student Engagement: Case Studies in Narrative Pedagogies in Mathematics, Science, and Technology

This paper discusses the findings of cognitive, metacognitive, and emotional implications of narrative instruction. The work guides readers in multiple-case design studies depicting storytelling as effective pedological practice. The collective case approach connects works from education, learning design, neuroscience, narratology, psychology, mathematics, science, and technology. Consideration is given to course design, instruction, student engagement, and aesthetic perspectives. The primary case study highlights storytelling episodes to mirror principles and best practices in course design and course facilitation using Blackboard as a learning platform. Through the frameworks of narrative instruction, students enrolled in online and face-to-face mathematics courses were tasked with completing a financial management project. Of the 160 students who received the survey questionnaire, 45 (28%) have responded. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis using Qualtrics and IBM's SPSS showed that students gained valuable skills in money management and financial literacy.