University of Virginia- Design thinking for innovation 

 The Story Telling Tool 

 Challenge and Selection 

 Storytelling is a powerful human - centered tool that helps users to understand their problems , thus   making products and services appear more user - friendly or even accessible to persons who are most in   need .   I volunteer with “ special needs Programs ” in schools which are catered to students who may be   differently abled i.e. autistic students , visually and auditory impaired students etc . In my country Guyana   there are very few programs catered to such students and these are the students who suffer the most in   the classroom as teachers may not understand how to cater to their specific needs especially when the   classroom is already overcrowded . Through my volunteer work I spend a lot of time with teachers trying   to find ways to inspire them to somehow improve the circumstances within the classroom for the sake   of their “ special learners ” . With the teachers I share stories where other teachers explored various   teaching methods and were successful in helping special students to grasp key learning concepts that   were once seemingly impossible with previous methods . The teachers ’ feedback was used alongside the   context of my story to determine their goals and interests . This information is then strategically used to   discover new techniques that helps teachers cater their lesson plans to include “ the special learners ” . 

 Application – A story about using story telling . 

 When I started university I noticed that there were quite a few “ special students ” that were determined   and passionate about learning but unfortunately , the university did not have the facilities to truly cater   to their needs . That ’s when I realize that something needed to be done . It ’s not fair for them to get this   far in their educational journey for them to be failed by an archaic educational system . I decided to meet   with the various heads of department to try to find a way to help these students . I started by telling   them successful stories about how I previously helped teachers to cater their curriculum to be inclusive   of special students . 

 Through the successful use of the storytelling tool it made them realize that learning difficulties are very   much present at the university level and that more needs to be done to assist these students . I told a   story about a visually impaired communications major student who needed assistance getting from   classroom to classroom . Due to his disability he often found it difficult to locate lecture halls and as a   result got to class late and was at a complete lost during the class session .   I soon realized that this was a   problem affecting all of the visually impaired student after speaking with them at the dining hall .   They   were so discouraged and demotivated because they were n’t getting the assistance they needed that   many of them were contemplating dropping out because it all seemed too impossible . 

 Insight and Approach 

 Now it was time for me to open up about my personal experiences on the matter . One day at the dining   hall I meet with a few of these students and bought them coffee . I told them stories about family   members of mine that had similar disabilities . One such inspiring example is my mother . She has an   auditory impairment but is still a successful entrepreneur who is loved by everyone in her community .   She did n’t let an impairment stop her from achieving her dreams and being successful .   I told them how   opening a business seemed impossible to her due to her disability . My mother was able to work through   so much self - doubt and rejection and was able to prove herself in a competitive market . This story   inspired them and helped them to realize that there are many people just like them who have struggled   and were able to come out victorious . This inspiration gave them the motivation to continue attending   classes and last Fall one of them was able to graduate with their associates degree . 

 University of Virginia- Design thinking for innovation 

 The Story Telling Tool 

 I used this story to explain the problem to the University ’s Academic Board at a meeting and this made a   major impact on the faculty and the board members . New policies on disability services and support are   being implemented on campus and professors are being trained to deal with the “ special learners ” in   their classrooms . Making me realize that a relatable story was a good way to help others understand a   very common problem within our environment . 

 This course was very beneficial to me since it helped me to think outside the box by looking at creative   tools of problem - solving . One such tool being the story telling tool . This is a tool we use every day and   sometimes without even realizing it hence this course helped me to see this tool in a whole new way .   Now I can adequately prepare for presentations and think of stories that can help me to convey to my   audience the problem at hand and how we can begin to resolve them . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: 
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: University of Virginia- Design thinking for innovation 

 The Story Telling Tool 

 Challenge and Selection 

 Storytelling is a powerful human - centered tool that helps users to understand their problems , thus   making products and services appear more user - friendly or even accessible to persons who are most in   need .   I volunteer with “ special needs Programs ” in schools which are catered to students who may be   differently abled i.e. autistic students , visually and auditory impaired students etc . In my country Guyana   there are very few programs catered to such students and these are the students who suffer the most in   the classroom as teachers may not understand how to cater to their specific needs especially when the   classroom is already overcrowded . Through my volunteer work I spend a lot of time with teachers trying   to find ways to inspire them to somehow improve the circumstances within the classroom for the sake   of their “ special learners ” . With the teachers I share stories where other teachers explored various   teaching methods and were successful in helping special students to grasp key learning concepts that   were once seemingly impossible with previous methods . The teachers ’ feedback was used alongside the   context of my story to determine their goals and interests . This information is then strategically used to   discover new techniques that helps teachers cater their lesson plans to include “ the special learners ” . 

 Application – A story about using story telling . 

 When I started university I noticed that there were quite a few “ special students ” that were determined   and passionate about learning but unfortunately , the university did not have the facilities to truly cater   to their needs . That ’s when I realize that something needed to be done . It ’s not fair for them to get this   far in their educational journey for them to be failed by an archaic educational system . I decided to meet   with the various heads of department to try to find a way to help these students . I started by telling   them successful stories about how I previously helped teachers to cater their curriculum to be inclusive   of special students . 

 Through the successful use of the storytelling tool it made them realize that learning difficulties are very   much present at the university level and that more needs to be done to assist these students . I told a   story about a visually impaired communications major student who needed assistance getting from   classroom to classroom . Due to his disability he often found it difficult to locate lecture halls and as a   result got to class late and was at a complete lost during the class session .   I soon realized that this was a   problem affecting all of the visually impaired student after speaking with them at the dining hall .   They   were so discouraged and demotivated because they were n’t getting the assistance they needed that   many of them were contemplating dropping out because it all seemed too impossible . 

 Insight and Approach 

 Now it was time for me to open up about my personal experiences on the matter . One day at the dining   hall I meet with a few of these students and bought them coffee . I told them stories about family   members of mine that had similar disabilities . One such inspiring example is my mother . She has an   auditory impairment but is still a successful entrepreneur who is loved by everyone in her community .   She did n’t let an impairment stop her from achieving her dreams and being successful .   I told them how   opening a business seemed impossible to her due to her disability . My mother was able to work through   so much self - doubt and rejection and was able to prove herself in a competitive market . This story   inspired them and helped them to realize that there are many people just like them who have struggled   and were able to come out victorious . This inspiration gave them the motivation to continue attending   classes and last Fall one of them was able to graduate with their associates degree . 

 University of Virginia- Design thinking for innovation 

 The Story Telling Tool 

 I used this story to explain the problem to the University ’s Academic Board at a meeting and this made a   major impact on the faculty and the board members . New policies on disability services and support are   being implemented on campus and professors are being trained to deal with the “ special learners ” in   their classrooms . Making me realize that a relatable story was a good way to help others understand a   very common problem within our environment . 

 This course was very beneficial to me since it helped me to think outside the box by looking at creative   tools of problem - solving . One such tool being the story telling tool . This is a tool we use every day and   sometimes without even realizing it hence this course helped me to see this tool in a whole new way .   Now I can adequately prepare for presentations and think of stories that can help me to convey to my   audience the problem at hand and how we can begin to resolve them .
### Output: 