Abstract
This chapter provides an exploration of the use of stories as a reflective tool in Teacher Education, viewed through ‘story lens’ of a teacher educator’s professional journey. It explores the use of storytelling as a pedagogical tool for reflection charted through a teacher trainer’s lived experiences of storytelling as part of their professional journey. It discusses the use of anecdotal story experiences as a form of reflective storytelling, exploring the key implications which inform pedagogic practice. Anecdotal storytelling can be used as an effective prompt for trainee teachers to reflect on their diverse experiences throughout their journey to becoming a professional teacher. The sharing of such stories can act as a rich stimulus for reflection for both trainee teachers and their learners, developing personal and social communication skills, creating empathy and understanding, encouraging self-awareness through discussion and critical thinking. The purpose and rationale of this chapter is to examine the effectiveness of storytelling as a reflective tool both inside and outside of the classroom, and to reflect on how storytelling can be used to improve teaching and learning in teacher training. It provides autoethnographic story vignettes on how storytelling can shape professional identity and enhance the professional growth of educators through reflection, building lasting connections with their learners.