Storytelling and Thermal Comfort

           Summary of James et al. (2025)

Background & Existing Knowledge

Younger schoolchildren are particularly vulnerable to overheating in schools due to a preference for lower temperatures than adults and a lack of confidence to adjust their behavior in school settings. Current school designs and operations often use adult thermal preference guidelines, exacerbating the issue for children.

New Insights from This Study

✔ Storytelling was explored as a pre-heatwave intervention to enhance children's behavior for improved thermal comfort.

✔ The study suggests that narrative approaches can empower children to take actions to mitigate overheating.

✔ Preliminary findings indicate the potential for storytelling to influence behavioral changes in response to environmental conditions.

Practical Applications: How Educators Can Use This Research

Course Design

📌 Integrate storytelling into educational programs focused on environmental awareness and personal well-being.

📌 Develop narratives that demonstrate practical actions children can take to improve their thermal comfort (e.g., opening windows, seeking shade).

📌 Encourage interactive storytelling sessions where children can explore solutions to heat-related challenges.

Evaluation Tools

📌 Assess changes in children's self-reported comfort and observed behaviors related to thermal regulation.

📌 Use qualitative methods (e.g., interviews, drawings) to gauge children's understanding and adoption of comfort-enhancing behaviors.

📌 Develop specific rubrics to evaluate the effectiveness of storytelling interventions in promoting behavioral change.

Instructional Support

📌 Train educators on how to effectively use storytelling as a pedagogical tool for health and environmental education.

📌 Provide resources and examples of age-appropriate stories that address thermal comfort and heatwave preparedness.

📌 Incorporate storytelling into school-wide heatwave action plans to engage students actively.

Conclusion

This study provides preliminary evidence that storytelling can be an effective pre-heatwave intervention to empower children to improve their thermal comfort in school settings by fostering behavioral changes.

Key Words

Storytelling, Thermal comfort, Schoolchildren, Heatwave, Behavior

Reference

James, P., Gao, Y., Chater, M., Montazami, A., Gauthier, S., Turner, P., Aragon, V., Teli, D., Mittal, T., & Manfren, M. (2025). Preliminary findings of storytelling in schools as a pre-heatwave intervention to enhance children's behaviour to improve thermal comfort. Building and Environment, 268, 112337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2024.112337

Suggested Citation

Ross, E. M., & Malar, D. B. J. (2025). Storytelling and Thermal Comfort. Excellent Educator, 2(15), 1.