Digital Storytelling in New Training Models with Kristy Wolfe Stories

Impactful family engagement training

CanChild, a research centre at McMaster University, focuses on childhood-onset disability research and family-centred care. Andrea Cross co-leads the Family Engagement Research Training Program, emphasizing collaboration and mutual learning among families, researchers, and healthcare providers.

At a Glance:

• 4 individuals created impactful digital stories — double the original goal for participation
• Digital stories created are foundational to a new online training course launching in 2025
• The course will be accessible on the RISE platform, expanding its reach to a broad audience
• CanChild has already engaged Kristy Wolfe Stories for another project

Creating a new model for self-paced training

IMPaCT, a clinical trials training platform funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research approached CanChild to help build a self-paced online training course for how to engage with families and patients in pediatric and maternal clinical trials. IMPaCT aims to support the career development of the next generation and perinatal and child health researchers through demystifying the clinical trial process, and increasing capacity for perinatal and pediatric clinical trials in Canada.

The collaboration presented a novel challenge: to create a self-paced course that provides foundational training that can be accessed asynchronously. The CanChild team recognized the need to maintain its core values of interaction and engagement in family engagement training.

Traditional didactic modules seemed misaligned with CanChild’s Family Engagement in Research program’s emphasis on learning through conversation and shared experiences. Self-paced training models can be too impersonal, missing the opportunity to create meaningful connections through conversation and shared experiences.

“We realized that creating a self-paced program was a challenge, but also an opportunity to innovate and reach new audiences,” says Andrea.

Families partnering in research have expressed the need for supportive ways to share their stories, as many people feel vulnerable repeating their narratives in public forums. This need, combined with the commitment to engaging and caring for families, highlighted the importance of a storytelling process that prioritizes empowerment and control.

Bridging the gap through storytelling

While tackling the challenge of developing a self-paced, open-access online curriculum, the team sought to preserve their interactive, conversation-driven approach. They trusted Kristy Wolfe Stories to create deeply impactful digital stories that would become the core of their new training course. Partnering with Kristy Wolfe enabled CanChild and IMPaCT to integrate digital storytelling into the course, fostering impactful learning experiences through shared narratives.

A model for innovative education

This collaboration resulted in a unique training course combining digital stories, interviews, and curated resources. Instead of the usual approach of adding stories to already established training, shaping the curriculum around powerful digital stories that shared these lived and living experiences. Launching in 2025, the program will benefit research trainees, families, and patient partners across Canada, providing a meaningful and scalable model for education in engagement.

Partnering with a trusted expert

Andrea discovered digital storytelling through Kristy Wolfe, who had previously participated in the Family Engagement Research Training Program.

Impressed by Kristy’s presentation at the Kids Brain Health Network conference that demonstrated the impact of digital storytelling for another organization focused on children’s health and families, Andrea realized she had found her solution. Digital storytelling with Kristy Wolfe would be the ideal medium for bridging the gap in self-paced training.

“Digital storytelling is more than creating videos,” says Andrea. “It’s about amplifying voices and building empathy through shared experiences.”

With a quick turnaround to launch, Kristy Wolfe facilitated two initial storytelling workshops to introduce the concept to families. The family engagement team hoped to inspire families to consider transforming their lived experiences into digital stories that would promote engagement and meaningful impact.

Families could volunteer to create digital stories, with full engagement and ownership of the process. Interested partners then collaborated with Kristy to craft their stories, supported by CanChild team members during onboarding sessions.

The team initially hoped two storytellers would step forward to participate. However, in the end, four compelling digital stories were created for this program, with Kristy engaging an additional Common Language facilitator, Krystle Schofield, to support the project.

“Kristy’s approach empowered storytellers to own their narratives and decide how their stories would be shared,” says Andrea.

“We’ve seen how digital storytelling can transform learning and create a lasting impact. I want to see it incorporated into more of our research and training programs.”

Dr. Andrea Cross, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University and scientist with CanChild

Empowering storytellers and fostering engagement

Storytellers worked with Kristy Wolfe to create their digital stores over four sessions.

The digital storytelling process involved creating narratives about personal experiences in pediatric and maternal clinical trials. These stories became the foundation of the self-paced training course, which was augmented by follow-up interviews and curated educational materials.

Kristy Wolfe’s empathetic and structured approach ensured that storytellers felt supported throughout the process. From initial workshops to final screenings, the process respected the storytellers’ autonomy, fostering trust and collaboration.

“Through this process, storytellers shared deeply personal insights, creating a transformative learning experience for program trainees,” says Andrea.

Transformative learning and expanded reach

Four digital stories were created and integrated into a unique training course, creating a scalable model for incorporating storytelling into educational programs.

The collaboration resulted in a curriculum enriched with diverse perspectives from storytellers and researchers, offering trainees a meaningful, impactful learning experience.

The training course will launch in 2025 through the RISE platform, ensuring free access for a broad audience of research trainees, families, and patient partners. Early feedback highlights the potential for widespread adoption and adaptation in other contexts.

“Kristy and her team are incredible,” says Andrea. “Their warmth, kindness, and empathy ensured that every storyteller felt supported throughout the entire process.”

Scaling storytelling in education

With the self-paced training course complete and ready to launch in 2025, CanChild’s Family Engagement in Research training program looks forward to future collaborations with Kristy Wolfe.

The Family Engagement in Research program plans to expand its use of digital storytelling across future initiatives, including synchronous training courses and youth engagement programs.

Inspired by the success of this project, the organization aims to integrate storytelling into more research and educational contexts. Sara Pot, a parent partner at CanChild, appeared as a guest on Kristy Wolfe’s podcast, Co-Created, for an enlightening conversation on the significant impact of digital storytelling in research and beyond.

After the experience with Kristy Wolfe, CanChild has already created another digital story to celebrate its 35th anniversary, this one with its co-founder, Peter Rosenbaum.

“We’ve seen how digital storytelling can transform learning,” says Andrea. “It’s a model we’ll continue to explore and build upon in our mission to advance family-centred research and care.”

Advancing family-centred research through collaboration

CanChild, founded in 1989, is a research centre at McMaster University dedicated to generating innovative knowledge and advancing childhood-onset disability research.

With a core team of five staff members and a global network of affiliated scientists, CanChild focuses on meaningful, community-driven research that improves the lives of children and youth with developmental conditions and their families. The organization strives to translate research in an accessible, relevant, and meaningful way to those who need it most: families and service providers.

Case Study Interviewee

Dr. Andrea Cross is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at McMaster University and a Scientist at CanChild. She co-leads the Family Engagement Research Training Program, which trains families, researchers, and healthcare providers to collaborate effectively in research.

“We believe in learning through conversations and shared experiences,” says Andrea. “Digital storytelling gave us a unique way to maintain our values, even in a self-paced format.”