Reconsidering realistic and non-realistic story exemplars: Impact on learner cognition and motivation

Story-based learning remains a cornerstone of primary education, shaping children’s moral, cognitive, and linguistic development. However, surprisingly little is known about how the realism of a story, defined as the extent to which its events and characters reflect everyday human experience, affects what children actually learn. This study addresses that gap by comparing aligned (realistic) and nonaligned (fantastical) story types within the theoretical frameworks of Story-Learner Alignment (SLA) and its pedagogical extension, Cognitive-Pedagogical Alignment (CPA). Using a counterbalanced within-subjects quasi-experimental design, the study involved 120 Grade 4-5 students from CBSE-affiliated schools in Karnataka, India. Participants experienced both aligned and nonaligned story sessions, counterbalanced across classes to control for order effects. Three cognitive measures such as comprehension, applied comprehension (transfer), and retention were administered alongside a motivation scale adapted from Keller’s ARCS model. Quantitative data were supported by qualitative classroom observations to contextualize learners’ engagement. Findings revealed that aligned stories significantly enhanced comprehension, transfer, and sustained motivation, while fantastical stories produced only short-term attentional gains. The results affirm that pedagogical storytelling is most effective when imaginative content remains developmentally interpretable and cognitively coherent. By empirically validating the SLA and CPA frameworks, this study highlights how realistic story structures foster deeper understanding, transferable learning, and enduring motivation, providing actionable insights for educators and curriculum designers seeking to optimize story-based instruction.