A Novel Framework for AI Storytelling to CreateEngaging Educational Narratives

A Novel Framework for AI Storytelling to CreateEngaging Educational Narratives | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article A Novel Framework for AI Storytelling to CreateEngaging Educational Narratives Sara Saravi, Firat Batmaz, Yolandi Burger, Robert Harland This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7273408/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper addresses the challenges of creating educational content by intro-ducing a novel AI Storytelling Framework that transforms curricular contentinto engaging narratives. The framework is structured as an eight-step process and is grounded in the Right Human-in-the-Loop (R-HiTL) paradigm, a structured theoretical model for responsibly integrating generative AI with right expert guidance in education. By embedding right experts at critical points,the framework mitigates AI’s known limitations and ensures narrative, ethical, and pedagogical integrity. We tested the framework in student workshops, which served as a testbed for a high-stakes case study: the development of an educational podcast series Named after Nelson (NaN): Stories about places namedafter Nelson Mandela. The NaN project is an impact project in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation (NMF). Findings indicate that while generative AI can accelerate content creation, its effective use in education depends on a human-centred framework that improves efficiency and inclusivity without compromising quality or accuracy. Our R-HiTL-guided approach exemplifies this, offering a structured and replicable methodology for responsible use of AI in educational content creation. GenAI Digital Storytelling AI Storytelling Digital Narratives Right Human-in-the-Loop (R-HiTL) Cultural Narratives Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7273408","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":495188099,"identity":"4a267014-d7e0-45e7-9c0b-9b4d173c8cce","order_by":0,"name":"Sara Saravi","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBADHn52HjiHmTgtks2kamEwOEysFvkG9oefK2oOyxgf5j34uKKCQZ6/gcfYAK/hB3iMJc8cO8xjdpgv2fDMGQbDGUCRBLxaGHgYJBvY0oBaeMwkG9sYGDcw8BgfIOCwxz8b/qXxGDdDtNgT1MJwgAGk0obHgBmiJRGkBb/DgO6xbOyz4ZEA+aXhjETyjMNsxXi9L9/e/vhmwzcJe/723oMPGypsbPvbmzdL4HUYWhxIEB2Ro2AUjIJRMArwAABSdjreo0iBrQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Loughborough University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sara","middleName":"","lastName":"Saravi","suffix":""},{"id":495188100,"identity":"625cc34b-9000-4cb8-8722-fc44b7449b38","order_by":1,"name":"Firat Batmaz","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Loughborough University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Firat","middleName":"","lastName":"Batmaz","suffix":""},{"id":495188101,"identity":"4b27a388-cd9e-4840-a54a-9fd12275e0a3","order_by":2,"name":"Yolandi Burger","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Loughborough University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yolandi","middleName":"","lastName":"Burger","suffix":""},{"id":495188102,"identity":"c052cfab-122e-42fb-964c-ea9bf00b5c60","order_by":3,"name":"Robert Harland","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Loughborough University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Robert","middleName":"","lastName":"Harland","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-01 17:23:24","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7273408/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7273408/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":92910344,"identity":"ec7b562b-0c92-4d29-bfee-40a8e077c70e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-07 03:14:27","extension":"json","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"acdc-reference","size":7471,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"98d7aad90e5348b2af03c00ad399be31.json","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7273408/v1/cbff9b77e5534144d4396e91.json"},{"id":104962757,"identity":"4519c360-12f9-4b61-b615-30ebadee7d23","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-19 09:13:53","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":753708,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"NMAIframework.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7273408/v1_covered_081ff2b5-f11f-4e1e-bac9-4a4e19286592.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"A Novel Framework for AI Storytelling to CreateEngaging Educational Narratives","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"GenAI, Digital Storytelling, AI Storytelling, Digital Narratives, Right Human-in-the-Loop (R-HiTL), Cultural Narratives","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7273408/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7273408/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This paper addresses the challenges of creating educational content by intro-ducing a novel AI Storytelling Framework that transforms curricular contentinto engaging narratives. 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