Identify a date in the future (this can be 1, 3 or 5 years away) Ask participants to write letters to themselves to be received on that day in the future Ask them to write it as an actual letter – either handwritten or typed Choose a word count which is not onerous such as 2000 characters Who do I want to be in terms of my teaching and learning? Where do I want to be with my teaching and learning? What do I want to have achieved with my teaching and learning? Who do I want to collaborate with in my teaching and learning? What are some of the key things I have learnt? What is the best advice I could have given myself? What are some of the challenges faced, and how will I overcome them? What do I want to achieve from this experience? Am I on track to achieve this within the timeframe? What changes do I need to make now in order for this to happen? How will my strengths and weaknesses support or hinder me from getting to where 4.3. Narrative Futuring: Writing Letters to Yourself Narrative futuring is a creative approach which can help lecturers or students increase selfawareness by imagining the future through letter writing. This can be an emotive process because reflecting helps us to identify where we are now and where we would like to be in the future, drawing on our experiences from the past and present. Visualising the future enables us to focus on change as this guides our thought processes and the actions we undertake. The activity: Provide questions to guide participants to help them frame their letters. Below are some suggested questions that can be used for different purposes. Suggested questions for the development of teaching and learning (Academics) Suggested questions for the development of work-integrated learning (Students) After a draft of the letters have been rewritten, it is important for them to be reread. Letters can also be left for a day or two before participants progress to the next step. Once satisfied with their letters, participants should be asked to reflect on the questions below (other questions can be added to this list based on the purpose of the activity): I want to be? 49
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