Experiences with Futures Scenario Planning and Arts-Based Educational Approaches in an Undergraduate Education Course

• In Event: Unsilencing the Past, Regifting the Present, and Manifesting Unforgettable Futures: Multiliteracies, Entertainment, and Popular Culture

Abstract

Objectives: This paper shares results from a study of undergraduate students’ experiences with futures scenario planning. The author presents student examples as well as their reactions to the assignments. Moreover, the students’ reflections on assigned readings on topics such as critical media literacy and critical race theory are examined to analyze how students may or may not see the relevance of these topics to futures scenario planning.

Perspective: Nontraditional student assessments are especially relevant to students of all ages because these assignments reflect the communication practices that citizens engage in across many in-person and online spaces. Instructors who value multimodal pedagogies often assign podcasts (Almendingen, 2021), films (Berglund & Krause, 2025), comics (Author, XXXX), and other media as arts-based projects (Author, XXXX). Futures scenario planning is an assignment option used by some instructors (Selwyn et al., 2025). This skill is valued in many professional contexts (e.g., financial forecasting); however, opportunities to develop this ability are often unavailable to most citizens, especially marginalized communities. This paper argues that futures scenario planning should be used in classes because it encourages students to deliberately consider their futures by examining many obvious and unapparent variables that will influence their futures.

Methods: The author’s investigation into his undergraduate students’ experiences with futures scenario planning is guided by the hermeneutical phenomenological approach to qualitative research: a “research methodology aimed at producing rich textual descriptions of the experiencing of selected phenomena in the life world of individuals that are able to connect with the experience of all of us collectively” (Smith, 1997, p. 80). My data collection methods included observations of class discussions, lab sessions during which students worked on their futures scenario projects, and student presentations of their futures scenario projects; field notes taken during these observations; and content analysis of students’ weekly reflections of assigned readings and media, and PowerPoint files of their futures scenarios. Data analyses were conducted using the hermeneutic cycle, which requires one to repeatedly read text, write reflections, and interpret (Kafle, 2011; Laverty, 2008).

Data sources: The site of the study was a public university in a suburban west coast U.S. town. Data was collected from 3 cohorts of undergraduate students (n=96) from various majors (e.g., engineering, philosophy, history) who were enrolled in the author’s Education course between 2022-2024.

Results: PowerPoint was used in all student presentations; however, other mediums were also incorporated into their futures scenarios presentations (e.g., podcasts, video skits). Many students recognized the value of critical media literacy and critical race theory; however, their use of these lenses in their futures scenarios were often surface-level or shallow. The range of students’ responses to the futures scenario readings and final presentations were influenced by current events (e.g., 2024 national election) and varied greatly.

Scholarly significance: This paper is written for scholars, parents, instructors, educational leaders, policymakers, artists, and futurists who seek to understand the educational potential of futures scenario planning. Concrete documented examples of students engaging in futures scenario planning activities are shared.

Author

• Darnel Degand, University of California - Davis