Story-boarding

Story-boarding involves creating a sequence of graphic images (or panels) depicting key events in a narrative or process. 

In the film, advertising and design industries, story-boarding is often used before production to visualise what the product will look like. However, it can also be used as a reflective tool, especially for people who want an alternative to text-based reflective techniques.

Potential benefits:

• The creation of visual images associated with a remembered event can help with representation and recall.

• Using a limited number of panels forces you to evaluate and prioritise the details of an event to identify the key elements.

• The sequencing of panels enables you to explore causal connections between the events.

Possible frameworks

There are many ways in which you can construct a story-board with different numbers of panels. 

Past-present-future

• Past — represent your former state, assumptions, level of understanding, etc.

• Present — represent the current experience that you are reflecting upon to demonstrate the learning (light-bulb moment)

• Future — represent your future state showing how you will apply your learning

Expectation-Reality-Changed expectation

• Expectation — represent the expectations you had of the event beforehand (possibly create this before the event as part of expectation chronicling)

• Reality — represent the event as it happened focusing on how it differed from your expectations

• Changed expectation — represent how your expectations for future occurrences of this situation have changed as a result of your experience

Perspective panels

Create different story-boards from the perspective of different participants in the event or different boards showing the events from immersive or distanced perspectives.

Alternative futures

You can produce story-boards to map out different possible future scenarios.