At Hanze University we train faculty in Futures Literacy (FL): the skill to imagine multiple futures to look at the present new. In order to make better informed decisions, we need to walk on two legs: we plan and prepare, and keep an eye open for opportunities that lie in the unexpected.

Within the Erasmus Futures project we consider FL and Futures Thinking important skills that can help young people choices regarding their own future. Our evaluation of  the faculty development program on FL can possibly help us design courses for career development. What did we learn?

Firstly, the teachers showed sure signs of becoming more futures literate, as one of them stated: “Personally I am trying to plan and prepare certain parts of my life better, but if something doesn’t work out the way it was intended, I now know that I have another leg to stand on. I try to put this key element into practice every day. Trying to think in possibilities”.

Secondly, the instructional strategies for fostering transformative learning seemed to work: “By questioning each other, we made each other think. We looked critically at our assumptions and explored together how these influenced our views and perceptions on the future and complex questions”.

And last, but not least, facilitation is a key success factor: “I probably learnt the most from the facilitators themselves, who were well organized and expressed trust, accessibility and vulnerability”.

Check out this interesting article Mastering Futures Literacy in Higher Education: an evaluation of learning outcomes and instructional design of a faculty development program  and video UNESCO Chair Futures Literacy: Training program Mastering Futures Literacy (MFL) about the course which relates to – Training program Mastering Futures Literacy.

All prepared by Hanze University – one of our project partners!