Following a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of storyboarding, I explain how this exercise has been used in a diversity class

and conclude with an examination of how it may be employed in other settings. The presentation of the activity will focus on the formation of students' self-identity across the life-course. However, the same basic exercise can be used to explore identity as related to gender, race/ethnicity, or class. Langham (1994:114) asserts that groups may also use storyboards to "get people to focus, to think, to be creative, and to be more productive." Following a discussion of the theoretical underpinnings of storyboarding, I explain how this exercise has been used in a diversity class and conclude with an examination of how it may be employed in other settings. The presentation of the activity will focus on the formation of students' self-identity across the life-course. However, the same basic exercise can be used to explore identity as related to gender, race/ethnicity, or class. Langham (1994:114) asserts that groups may also use storyboards to "get people to focus, to think, to be creative, and to be more productive." Theoretical Underpinnings And Literature Review "A primary tenet of all symbolic interaction theory holds that the self is established, maintained, and altered in and through communication" (Stone 1962:86). In his examination of communication, Stone demonstrates that all communication can be broken down into two parts; discourse and appearance. Discourse, as he uses the term, is auditory whereas appearance is visual. For Stone (1962), visual communication is that part of a social transaction which "sets the stage for, or establishes, the types of verbal discourse possible" (Huff-Corzine 1986:15). Storyboards provide the visual component, the primary component, for communicating with one's self as well as with others. For this reason, they serve as powerful tools for learning more about one's self, as well as for organizing "stories" to be shared with larger audiences in auditory formats. Some will argue that "storyboarding originated with the Walt Disney Company in the early days of animated films" (Langham 1994:114) where it was, and still is, used to create the story line for a film by laying out the scenes in sequence. The concept of storyboarding has a much longer history, however, with it most likely being as old as the desire of persons to express themselves, perhaps evolving even before the ability to use verbal language for communication. From drawings in the caves of our early ancestors to the storyboards of Palau, these works which are usually labeled art forms rather communication forms, "were used to tell legends, to record events, and to teach social values" (Lockhart 1983:37).