Revisitingyourclassroomswalls:Thepedagogicalpower
ofposters
12/23/09Version2.0
MichaelHubenthalIRISConsortium,EducationandOutreachProgram
ThomasOBrienUniversityofBinghamton,SchoolofEducation
Scientificwallpostersarecommonplaceinmostmiddleandhighschoolscience
classrooms.Infact,ifyouareinyourclassroomnow,thereareprobablyseveralof
thesecolorfulpieceswithinyourviewandnumerousothersstoredawayinclosets
anddrawers.Commonlythesepiecesconveyscientificcontentonanarrowsetof
relatedscientifictopicsthroughamixofeyecatchingtextandfigures.Someof
yoursprobablycamewiththeroomwhenyoumovedintothespaceorwere
orderedfromstandardsciencesupplyhouses.Manyothers,especiallythose
developedbyfederalornotforprofitscientificorganizationswereprobably
pickedupfreeofchargefromscienceteacherconferences,localteacher
professionaldevelopmentworkshops,orasaninsertinoneofavarietyof
practitionerjournals.Despitewheretheyoriginated,posterproducersspendlotsof
moneyontheirproductionanddissemination.Whilethereisgreatdemandforsuch
postersbyclassroomteachers,toofrequentlytheireducationalvalueisunrealized
andmanyaresimplyforgottenprettypicturesonthewall.Infact,acasestudy
conductedtoexaminetheuseofpostersproducedbythesciencecommunity
ultimatelyconcludedthataspectsoftheirdesign,consistentacrossmanysuch
posters,prohibitsthemfromplayingasignificantroleintheinstructionalprocessof
theclassroomandthestructureoftheschooldaydoesnotsupportopportunitiesfor
selfdirectedstudentlearningtooccurfromposters(Hubenthal,2009).
Inadditiontoidentifyingshortcomingswithdesignaspectsofsuchpostersand
underpinningassumptionsfortheiruse,thisresearchalsodocumentedstrategies
teachersemploytomaximizetheeffectivenessofpostersascurrentlyavailable.This
articlepresentsfivesuchstrategiesortipsandexaminestheirabilitytomaximize
theeducationalvalueofpostersinlightofwhatweknowaboutthelearningprocess
andthecomplexrelationshipbetweenthelearningenvironmentandstudents.
- Hangposterstopeakstudentscuriosityandmotivationtolearnmoreabout
sciencecontent,inquiryandcareers.
- Beselectiveaboutposters,especiallywithrespecttothetypeandsizeofthe
imageryaswellasthequantityofexplanatorytext.
- RotateyourpostersBetweenunitstokeepvisualsaidsrelevant,
emphasizeinterunitconnectionsandpromotestudentquestions.
- RotateyourpostersWithinaunittomotivatestudentattentionand
emphasizekeycontent.
- Hangposterstoprovideontopictargetsforstudentswanderingminds
Whileeachofthesestrategiesmightnotbeentirelynoveltoyouasapractitioner,
thisarticlehasbeendesignedtoconnectwhatyoumayknowintuitivelytothe
researchbasesothatyoucanselectandusepostersformaximumeducational
impact.Ultimately,suchaconnectionmayenableyoutobecomemoreintentionalin
yourapproachtopostersintheclassroomandtherebymakethemmorethanjust
forgottenwallpaper.
Tip#1Influenceyourstudentsattitudesandbehaviorsbyhangingposters.
Takealookaroundyourclassroom.Isyourclassroomuglyorbeautiful?Perhaps
moreimportantly,doyoubelievetheaestheticsofyourclassroommatters?Based
onthepresenceofpostersinyourclassroom,itislikelythatyouhaveintuitively
sensedthatthereisarelationshipbetweenpeopleandtheirenvironment.One
teacherdescribedthisimpactinthefollowingway,Itsnotlikethisisagreatroom
oranything,butIthinkthatthosepostersjustaddalittlebitofsomethingtothe
room.
Sincethe1950s,researchershaveknownthatvisuallyunattractiveroomsproduce
feelingsofdiscontent,fatigueandadesiretoescape(Maslow&Mintz,1956).More
recentlyanevergrowingbodyofresearchconcludesthatsoftaspectsofa
classroom,suchasclimate,colorpaletteofwallsandwalldecorations,adjustable
lightingsystems,andseatinghavetheabilitytopositivelyinfluencestudents
emotionsandhaveimportanteffectsonstudentsattitudesandbehaviorssuchas
attendance,classparticipation,andrapportwiththeinstructor(Graetz,2006;
Sommer&Olsen,1980;Wongetal.,1992).Postersthemselveshaveseldombeen
examinedspecificallyinaclassroomsetting.However,laboratoryresearchonthe
impactofpostersoncollegestudentsintheworkplacesuggeststhemerepresence
ofataskrelatedposterforfilingorcomputationaltasks,andascenicposterfor
creativetasksresultedinhigherlevelsofreportedconfidenceandincreased
perceptionsofthepleasantnessoftheworkspace(Stoneetal;1998a;1998b).
Bysimplyselectingandhangingaestheticallypleasingpostersinyourclassroom
youareincreasingthevisualinterestsofyourclassroom.Inturn,thiscreatesa
pleasantenvironmentlikelytoencouragemorepositivestudentattitudesand
behaviors.Whilethiseffectcouldbeachievedbyhangingartprints,mostscience
teachersoptinsteadforscienceposters.Suchastrategynotonlycreatesavisually
stimulatingspace,italsocreatesacontentspecific,orinthiscasesciencey
environmentforstudents,
I think when you walk in the classroom, you want to have something that
identifies the classroom with the subject matter. Theres rocks and globes
all over the place. I think theres a certain atmosphere that would be lost
by not having the posters.
Thisgoesbeyondthesimplepleasantnessofthespaceandcontributestothe
developmentofaclassroomatmosphere.Ataminimumthisatmospherecanbe
usefultoreframestudentsmindsetsastheyphysicallyandmentallytransitionfrom
theirpreviousclasstoyoursciencespace.Itsays,thisissomethingdifferentthis
isscience!Perhapsmoreimportantlythisisanexpressionoftheteacherandthe
fieldofsciencebeingtaught.Thiscansay,Icareaboutscienceandscienceis
important.Further,itsaysIcareenoughaboutmystudentsandtheirlearningto
createanengagingandlivelylearninglab.Usedinthiswayposterscomplement
ratherthansubstituteforreal,3Dsciencematerials,modelsandlivingplantsand
creaturesthatalsocontributetothealivenessoftheclassroom.
Tip#2Beselectiveaboutthepostersyouhang.Especiallywithrespecttothe
typeandsizeoftheimageryaswellasthequantityofexplanatorytext.
Whileallpostersaredesignedtobeeducativeandtheformaleducationcommunity
istheprimaryconsumerofscienceposters,manyarenotwelldesignedtosupport
classroomuse.Instead,mostaredesignedtocommunicatecontentdirectlytoa
learnerinisolationofothersupportslikeateacher.Asaresult,thesepostersare
filledwithsignificantquantitiesofexplanatorytextand,similartoascientific
publication,theyuseimagesnottostandalone,buttohighlightpointsandillustrate
argumentsthatarebeingmadeinthetext(Dumit,2004).Infact,oneteacherI
workedwithlikenedthepresenceofexplanatorytextonasamplepostertothe
teachereditionofatextbookandconcludedthatitsawonderfulthingforanadult
anditfulfillsalmostachapterofknowledge.Whenexaminingpostersfroma
teachersperspectivethisabundanceoftextandsupportingfiguresactuallylimits
teachersabilitytousetheposterforinstruction.TeachersIhaveworkedwithare
generallylessconcernedwithstudentsinabilitytoreadthetextonpostersbecause
theschooldaygenerallydoesntaccommodateextendedtimetoreadposters.
Instead,whatisofconcernisthatextensivetextcausestheprimaryfiguresto
becometoosmalltobeseenevenfromashortdistanceaway.
Teacherscasualobservationsregardingthevisualcomplexitycausedbyan
abundanceoftextandsmallimagesalignswithourunderstandingoftheway
learnersprocessandintegrateknowledgefrominstructionalmaterials.Learners
haveacognitivearchitecturecomprisedofafiniteworkingmemorythatprocesses
incominginformation,andaunlimitedlongtermmemoryusedtomakesenseof
andgivemeaningtotheinformation(Baddeley,1992;Bower,1975).Theworking
memorycomprisestwolargelyindependentcomponentsthatprocessvisualand
verbalinformation(Paivio,1986).Whiletextiseventuallytransferredtotheverbal
workingmemory,itmustbeinitiallyprocessedbythevisualworkingmemory;
causingcompetitionwithgraphicsforresources(Mayeretal.,2001).Sincethese
twocomponentsfunctionindependently,instruction,inthiscaseposters,havethe
potentialofoverwhelmingtheworkingmemorybyoverwhelmingeitheroneof
thesecomponents.Therefore,posters,likeallvisualrepresentations,shouldbe
designedinawaythatseekstodecreasetheextraneouscognitiveloadandincrease
germaneloadwhenpossible(Kalyugaetal.,2000;Paas&vanMerrienboer,1993).
Thus,whenvisitingastateornationalscienceteacherconferenceswhereluggage
spacefortransportingpostersbackhomeislimited,skipthosewithsmallfigures
andoptforthosethathavelargeandiconicfigures!Manyteachersreportlooking
foragrossimagethatcannot(begotten)anywhereelse,asimpleidea.Forexample,
cutaways,scaledrepresentationsorotherperspectivesthatarenotdirectlyvisible
withtheuseofareal3Dobjectcanbeextremelyuseful.Additionally,imagerythat
inspiresasenseofwonderisthoughtprovoking,orevendiscrepantcangreatly
enhancetheinstructionalusefulnessoftheposterbyovercomingtheirstaticnature
andactivelyengagingstudentsinthecontent.
Soundseasy,butposterswithgoodclassroomvisibilityandiconicimagerycanbe
hardtocomeby.Ifyoucanfindthem,agrossimagewillserveyouwell
instructionally.Bychoosingposterswithsuchimageryyouareimmediately
becomingmoreintentionalaboutpostersandaregreatlyincreasingthelikelihood
thattheywillbemorethanjustbackgroundwallpaperduringyourinstruction.
Tip#3Rotatepostersasyouchangeunitstokeepvisualsaidshandy,
emphasizeconnectionsacrossunitsandpromotestudentquestions.
Keepingthemajorityofyourpostersinrotationwiththecontentoftheunityouare
coveringhasanumberofbenefitsfortheclassroom.First,itextendstheprinciples
coveredinTip#1abovebyenliveningtheroomwithvisualsthatarespecifictothe
contentcurrentlyunderstudy.Second,theactofselectingasetofpostersthat
supportsthetopicsoftheunitmakesyoumoreintentionalabouttheuseofposters
forinstruction.Theactofhangingthemsimplykeepsthesepostersattheready.
Themostobviousapproachforinstructionaluseofpostersistocommunicatean
instructionalmessagewiththeimageryfromtheposters.Comparedtohaving
studentsreadtheposters,thisapproachisadvantageousasitcanincreasethe
amountofrelevantinputforlearnerswithoutincreasingthecognitiveloadrequired
toprocessthesameinformation.Thisoccursbecausetheinputisdividedacross
boththevisualandverbalcomponentsofthefiniteworkingmemory,e.g.
communicatingtheinformationwiththeteachersvoiceaswellastheimagery
(Paivio,2006;Mayeretal.,2001).
Onelimitationofusingpostersinstructionallyisthatpostershaveconfiningedges.
Theseedgeslimitthenumberofconceptsthatcanfitonanyposterand
unavoidablyresultsintherepresentationideasasdiscretechunks.Athirdbenefit
ofrotatingpostersinalignmentwithyourunitsisthatitpresentsaunique
opportunitytoovercomethesephysicaledgesandshowcasethelinkagesbetween
content.Thisisespeciallysoifoneusesinstructionalstrategiesdesignedto
emphasizerelationshipsbetweencontent.Forexample,byhangingasetofposters
thatsupportaunit,yourwallscanbecomelikeanimagebasedconceptmap,useful
tohelpstudentsseehowindividualideasformalargerwhole.Similartothewaya
roadmapshowsvariousroadsconnectingvarioustowns,Conceptmapsindicatea
connectionbetweenconceptswithalinelinkingtwoconceptstogether.Wordsplace
ontheline,linkingwordsorlinkingphrases,specifytherelationshipbetweenthe
twoconnectedconcepts(Novak&Canas,2006).Approachestousingpostersas
Conceptmapsintheclassroomareonlylimitedbycreativity.Forexample,atthe
beginningofaunityoucouldassessstudentspriorknowledgebyhavingstudents
circulatearoundtheclassroomtoexaminethepostersandthendrawaConcept
map.Or,attheendoftheunit,understandingcouldbeassessedbycreatinga
classroomsizedConceptmap;physicallyconnectingtheposterstogetherwith
stringandattachedpapertothestringforlinkingwordsorphrases.GREATIDEAS
Finally,rotatingyourposterscanalsoencouragemorespontaneoususesforthem.
Infact,thecasestudyofposterspreviouslymentionedfoundthatmostteachers
reportedthattheircurrentuseofpostersisgenerallymorerandomthanitis
plannedandisfrequentlytiedtostudentquestionsrequiringanalternative
explanationofaconcept.Teacherscommented,Havingthepostersuponthewall
hassparkedseveralquestionswithinlessonsandits,Ithink,givingthemadeeper
meaningforunderstandingwhatweretalkingabout.Henson(1998),inhismethods
forsecondaryinstructionsuggeststhatoneofthemosteffectiveusesofvisualaids
iswherethelessonisnotpredeveloped,butbuiltupinfrontofthestudentswho
helpdeveloptheconcepts.Emphasizingtheextentofthiseffect,oneteachereven
notedthatevenofftopicquestionsareapositive.
Ofteninthemiddleofalecturesomekidshandwillgoupandgothat
picturewiththegreenlightythings,whatsthat?Itdoesgetusofftopic,
butinstantlyeverybodyisengagedagain.EvenwhenIgetbackonto
whatIwastalkingabout,youvestillgotthem.
Inadditiontoencouragingstudentquestions,keepingyourpostersalignedwiththe
contentyouarecoveringalsokeepsvisualaidsconvenientlyonhand.Thatway,
whenastudentasksaquestionoryouwanttolinkthecurrentcontentyouare
coveringtotopicsyouhavealreadydiscussed,youdonthavetohuntforimageryto
supportyourideasbecausethevisualsarerightthere!
Tip#4Rotatesomeposterswithinunitstoemphasizekeycontentand
engagestudentsinthelesson.
ImagineasstudentsentertheirEarthScienceclassroomandbegintoworkonthe
warmup,theynoticethatthepostershungwithmagnetsontheleftedgeofthe
blackboardhavechangedagain!Whileallthepostersintheclassroomstillrelate
platetectonicsconcepts,thesespecificonesnowshowadrippingfaucetthat
appearstobemakingripplesradiatingoutwardfromalocationinthewesternUS.
Anothernewlyhungposterillustratestheinterioroftheearthandconnectsthemto
numerousseismogramsbesideit.Iwonderwhatwewillbecoveringtoday?How
doripplesradiatingoutwardsconnecttoourunitandwhatdotheyhavetodowith
Earthsinterior.
Theexampleabovehighlightshowateachermighttakeadvantageofalarge
collectionofpostersandincorporatethosepostersinstructionally.Bycreatinga
rapidrotationcenter,oranareaoftheclassroomwhereoneortwoposterschanges
morefrequently(perhapsweekly)thanthebroaderunitrotation,youcanquickly
engagestudentsincontentbycallingattentiontoupcomingtopicsandsparking
questions.Pedagogicallyspeaking,usingpostersinthiswayissimilartothe
introductionsegmentofawellcraftedlecturethatmotivatesstudentattentionand
providescuesforwhatwillbepresentedandemphasizedduringtheinstruction
(Chiappetta&Koballa,2002).Attheendofeachunit,thepostersthatappearedin
therapidrotationcentercouldthenalsobeleveragedforreview.Becausethey
changedastheinstructionintheclassroomchanged,thevisualsoftheposterserve
asmarkersormentalremindersoftopicscoveredduringtheunit.Withlittle
promptingfromtheteachersstudentsshouldbeabletousetheposterstocreatea
contentflowsurroundingthesefigures.
Tip#5Provideontopictargetsforstudentswanderingminds
Thereissignificantcompetitionforstudentslimitedcognitiveresourcesinaschool
setting.Thelearnermayactivelyselecttoparticipateinthediscussionthatyouare
leading,ortheymaychoosetofocustheirresourceselsewhere,writinganotetoa
friend,completinganunfinishedhomeworkassignment,orjustcasuallyobserving
theirsurroundings.Despiteourbesteffortsatanallontaskallthetime
classroom,brainsinevitablywanderduringinstruction.Infact,researchsuggests,
30%40%ofdailylifethoughtsareofftask(McVayetal,2009).Knowingand
anticipatingthisphenomenonallowsyoutostrategicallyprepareforyourstudents
wanderingminds.Greatpostersattractandretainstudentattention.Visually
stimulatingpostersthatarealignedwiththecontentoftheunitcanbeanideal
methodtoprovidingstudentswithgermanetargetsfortheirmentalescapes.The
stuffupfrontisallpicturesofnatureandEarthsciencephenomena.Ikindofputthem
uptherebecauseIseestudents,myscreenisrightinbetweenthem,andIseestudents
sometimeswandering.
Theintentionofthesepostersisnottosupportlearningbypassivediffusion.
Ratherprovidingsuchresourcesforstudentsmentalescapes(orbrainbreaks)is
alignedwithresearchthatsuggeststhatnaturalscenessuchaswindows,video
loops,andscenicpostersservearestorativefunctionforworkersandmayprovide
stimulationforworkersseekinginformationorcues(Collins,1975;Kaplan1983:
Stone,1998a).Whileworkersreportthatsuchscenicviews,especiallywindowsare
highlydesirableinthisway(Jackson&Holmes,1973;Butler&Biner,1989;1990),
teachershaveexpressedwantingsomethingmorespecificfortheirstudentsmental
breaks.Whatwouldyouwantforthem(students)toseebesideswhatyoureteaching
typeofthing?Sothisisthepurposeofthat(setofposters).Iwantakidtositinthe
roomwhentheyrenotwithme,theyresomewhereelse,butfocusingonscience.
Summary
SciencepostershavebecomeastandardfeatureinclassroomsacrosstheUnited
States.Demandfromscienceteachersfornewpostersishighandscience
organizationsareenthusiasticaboutcreatingnewonesforeducators.Whilemany
oftheposterscurrentlyavailablelackadesignthatsupportstheiruseinthe
classroom,thetipspresentedherecan,withasmallamountofeffort,allowyouto
maximizetheimpactofthepostersyoucurrentlyhaveandhelpyouselectfuture
postersthataremorelikelytohelpyourstudentslearn.
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