Classroom Displays: Process and Product
Classroom wall spaces are an ever changing and frequent footprint as to what is going on in a classroom.
On recent trips to other schools and classrooms, a colleague and I were interested in the change in classrooms from Junior to Senior. On a wander around other schools this remains generally the same, with exceptions. There are lots of great sites out there sharing ideas and examples on displays .
Bright, colourful, art based classrooms in the Juniors. Followed by a transition to more calmer, less vibrant, text based displays in Senior classes.
But, why do we make such a change with older students?
When asked, many of my students identified the types of things they wanted in a classroom that spelt outright the appearance of a ‘Junior’ classroom:
Bright
Colourful
Lots of Objects – plants, cds hanging from windows etc
Lots of artwork
It was an interesting discussion and in that discussion I also saw the way I had changed the wall spaces and lay out the classroom. So, this term my students organised the class – when they arrived on the first day back the class was still piled up in the middle. Not a waste of a morning – a highly productive morning. Where students discussed what they wanted their classroom to be like, act like and seem like. So it came together. This term, the wall spaces have also begun developing from less end product, to a more process driven display. Realistically, when we compare this to our own working environments – don’t we like to work in a space that is ‘our own’?
Many teachers I know have differing opinions about the wall spaces in their classrooms:
– To reinforce teaching concepts
- To share the process of the students learning
- To share the end products of learning
- To fill space
- ?
So where do you see your classroom wall space?
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