A non-threatening way to promote discussion

My students hate lecture and love using gallery walks to help them in discussions. This technique is so simple to use. Students work in groups and make a poster with responses to an open-end... See More

My students hate lecture and love using gallery walks to help them in discussions. This technique is so simple to use. Students work in groups and make a poster with responses to an open-ended question provided by the teacher. They then walk with their assigned teams and leave comments on the posters of their peers. At the end of the walk, they synthesize the comments made to their original poster and make a brief oral presentation. This technique is wonderful for helping students learn to reach consensus in groups. It is very flexible in the amount of time needed to complete the project and allows students to move around the classroom and stay involved in their learning. I find it a marvelous way to encourage student discussion in a non-threatening way. The authors provide wonderful suggestions to help in the management of the gallery walk and recommendations for the teacher to to record any misconceptions during the gallery walk so that they can be cleared up during student presentations. It was stressed that the instructor should reinforce important concepts and correct and misconceptions or errors as students present the second time. In addition to the great tips to help manage students, the authors also included a rubric to help evaluate group behavior. Gallery walks can help students practice using science terminology correctly, reinforce student knowledge, and explore open-ended topics in science.