It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by seemingly endless rows of display boards demanding constant attention around our schools. The pressure of ensuring our displays are informative, interactive and purposeful, can often lead to a neglected environment. Which is a shame, because if managed properly, display spaces can be a low maintenance tool that actually delivers a powerful impact on the quality of learning.
In every change we implement in our school surroundings, it’s crucial to remember that children should always be at the heart. And this is no different for the materials and resources that adorn our walls. It’s important to ensure that displays are not allowed to become ‘background noise’. They mustn’t be allowed to dissolve into the environment or disappear from the children’s consciousness. Displays should be interactive, not blindly leant up against a wall or piece of furniture.
The first rule of engaging attention is to make any display material eye catching. Children’s senses are constantly buzzing and their minds require persistent stimulation. This also helps with the classroom decor. Children react to the same stimuli as adults, but with an added dose of infectious enthusiasm. Be sure to tap into this enthusiasm, but also be careful of patronising intelligent young brains. Avoids gimmicks; instead opt for making content engaging in an innovative way.
With this in mind, here are three ideas that can be instantly implemented to improve the quality of your learning environment and display boards or bulletin boards.
A simple way of incorporating everybody’s work is to create a clipboard system (one for each member of the class.) Work here can be quickly and easily showcased, and it takes no time at all to regularly refresh and update with new examples of learning.
It’s important to think creatively within current spaces. In the classroom, why not create a display on an existing whiteboard? This allows the display to flow and evolve over a topic, again allowing easy access for regular and updating.
Finally, makesure communal areas make the most of the wall space. Take the opportunity to have more permanent displays that project the ethos of the school to parents and visitors.If you’ve got a school refurbishment project you’d like to discuss with us, please get in touch to discuss your requirements.
