The Basics

The boards are labeled to make grouping students in pairs quick and easy. Each board is labeled with an A and B in the top right corner. Pairs of A’s point to each other and pairs of B’s point to each other. These labels allow the teacher to instantly create  pairs for think-pair share, or in the case of Gallery Learning, write/draw-pair share. The teacher can say, “Talk to your A neighbor,” or “Discuss with your B neighbor.” When the teacher says to work with their B neighbor, students without a B neighbor turn to the middle of the room and raise their hands. These single students pair up with any other student with a raised hand. If there is only one student with a raised hand, this student simply joins with a nearby pair to form a triad.

 

To facilitate forming small groups, the boards are also organized with a star system. Each board is numbered. In a Gallery of 32 boards, 8 of the boards will have stars written in the top right corner. All of the other 24 boards have a star with a number indicating which board to go to if they are directed to their star boards. For example, board number 12 is a star board. Boards 6, 20, and 29 all say *12 in the top right corner. This tells students at boards 6, 20, and 29 to report to board 12  for small group interactions (forming a group of 4 students.) See “Creating the Gallery” for more information on star boards.

 

Gallery Walk

A gallery walk is an opportunity for students to walk around the room and take a close look at the work of their peers. The physical setup of The Gallery makes gallery walks simple. Since the student work is displayed in a fashion close to a circle, the students can rotate around the room and look at each other’s work in a very organized way. Students are not allowed to talk during a gallery walk. Talking will cause students to lose focus and attention on their peers’ work. Watch a video of 4th and 5th graders doing a gallery walk.

There are several options for student engagement during gallery walks. Teachers must decide which of the engagement techniques to use based on the situation. First, students may be directed to do nothing but look. They could also be asked to give feedback on the work of their peers by drawing stars for work they like, making editing marks on errors they see, and/or scoring work based on a rubric.

Let’s take a look at some examples of how this might be done. Students are asked to write a paragraph summarizing a short reading selection. During the gallery walk, the teacher tells the students to award a star on the board to mark their favorite summaries. In addition, the teacher may ask students to make editing marks on the paragraphs (circle misspelled words, three lines under letters that need to be capitalized, etc.) Finally, the teacher might discuss neatness in presentation with the class and then ask students to score each board based on a one to five rubric.

Do not give the students enough time to work their way around the entire room during the gallery walk. This will normally result in off task behavior. It is best to cut the students short, leaving them wanting more. The teacher needs to designate the direction of the Gallery Walk. To start the Gallery Walk, the teacher will say something like this, “Gallery Walk to your left, no feedback,” or “Gallery walk to your right with feedback.” Some alternate ways to view one another's work is to view every other board, every 5th board, or do a free walk where students simply roam around the room.

 It is important to set aside frequent opportunities for students to talk during Gallery Learning. After doing a gallery walk, students will be eager to reflect upon what they saw. Students will also feel the need to react to the marks made on their own board. After the gallery walk, the teacher shouts, “Go home!” and then gives the students an opportunity to talk by telling them to turn to their A (or B) neighbor and answer one or more of the following questions:

1. What did you see that you liked? Why did you like it?

2. Without saying any names, what did you see that needed work? How would you change it? (Teach the students to respectfully say, “One student…”)

3. After reviewing the work of your peers, how do you think you did on this assignment/question/problem? What would you do differently?

4. Why do think the other students marked your board the way they did?

5. What did you learn?

6. What was the best thing you saw? Justify your answer.

Gallery walks would normally be used when students do a significant amount of work on their boards. It doesn’t make sense to do a gallery walk after students write a spelling word, but it does make sense after they fill the board with a list of words that all contain the prefix ‘un.’

 

Walk in the Park

Sometimes, it is beneficial for students to have an academic conversation while doing a gallery walk. This procedure is known in Gallery Learning as a “Walk in the Park.” Students walk around the room in pairs, viewing and commenting on each other’s work. The pairs are designated using the A/B labels. The teacher should define, model and monitor the academic conversations that she/he expects from the students. Walks in the Park make the classroom learning environment fun and light while reaching students through different learning modalities.

Students can also be directed to give feedback to their peers by marking the boards during a Walk in the Park. When the teacher asks this of the students, the pairs should agree to the marking before actually marking the board. This will generate deeper and more critical thinking among the kids.

 

Gallery Dance

This is basically the same thing as a Gallery Walk except the teacher should put on some funky music and have the kids dance around the room as they look at each other’s work. Keep in mind that if the music has words, it will be difficult for most students to read while listening. Songs with lyrics can be used when students look at each other’s artwork. When asking students to read, put on some funky instrumental songs. It will take most classes a few practice runs before the kids are able to maintain focus while dancing (not goofing around.) Just think of all the positive reasons to have your students dancing while looking at the work of their peers!

 

Small Group Gallery Learning

The Gallery is a great setup for doing group work. Students are able to form groups quickly and meet at the star boards to work collaboratively on questions, projects, or tasks. The teacher may direct the students to all sit on the floor or in chairs in front of the starboard while the facilitator leads and records the group’s work on the whiteboard. The teacher is able to monitor group progress at a glance.

One way to use groups is to have them discuss a task and then return to their boards to actually complete the task. This is particularly beneficial when the task is very challenging and many students need additional scaffolding.

Another method is to do a small group mini-lecture with only the starboard students while the others work on a problem. Then send the stars back to their boards to meet with their group. The star board students then teach the lesson to their peers.

 

Reaching Consensus

 Reaching consensus is an approach to student feedback where the teacher asks students to agree on an answer. As opposed to collaborative or group work, students do not construct their answers with a peer. Instead they each construct answers individually and then meet with a peer to reach consensus on the correct or best answer.

 In Gallery Learning, the teacher is normally the last resort for feedback to the students. If a student can say what the teacher would normally say, get them to say it. After students do an assignment on their boards, tell students to meet with one or more other students and agree upon the correct or best answer. Students must change their board work to match the work of their consensus partner. By forcing students to match answers, the students deepen understanding through explaining and justifying their thinking. Those corrections normally stated by teachers then come out of the students’ mouths as they negotiate with their peers.

 There are so many ways to do consensus building. This is where the teacher can be creative and inventive. Some possibilities include paired consensus (with A or B neighbor,) small group consensus (with star board group,) or a free-for-all consensus building. Paired consensus works best in situations where about 60-80% of students have the correct answer to a posed problem. Group consensus building is better for those situations where few students (20-40%) have the correct answer. This way most groups will have at least one student who can argue for the correct response. In free-for-all consensus, students move freely about the room looking for others’ board work that does not match his/her own. They then discuss the non-matching response with the other student until they agree. Free-for-all consensus building works well when there are only a small handful of correct responses in the room. As the correct student convinces other students of the right answer, the knowledge spreads around the room like a slow flowing lava until all students have gained an understanding of the concept.

 In consensus, there is no “agree to disagree” bail out. This forces students to communicate more thoroughly and think of multiple representations in order to convince their peer with whom they disagree.

 

Showcase

A showcase is a structured way for kids to share and learn from each other. The basic concept is that students learn about a topic and fill their boards. Then students do oral presentations for their peers using their boards as visual aids.

1. First, all students work alone or in pairs to learn via research and fill their boards. The boards can be filled with images, text, graphic organizers, or any combination of these.

2. Choose between 3 and 5 boards to be the showcase stations. These boards should be spread out rather than right next to each other. The presenters stand in front of their full boards and share orally using the information on the boards as visual aids.

3. Divide the remaining students evenly between the presentations. These students will be the audience for the presentations. They sit in a small group and listen attentively and then ask questions as time permits.

4. Begin round 1. Time the presentations. Have students shift to the next showcase at the end of each time slot. Presenters then repeat their talk with this new group of kids. This process is repeated until all students have heard the three to five showcase talks being presented in the first round.

5. Next choose 3-5 new showcase boards and do round 2.

6. After all students have had a turn to present, the showcase is over. It is vital that you allow for time for students to reflect on the showcase. Here are some possibilities for reflection discussion questions (to be discussed with a neighbor, small group, or whole class):

   1. What did you learn from other student showcases?

   2. What was your favorite showcase?

   3. In what way are you proud of your showcase work?

   4. How will you improve your showcase next time?

   5. What interesting ways did others use to showcase their learning?

Some teachers use incentives and friendly competition in the showcase. To learn more about this, see Incentives chapter.

 

Odd and Even

Each board in The Gallery is numbered. This activity takes advantage of the odd and even numbering on the boards. Prepare two sets of questions that are appropriate for all students. Split the questions in half. Give the first half of the questions to the odd numbered boards and the second half to the even numbered boards. Ask the questions like this: “Number your board from one to five. Odds spell BEGINNING. Evens spell PRINCIPAL. (Wait for a few seconds while students write the words.) Now, Odds spell DELICIOUS. Evens spell INSTRUCTIONS.” Repeat this procedure until all questions have been asked. Next, have students trade places with their A (or B) neighbor and silently read the board. Then ask the students to give feedback to their A (or B) neighbor. ERASE! Repeat the whole process by giving the Odd questions to the Even board students and vice versa.

 

The benefits of this interactive activity are readily apparent. Students have a higher level of accountability since their neighbors on both sides are answering different questions. Students are exposed to all of the material repeated times in a short time span: round 1, reading the neighboring board, and feedback given and received. Finally, students verbalize their learning. The types of questions posed are completely up to the teacher. The reason the spelling example is given here is that it’s clear and simple. Teachers are encouraged to give questions that address the different levels of DOK (Depth of Knowledge.)

 

Stealing Second

In this activity students “steal” information from their peers. This should only be done when the teacher is confident that students have had ample time (and effort) to demonstrate their own thinking. Stealing Second allows students to learn from each other. When the teacher has determined that all, or almost all, students have demonstrated their own thinking on their boards, he/she directs students to wander the room looking for ideas from peers and add these ideas to their own boards. By doing this, learners increase their own body of knowledge.

Students need to be able to justify why this new information is valuable enough to add to their board. The teacher can make this requirement in a variety of ways:

• Whole class discussion

• Students write justification on their boards in the form of a sentence/paragraph.

• Return to the “scene of the crime” and tell the “victim” why you liked his/her answer. All students do this simultaneously.

 

When can teachers use Stealing Second? Here are some examples:

• Students list synonyms/antonyms and then steal words from peers.

• Students list prefixes and/or suffixes and then Steal Second.

• Students list facts on a topic and then Steal Second.

• Students demonstrate ways to show ¾ and then Steal Second.

• Students create story maps and then steal additional characters, author's viewpoint, problems and solutions, plot, setting, genre, etc. and then Steal Second.

Stealing Second results in students acquiring vast amounts of information in a very short period of time. Students are encouraged to discuss their thinking with others, justify, and think critically about their own work as well as the work of their peers. This discussion time is rich.

 

Better Board

After students do an assignment on their boards (something of significance,) ask them to work with their A or B neighbor (teacher discretion) to decide which of their boards is superior to the other. This can be completely subjective or you might ask the students to use a rubric to assess their work. When the students decide which of the two boards is the better, they draw a large star in an open area on the board. Next ask the class to do a gallery walk. During the gallery walk, students are to think critically about each pair’s decision on the “Best Board.” On the gallery walk, students need to put a check mark inside every star that they agree is the better of the two boards. If they don’t agree, they just move on to the next pair. After students have had enough time to see about half the boards in the room, the teacher yells, “Go home!” Pairs of students then reflect on their gallery walk. Finally, the whole class should hold a discussion about their analysis of peer work with the teacher offering feedback but only after students have had ample opportunity to share their thoughts. This activity encourages students to produce their highest quality work and to think critically about both their own work as well as that of their peers.

 

Better Board 2

This critical thinking, social learning activity is similar to Better Board but with a twist. After students determine which of the two boards is superior, do the following activity. Announce that all odd numbered boards will stay at the pair of boards while the even numbered boards move about the room. The odd numbered board students explain WHY the students decided that the starred board is better than the unstarred board. The even numbered board students are the audience for the odd numbered board students. The even students are responsible to ask challenging questions of the presenters and engage in a lively critical discussion. After students have had ample time to engage in discussions with several other students, switch roles. Wrap up the activity with a whole class reflection.

 

Scavenger Hunt

Students write down information that they recall about a particular topic. Students write in bullet form to help organize their thoughts. The teacher can allow students to discuss additional thoughts with the students to their right or left. After a few minutes students should have several pieces of information written down. Tell students to go on a scavenger hunt to find one piece of information from another person’s board, then bring back that information to apply to their own board. Students will then go find another piece of information from someone else’s board and keep doing this for several more times. Within a short period of time students will acquire quite a bit of information. One suggestion is to have students leave remarks to reinforce positive comments or corrections.

Example: Students have been learning about adding and subtracting positive and negative integers all week long. The teacher asks the students to write down what they learn and knew about integers. Students are given 5 minutes to complete as many comments as they can think of. During this time students discuss and share their information with the person to their right and left. After 5 minutes students explore the classroom to locate information that they did not have on their board such as “2 negatives make a positive, 2 positives make a positive, and 1 negative and 1 positive make a negative.” Students then write this newly found information and then look for additional information to add to their boards. After 5 minutes students share and discuss their boards with one another or with the class.

 

Spies

After students work with a partner on a project for a reasonable amount of time, give each pair an opportunity to send out one of the two students as a spy. This spy walks around the room silently looking at the other boards and then reports back to their partner. Encourage partners to choose the spy based on a random fair method such as rock, paper, scissors. The partner who stays behind should continue working on the assignment and/or offer tips to spies who wander by.

This social learning technique works well when students are working on an assignment that progresses in stages. If a pair of students completes the first stage incorrectly, then one would expect that successive stages would be incorrect as well. If you allow students to send out spies after they complete the first stage, students can have the opportunity to think critically about their own understanding as compared with that of their peers and adjust their work based on this research.

One example of a good lesson to use Spies is when students write a response to literature paragraph. The teacher might ask students to do some prewriting to organize their thoughts. If students are expected to analyze the theme of a story, it can be very helpful for them to check their interpretation of the theme against that of their peers before actually writing the paragraph. Therefore, after students have written their brainstorm, which would include their opinion on the theme, the students can send out a spy to check what the other students are writing as the theme.

 

Teachers need to continually coach students about the nature of checking their responses based on the responses of their peers. Other students don’t necessarily have the right answer on their boards. Every student can offer something valuable to the class. Do not depend on your peers to think for you. Always look to write something more creative and original on your board rather than simply copying your neighbor. Some students think that the “smart” students always have a better answer or the right answer. This is simply not true. Everyone must think for themselves.

 

 

Magnetic Presentations

In order to keep all students engaged in meaningful activities, when asking students to present their work to a small group, try making your presentations “Magnetic!” Here’s how it works. Each student presents her/his board work to her/his group first. After all students in a group have had their turns, the group breaks up and joins the “audience” of another group in the room. This continues until you finally have the whole class magnetically attracted to one person who is the last presenter. The challenge for the teacher is staying tuned in to all students and keeping their focus on the speaker. It helps if the teacher models this process with the students before the activity showing the students how to position themselves in a way that they all can hear and see the presenter. Even after modeling, the students who struggle paying attention will probably need some teacher prompting to help them stand or sit in the best position to hear and see the presenters.