If there’s one thing that teachers of all age groups can agree on is that keeping students engaged, energised and interested is a never-ending battle – especially in today’s world of smartphones and social media. So, what can teachers do about it? Well, the answer may lie in writable walls at school.
It seems that whiteboards are making something of a comeback! It’s not uncommon to see boardroom meetings ditching the digital and using writable surfaces, so it stands to reason that schools would follow suit. Here’s why:
The return of the writable
For many teachers, whiteboards are easy, and so is our whiteboard dry erase paint. There’s no need to power things up, there are no wires or need for any technical troubleshooting when things don’t work. But, it doesn’t just stop there. Writable walls can benefit students and teachers in many ways, including:
More engagement of mind and body – The mere act of having students stand up and interact with a physical writing surface will stimulate their thinking, alertness and creative thinking. By employing visual sensory, visual and emotional actions, they will have better recall overall. For more information on this, check out our article on how drawing can help develop your child’s motor skills.
Collaboration creation – Group activities amongst students and writable surfaces will help them create and strengthen social ties with each other. Plus, having information displayed on a surface for all to see increases group knowledge and camaraderie.
An extra tool for teachers – Writable walls give teachers another tool to switch up the environment to create a better learning environment and a lot more space as well – resulting in happier students and more interactive engagement opportunities.
It’s just more fun – Let’s face it: walking into a room and seeing a writable surface set up will already make you feel more interested in what’s coming up. Students of all ages will always prefer something out of the norm, so using writable walls at school will set a positive mood right from the beginning.
Ideas for teachers
So, now that we know a little more about why using whiteboard wall paint at school is great for everyone, how about some concrete ideas on how to use them?
Learning:
- Lesson plans: By having lesson plans and goals up on the wall from the get-go, students can have a better idea of what needs to be done, and how progress is going. For younger students, it gives them a sense of participation, and for older groups it lets them know that they are achieving something every day.
- Demonstration and guidance: Whether it’s showing pre-schoolers what shapes look like or demonstrating mathematical equations for high-schoolers, whiteboard paint transforms static walls into writable surfaces, and allows more space to give examples in their full glory for better information transmission.
Expression and inclusion:
- Voting and polls: By involving the class in aspects of teaching, students will naturally feel more included and engaged as a result. Draw up regular polls on what subjects to cover next, or have classes vote for correct answers for pop quizzes. For younger students, find out what the most popular color in the room is, and for teens, let them vote on their interpretations of the subject matter.
- Brainstorming: Writable walls are incredibly useful for creative thinking. As part of any creative process, brainstorming often needs a lot of space – but with writable walls at their disposal, teachers can open up the entire room for ideation. Carry out workshops and creative sessions for a range of different classes and watch the ideas flow.
Fun and games:
- Setting the tone: Teachers can leave fun messages, drawings and sayings for the students to see as soon as they enter the classroom in the morning. Let their first impressions of the day be positive with fun facts, philosophies, doodles and jokes.
- Games: There are a tonne of popular paper-based games that you can bring to your writable walls – either during lunch breaks or employed as part of a learning workshop. Play games such as hangman (or, spaceman for younger kids) for students to learn about words, tic-tac-toe for logic and Pictionary for interpretive thinking.
Let ESCREO help you teach
The above ideas are just the tip of the iceberg of how writable walls at school can enhance your teaching environment. And, convincing management shouldn’t be too hard either! Application is super-easy and comes with very little hassle – and once the writable walls are up, students will quickly spread the word to their friends.
You can choose from a range of options including our whiteboard paint, clear whiteboard paint, or even magnetic whiteboard paint for even more interactive learning.
See you in the classroom!
