The Bill Board Concept

I was on an assignment as an S.T.E.P. Academics Tutor. My assignment was to tutor students in three Earth Science classes. In one of the classes I noticed a huge blank wall outside the room. Of course there are always walls but this particular wall was covered with what appeared to be painted plywood. I thought I could my this area an Earth Science Collage that displays images and facts that would covered every concept I wanted to teach the entire year. I also thought I could design it and have my students bring it to fruition. (They learn by doing).

Bill Boards on streets and highways are expensive. They cost $5000.00 dollars a month in many cases. Why would a company or politician pay that much? IT WORKS! They get a return on investment. My thought is that the walls in every school should be adorned with information, concepts, diagrams and images. Not just temporary paper signs advertising a school dance, candy drive, or upcoming football game (none of which is the main goal of an educational institution), but rather information that the school or class wants the student to internalize.

You have the expression “if walls could talk”. Well the truth is walls can talk and students “will listen”.

In addition to billboard type images and concepts on the walls in the halls, the classroom walls should be use as teaching aides also. The classroom walls can be use to display subject specific concepts particularly.

Billboard advertising works both obviously and subliminally. They tell us to “eat mor chikin”, the “McRib is back”, and “click it or ticket”.

The most important idea is that we learn from Billboards without realizing it. We can teach students using Billboard concepts without them realizing they are being taught. As a teacher my students often exclaimed “there you go again trying to “trick us into learning”.

The billboard concept of teaching must include images as well as words of course. Now this technique is not to be use alone but in conjunction with as many other teaching/learning strategies you can conceive.