Gallery Walk

Overview

As students move through multimodal stations pertaining to a particular unit, the social and physical nature of the activity supports deeper understanding. By seeing, sharing, and responding to multiple texts with their peers, students are actively engaged in discussion, accountable to their own learning, and can be given an opportunity to practice Disciplinary and Critical Literacy.

Use It in the Classroom

Learn how teachers in an English language learner classroom use a gallery walk to encourage students across levels to participate and interact. By creating prompts and modeling conversations, all learners can share what they are learning and also practice providing feedback to each other. As students walk around to view other's ideas, they practice Self-regulation in providing kind, constructive feedback and Social Awareness & Relationship Skills as they communicate with those around them.

Teachers should create gallery walks with visual texts to increase student engagement and differentiate activities. Gallery walks are also an interactive way to bring inquiry into the classroom, particularly as students begin to create their own gallery walks. When students can create their own gallery walks, individually or in groups, they have more voice and autonomy in their learning. Responses to gallery walks can also be used as formative assessment and as part of larger activities to generate student discussion and reflection.

Design It into Your Product

Videos are chosen as examples of strategies in action. These choices are not endorsements of the products or evidence of use of research to develop the feature.

Watch how apps like iBrainstorm allow for collaborative spaces to be set up across multiple devices. Such products can be used to facilitate gallery walks in digital spaces where students share their work and comment on each others' work.

Developers can create online forums for teachers to create virtual gallery walks, which can increase engagement and help students learn elements of information literacy. Students can also create work to display in virtual galleries and interact with teachers and peers to increase collaboration. Allowing learners to contribute their ideas while also interacting with others in a shared, safe space fosters Motivation for learning and builds confidence.

View References

Resources

Below are additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.

Examples

Developing Behaviors for Cooperative Learning

Module by Sanford Inspire

Examples

Enliven Classroom Discussions with Gallery Walks

Edutopia suggestions for ways to use a gallery walk

Examples

Gallery Walk

Facing History and Ourselves guide to a gallery walk

Examples

Gallery Walk Informational Video

Explanation that visually shows the gallery walk protocol