Gallery Walk

A Gallery Walk is a technique used to get people talking about their reading and thinking.

Above are several ideas for using a Gallery Walk which is a technique used to get people thinking and talking about their reading.  

The objective of a gallery walk is to showcase a display of text, graphics, or math problems or solutions that will prompt responses from the observers.  The students walk around the “displays” and annotate the text with their own thoughts, questions, and other ponderings.  These annotations can be written on sticky notes or on the display itself. By studying the original work and the responses of others, students learn how others are processing the content and it gives them insight into new ways of thinking about the content.  In addition, faculty can level the comments by using two colors of sticky note: the first color is for the readers own ideas and the second color is for responding to a comment posted by another person.   The online environment can do this with PDF files and the sticky note feature.  

A gallery walk can be an activity on its own or it can be a culminating activity pulling together a unit.  I use this technique for reading and for writing tasks. 

 The gallery walk can be used for any subject.  Faculty may use incorrect math steps or problem solutions as well. When students see these “texts” on the wall, they seem to be able to come together and discern what steps are missing, how the text relates to them. This is an active learning strategy. Each student is given several sticky notes and the expectation is that he or she will comment on the display. The idea is not so much about getting the right answer, but stimulating metacognitive conversations; thus, the final reporting out and classroom discussion regarding the posts is essential.