The Oxford English Dictionary defines a poster as: A large printed picture used for decoration, and: A large printed picture, notice, or advertisement displayed in a public place.
For those who remember the ‘Athena’ chain of shops, posters are stuck in our memory. Ché or a dubious picture of a tennis player adorned many walls in the seventies and eighties. Posters, few words, striking images. ‘Your Country Wants You’ and ‘Pears Soap’ hint at a bygone age when advertising was in its infancy, but the rules still apply. Striking imagery, few words communicating strongly, a subliminal or, indeed, a clear message. ‘Labour isn’t working’ to Vorsprung Durch Technik’, successful posters stay in the mind. From futurist designs, to kitsch, from communist to fascist and everything in between the poster has had a vital part to play in our history but this is not the whole story.
In classrooms, kids are asked to design posters. Some are trained in the art and some are not. Yet there is another heritage of poster that they might draw upon and that is the ‘academic’ poster beloved of some courses in higher education. These posters are designed to communicate a body of knowledge and spark conversations. I wouldn’t call them posters, they are more like ‘info-graphics’, the compiler of the information and maker of the ‘poster’ stands by it as others walk past, intent on getting into a dialogue with the writer about their work. These ‘academic’ posters are ‘knowledge organisers’, akin to ‘research reports’, that need the person making the poster to exhibit a lot of knowledge but in a way that ‘simplifies’ and organises their research and arguments. This is a very different form to that of the ‘poster’ and could be deemed to have a useful purpose especially if accompanied by an essay, dissertation, speech and other forms of completed work.
When children are set a poster task in school I would expect the task to be specific to the subject and content that they are being set. Whether it is a ‘poster’ or an ‘academic poster’ the expression of learning would involve a great deal of knowledge about what is wanted to be communicated. Both should be eloquent and beautiful and work as piece in themselves, which would require a teaching of the ‘art’ as well as a thorough knowledge of the content.
It is also clear, like so many things in education, it could be taught badly. It could be used as an ‘activity’ to ‘engage’, it could be used too early when the pupil has little knowledge of the subject, it could be used without a thorough knowledge of the form, it could be used as a ‘busy homework’. None of these would be a satisfactory use of the form.
If a pupil has a thorough grasp of the art of the essay and/or can research and analyse, can make arguments and think logically within the context of the subject they are studying then the academic poster has a place especially if the ‘display’ of it is accompanied by the ‘exhibition’ where the maker responds to critique through a discussion about their work. This ‘assessment’ of the ‘art’ then becomes a crucial part of the process rather than just another pile of marking in the in-tray.
If the pupil is creating graphic art then the discussion around aesthetics would be foregrounded but would this be normally about creating second rate display-work rather than great art in the context of most subjects?
Bodil Isaksen has written an excellent piece on posters being used badly, in which she says: “a poster lesson is a desperate measure, not a rigorous first-class education.” This discussion has been triggered by a piece in the Evening Standard in which Tom Bennett is quoted, quite reasonably, as saying that poster tasks can be a lesson in which: “an hour trickles away and bubble-writing happens, and someone back-shadows the title, and four sentences are written while someone else cuts out pictures of ‘crime’ or ‘celebrity’ from the staffroom copy of Take A Break!”
Trivium 21c 
“It is also clear, like so many things in education, it could be taught badly. It could be used as an ‘activity’ to ‘engage’, it could be used too early when the pupil has little knowledge of the subject, it could be used without a thorough knowledge of the form, it could be used as a ‘busy homework’. None of these would be a satisfactory use of the form.”
Clearly anyone who has even a basic understanding of teaching/learning, memory and cognitive pocesses will know that “posters” can be used very effectively as part of the process of education.
Some teachers use posters as a means of managing their workload, such is life and as a strategy it is quite a good one. I have delivered lessons in which I used posters to occupy the thugs while allowing me to answer some illuminating questions from those who wished to learn. I have used posters as an activity with individuals who have special needs also, and this for me is as excellent way to allow them to have access to the process.
I have used posters as a strategy with A level Economics students in a way in which you have described imprecisely above and with undergraduate level students as an advance organiser or simply a graphic organiser.
People who do not have to struggle with the extremes of workload should not judge those who do in my opinion. People like Tom Bennett who do so and well as the usuall “know it all” pompous and superior bloggers simply add to the workload of already overloaded teachers by slagging off what for the pressured teacher is a less than optimal breathing space between periods of more effective and efficient learning.
I wasn’t as impressed as Bodil clearly was that Tom Bennett included the word “some” in his criticism. I my experience, 50 odd years, I have found that there will always be some lessons employing any strategy that will not be “first class education”.
I could say the same about explicit instruction, teacher talk and groupwork. Used well they all have their place, but I have seen plenty of lessons where there was too much teacher talk. In fact probably more “too much teacher talk” than I have lessons wasted on “posters”.
Why do people like to be pmpous at the expense of others. Bodil clearly explains that he/she has used poster lessons but now sees themselves as above all that while delivering a “first class education”.
I wish sometimes that I was as perfect as these people.
I use posters based upon the “rich picture” method that I learned as part of the Soft Systems development method developed by Checkland. Just as I found it useful in systems design to describe systems involving people, I find it useful in education to describe systems that involve people. We call them “rich pictures” but they are posters.
If someone wants to use a “poster lesson” for either workload/pressure management or as a valuable teaching strategy then I have no problem with it. People who just use posters as a way to avoid teaching for no good reason I have no sympathy with.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I wonder why the whole ‘ debate’ about posters doesn’t involve more best practice examples of them done well. In TEL research, that’s what is at the forefront – so others can learn what works well and model, rather than just criticising the worst case examples and imprinting negative images on the whole to one mode of communication.
Anyway – whispers it – what’s so good about essays?
LikeLiked by 2 people
At the end of the day, Tom Bennett likes to pontificate. Sadly. This time, he’s commenting on something that he actually doesn’t know much (if anything) about.,I hope teachers just carry on doing what they do well.
LikeLike
Reblogged this on The Echo Chamber.
LikeLike