Hi, I’m Allison L. Titcomb from ALTA Consulting, LLC. Have you ever looked for a way to engage a group in seeing and interacting with a collection of ideas, set of questions, summary of information, or data/results? Consider using a “Gallery Walk” activity to get your participants up and moving!
Hot Tip: A Gallery Walk typically consists of large format summaries (i.e., hand-made during a workshop, for example, or pre-prepared topics on flip chart paper) posted around the room and an opportunity for participants to view, reflect and comment on the information. Participants visit the poster and may comment by writing directly on the poster or by using post-it notes.
These “posters” could include:
- concepts maps representing highlights of articles, chapters, books, etc.
- questions about experiences or readings
- data or results that the participants can help interpret
- images as visual depictions of events, processes, strategies, values, etc.
- logic models or other diagrams
- any other type of summary for sharing with others and inviting feedback and learning
Gallery Walks can be flexible, engaging ways to get group participation and to promote shared understanding and ongoing learning.
Hot Tip: Be sure to explain the purpose of the activity and provide time for reflection.
Hot Tip: Give guidance about comments for the posters to avoid too many “nice poster” remarks.
Hot Tip: Incorporate multiple ways of learning and understanding by using or inviting images as well as words.
Hot Tip: Intentionally include follow-up– whether it’s a summary reflection conversation after all participants have done the gallery walk, time to write in journals, or a question about future use of the lessons learned on a workshop feedback survey.
Hot Tip: If used as class activity, invite students to help you devise an assessment rubric for the activity.
Rad Resource: Tompkins, Gail, and Blanchfield, Cathy (2005). 50Ways to Develop Strategic Writers.
Rad Resource: Description of the process and some suggested questions for review: http://www.bowperson.com/BOWPERSON/GalleryWalk.pdf
Rad Resource: Teaching tips website contains a useful description with links to steps, questions, assessment for class use, and common concerns: http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/gallerywalk/why.html
Rad Resource: Using 2nd Life for a virtual gallery walk: http://vital.cs.ohiou.edu/vitalwiki/index.php/Gallery_Walk
Rad Resource: Gallery Walk as an alternative instruction technique: http://www.sencer.net/Institutes/pdfs/SSI_2008/EffectiveAssignmentsPlenary.pdf
Super Sample: Participant made posters prior to the walk-through event, from Wholonomy Consulting blog: http://evolutionarysustainability.blogspot.com/2010_02_01_archive.html
Want to learn more about Gallery Walks from Allison? She and Cassandra O’Neill will be presenting as part of the Evaluation 2010 Conference Program, November 10-13 in San Antonio, Texas.
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