As I wrote silence descended across my classroom. All that could be heard was the squeak of the pen. I could see my students in the mirror and took delight in their looks of horror. I wondered how long it would take. A moment later one brave girl slowly raised her hand.
“Um, excuse me Miss… haven’t you met the AP yet?”
“Yes I have met the AP.”
“Well just so you know Miss, she’s not going to like this......In fact, I think she is going to go crazy.”

On my first day at my new school my students sat apprehensive, whispering, predicting my demise. Lucky for me the AP is actually much more relaxed then the students perceive her to be and I am still alive and well and able to write this post.

So what was I doing that caused my students to quiver in fear for my life? I was writing on the mirrors that adorn one wall of my classroom with liquid chalk and I have continued to write on them just about every day since.

I believe that our classroom walls should speak - actually sing, yell, hail, screech, whoop and yodel what we are learning. Walls can be collaboration spaces, project vision boards, idea centres, inspiration zones and working areas. Teachers hang up complete works, but there is little purpose to this. The learning has been done and we have moved onto something new. Showcasing completed work isn’t assisting the current learning and teaching. While on the other hand, talking walls can project the learning forward.

My walls change daily, weekly and monthly depending on what is happening in my room. Here are some of the ways I make my walls talk: 

Liquid chalk Collaboration - As I mentioned earlier I have wall to floor mirrors at one end of my class. (This is a Drama classroom.) Each year group is allocated a section of the mirrors and this is their collaboration space for a unit of work. I also write key elements or vital information onto these mirrors so we can continually refer back to them. My students use these mirrors independently now.    Just the other day I came into my classroom to find, in my absence the day before, my year 12’s had used the liquid chalk to plot out a complete structure for the piece they are currently working on. I could see their working, their decision making and we could easily modify the work if needed. This allows for effective collaboration, ongoing communication, self-directed learning and increased metacognition. The mirrors are still usable for dance or drama tasks despite the writing. Sometimes when we run out of space we also write on the windows. You could use liquid chalk on other surfaces (as I am aware most of you wouldn’t have mirrors!), including non-porous surfaces, blackboards, whiteboards, whiteboard painted walls, glass, metal, ceramic tiles, Perspex, laminated surfaces, enamel painted surfaces or any sealed surfaces. It wipes off fairly easily.  The cheapest place to purchase the markers is eBay. 

Project Vision Boards – Yes, I am aware of Pinterest, but there is something immediate and tangible about creating a living, breathing vision board. I recently completed a playbuilding unit with my Year 9 students with the stimulus ‘Tales of the Sea’. In this unit students needed to work collaboratively to create original stories centring on the ocean. As a lead in to this unit students completed two of the following multiple intelligence tasks to stimulate their thinking and creativity around the theme. They then placed their work on the class vision board (just a wall in my classroom) resulting in a remarkable spread of inspiration for their storytelling. Throughout the unit, when they became stuck or found it difficult to move their idea forward, they returned to the wall to springboard new ideas. These ideas could be applied to a wide range of projects. Think PBL, design projects, creative writing, and science units. I find this technique really grounds a unit of work.

Inspiration Zones – These can come in many forms. One permanent feature is my character wall (which you can read more about here) that assists students to conceive complex characters. I also have one small area dedicated to writing prompts formed from deep questions and sentence starters. Students visit this area to stimulate creative thinking in both practical and written work. Inspiration zones can take many forms depending on your subject area.

Functioning Scaffolds – I often use scaffolds on my classroom wall (such as the Playbuilding Ladder). The students move physically with game pieces through the scaffold. They pin their pieces where they are up to in the process, which allows me to see the progress they are or aren’t making. It also ensures the students really consider the steps they need to undertake.

Post-it – My classroom is often covered in post-it notes. Sometimes they are used to make comments or expand ideas on the collaboration space or vision board. Sometimes they are used as exit passes or AHA moments. There is also a window above my desk where students know they can post me a note or a thought using a post-it. Each year group has a set colour so that I can quickly identify a group of thoughts. (Eg. I know all yellow post-it notes belong to year 10.)

There are no limitations on what you can do. I currently have an entire script on my wall so that we can move pieces around, discuss elements as a class, highlight sections together etc. It looks a little messy but it is learning in action. And then, when we run out of room (which happens frequently) we roll out the good old butcher’s paper.

The walls of my classroom mirror the walls of my student’s minds. They aren’t used to impress other teachers or parents that enter. They aren’t there to display A+ work. They are there to sing, yell, hail, screech, whoop and yodel what we are learning. And when I clear them, wipe the mirrors clean, take the last unit down -we have a clear canvas to begin creating all over again.

If the walls of your classroom could talk, what would they say?

I wonder if you will like this post. I like that you might wonder about it. Most of all I like this routine in my classroom and wonder where it might take us next.  

Welcome to two of my favourite classroom phrases-  'I Like...' / 'I Wonder...'. 

I embedded this practice into my day-to-day teaching after attending The PBL Australia Conference. At this event presenters from The Buck Institute introduced us to 'Gallery Walks'. I don't believe this a new technique, nor do I claim it to be ground-breaking; however, it is an effective practice that can be beneficial in all classrooms. (Here is an example of one teacher implementing a 'Gallery Walk' in her language classroom.) During the conference we had to present an idea for a PBL unit in our class. We wrote up our concepts on butcher's paper and pinned them up around the room. This is where the 'Gallery Walk' came into play. We had to view and read each teachers proposal and contribute two thoughts on Post-It notes - one beginning with 'I Like...' and one beginning with 'I Wonder...'. When I collected my proposal I found the 'I Likes...' really affirmed my idea and the 'I Wonders..' challenged me to push it further. So I took this technique back into my classroom and the thinking that results from this simple routine continues to amaze me.

Here are some examples of how I have implemented in my classroom -

1. Gallery Walks - I use Gallery Walks hand-in-hand with these prompts. A Gallery Walk a great starting point for a new unit. One lesson I set up 15 iPads around the classroom with different photographs, video and other media loaded to the screen. Students had to go to each iPad, engage with the content (which was centred around various forms of puppetry) and write an 'I Like...' and an 'I Wonder...' for each station. We then discussed the comments as a whole group. As a teacher it informed me of the material they were engaging with and also alert me to the questions that stimulated their 'want' to learn. (Eg. I like how the puppeteer has made this character's emotions come to life through the physicality of the puppet. I wonder how the puppeteer was able to manipulate the joints of the puppet so that it moved in that manner.) I have also set up online Gallery Walks to maximise time. Students record their performances and I upload them to Edmodo. (Could be used for speeches, photos of work or written work too.) Students then comment under each recording using the terms 'I Like...' and 'I Wonder...' . (Eg. I like how you used your voice to convey emotion and engage the audience. I wonder if your could further enhance the character through their use of physical gesture.) Gallery Walks also work well with essays, visual products such as posters or photographs and audio material.)

2. Daily Feedback - At the end of 99% of my lessons students share and showcase their work, both practical and theoretical, with their peers. As we view this work as a class I ask the students to either provide verbal feedback using the terms 'I Like...' and 'I Wonder...' or provide written feedback (generally in the form of Post-It notes) again using the same terms. This either opens authentic verbal discussion about the work being presented or stimulates detailed written reflections in the individual students logbook. 

3. Teacher Feedback - I also manipulate these terms to guide my feedback to students both during the learning process and at formal assessment time. It reminds me to look for and name the positive in the first instance. It also provides a platform from which I can pose my constructive criticism in a way that is palatable for the student. (Eg. I like how you manipulated the elements of Drama to effectively engage the audience. However, I wonder if you could further refine your character to demonstrate more conviction and therefore extract more empathy from those watching.) By modelling this practice effectively the students further engage with the principals of kind, specific and helpful feedback which I believe these prompts clearly scaffold.

4. Exploring Texts - I often use these prompts as a way to discuss text. At the end of a chapter, stanza or a scene posing these sentence starters can lead to meaningful conversations. The 'I Likes...' open up moments in the chapter or scene that the student connected with. The 'I Wonders...' suggest predictions or pose questions that we as an audience would like the writer to answer as we delve further into the story. At the end of text it can also be a great way to being a review or extend on the lives of the characters after the event.

This language is now embedded in my classroom culture. My students are familiar with the terms and use them comfortably, with and without prompting, in classroom conversations. These two simple prompts have changed the way my students approach and respond to feedback. The feedback they provide each other is kind, specific and helpful as a result. The use of 'I Wonder...' compels them to critically think about their learning rather than feel their peers are critical of them. 'I Wonder...' also generates substantial exchanges in relation to new source material or texts. 

This technique takes literally no preparation in its simplest form and can be an effective tool for generating deeper thinking in the classroom. Using it regularly will also help shape the language of the classroom and the way students approach and respond to new material. I challenge you to use it daily for a week and let me know how you find it. I wonder if it will work as well for you as it has for me!