STRATEGY FOCUS
Gallery Walk
PURPOSE
A Gallery Walk is meant to engage students through movement around the classroom to view a purposely chosen collection of artifacts, student work samples and/or texts chosen by the teacher for consideration. The general idea is to have students or groups of students move about the room to examine the collection. Students are then asked to respond through conversation with peers and/or in writing.
PROCESS
- Select the texts (student work, images, quotes, etc.) you will be using for the Gallery Walk.
- Determine how students will be grouped, for example, in pairs or triads.
- Display and space texts around the room so that students may freely access.
- Based on the purpose or anticipated outcome, determine how students will respond to the collection being viewed (e.g., in writing, verbally, in response to specific questions or prompts, etc.)
- Debrief the Gallery Walk by having class discussion.
PROBING QUESTIONS
CONSIDERATIONS
- What did you notice?
- What image/text should have been included in the Gallery Walk? What image/text should not have been included in the Gallery Walk? Why?
- What might explain how your observations are similar or different from that of your peers?
- Consider how the intentional or random grouping of students may impact this activity.
- Consider using Gallery Walk at the beginning of and then also at the end of the unit of study.
- If possible, have students from different classes/grades participate in Gallery Walk showcasing the work of their peers.
CONTENT APPLICATIONS
SOCIAL STUDIES
During unit of study on the European Colonization of North America, students work in groups to research the colonies and create a display that demonstrates their understanding of one particular colony. Students then travel to each display in order to compare and contrast the colonies.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
After completing a List-Group-Label activity in small groups, students do a Gallery Walk to notice similarities and differences in the way groups completed the work.
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS
Choose a selection of artistic works (paintings, sculptures, music, etc.) from a specific time period. Students study the images (or listen to the music) to make note of their own observations and questions.
MATHEMATICS
To conclude a unit of study in Geometry, invite students to display their work. This could take on many forms. Invite groups of students to travel to each display. All students participate in question and answer sessions.
SCIENCE
After watching a video of an earthquake and its impact on the surrounding environment, students work in groups to create a model of what they think is happening. Students then travel to each group’s initial models to find similarities and differences in their ideas.
HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Choose a selection of food labels to display. Invite students to study each food label and record in writing their own questions.
CAREER & TECHNICAL EDUCATION
After researching the unintended consequences of AI in a Computer Science class, students do a Gallery Walk to explore new learning and make connections to previous learning.
Sources
Alber, R. (2016, December 6). Enliven class discussions with gallery walks. Edutopia. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/enliven-class-discussion-with-gallery-walks-rebecca-alber.
Gallery walk. Facing History and Ourselves. (n.d.). Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-strategies/gallery-walk.