For many teachers, parents and students, it’s been a long summer. Some children have remained at home since the middle of March. And they may be going back to school after the summer holidays with a feeling akin to starting school for the first time. Naturally, children will have made varying degrees of progress on their schoolwork throughout the lengthy lockdown period. So for teachers, the task of bridging learning gaps and getting pupils back up to speed is no mean feat!
Our bespoke school Wall Art is a popular choice for schools who want to inspire learning and improve attainment for students. Here we’ll share some inspiration from Wall Art projects we’ve installed for schools with a focus on the curriculum, school subjects and academic success.
Did you know that visual aids have been found to improve learning by up to 400%? With this in mind, we designed this very visual, and very large, world map feature wall for St Michael Catholic Primary School in Surrey.
The map includes a beautiful, colourful guide to continents and countries around the world. We’ve also included a large block featuring each country’s flag, so students can familiarise themselves with the designs and symbols of each.
A large world map design can inspire learning in an organic, unconscious way. The benefit of this design is that it invokes natural curiosity and encourages pupils to take an interest in the world around them. Due to its size, this feature is easy and accessible for all students and they can seek it out whenever they wish. And as they see the design each day between lessons, they’ll begin to recognise and remember the names and locations of countries. They’ll begin to memorise the flags of the world too, without even realising it.
Your school stairs see a lot of footfall every day as students make their way between lessons. Yet many stairwells are dull, dark and disinteresting. But learning need not be limited to the classroom and it’s worth finding fun and innovative ways to inspire learning around your school buildings.
For example, this beautiful stairwell History timeline for St Matthew’s Church of England School shows how a visual walk through History can serve as a learning aid. It can also brighten up unused walls and bring new life to your school’s stairwells.
And, when you consider that visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text, using artwork for learning makes a great deal of sense.
Similarly, the History timeline theme in this Wall Art project gives students a practical lesson in chronology. They can walk through events in History, beginning from the earliest advances in civilisation right through to the present day. And the more often they see the dates, facts and figures, the more they’ll begin to memorise and remember them.
This STEM corridor for Howard Junior School shows the power of an immersive learning experience for students. So, rather than relying on a few posters stuck on a wall, the Wall Art design covers the entire length, breadth and height of the corridor.
The end result is truly transformative and is guaranteed to inspire learning and promote curiosity in pupils. In particular, the focus on STEM subjects brings an air of excitement and wonder, so it’s a great complement to the curriculum.
The school’s commitment to immersive learning doesn’t end with Wall Art. Teachers at Howard Junior School encourage pupils to take an active interest in their learning environment. For example, the school holds regular events, such as their Dr Who themed day, to promote a love of technology. Pupils were enthralled when they were visited by Dr Who writers and a real Dalek. It traversed the corridor, leaving amazed onlookers in its wake. This is immersive learning at its best!
Hopefully, children have been encouraged to continue reading whilst at home throughout the lockdown. But we know that this won’t be the case for many. In fact, it may be challenging to switch students’ attention from Fortnight to Twelfth Night back in the classroom!
Literacy themed Wall Art can help stimulate conversations and provide visual cues to complement your lessons in the classroom. For younger pupils, you might like to focus on some of the children’s classics. And stories featuring castles, wizards, unicorns and dragons are sure to get imaginations running wild. When it comes to older students, your Wall Art can feature key texts from your curriculum. Or you could depict inspiring quotes and images from popular literary classics.
To see more examples of how Wall Art can inspire learning, visit our case studies section. Here you can browse through previous projects and get inspiration from the myriad of themes, styles and objectives within our designs. Or get in touch to arrange a free consultation. This can take place at your school or remotely.
We’ll visit your school to understand your goals, explain our process and provide you with a no-obligation quote.