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The Role of Posters in Teacher Education Programs By Justina O. Osa and Linda R. Musser Pennsylvania State University Abstract Posters abound in education libraries as decorative objects yet few libraries realize the educational potential of the poster. Posters are colorful, attractive learning media which can enhance the learning environment. This paper describes the value of posters in the educational setting, offers suggestions on selecting posters for learning, and includes examples of various types of learning posters. The competence of teachers is contingent to a  integrating curriculum and instruction large extent on the quality of the teacher edu- materials into teaching; cation program that prepared them. The quality  creating learning environment that en- of the resources that support the teacher edu- courages active engagement in learning cation program has been recognized as a cru- and self-motivation; cial determinant of the quality of the knowledge  creating learning opportunities that are and skills which the prospective teachers store adapted to the needs of diverse learners; in their repertoire.1 The National Council for the  using a variety of instructional strategies Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), to encourage students’ development of a body charged with ensuring the quality of critical thinking, problem solving, and teachers, suggests in an article “What to Look performance skills; for in a Teacher Preparation Program” that one  devising different approaches to make of the questions to ask in choosing a good the learning materials, especially com- teacher education program is “Does the institu- plex materials, learnable to all students; tion have the resources necessary to support and each of the programs it offers?”2 Furthermore,  providing the opportunity for students to teachers are progressively being held ac- interact with information to be learned in countable for student learning. Teachers have diverse and different ways. to devise ways and adopt teaching strategies that match the learning styles of all the stu- Posters – An Often Neglected Type of In- dents in a class. The acceptable practice is for structional Material teachers to carefully select instructional materials and activities that will stimulate all stu- According to Jensen, “our eyes register about dents’ brains and facilitate effective learning for 36,000 visual images per hour, while the retina all students. When there is a fit across materi- alone supplies 40% of all nerve fibers that are als, teaching methods, teachers, and learners, connected to the brain; 90% of the brain’s sen- learning for students is enhanced. sory input is from visual sources.”3 Research- ers report that the visual sense is responsible The role of the education library in this process for 90% of brain stimulation4 and that vision is to provide materials that will enable teachers and visual memory take up to two-thirds of the to prepare and present curricular topics in a brain.5 Since the absorption of knowledge is variety of ways, making learning possible for the key to success in any educational system, all students, irrespective of their social, ethnic it follows that education libraries should have or cultural background, their ability, or learning collections rich in visual materials. A visit to style. Faculty in teacher education programs any education library will confirm the fact that need to have access to such resources in or- education librarians are aware of the need to der to demonstrate their use to teachers-in- build collections of visually stimulating re- training. These demonstrations typically occur sources. In addition to text books, curriculum in method courses during which faculty model guides, instructional materials, and juvenile methods of: books, one can find videos, manipulatives, kits, _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 16 dioramas, multimedia, and e-media. A closer nology. Posters are also an effective means of look at the collection, however, will likely show illustrating processes. Examples include post- few posters. While posters abound in educa- ers showing the water cycle from rainfall to tion libraries as decorative objects, few librar- rivers to oceans to clouds, or posters showing ies realize the educational potential of the how food gets from the producer to the table. poster. Yet posters are colorful, attractive The third type of poster is one that illustrates learning media which can enhance the learn- similar things, which allows users to see the ing environment. differences between similar objects. An example of this type of poster would be one showing While many of the newer text books are heav- basketry from different cultures. The final cate- ily illustrated, the text book cannot take the gory, posters designed to stimulate the imagi- place of a learning poster. Most obviously, a nation and interest in a topic, are the type most student must first open the text book to view commonly found in libraries. The best example the illustration within whereas a poster is im- of this type is the READ series of posters pub- mediately in their view on the classroom wall. lished by the American Library Association. Additionally, unconscious learning can take The primary purpose of these posters is to in- place through exposure to the information on spire rather than to educate. Additional exam- the poster. Finally, posters create a more ples of learning posters are provided in the stimulating and interesting environment for appendix. learning. Selecting Learning Posters Why have they been overlooked? It is unlikely that it is due to their cost since posters are Most posters are attractive but not all are ef- usually very inexpensive. The challenge of fective teaching tools. A poster that promotes dealing with their size and shape is unlikely to learning will have some or all of the following be daunting to education librarians who rou- characteristics. The learning poster will: tinely handle kits, puppets, and puzzles. Per-  motive and inspire students to learn haps it is because posters effectively deliver  stimulate interest in the topic very limited pieces of information. Posters as  effectively illustrate a concept or skill learning objects are not given adequate atten-  give the teacher guidance on how to use tion by the literature. Even ERIC, the premier the poster database of educational resources, does not  provide reproducibles for student use include many references to posters as sepa-  provide directions for hands-on activities rate learning objects. In any case, education  provide suggestions for additional in- libraries should include these objects as part of structional activities. their collection of learning resources. In addition to these criteria, the poster itself Types of Learning Posters should be well-designed, well-organized, legi- ble, and attractive. The best learning posters Learning posters can be grouped into four present concepts succinctly, grabbing and re- categories. Those that: taining students’ attention and interest.  illustrate a concept or thing  demonstrate a process Conclusion  differentiate between similar things  capture interest and stimulate emotion. Teacher education programs have the prepa- Posters that illustrate a concept or thing have ration of teachers as their overarching goal. several uses. Their primary use is to simply The raison d’ệtre of the education library is to provide an illustration of something. For exam- meet the instructional and research needs of ple, a poster showing a volcano could be used these teacher education programs. The suc- in an earth science unit. A biology unit on bi- cess of teacher education programs can be omes would benefit from pictures of deserts linked to the adequacy of resources available and rainforests. A secondary use of this type of in the education library. Education librarians poster is in foreign language instruction. A have a rich tradition of collecting diverse types language unit aimed at teaching the names of of materials that can be used to augment and parts of the body can be made more effective stimulate learning at all levels. Posters are in- by using illustrations in conjunction with termi- _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 17 expensive and useful teaching tools and de- tion on the weather and tips for activities. serve a place in the collection as well as a There are also reproducible activities. place on the wall. What is a Bird? Grand Rapids, MI: Frank APPENDIX - Examples of Learning Posters Schaffer Pub., 1993. This poster features a total of twenty-four The String Instruments. St. Paul, MN: Trend birds. The front side of the poster presents Enterprises, 2001. nine birds in beautiful bight colors and a con- There is a colorful visual representation of the cise definition of birds and their basic biological ten different string instruments. Each image is information. The reverse side of the poster labeled. On the reverse side of the poster shows pictures of twenty-four birds. Each bird there are vital pieces of information on string is put in a cell and there is a short write-up on instruments such as string instrument facts. To each one of the birds. The information on the make learning information on the string instru- poster is reproducible for instructional use. ments fun there is an Instrument Scramble which requires students to unscramble each of Life Cycle of a Frog. Grand Rapids, MI: Frank the string instrument names. An answer key is Schaffer Publications, 1992. also provided. There are reproducible activity This poster presents in very simple colorful pages that teachers can use to help students fashion the life cycle of a frog. The language is learn important information on string instru- very elementary and understandable for young ments in general and on the ten string instru- learners. On the back of the poster, there are ments shown on the poster. different interesting and educational information on frogs titled Frog Talk, From Polliwog to Wind Instruments. St. Paul, MN: Trend Enter- Frog, Frogs and Toads, and Sleeping In. The prises, 2001. exercise on Frog Talk allows students to have This poster has colorful pictures of fifteen wind fun using Professor Croaker’s code to fill in the instruments that are labeled. The instruments missing words. Correct answers are provided. are put into two groups -- brass and woodwind. Information in the section titled Frogs and On the back of the poster is Wind Instrument Toads is presented in overlapping circles that Facts and facts on Woodwinds and on Brass. distinctly list how frogs and toads are similar To make learning exciting for students there is and different. This presentation method makes also a Wind Instruments Crossword. The stu- it possible for students to complete the as- dents are provided clues that assist them to signment on how frogs and toads are alike and complete the crossword. An answer key is different. This instructional presentation of provided. There are reproducible activity pages concepts enhances the chances for all stu- that teachers can use to help students learn dents to achieve in class. There are posters on important information on wind instruments in other life cycles such as Life Cycle of the But- general and on the fifteen wind instruments terfly, The Life Cycle of Cecropia, Life Cycle of shown on the poster. Alaska Salmon, The Silkworm Life Cycle. Percussion Instruments. St. Paul, MN: Trend There are several posters that focus on differ- Enterprises, 2001. ent parts and systems of the human body. Nineteen percussion instruments are displayed Some of them include: on the poster. On the reverse side are impor- 1. The Nervous System, St. Paul, MN: tant features such as Percussion Instrument Trend Enterprises, Inc., 2001. Facts, Percussion Instruments Word Search, 2. The Digestive System. St. Paul, MN: an answer key, and reproducibles for instruc- Frank Schaffer Publications, 1992. tional activities. 3. Reproductive, Endocrine, & Excretory Systems. St. Paul, MN: Trend Enter- Weather. Grand Rapids, MI: Frank Schaffer prises, 2001. Publications, 1989. These posters provide colorful, visual repre- This interactive learning chart lets students sentations of the different systems. The differ- move an arrow to desired weather photo such ent parts of each system is clearly labeled. On as windy, foggy, warm, cloudy, cold, rainy, the reverse side of the posters are learning snowy, sunny. On the reverse side of the resource materials to further enhance the level poster is useful information including informa- of student comprehension of these systems. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 18 There are crossword exercises and special Using Sensory Words. Huntington Beach, CA: activities such as A-maze-ing Brains maze for Creative Teaching Press, 1999. the lesson on the nervous system, and Dig Writing is a challenging activity for most stu- Those Bones for the lesson on the skeletal dents. This poster sparks students’ power of system. imagination and encourages them to be creative, innovative and free to express themselves How Plants Make Food. Grand Rapids, MI: in unique ways that make sense to them. The Frank Schaffer Publications, 1994. poster gives examples of Touching Words, The poster gives a short introduction on how Seeing Words, Hearing Words, Smelling plants make food. The six steps of the process Words and Tasting Words. There are vibrant of photosynthesis are described in simple lan- illustrations of the different groups of sensory guage. There are four reproducibles on the words. On the reverse side of the poster there reverse side of the poster. They are: Nature’s are four reproducibles for teachers to use to Food Factory; Plant Facts; Autumn Color encourage students use sensory words effec- Change; and Plants We Eat. The Brainwork is tively in their written assignments. Teachers also provided to stimulate students’ critical are given ideas on how to use the reproduci- thinking. bles – Onomatopoetic Words, Cavorting Col- ors, to promote learning. Parts of A Letter ([S.l.] : Carson-Dellosa Publ., n.d. Statistics: Collecting and Representing Data. This poster is a display of a business letter, a Grand Rapids, MI: Frank Schaffer Publica- friendly letter, and an addressed envelop. tions, 1997. Each component part of both the letter and This poster exposes students to the process envelop is labeled. There is even a U S Mail involved in gathering and using data. In this with the Pick up hours displayed. The mail “science court”” science is the law and scien- man can be seen holding the letters he picked tific thinking rules.”6 On the back side of the up with the ones he is about to distribute in his poster are sections on sample size, random- bag. On the reverse side of the poster there is ness, bias, and collection data. Students are a rich Letter Writing Resource Guide with told what to do to properly complete assign- some ideas for using the poster. Students ment in each of the sections. This is just one of have easy access to useful information on let- the titles in the Science Court To Serve and ter writing such as tips for writing both busi- Observe materials. Each poster focuses on ness and friendly letters, samples of letter, ad- one vital science concept, and students com- dressing an envelop correctly paying special plete activities that make them put the science attention to the three important areas – the concept they are learning into practice. The delivery address, the return address and the mock court activities and scenes make learn- stamp, and helpful facts about zip codes. ing science concepts pleasant and east to Teachers are also given address of possible learn. Other similar titles include: Inertia, Water places to contact to get pen pals for their stu- Cycle, Work, Gravity, Work, Gravity, and dents. Sound. The Eight Parts of Speech. Grand Rapids, MI: The Food Pyramid. Grand Rapids, MI: Frank Frank Schaffer Publications, 2000. Schaffer Publications, 1993. The eight parts of speech is the focus of this This poster is a colorful representation of the poster. A simple brief definition and examples food pyramid. On the back side of the poster of their usage in short sentences are given, there is information on What Is A Serving? and the parts of speech are highlighted in red There are reproducibles for the teachers to use to promote easy learning. Pictures illustrating in class. The Food Pyramid exercise instructs the parts of speech are also provided. On the each student to make a balanced food plan for verso of the poster there are reinforcement one day and to draw on the pyramid the foods exercises for students. For example the exer- the student selected. The exercise Food for cise on Common and Proper Nouns instructs Thought instructs the students to keep a re- the students to change the proper nouns to cord of everything they eat. The poster makes common nouns, and students are to circle ad- learn about the food pyramid a meaningful and verbs and adjectives in the review exercises useful for every day living. on adjectives and adverbs. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 19 Newton’s Apple Science Series. St. Paul, MN : Banderas de Europa,. Huddersfield, England: Trend, 1996. Schofield and Sim, n. d. This set of posters teach students concepts by This poster helps teach students European answering questions students often ask. These flags. The Spanish name for each of the coun- posters take advantage of the inquisitive ten- tries is given, and a colorful flag for each coun- dencies in students to spark their problem try is displayed. A map of Europe reinforces solving skills, to promote discovery learning. the location of each country. For example, on the poster How does a Jumbo Jet Take Off? students are given information Contrarios. Huddersfield, England: Schofield on forces. The four main forces -- lift, gravity, and Sim, n. d. thrust and drag that act on a plane in flight are This poster teaches the concept of opposites. explained. On the reverse side of the poster Pictures are provides to give the students vis- there are instructional, hands-on, inquiry- ual meaning of the different examples of oppo- based, and reinforcement science activities for sites given. students. Posters in this group include How Does Television Work?, Why Does a Roller Dias de la Semana. Grand Rapids, MI: Frank coaster Make Me Feel Sick?, and Why Do We Schaffer Publications, 1997. Cry? On this poster the seven days of the week are written in Spanish. The students can write on Social Studies posters series. Grand Rapids, and wipe off this chart. MI: Frank Schaffer Publications, n. d. There colorful, simple but very informative Las Estaciones. Huddersfield, England: posters can enhance the teaching of social Schofield and Sim, n. d. studies and make learning a pleasant and ex- This poster teaches the four major seasons in citing experience for students. Such posters Spanish. are The Declaration of Independence, The White House, The Pledge of Allegiance, and Los Colores, Huddersfield, England: Schofield State Birds and Flowers. These posters pro- and Sim, n. d. vide vital information in very understandable This poster teaches colors in Spanish. language and form on each of the topics the posters focus on. For example, the poster on Nuestro Cuerpo. Huddersfield, England: Scho- The Declaration of Independence lays out un- field and Sim, n. d. der the heading Events That led to the Decla- This poster teaches students the Spanish ration, and The Preamble. On the back of the names for the different parts of the human poster are exciting instructional activities such bodies – both male and female. as students’ research on the Intolerable Act of 1774, a new Preamble to the Declaration of Que Hora Es? Huddersfield, England: Scho- Independence, and newspaper assignment on field and Sim, n. d. the issue of all people being equal. The De- This poster teaches students how to tell the bate Time instructs the students to work in time in Spanish. groups of eight students. In German there are posters such as: Foreign Language Posters Zahlen 1-20. Huddersfield, England: Schofield and Sim, n. d. These posters assist teachers in presenting This poster helps students learn to count 1-20 concepts in languages other than English. In in German. Pictures are provided to help the Spanish for example there are posters such children count numbers. as: Unsere Korper. Huddersfield, England: Scho- El Alfabeto. New York: McGraw-Hill, n. d. field and Sim, n. d. This poster helps teach the Spanish alphabet. This poster helps students learn the different There are pictures to make it easy for young parts of the human bodies, male and female, in learners to make the right sounds when read- German. ing the alphabets in Spanish. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 20 Unser Sonnensystem. Huddersfield, England: on August 10, 2004, http://www.ncate.org/ Schofield and Sim, n. d. future/ lookfor.htm. This poster teaches the solar system in Ger- man. 2 _______, 1. Musikinstrumente. Huddersfield, England: Schofield and Simm, n. d. 3 Jensen, E. (2000). Brain-Based Learning in This poster displays colorful visual representa- Hardiman, M. H. (2003). Connecting Brain tions of thirty musical instruments and their Research with Effective Teaching: the names in German. Brain-Targeted Teaching Model. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. Flaggen Europas. Huddersfield, England: Schofield and Sim, n. d. 4 Visual Education. (2003). XY Multiply Poster: This poster provides a colorful map of Europe Educator’s Guide. International Quality and flags for each European country in Ger- Education Environment. Retrieved August man. 10, 2004, http://www.iqee.com/XY- PTv5.htm. Die Uhrzeit. Huddersfield, England: Schofield and Sim, n. d. 5 International Quality Visual Education. This poster teaches students to tell the time in (2003). About Us. International Quality German. Education Environment. Retrieved August 10, 2004, http://www.iqee.com/about.html. References 6 Statistics Collecting and Representing Data. 1 National Council for Accreditation of Teacher (1997). Grand Rapids, MI: Frank Schaffer Education. (2001). What to Look for in a Publications. Teacher Preparation Program. Retrieved The next issue will feature ethical issues in educational libraries. Some of the important questions include:  How do librarians teach students and faculty about ethnical practice rela- tive to research processes?  Why is plagiarism such a problem in higher education, and what can be done to address this issue?  How does technology impact ethical issues in educational librarianship?  How are the rights of patrons/users balanced with the needs of the collec- tive?  What unique ethical issues arise in online reference service, and how can they be addressed?  Does the ethical code of the American Library Association fully cover educational library services? The deadline for submissions to this issue is March 30, 2005. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Education Libraries Volume 27, No. 1 Summer 2004 21