Poster Tool

The poster assignment allows students with a variety of talents to express themselves in a format that lets them combine content and form, and lets them communicate their personal reflections on seemingly non-academic topics. This can potentially inspire students with talents outside the traditional academic interpretation to come forward and reveal otherwise hidden competencies.

Asking the students to express themselves in a creative way like this, is a way to acknowledge traits that the talented students may normally hide away. Being especially talented in a higher education institution can be lonely, if you feel different from your peers. Giving the students  a chance to present parts of their lives that are not naturally exposed in the normal study activities, sends a signal of acceptance that the class can adopt as a common mindset.

The Poster Assignment can be used to let students free their creativity before more traditional assignments are presented. This can therefore act as a means for the students to present themselves to the class, or it can function as an additional (challenging) task for selected students. This teacher’s guide section in the PDF contains insights on:

• The Format
• The central Question
• Time limits and materials
• Presentations
  
• Evaluation

Below you will find three example posters created by students at Copenhagen Honours College in Denmark. Creating the posters was part of the activities during the mandatory introduction seminar. All students are studying to become teachers in grade school.

All posters are answers to the following question:

Using your personal competencies, how would you like to change the world and why?

Poster A Made by a student with Syrian background. The arabic in the middle of the poster translates “Read to learn”. This student is driven by curiosity towards the world at large and is inspired by the questions of three young children. The poster reflects the fact that the curiosity of children and a natural thirst for knowledge is a way to change the world.

Poster B Made by a student with an artistic background. This student is driven by very clear and articulated purposes when taking on an assignments. The poster reflects the fact that we are all parts of circles of life. Circles that are interconnected leaving no one by themselves. An interconnection that is necessary to changing the world.

Poster C Made by a student with a great love for classical virtues of education. The poster reflects what the student perceives as universal truths and values that can be used to change world today as they have in the past.