Latest Issue of the MindBrainEd Think Tank + (ISSN 2434-1002) 7 MindBrained Bulletin Think Tank V4i7 Exercise J | Page 12

Poster presentations can often be
one-way content deliveries but, by
design, Q & A posters are more
engaging by allowing learners to
make their own choices and works
well with lower levels students
(research results forthcoming).
Many thematic options are
possible, so with my sports
students I use “favorite
sportsperson.” Students choose their hero and design the poster with about five
headings- “profile,” “likes and dislikes,” etc.
There are no answers on the
posters so the headings act as
question prompts. Presenters
prepare detailed answer sheets
and briefly show a video of their
player in action while explaining
why they chose them. In small
groups of 3 to 4, students position
themselves at each of the 6-8
posters set up around the room
and engage in Q & A interchanges
for about three minutes. Moving
in carousel fashion around to all
the posters takes about 20-30
minutes. A class of 32 students
with one 30-minute poster session
per class can have all of them
perform in 4 weeks.
This method, not only gets
students out of their seats, but also appears enjoyable and relatively non-threatening,
giving students confidence with other speaking evaluations, while the spaced
repetition supports memory consolidation.
Student-designed dice board games can be created with semi-blank board game
sheets. The students fill in the squares with movement-prompting imperatives or
question starters; using, for example, follow-up questions from textbook units. The
board games can be completed for homework and then used by classmates,
transforming the classroom to a dynamic and energized learning situation.
Elective courses and CLIL. Fortunately, at the sports college where I work, I am able
to experiment in one of the elective courses with topics such as chi, health, lifestyle
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