Applying the Rotational Model of Learning with Whiteboard Painted Walls

Are you looking for a new teaching strategy using whiteboard paint that will boost your students’ learning outcomes? The rotational model may be what you’re after. It’s been shown to be effective in helping students of all grade levels learn classroom content and apply it in practical ways. Plus, when used in conjunction with whiteboard painted walls, there’s no limit to what can be accomplished in the classroom. In this article, we’ll explore the rotational learning model and how whiteboard paint can be a valuable tool for this approach.

How is the rotational model of learning defined?

The rotational model is a powerful form of blended learning. Blended learning merges digital self-timed learning with face-to-face classroom instruction. In the rotational approach, students alternate between courses or subject areas and among various modes of learning. The rotational process can occur on a fixed schedule or according to the teacher’s preference. For instance, the sequence might look like this:

• Group one: self-study/work on individual assignments at students’ desks
• Group two: online learning or seminar
• Group three: small-group teaching
• Group four: whole-class discussion

The first three of these groups consist of a segment of students from the class. So, at any particular time, among the whole class, sets of students are working on one of three different activities at the same time. Then, when the teacher says it’s time to rotate, students move to the next rotational segment, thus alternating who’s engaged in what form of learning. Using surfaces coated with premium whiteboard paint during these activities takes rotational learning to a new level of value and effectiveness for students.

Mode one: Self-study or work on individual assignments

Although having students rotate among various stations is not a new teaching strategy, adding online learning is relatively new. It shifts the concept of rotational learning into the realm of blended learning, an educational style where students acquire knowledge through both digital or online media and traditional face-to-face instruction. In terms of the first learning mode mentioned above, you can easily augment self-study or work on individual assignments by using walls coated with whiteboard paint. Utilizing a whiteboard painted surface for individual work is incredibly effective. This is so because it involves both the body and the brain in the learning process, an effect that’s greatly magnified when students study lessons on their own. For example, when learners work independently on material like math equations or vocabulary words, they can drill themselves repeatedly by using a whiteboard painted wall. Writing the equations or words and erasing them over and over again in a continuous cycle leads to higher levels of memorization and understanding than would be possible with pencil and paper. The act of writing and rewriting in large letters or numbers causes what’s being written to be registered deep in the brain so that it’s more efficiently retained.

Mode two: online learning or seminar

First, in the evening, students immerse themselves in a topic at home using digital content, such as recorded lectures or videos. They return to the classroom the next day to discuss their studies at home. This strategy is known as the “flipped classroom.” The flipped aspect involves students doing the preliminary concept immersion independently instead of through teacher lectures in class. Then, during the day in class, they practice what they’ve learned at home, rather than practicing by doing homework at night. You can also use the lab rotation model for this mode. Here, students engage in online learning or a practicum in a designated computer lab, not in the main classroom. Having students move to a separate room for online study frees up classroom space for students to spread out and participate in other learning activities like self- study or small group work. After working in the lab for a specific period of time the learners return to the classroom for teacher-led discussion, reinforcement of concepts and facts, and exercises. Walls coated with whiteboard paint are ideal to use in discussing, reinforcing, and practicing the content that students have learned in the lab or at home. For example, on the vast surface of a whiteboard painted wall, you can make the relevant words, characters, graphics, and numerals that students have studied nice and big. Learning a pictographic language like Mandarin Chinese allows students to get a good idea of which individual radicals are used in creating which Chinese characters. Seeing the ‘big picture” of the characters helps learners better understand and remember the whole characters’ meaning and structure over time. When it comes to math, walls coated with whiteboard paint allow learners studying at home or in the lab to practice solving certain parts of problems that they’re struggling with. They can write the numerals as large as they like and then erase and rewrite them repeatedly. This approach of using whiteboard painted walls on math problems is much more efficient than using a notebook that would require writing on more than one page to arrive at solutions. It’s beneficial for learners to look on the walls to see all their attempts at finding answers, rather than having to flip through several pages in notebooks.

Mode three: small-group teaching

Learners work together in groups of three to six, helping one another to practice critical thinking, master course content, and apply learned concepts and facts to real-life situations. In small groups, students feel a sense of camaraderie and are motivated to reach a common goal and work together to reinforce one another’s learning. Working in small groups can also help to address learners’ individual challenges, such as trouble with multiplying polynomials by monomials in algebra classes. Students in small groups can use the above-mentioned approach of repeatedly drilling themselves or one another by writing and erasing on a whiteboard painted wall. In the small group setting the members can alternate the writing and erasing tasks among themselves. This procedure will help them to better retain the content. The action of taking turns writing and erasing on the wall requires enough effort to help the learners remember material. They can use the whiteboard wall to act as if they were the teacher teaching the class in the small group context. Finally, after overcoming the trouble, the students can quickly move on to other challenging questions.

Mode four: whole-class discussion

In this stage of the rotational process the entire class discusses the topics they’ve been studying. You can use this time at the end of a rotational learning cycle to get the students’ opinions after they’ve completed their individual or small-group tasks. Having all members of the class talk about the topics together can be helpful because it allows them all to review the same lesson content and thus increase their retention. It also encourages both talkative and shy learners to speak up in an unrestricted forum. Whiteboard painted walls are perfect for posting opinions and facts generated in whole-class discussions. Doing so makes what’s being discussed more apparent to everyone in class and allows for questions to be directed precisely at what’s posted on the wall.

Benefits of using the rotational model of learning

One of the rotation model’s key benefits is that it allows students to have unique learning experiences in each rotation. This is not just a way to break up learners’ classroom time for the sake of change. Instead, it gives students a chance to alternate between shared learning and more self-directed forms of study. Some educational theorists believe that this approach engages students more effectively than traditional teacher-centered instruction. It allows them to work at their own tempo and thus feel more comfortable with the learning process. Using the rotational model can also generate enhanced learning outcomes compared to adopting only one teaching strategy.