Classroom walls can be far more than decoration. Reimagined as blank canvases awaiting the contributions of young minds, they make thinking visible, honour student voice, and tell a story where every child is a co-author.
Classroom walls are the place authentic student work is presented, untouched and unmarked by an adult. Student voice needs to be pure and uncurated. Our classroom walls should be a place where thinking is made visible and, more importantly, where our students' thinking is presented as "Their Work in Progress".
Pathway 1: Read the theory
The rationale behind each element's placement on our classroom walls requires careful consideration. It is crucial to question the intent behind hanging certain items in specific locations. Do they serve an educational purpose? Are these items displayed out of habit, or do they enrich the learning experience? Who are displays actually for?
The involvement of students in the curation of wall content is important. The displays should echo the students' work, their thought processes, and their creativity, not merely replicate a teacher's example aimed at impressing observers. It raises the question of whose voices are truly represented on these walls. Are the items displayed at a student's eye level, making them accessible and engaging for their intended audience, or are they positioned for the convenience of adults?
Educational research underscores the significance of creating an environment that reflects and respects students' contributions. According to Loris Malaguzzi, the founder of the Reggio Emilia approach, the environment acts as the "third teacher," highlighting the importance of spaces that inspire and facilitate learning. This perspective is reinforced by research from Barrett et al. (2015), who found that well-designed classroom environments could significantly impact students' academic progress. Their findings suggest that classrooms designed with intentionality, reflecting the interests and works of the students, foster a more engaging and effective learning atmosphere.
Consider the transformative potential of stripping the walls bare and starting anew. This radical approach is not about creating a void but about reimagining these spaces as blank canvases awaiting the vibrant contributions of young minds and their thinking processes. Invite students to fill these spaces with their ideas, questions, and artworks. Establish areas dedicated solely to student expression, where their unedited voices can shine. Such spaces should encourage curiosity, facilitate wonder, and prompt inquiry, truly embodying the ethos of student-centred learning. Document students' authentic learning journey and use the classroom walls as an interactive reflection tool throughout the inquiry cycle.
"Let the walls of your classroom tell a story, one where every child is a co-author."— J. Da Silva
Ron Ritchhart's work on "Making Thinking Visible" is a pivotal contribution to the field of education, offering a framework that not only enhances students' understanding but also serves as a powerful tool for documenting and reflecting on their learning journey. At the heart of Ritchhart's approach is the belief that learning is maximised when thinking processes are visible, articulated, and deliberately reflected upon. This methodology is grounded in the principles of Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where Ritchhart and his colleagues developed practical strategies for teachers to encourage deep thinking and learning in their classrooms.
Making thinking visible involves using specific routines that prompt students to articulate their thoughts, questions, and ideas. These routines encourage students to delve deeper into content, make connections, and engage in reflective practices. The power of this approach lies in its ability to make abstract cognitive processes concrete, allowing students to explore complex ideas in a structured and collaborative manner.
Interactive displays and student-led documentation make abstract concepts tangible and accessible. This ownership fosters a sense of responsibility and pride in their learning journey, creating a classroom environment that values and encourages inquiry, creativity, and collaboration. As students articulate their understanding and questions, they contribute to a learning culture where knowledge is constructed collectively.
Drawing on: Malaguzzi (1993) · Barrett et al. (2015) · Ritchhart, Church & Morrison (2011) · Hattie (2009) · Piaget (1954).
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Check your understanding
1. What does the book invite you to do first when reconsidering your classroom walls?
2. Whose work and voices should classroom wall displays echo?
3. In Ritchhart's 'Making Thinking Visible', learning is maximised when…
4. What is meant by 'stripping the walls bare and starting anew'?
5. Which is one way making thinking visible acts as a reflective tool?
Pathway 2: See it in practice
Pause for a moment and reflect on the walls of your classroom. Seated comfortably, observe the environment that surrounds you. What do you see? Attempt to catalogue objectively every item displayed on your classroom walls.
A wall that echoes students' work, thinking and creativity invites interaction and reflection. Explore the examples below and notice the intention behind each one, and whether it is displayed at a child's eye level.
Click on an image to enlarge it and study the image carefully.
Student-curated displays
Notice that this learning journey display represents group work and not 28 individual pieces of the same work. Underneath the learning journey, space has been created for students to present their favourite piece of work. The pegs have their names on them.
Notice that the students' authentic voice (thinking) has been captured during the lesson and placed on the learning journey in its original form.
Notice that images of the students collaborating during inquiry experiences are a valued documentation tool of their learning journey.
Notice a fun, cute classroom school bus has been used to indicate where the class community are currently at during their unit of inquiry (inquiry cycle).
Notice that different classrooms might create personalised learning journey displays. Each learning community is unique.
Notice that the final understanding of this unit of inquiry is presented beautifully back to the students and can be used as a reflection tool during their exit points.
Making thinking visible
Notice the creative manner in which this Early Years teacher has incorporated handmade sculptures of the brain created by the students, and their thinking has been scribed.
Notice the teacher has added post-it notes with the students' thinking to the original piece of work they created. Their authentic piece of work has not been altered.
Notice how the collaboration of students is documented by using photographs. These pictures can be used for assessment evidence in any portfolio because their faces are not the focus.
"Each individual student's contribution is of equal value and should always be represented in its original form."— J. Da Silva
Look closely again. This time, notice the intention behind the way this wall has been curated, and whether it invites interaction, reflection and inquiry.
Celebrating authentic student learning
Learning Journey displays should celebrate the authentic learning process of every child. They are a reflection of student thinking, growth and achievement, not adult perfection. Every display should communicate the message, "This is what children are capable of when given the opportunity to think, create and express themselves."
The most important principle to remember when selecting student work for display is that the original piece must never contain evidence of adult mark-making. This means there should be no red pen, no adult corrections, no editing, no rewritten words, no adult handwriting and no names written by an adult. The work displayed should always be the student's original creation, exactly as they produced it. If you would like to use a student's work as part of a teaching sequence, for example, to model editing, improve spelling, discuss punctuation or demonstrate how writing can be developed, always photocopy the original piece first. Use the photocopy for teaching, annotation and collaborative editing, while preserving the student's original work. The original version is the piece that should be displayed on your Learning Journey.
This approach communicates a powerful message to our students: we value their thinking more than perfection. By displaying authentic work, we celebrate the learning process, encourage children to take risks, and demonstrate that mistakes are a natural and valuable part of learning. Our Learning Journeys should tell the genuine story of children's ideas, creativity and growth, not the story of adult intervention. When visitors walk through our school, they should immediately recognise that the learning on display belongs to the children. Every mark, every sentence, every drawing and every idea should reflect the child's own voice. Authenticity is what makes a Learning Journey meaningful, inspiring and worthy of celebration.
Check your understanding
1. When auditing your walls, which question should guide you?
2. When you select a piece of student work to display, what should the original piece never contain?
3. You want to use a child's writing to model editing, spelling or punctuation. What should you do?
4. What message does displaying authentic, unedited student work communicate?
5. How should a child's contribution be treated, whatever language they choose to use?
Pathway 3: Listen & reflect
Sometimes it helps to close your notebook and simply listen. This short narration reflects on what it means to let the walls of your classroom tell a story, one where every child is a co-author.
In redefining the role of classroom walls, educators can create an environment where every student feels seen, heard, and valued. This shift towards inclusivity and student agency not only enhances the aesthetic appeal of the classroom but also profoundly impacts the learning culture within it. Let the walls of your classroom tell a story, one where every child is a co-author, and their collective narrative of discovery and understanding is celebrated.
Watch & reflect
The classroom that embraces real-time documentation of student thinking during inquiry lessons is one that values the process of learning as much as the end result. As students engage in their inquiry lessons, they can pause to articulate what they have discovered, what questions they have, and how their understanding is evolving.
As educators, it is important that we do not fall into the trap of prioritising aesthetics over authentic student voice. Beautiful displays certainly have their place, but they should never come at the expense of children's genuine thinking. A display that is perfectly aligned, colour coordinated and visually impressive, yet tells the teacher's story rather than the students', has missed its true purpose. Authenticity should always take precedence over perfection.
This does not mean that presentation is unimportant. On the contrary, we have a responsibility to model to students that their thinking deserves to be treated with care, respect and pride. Thoughtfully mounting work, presenting it neatly and creating displays that invite reflection communicates that children's ideas are valuable and worthy of celebration. When we demonstrate care in how we present students' thinking, students begin to value their own work in the same way. They become more intentional in how they organise, record and present their learning because they recognise that their ideas matter.
Check your understanding
1. What story should the walls of a classroom tell?
2. What does real-time documentation of student thinking during inquiry value?
3. What "trap" does the narration warn educators against?
4. A display that is perfectly aligned and visually impressive, but tells the teacher's story rather than the students', has…
5. Why does presenting student work with care and pride still matter?
Pathway 4: Try it yourself
Choose one wall or display board in your classroom and reimagine it as a blank canvas awaiting your students' thinking. This is not about creating a void; it is about inviting children to fill the space with their ideas, questions and artworks.
Choose a space on the wall at student eye level and dedicate it to your Learner Profile, Personal Learning Goals and/or Classroom Agreements. This display should be a living representation of your classroom community rather than something created by the teacher.
Begin by facilitating rich classroom discussions, Think-Pair-Share activities and collaborative learning experiences that encourage students to explore what these concepts truly mean to them. Invite every child to contribute their ideas and display their thinking in its original form. The purpose of the display is to make student thinking visible, not to present polished adult work.
Use Post-it® notes or similar movable materials to encourage ongoing interaction with the display. As students' understanding develops throughout the year, they can revisit their original thinking, reflect on how their ideas have changed and add new contributions. In this way, the display becomes a visible record of the learning journey rather than a finished product.
For emerging writers, encourage contributions through drawings, symbols, photographs or simple mark-making. Every student should be able to contribute in a way that is appropriate to their stage of development. Students should also be encouraged to share their ideas in any language they feel most comfortable using. Valuing children's home languages not only promotes inclusion and belonging but also reinforces the message that every voice, culture and perspective is welcomed and celebrated within the AIS learning community.
A printable, teacher-facing guide that walks you through redesigning one wall or display area, from choosing its purpose to documenting the transformation.
Check your understanding
1. What is a good first step in reimagining a wall?
2. When you dedicate a space to student expression, it should hold…
3. A routine such as "What I know, What I wonder, What I have learned" is used to…
4. Interactive displays for documenting thinking might include…
5. What is the educator's role in real-time documentation?
Pathway 5: Classroom management
The walls of a classroom are never neutral. They communicate what, and who, is valued. When they hold children's authentic thinking, they tell every student that their voice belongs here.
Open-ended questions can tap into students' emotions and personal experiences, which, according to Hattie (2009), can significantly impact their engagement and achievement. By inviting students to share their feelings and personal connections to content, educators validate the students' perspectives and foster a more inclusive learning environment. Asking students to reflect on their sources of knowledge and to make connections with prior learning is grounded in the idea that children construct new knowledge based on their previous experiences (Piaget, 1954).
The use of open-ended questions is a dynamic instructional strategy that honours students' voices and supports a constructivist approach to learning. It is a practice that aligns with contemporary educational research advocating for active, student-centred learning environments where students are co-creators of knowledge. Your classroom walls should also be used purposefully to remind students of their classroom agreements, routines and shared expectations. When these are co-constructed with students and displayed at their eye level, they become meaningful reference points that promote independence, responsibility and a positive classroom culture.
"Never change the words of the children or elaborate on their thinking when presenting their thoughts."— J. Da Silva
Every child should be able to communicate their thinking, needs and ideas independently, regardless of their level of English proficiency. Create dedicated communication spaces within the classroom that include pictograms, photographs, visual communication cards, symbols, labelled resources and multilingual vocabulary. These visual supports enable students to express themselves confidently while their spoken English continues to develop.
Provide opportunities for students to contribute to classroom discussions, inquiry displays and Learning Journeys through drawings, home languages, symbols, photographs and pictograms. A child's ability to think is never limited by their ability to communicate in English. By offering multiple ways to participate, we ensure that every learner has an authentic voice within the classroom community. Visual communication tools should also support children's everyday independence. Consider using pictograms to help students communicate their emotions, ask for help, request resources, explain personal needs, indicate where they are working, or participate in classroom routines without always relying on spoken language. These simple yet powerful supports reduce anxiety, promote independence and create a greater sense of belonging for multilingual learners.
When children see their home language, culture and preferred methods of communication valued within the classroom environment, they develop confidence, agency and a stronger sense of identity. An inclusive classroom is not one where every child communicates in the same way, it is one where every child has equitable opportunities to communicate, contribute and belong.
Your walls are one of your most powerful classroom management tools. When routines, agreements and expectations live on the walls at the children's eye level, they promote independence and reduce the need for constant reminders. Notice how this looks across the phases.
Make routines and expectations visual, concrete and predictable.
Involve children in shaping and returning to shared expectations.
Hand ownership of routines and self-regulation to the students.
1. Catalogue your walls
Attempt to catalogue objectively every item displayed on your classroom walls, and question the intent behind each one.
Quick note
Which items are displayed out of habit, and which genuinely enrich the learning experience?
2. Whose voices are represented?
The displays should echo the students' work, thinking and creativity, at their eye level.
Quick note
Whose voices do my walls represent, and are they at a child's eye level?
3. One wall to hand over
Establish areas dedicated solely to student expression, where their unedited voices can shine.
Quick note
Which wall could I strip bare and hand over to the students this term?
Check your understanding
1. Why are classroom walls described as one of your most powerful management tools?
2. What is the benefit of co-constructing classroom agreements with students rather than displaying teacher-made rules?
3. How can visual supports on the walls reduce anxiety for multilingual learners?
4. As learners mature, how should the way walls are used to manage the classroom shift?
5. According to this pathway, an inclusive classroom is one where…