Introduction
A poster is an instructional tool used to foster learning especially in an educational setting. Posters can include illustrative pictures, artwork, photographs, or printed advertisements for public display. Text and graphic elements are combined in a design that is eye-catching and informative.
The A4 template is the most common of the A series. Posters have been used widely as instructional tools because of their effectiveness in helping students focus on an idea, fact, or process. Their ability to connect with the intended audience has seen this concept taken up by advertisers looking to showcase their products or services. Let’s discuss a few benefits enjoyed by introducing these visual aids:
- Effective Communication
It is common practice for learning institutions to display their mission, vision and core principles at designated areas. The everlasting presence of these posters not only informs the students of what to do, but reminds them constantly that it should be a way of life, and not a one-time event.
- Simplifies the Message
A four-year-old kindergarten pupil has a better chance of remembering the letters of the alphabet written in bold letters with the corresponding fruit or animal next to it as compared to a bulleted list. The message is brought closer home with ideas or concepts that are familiar, especially from home.
- Speeds up the Learning Process
65% of people worldwide find visual learning more effective. Images, charts, diagrams, maps, and documentaries are tools that enable a student to understand a concept much faster. With the human eye’s ability of registering 36,000 visual messages every hour, posters provide a remarkable learning tool.
- Drive Motivation
The attention span of a five-year old is about fifteen minutes at best. Focusing on a topic in class may be challenging, especially as the number of pupils’ increase. Posters offer an effective way of holding the attention of these young children and maintaining interest in a particular topic, long enough to understand it. This new found interest will motivate them to do better.
- Enhances Memory Retention
All the information given to young students may make it difficult to retain much of it. This is where posters come in handy. Visual cues stimulate an emotional response in the brain as they are processed in the same part of the brain. These emotional responses create memories, which enable the student to store, retrieve, and apply the knowledge learned correctly.
Let us look at three subjects where students have benefitted the most from the effective use of posters:
- Chemistry
This is a class that constantly makes reference to the periodic table. The colourful posters are important for explaining concepts such as chemical compounds, molecular structures and formulas. The University of Witwatersrand, South Africa introduced A4 template poster presentation sessions as a way to get students actively involved in the Organic II module. Compared to the previous year, the class average for this module increased by 10% and the pass rate also increased by 30%.
- Geography
One of the posters mentioned earlier was a map. Geography leans heavily on the use of maps of all kinds to teach students about the different landscapes and features on the earth’s surface. These posters are vital in showing how humans create, view, manage and influence space, as well as the natural environment, and how organisms, climate, water & land produce and interact
- Physics
For students to understand clearly why the sky is blue, or why the world goes round, or how a body immersed in fluid is subjected to an upwards force equal to the force of the displaced fluid. An A4 template poster like the one shown below clarifies the concept to a student at any level of education.
In Conclusion
Posters form an integral part of any student’s learning path. They simplify the education journey making it not only beneficial in the years ahead, but also a fun and memorable experience.
