Marcel Schmeier looks back on an extensive career in education, with experience as a teacher, internal coach and now as an education consultant. He is best known for his books on explicit direct instruction, boardwork and effective mathematics teaching. In his role as a consultant, he helps schools improve their teaching using evidence-based methods.

Boardwork covers various forms of visual support in the classroom. Besides simple keywords and drawings, boardwork can also consist of diagrams, charts, mind maps and other visual representations. The goal is to structure and clarify the learning material and increase learner engagement.

My conviction is based both on scientific findings and on my own classroom experience. Studies show that learners learn better when information is presented to them both visually and orally. By writing on the board, you take learners step by step through the material.During my training in explicit direct instruction at Waldorf schools, I was confronted with the use of chalkboards instead of PowerPoint presentations. That led me to look into cognitive learning psychology, where I came across the importance of dual coding: learning through the simultaneous processing of visual and auditory information.

At De Drie Koningen primary school in Meern, a clever method is used to test what learners remember. Boards with information hang on the back wall of the classroom. During the lesson, learners turn around and are given the task of drawing or describing something, such as what grows at different heights on a mountain. This stimulates active thinking and memory.After completing the task, learners turn back around and compare their work with the information on the boards. This gives them direct feedback and shows them what they remembered. This approach encourages critical thinking, makes learning more dynamic and increases learner engagement.Teachers in secondary schools often notice that learners struggle with writing, possibly because less attention is paid to writing skills in primary school. Boardwork can improve this by having learners copy the board notes and encouraging them to make their own notes as well.At the university teacher training programme PWPO at Radboud University, trainee teachers learn to base their teaching on scientific findings. This approach gives new teachers practical, evidence-based skills, which contributes to better teaching quality. The training places value on good use of the board and teaches students to write neatly and in a structured way on chalkboards.

At first, many learners found the idea of boardwork unappealing. They preferred modern technology, where you could simply press a button or swipe. They weren’t used to writing much. It was a challenge to convince them to copy the board notes and make their own notes with pen and paper, as they saw it as extra work. But once they started doing it, their attitude changed. They became enthusiastic, asked when they could draw visuals themselves, and enjoyed taking notes. This approach significantly improved the learning experience and shows that a small change can make a big difference.

The traditional craft of boardwork has partly been lost. In the past, teaching materials offered detailed guidance for structuring board notes, using a layout of three black areas, which helped teachers divide up the board. Today, many teachers lack these skills, because modern teaching materials no longer provide these guidelines and instead supply ready-made presentations packed with text and images. This distracts learners, who end up drowning in a flood of information. Teachers lose control over their lessons as a result, because they’re bound to the slides and sequence set by the publisher. I help schools rediscover how to structure the material and transfer it to learners step by step.

Special education schools, where learners often struggle with significant behavioural issues, start lessons with a blank board to minimise distraction and create focus. The teacher might say, for example: “Today we’re learning about verbs. Write ‘verb’ on the board and give an example in a sentence.” This encourages participation. A board filled with information or images can quickly distract these learners, leading to restlessness and behavioural problems. A blank board encourages active participation and helps learners concentrate.Schools using this approach find that learners are more engaged, less easily distracted and understand the material better. This shows that a small adjustment can have a major impact on learner behaviour and performance.

If teachers aren’t particularly skilled at drawing, I recommend using simple pictograms or icons as visual support. Search Google Images for simple pictures that are easy to trace, such as “frog icon” or “crown icon”. For more complex topics, such as the digestive system, print out the image and add explanations to it. Make sure learners then also have a sheet with the image in front of them.

Digital whiteboards are impressive, but there’s a risk that teachers try to cover too much material too quickly with them. By writing directly on a board, they can better match the pace of the lesson to the learners. With traditional boardwork, teachers can place the lesson in a broader context, which strengthens the overall thread. Digital whiteboards, due to menus and larger text, often offer less writing space. You can open multiple screens, but this can disrupt the structure. Live writing remains more effective, as it builds up the steps of the lesson at a logical pace. Incidentally, you can also write on a digital whiteboard if you use a whiteboard tool, such as ProwisePresenter.

Boardwork is indispensable in classroom teaching because it supports visual and auditory learning, encourages engagement and promotes active learning. Traditional boardwork, such as with chalkboards, offers flexibility to adapt the pace of the lesson to the learners. Digital whiteboards offer benefits, but can make the learning experience more passive. By striking a good balance, teachers increase engagement and improve the learning experience.

More information on boardwork

Find training courses on boardwork and note-taking at gewoongoedlesgeven.nl or order the book at onderwijsgek.nl/boeken.

Discover Chameleon’s full range of whiteboards for education and find out how boardwork can find its place in your classroom too.