The Power of Sticky Notes

The Teaching Space

Episode 66 of The Teaching Space Podcast explores the power of sticky notes!

Why Sticky Notes?

My favourite non-digital teaching tool is, without a doubt, the humble sticky note. Despite running a mostly paperless classroom, I seem to be able to find a phenomenal number of uses for these magical squares of stationery goodness. In fact, I love them so much, I thought they deserved a dedicated podcast episode.

Incidentally, I will probably use the terms “sticky note” and “post-it note” interchangeably in this episode - please know they mean the same thing.

A Little History

According to the How Stuff Works website:

“A Post-it note is a small piece of paper with a strip of low-tack adhesive on the back that allows it to be temporarily attached to documents, walls, computer monitors, and just about anything else. The idea for the Post-it note was conceived in 1974 by Arthur Fry as a way of holding bookmarks in his hymnal while singing in the church choir. He was aware of an adhesive accidentally developed in 1968 by fellow 3M employee Spencer Silver. No application for the lightly sticky stuff was apparent until Fry's idea. The 3M company was initially skeptical about the product's profitability, but in 1980, the product was introduced around the world. Today, Post-it notes are sold in more than 100 countries.”

Seven Ways to Use Paper Sticky Notes

1. Idea generation/gathering
2. Plenary/reflection: for example, one thing you have learned from today’s lesson
3. Who am I? game/ice breaker
4. Build graphs
5. Assignment planning: for example, to help learners structure their writing.
6. Marking up books
7. RAG (red, amber, green) rating: for example, learners could indicate whether then need more help with a topic.

More ideas from Post-it here.

Five Digital Alternatives to Sticky Notes

1. Google Jamboard
2. Answergarden
3. Padlet
4. Stormboard
5. Pinup

Bonus: Post-it scanning app

Wrap Up

Support the Show

That’s it for today. Before I go I have a small request: if you enjoyed today’s episode, please support the show by either:

1. Leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen.
2. Buying my book, The Productive Teacher, on Amazon or Kobo (find more information at theprodutiveteacherbook.com).
3. Making a small one-off, or monthly, financial contribution to the running costs of the show on my Kofi page which you can find at ko-fi.com/theteachingspace.

… or doing all three if you are feeling super generous! Any financial contributions go directly towards the running costs of the podcast so you are investing in future content. Thank you.

Questions? Comments?

If you have any questions about the show or thoughts you’d like to share you can do so by either:

1. Leaving a comment on this episode’s show notes blog post.
2. Posting in our Facebook group: TTS Staff Room.
3. Posting on Twitter (I’m @MartineGuernsey if you want to mention me).
4. Contacting me via The Teaching Space website: theteachingspace.com.

The show notes for this episode include any links I’ve mentioned; you can find them at theteachingspace.com/66.

Thanks for listening and I hope you’ll join me for the next episode.