Making sense with posters in biological science education

Posters make sense. They make sense as a means of communicating the results of scientific investigation quickly and effectively. They also make sense as a teaching-and-learning exercise. This point is made in a number of studies that have explored the benefits of posters within biology courses. Whilst these studies illustrate the value of poster assignments as educational exercises, it is also evident that the success of those assignments depends, in part, on providing students with clear instruction on poster preparation. Despite the considerable merits of the existing literature on the use of posters in science education, there has been very little published that offers clear and simple guidance to students and teachers on poster production. One of the primary alms of this paper, therefore, is to help rectify this situation. We briefly review the purposes of posters in teaching biology before going on to provide some detailed instruction for students on how to prepare a good, effective poster.