3. NCTE/IRA STANDARD
Students adjust their use of spoken, written,
and visual language (e.g., conventions, style,
vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a
variety of audiences and for different
purposes.
by √oхέƒx™ by sheilaellen
4. RATIONALE AND INQUIRY QUESTION
Introduction to Engineering Design is the first class
in the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) sequence
All PLTW classes include professional presentations
Professional presentations require students to adjust
their use of spoken, written, and visual language
If successful, use the videos in Principles of
Engineering and Digital Electronics
Will direct instruction about formal presentation
skills and audience consideration have an impact on
the quality of puzzle cube presentations?
5. TIMELINE
Sept. 6 - 23 Research best practices in teaching presentation skills
Research best practices in teaching presentation skills
Sept. 23 – Oct. 7 Continue research and videosorganizing information
Create storyboards for begin
Oct. 7 - 25 Create videos
Create module content
Convince Lisa Digman and Martin Labs to use videos in their
Convince Lisa Digman and Martin Labs to use videos in their
IED classes?
IED classes?
Oct. 25 – Nov. 14 Students are working on their puzzle cube project.
Oct. 25 – Nov. 14 Students are working on their puzzle cube project.
Assign videos as homework (track access through
blackboard)
Assign module as homework and discuss in class.
Nov. 15 - 18 Students present their puzzle cube design process in a formal
Nov. 15 - 18 Students present their puzzle cube design process in a formal
presentation to the class
presentation to the class
Nov. 19 – Dec. 1 Compare results with past presentations and summarize
Nov. 19 – Dec. 1 Compare results with past presentations and summarize
findings. Create presentation for class.
findings. Create presentation for class.
Long term Will I see a difference in these students when they present
Long term Will I see a difference in these students when they present
their work in subsequent classes?
their work in subsequent classes?
6. PROCESS: RESEARCH
"high school" AND speaking
"high school" AND “presentation skills”
"high school" AND teaching speech
Teaching speech in the secondary school
KF Robinson - 1954 - Longmans, Green
Teaching speech in secondary schools
L Raubicheck - 1936 - Prentice-Hall
Egad! 1954 and 1936??
"high school" AND teaching "effective speaking skills"
"high school" AND teaching "effective presentation skills"
It’s interesting the number of articles I’m finding for ESL learners
7. PROCESS: RESEARCH
effective presentation skills
design process presentations
engineering design presentations
Ef fective Presentation Skills by Steve Mandel
Peer and Teacher Assessments of Oral Presentation Skills:
how reliable are they? by Magin & Helmore
Teaching and learning design presentations in engineering -
contradictions between academic and workplace activity
systems by Dannels
10. PROCESS: SHARE WITH STUDENTS
Show students module
Read the introduction
Discuss how they can use the resources
Click through different sections
Add to announcements
Practice day
12. REFLECTION AND RESULTS
1st hour 2nd hour 5th hour 6th hour 7th hour
Mean 2011 78% 83% 82% 79% 81%
Mean 2010 No data 79% No data No data No data
“Presentations were better than last year” ~ Lisa Digman
Module can be used in other PLT W classes
More direct instruction – time limitations
Professional presentations require students to adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language, and students may or may not be aware that different vocabulary, conventions and styles are necessary for a good formal presentation because they see the audience as their peers. Introduction to Engineering Design is the first class in the Project Lead the Way sequence. Although all of the classes include professional/formal presentations, we do not spend time teaching or learning about strategies for creating good formal presentations or the audience for these presentations. The people in the room are their peers, but the target audience is design professionals. Creating video instruction about this topic allows students the time in class to work on the project with instructor support and feedback and provides direct instruction on a topic they are unfamiliar with. I can also use the videos with the Principles of Engineering and Digital Electronics students who have had IED in the past.
Effective Presentation Skills by Steve MandelWhile somewhat cheesy with its goofy graphics and informal written style, this book has very direct, step-by-step instructions on improving presentation skills. Instead of using this e-book directly, I reformatted select pieces of information to make it more useful. The key pieces of information were conveyed through video, pictures and short pieces of text and students will have access to the self-evaluation questions through the Blackboard survey tool.Peer and Teacher Assessments of Oral Presentation Skills: how reliable are they? by Magin & HelmoreThis article provides some great ideas for improving the assessment of presentations. Some studies show that peer assessments are legitimate sources of feedback although we should be reluctant to use them as summative assessments. Teaching and learning design presentations in engineering - contradictions between academic and workplace activity systems by DannelsThis article directly relates to what I’m trying to accomplish and the obstacles I have. The National Board of Engineering Education and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology explicitly support and emphasis on communication skills in engineering. The article focuses on a university level senior engineering practicum class in which students work on a year-long design project for a professional engineering company. At the end of the year, they are supposed to present/communicate their results to their professors and business partners.In essence, oral presentations that are intended to simulate workplace contexts invoke at least two possibly competing activity systems – the classroom and the workplace. Within the separate activity systems of school and work, these oral presentations are tailored to respond to different social situations, and therefore the same presentation could function as a completely different genre in both contexts (p. 141).This directly relates to standard four. Students must learn to communicate in different ways for different purposes, but there is a contradiction between what academics want and what professional want, and this article explains that very well. It doesn’t, however, really present any solutions. There are delivery and structural issues that I can address, but “the data from this study seem to illustrate that neither [students nor faculty] had the tools for critically analyzing, reflecting on, and evaluating these contradictory contexts and expectations” (p. 164). Eeeek!
Statistics trackingCompare results to use of moduleData is not correctSeveral students completed the self evaluation including the two students who scored the highest.
Lisa did not separate the presentation data from the portfolio data in the past. We only have data to compare from my class last year.In both our opinions, the presentations were better this year.Module can be used in other PLTW classes and we can refer back to it for the next presentations.More formal use and/or making it a requirement may also help improve students skills, but we have a lot of material to cover in a short amount of time.
