Taking the Timetable Out of Oral Presentations
Variety in Chemistry Education
Dr Katherine J. Haxton
September 2012
Timetable-less Presentationso Oral Presentations known to be valuable
o Timetable frequently dictates teaching methods
o Act of preparing presentation as important as giving presentation
o Screencasts frequently used by teachers…but can be used by students too.
o Self-, Peer- and Tutor- Assessments combined with reflection
First Year Chemistry Assignment
o 10% of Module Mark (replace 1 class test)
o Presentation on general topic
o List of suggested topics given
o Students sign up to topic to avoid overlap
o Produce 5 minute presentation in format to be uploaded to Blackboard Blogs
o Directed to screencasting software, podcasts
o Assessment: 20 % self-, 50 % peer- and 30% tutor- assessment
ExamplePresentations
Assessment
o Assessment criteria developed with students
o Self-Assessment when presentation submitted
o Peer-Assessment in small groups
o Limits number of presentation students have to mark
o Self-Assessment and Reflection AFTER Peer-Assessment
o Tutor-Assessment
Self-Assessment 1
Participation in Assessment
1st Self-Assessment
Peer-Assessment
Feedback
Tutor-Assessment
Feedback
2nd Self-Assessment &
Reflection
No. Students 52 145 54 31
Words 3343 10569 2218 1327
17,457 words of feedback and self-reflection to 54 students.
52 participated to some degree in self- and peer- assessment
Some penalties imposed on those who did not participate (no marks for self-assessment, reduced marks for peer-assessment)
Fewer participants in 2nd self- assessment/reflection
Tutor Assessment Feedback
“Peer-marking is useful, but having it become a part of the other students grade seems unfair on the marker. I personally find it too much pressure. “
“Yes it was useful. Saw how other people carried out there presentations etc. Highlighted flaws in my own presentation I will know for another time.“
“the peer marks should not be worth more than 20%...Lectures marks should have been worth a lot more”
“This was a very different and interesting way to assess the module as it allowed a certain amount of freedom in terms of chosen topics. Also, it allows you to learn about many different topics from other students' point of view.”
Student Feedback
I would have preferred to give my presentation
directly to a small group of my class
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1 stronglydisagree
2 3 no opinion 4 5 stronglyagree
0
5
10
15
20
1 very poor 2 3 average 4 5 verygood
I would rate my ability to use computers as:
0
5
10
15
20
1 stronglydisagree
2 3 noopinion
4 5 stronglyagree
My ability to use computers and software made this task too difficult.
Hints and Tips
1 form for all assessment makes compiling feedback easier
GoogleDocs forms very useful for assessment of this sort
Random groups for peer-assessment with some ‘manipulation’ recommended – limits students to marking 4 or 5 presentations.
Best presentations were those the students had to come up with themselves.
Don’t be afraid of the technology – our students are better at this than we are!
