In week 2 we considered what it means to be a critical thinker as well as how to construct arguments. We'll build on those themes this week by exploring how to put your arguments across in a face-to-face setting, through discussion and during presentations. Once again, the combination of classroom and online materials comprises short assessment exercises (and feedback) that will help you build towards the end-of-course assignment - in this case the Project Presentation. 

In class, you'll have the chance to try out your discussion and presentation skills in a low stakes setting within the tutorial. In order for the tutorial to make any sense however, you'll need to familiarise yourself with these materials ahead of class.

Elsewhere, there's a great opportunity this week to find out what 'high quality' means in the context of a university presentation, using a short (anonymous) quiz exercise assessment and then by stepping into the marker's shoes. And remember, you can discuss your ideas on the dedicated thread on the discussion board.

Happy reading, listening, discussing, marking....

In this week's quiz we'd like you to think about the approaches that contribute towards the delivery of an effective presentation. This exercise should be completed after the classroom session. When completing the exercises I'd encourage you to take a few short notes in response to the positions taken by the four students before submitting your answers - that way you can generate your own feedback by comparing your ideas with my own suggested answers.

The scenario is as follows: students on the BA Business Studies course at Denningston University have been asked to prepare a presentation based around the content of the first three weeks of the course. The presentation will be delivered during a seminar in a week's time and is worth 10% of the final grade.

With an eye on our end-of-course project presentation (week 6) I think this week's input from lecturers and students on the subject of discussion and presentation skills is particularly valuable.

Clip 1: Lecturers outline the role of oral communication skills at university (2:37)
Dr David Kaufman (History), Dr Barbra Harvie (Biological Science), Paul De Plessis (Law), Kendall Richards (Computing and Engineering), Victoria Harvey-Brown (Psychology), Geoff Arnold (Business and Economics), John Hiley (Engineering).

Clip 2. Undergraduate students share their presentation tips (1:39)
Kayleigh (English Literature), Jason (Education), Alan (Sport Science), Helena (Politics), Mhairi (History), Fiona (Media and Cultural Studies), Rosie (Environmental Management).

Clip 3. Lecturers offer advice to students anxious about speaking up in class (2:11)
Dr Majella Sweeney (Tourism), Kendall Richards (Computing and Engineering), Dr Christine Robinson (Scottish Studies), Dr Paul du Plessis (Law), Dr David Kaufman (History).

Clip 4. Students respond to the question of whether it's possibly to get by without 'speaking up' in tutorials (2:08)
Stewart (Biology), Mhairi (History), Jill (Sociology and Social Policy), Jason (Education), Helena (Politics).

With the aim of helping you appreciate the standard of a presentation that might be expected at university (and in the presentation assessment for this course!), this exercise gives you the chance to step into the marker's shoes. To this end, you are invited to assess a presentation delivered by a team of students. Here's how to make the most of this exercise:

1. Print off or download a copy of the Project Presentation Assessment Criteria (from the Study and assessment page) 
   
2. Watch the presentation film clip below - to be uploaded after class on Wednesday 22 June - assessing the clip and making noting comments as you go along 
   
3. Later in the week I'll add my own completed mark sheet below the film clip. The final part of the exercise is really valuable as it will identify whether there's a gap between your understanding of what represents an effective presentation, and what the staff team will be looking for in your end-of-course Project Presentation.

The marked presentation...
You can see what Alice and I thought about the above presentation by looking at the completed mark sheet and watching the annotated film below. Please bear in mind however that whereas your presentation will be the product of six weeks of research, the Personal Tutors only had a few hours to prepare their work. Furthermore, we set the Personal Tutors a topic that that was pointedly non-academic. As such, the range of arguments and amount of supporting evidence in your own project presentation should be much greater than on the film you see below. Naturally, we'll be looking for 6 weeks worth of research, not just a few hour as we did for the Personal Tutors. Nevertheless, this is a rare and valuable insight into what your marker will be looking for in week 6. During the film, comments in white represent things we liked whereas comments in tangerine were minor weaknesses or suggested improvements.

With thanks to members of our Personal Tutor team for their work on the presentation.