Monday, May 25, 2009
Presentation Update
A few weeks ago, I talked about how I was doing presentations in my classes this semester and I wasn't sure how it would turn out. Today was the first round and I was pretty impressed with most of the students. Out of a class of 20, only 1 didn't memorize the 2 minutes spiel. And the grammar was almost perfect, far better than they'd ever do just speaking in class. It was actually like they consulted their textbooks or something :) And it was not horribly tedious because they could pick from 5 different, general topics and the speeches were only 2 minutes long, so it was all over pretty fast. And because I gave them topics, straight out of the stuff we've studied this semester, it would be glaringly obvious if anyone copied off the internet (no one did!) I'll definitely be doing it again next semester :)
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3 comments:
Hi! I'm a friend of Jen's from Stitch N Bitch. I heard you on the Seoul podcast. :D
I sometimes have my freshmen do presentations as a final. I have a growing list of topics I've forbidden because they don't research the topic well enough or I'm just plain sick of it, such as mad cow, blood type, diets, favorite pop star/movie star, etc. In the past, students have come up with many interesting topics, such as "How to be the King of the Meeting", Body Modification", "How to Deal with Constipation" (including a color analysis of poop), and "The Best Types of Kissing" just to name a few!
The presentations are done with a partner or group, are 5 minutes long and require a poster to illustrate the presentation. Each non-presenting group must ask a question in post-presentation Q&A. I also have the groups evaluate each other on a rubric I provide. That evaluation is a certain percentage of their score. So, they have incentive to pay attention while the other groups are presenting.
I find having them do it with a partner or group of their choice eases the horror factor.
Hello...thanks for finding your way to the blog. I'm considering doing presentations next semester, to replace the midterm exam possibly so it's good to hear your ideas. The students evaluating each other and asking questions would definitely help make it interactive.
I may use your idea :)
Jen can give you my email if you want to discuss it further. :D
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