Oral Presentation of Posters

25 November 2010

Rosalind Duhs

Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT)

Introductions

• Name• Role• Interest in /experience of the oral presentation of

posters• Any concerns?

Session intended learning outcomes

After the session, participants are expected to be able to do some/all of the following:

• decide if oral presentations of posters could be integrated into their assessment diets

• plan the use of oral presentations of posters to promote student learning in their discipline.

• Summative assessment counts towards final results in relation to learning outcomes

• Formative assessment does not count towards final course grades, but measures progress and provides students with valuable feedback

• Summative assessment should also be formative

Summative and Formative assessment

Session outcome 1

• Decide if oral presentations of posters could be integrated into their assessment diets– Rationale for diversifying assessment methods:

Why do it?– Cases of oral presentation of posters

How do you do it?

Rationale

Diversity enables more students to excel (UCL example)

’Global problems in performed literature’

’The variety of assessment formats (a jointly authored essay, an individually authored essay, a group performance and a group presentation) gives each student an opportunity to excel.’

The lecture/formal exam tradition

• Write lecture notes• Learn them strategically at the end of the course

for exams

Embedding assessment in the student learning process: ‘backwash’

Assessment shapes learning

UCL blog fromhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/transition/blogs

Luke (Human Sciences)This is the last term now, and it's exams o'clock! I have eight

of them to endure over the coming month, including four in a row one week. The Easter holiday was really relaxed - I didn't do any revision and just caught up with friends and family.

What do you think of this form of summative assessment?What sort of learning do you think this type of assessment leads to?Which skills are being tested?

Strategic compliance

Surface approaches to learning

Focus on accreditation/qualification

“Will this be in the exam?”

Extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation- a genuine interest in the subject

• How can it be achieved?

’Graduateness’ in context: knowing where you’re going, understanding the relevance of learning

Why change learning and assessment? (1)

The certainties of recognised bodies of knowledge have been swept away by the uncertainties of the postmodern world (based on Scott, 1995)

An unpredictable globalised world

Fast change

Cultural diversity

Why change learning and assessment? (2)

Graduates/adult learners need wide-ranging skills:

higher order learning – analysis, critique

skills communication

teamworking

professional expertise

functioning knowledge

Alverno: Assessment-as-learning must• Judge performance in contexts related to life

roles• Include explicitness of expected outcomes,

public criteria and student self assessment• Include multiplicity and be cumulative and

expansive• Include feedback and external perspectives as

well as performance• Be multiple in mode and context

(Mentkowski and Associates, 2000)

Overview: assessment for learning

Levels of Learning

ProceduralDeclarative

Conditional

Functioning

WHAT? HOW?

WHEN?

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Aim to assess functioning knowledge

Based on Biggs (2003), Fig. 3.1, Declarative/Functioning knowledge, p. 42

Innovative assessment methods – authentic assessment

• Poster presentations with peer review and the defence of content (biology)

‘Dedicated field courses result in a mixture of written work and oral/poster presentations. The final year research project is assessed by a project report plus an oral presentation.’

www.ucl.ac.uk/academic-services/documents/BSc-Biological-Sciences.doc

Oral presentation of posters: How do you do it?

Case: authentic example (Life sciences)

These poster presentations are good for the students’ development as they have to use these skills for defending their projects and [these] will also be used once the students have graduated. It is a very important part of the course and should remain as part of it.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences-faculty/degree-programmes/physiology/Physiology_SSCC_minutes_Dec_2008.pdf

Case: authentic example (Life sciences)

• Posters – Group work: The group dynamics were not great. There were members of the group who did not pull their weight, so communication was slightly stressful... Allowing the students to choose their own groups would be a disadvantage to the students. ... It was good that the medics and the science students were jumbled up.

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences-faculty/degree-programmes/physiology/Physiology_SSCC_minutes_Dec_2008.pdf

BRAINSTORM suggestions for solving this problem.

Another problem to solve

• The poster presentations did not meet the expectations of the students and they did not feel that they learnt any specific skills from doing the poster.

• Workshops for the design and presentation of posters will be organised next term.

(ibid)

Group preparation of posters

• Teachers select groups of around 5 students• Make groups diverse (level, personality, discipline

where relevant)• Ensure that each member of the group knows

their role (project manager, secretary, meeting convenor, poster designer, etc)

• Remind students that this is a work-like scenario• Require them to self- and peer assess their

contribution to the group project against agreed criteria.

Preparing the posters: show examples of posters in your discipline(eg links on Moodle)

• Use UCL advice on preparing academic postershttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/mediares/downloads/poster_printing.pdf

OR find subject-related advice• See

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences-faculty/degree-programmes/msc-surgical-science/practiceofsciencetimetable2008.pdf

for an example of preparationAND http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/view.html/PrsDiscourseArticles/125

Steps to take (from Life Sciences)

• Poster exercise – preparing posters using power point

• Abstract writing – précis background, highlight key results, use a catchy title

• How to plan, structure and deliver a research talkhttp://www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences-faculty/degree-programmes/msc-

surgical-science/practiceofsciencetimetable2008.pdf

Oral presentation of posters

• Make it festive but serious (vernissage).• Help students to appreciate that they have

achieved something.• Prepare feedback forms for peer feedback, with

space for suggestions for modifications AND space for detailing what went well.

• Include both content and quality of presentation.• Students can find it challenging to judge content

so get experts in to comment too.

Session outcome 2

• Plan the use of oral presentations of posters to promote student learning in their discipline.

5 minute planning exercise

• Look at the resource on the oral presentation of posters

• Could you integrate one of these innovative forms of assessment into your assessment regime?

• How would students and colleagues react?

Conclusion

For group-based projects which end in the production of posters and their presentation you need:

1. Clear learning outcomes, including knowledge and skills

2. Resources for students so they learn poster production and presentation skills

3. Agreed groups and group tasks

4. Agreed and published grading criteria including knowledge and skills

Thank you

Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching for Quality Learning at University. 2nd ed. Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press.

Mentowski, M. and Associates (2000). Learning that lasts: integrating learning development, and performance in college and beyond. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Scott, P. (1995). The Meanings of Mass Higher Education. Buckingham: SRHE and Open University Press

References