Group Presentation Instructions

 In-Class Group Presentation Assignment

Overview:

At the beginning of the course, each student will be assigned to a small group that will lead a one-hour session on an assigned topic during one of the classes. The group will be responsible for a formal oral presentation on the topic, as well as for facilitating a class discussion during the session. The entire class will be assigned readings that familiarize them with the topic, but it will be up to the group to conduct further investigation to create its presentation and promote deliberation.

Assignment Components: 

The format for the group presentation is identical to the outline for your individual final project at the end of the semester.  All group members should discuss all sections of the presentation and participate in creating PowerPoint slides.  However, the groups can then assign (all) members to present various sections:

Part 1: Describe the problem addressed and why you think it is important. 

The more specific you make this, the better the rest of the presentation will flow.  Be sure to address your comments in the subsequent section to this specific formulation of the problem.  The problem description can include a description of the specific population (e.g., adolescent girls who are obese/overweight) as well as the community and organizational context in which you are considering delivering the new intervention.  End this section of the presentation with a clear statement as to your objective, e.g., “We sought to review the evidence and come up with recommendations regarding the feasibility and potential effectiveness of a brief intervention designed to address obesity among adolescent girls served by a community-based primary care center in Ypsilanti.”

Part 2: Briefly describe the sources of evidence and how new sources (i.e., ones I did not recommend) were identified. 

This can be relatively brief part of your presentation.

Part 3: Screening and case finding. 

First, describe what this means to you conceptually and what the process or goals might be (and possible strengths and weaknesses of various approaches, including systematic screening of all clients, case-finding as part of the organization’s normal activities, proactive community-based outreach and screening, etc.)  Review specific measures that have been developed and used in either research or practice, commenting on their validity, reliability, ease of administration, required training, etc.  Comment on the concept of false-positives and false-negatives and their implications for workload.  End this section with a summary of your sense of the organization’s ability to use instruments to identify potential targets for the brief intervention.  If you think none of the existing measures are adequate, you can say that and talk about what alternatives could be developed.

Part 4: Randomized trials. 

Briefly summarize at least two randomized trials relevant to your topic.  Describe their design and findings, and discuss the extent to which they provide evidence relevant to your question about delivering a brief intervention in a specific setting.

Part 5: Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and guidelines. 

Similar to Part 4, describe 1-3 reviews that have been done, how they were done, by whom, what you’ve learned from them, and how you think they do (or do not) apply to your question about delivering the brief intervention in a specific context. 

 Part 6: Weight of the evidence.

Here is your chance to talk about your overall perception of the evidence base – its relevance to this organization, the amount of evidence available, and what it would mean for this organization to take on this new task.  Try to come up with both pro’s and con’s for integrating this new service into the organization’s operations.

 Part 7: Recommendations.

Based on the information summarized and critiqued above, make specific recommendations about delivering the intervention, referring back to the types of evidence you found most compelling – either in favor or against moving forward with an investment in this new service.  Try to make your case in a definitive way (i.e., save your concerns/questions about the “weight” of the evidence for the subsequent section).  You also can talk about what delivering this new service would actually take in terms of things like: staff qualifications, staff trainings, ongoing supervision and quality management, opportunity costs in terms of resources being diverted from other tasks, etc.

 Part 8: Group Discussion.

Either following and/or during the formal oral presentation, the group should engage the class in discussion. The group should develop a formal plan with discussion questions and activities. For more information about designing group discussion activities, see this section of the U-M Center for Research on Learning & Teaching website: http://www.crlt.umich.edu/tstrategies/tsd Links to an external site.

 Grading.

This assignment counts for 25% of the overall course grade. The following materials are due on the day of the presentation, and they should be submitted via the course website.  Late submissions will result in a lower grade.

• Power Point slides and/or other materials used in the oral presentation
• An annotated brief bibliography of any further readings and resources on the topic of interest

Helpful Hints

 Plan ahead.

This sounds obvious, but many prior groups have been hampered by an inability to meet early and often enough to devote adequate time to researching the topic, dividing up responsibilities, brainstorming discussion ideas, and practicing their talks. Group members are often stretched thin across numerous commitments and conflicting schedules, so it will pay off to get your planning process started early. I encourage you to meet with me at least a week before the presentation to discuss your plan for the group presentation. I will be able to suggest relevant resources and provide strategic feedback on your approach to the topic.

 Consider a pre-session activity.

To prime your fellow students for your session, you might engage them ahead of your presentation. You could ask students to read through your discussion exercise prior to class, or use the CTools “Polls” section to survey them on a controversial issue related to your topic. In this manner, you can get them thinking about your topic beforehand so that they come to class better prepared to participate actively in discussion.  Discuss this with the rest of the students via the forum section of the CTools course site.

Practice, practice, practice.

A formal rehearsal should be an indispensable part of your preparation. This will allow you to more fully master content, improve the flow and transitions across different segments of the presentation, and ensure you have an appropriate amount of materials to cover within your time limits. You will also be more likely to catch flaws in your slides and to generate helpful feedback on your respective presentation styles.

Pay attention to your speaking style.

You don’t have to be a master orator to avoid the problems of bad presenters. For example, look at the audience and not back at the screen the whole time. Speak so that everyone can hear you and avoid a completely monotone delivery. Pause occasionally to ask if the audience has questions or comments.

Manage time wisely.

An hour may seem like a long time, but you will be surprised how quickly it goes. Many prior groups have not been able to get through all their planned materials and/or have had to rush through closing exercises. There are several things to keep in mind as you plan your presentation. You probably don’t want more than 25-30 slides in your formal PowerPoint slideshow, and a crisp, well-rehearsed delivery of these will also aid time management. In addition, you should be prepared to moderate or close down discussions early in the hour to ensure adequate time for all sections of your presentation. You should also have contingency plans should some parts of your presentation run longer than expected.

Use multimedia to your advantage.

Remember that PowerPoint slides that are too text-heavy and/or merely read aloud may result in a bored and inattentive audience. Remember to provide references on your slides as appropriate.

Be daring with your discussion.

A little creativity goes a long way in engaging students in discussion. You might use a role-playing exercise to get students to consider stakeholder viewpoints different from their own. Also, make sure to structure your exercises so that students have a clear sense of what is being asked of them; vague instructions, overly general questions, and lack of supporting information tend to lead to frustration and confusion.