Professional Presentation

Dr. Gian Pagnucci

Presentation Overview

Each student will be asked to make a professional presentation in conjunction with several other students in the class. This presentation should be linked to the student's projected dissertation research project.

Presentation Goal

The goal of this presentation is to provide an overview of the student's dissertation research agenda. For the presentation, each student is to pick one or more epistemologies to use in exploring this research agenda. The student should discuss central research questions of the research agenda. Then the student should provide a conceptual framework for this research, discuss published material that unpacks this framework, and discuss how the framework would be used to explore to data relevant to the research questions and agenda. Thus your presentation should end up being closely related to your Analytical Research Paper (covering value of the research topic, why the topic is of interest, and an explanation of a theoretical framework for exploring this topic).

Your presentation should help the audience to appreciate what is most interesting about the things you learned from studying course and dissertation-related concepts.  Help us to see spark and fire. While your audience will be given a handout about your topic, you should not be simply reading your summary. Instead, fill in the background information which the handout can reinforce in people's minds later. 

Presentation Panels

For the presentations, all students (approximately 30 for 2 different sections of the two linked courses [800 and 808]) will work in panels of about 3 people.

Presentation Logistics

Your presentation should be 15-20 minutes in length. There will be five or six presentations per day for 2-3 days.  Students will need to consider attire, timekeeping, and overall speaking and presentation skills.

Presentation Technology

A Little Advice
Some people feel that PowerPoint dumbs down presentations. On the other hand, most presentations made without PowerPoint tend to be disorganized and content heavy. The worst "presentations" involving someone reading a paper from beginning to end for 20 minutes. Reading PowerPoint slides is also ineffective. Most audiences know how to read. The idea is to tell the audience things they can't read for themselves, and to do this in an engaging and informative way. In the end, it is better to make about 3 main points well than to try to cover 10 points your audience won't remember. Three really is a magic number. It's hard for audiences to recall more than about 3 main points.

Technology
Students are also required to use PowerPoint for their presentation. Students wishing to use alternative technologies for presenting, such as a web site, blog, Second Life, or video may do so once they obtain permission from the instructor.

Presentation Handout

A suitable handout should also be provided to attendees of the presentation (around 32 handouts). Include a list of about 3 sources.  Make your handout a clear and concise summary that members of this class will be able to use as a reference guide in the future.

Be sure you do not simply read your handout. Instead, fill in the background information which the handout can reinforce in people's minds later. 

Presentation Outline

An outline for the presentation must be turned in to the instructor on the day of the presentation in addition to the presentation handout.

Presentation Evaluation

Both Dr. Pagnucci and Dr. Rafoth will make a joint evaluation of the presentations.

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