Project 2 Discussion

1. Project 2 Discussion Global Environmental Change –Spring 2014

2. Grade Range • Projects were worth 50 points • Grade distribution as shown • Mean was 45.0 (90.0%, A-) • Median was 45.7

3. Title Page • The title page should have the title of your presentation • It should have your name

4. Team Grade • 10% of total • Team 3 – 9.0 • Team 2 – 8.0 • Team 1 – 7.0 • Teams should introduce their overall topic, and indicate each speaker’s topic – (1-3 minutes) • Final speaker should summarize the team results to tie the various presentation together – (1-3 minutes)

5. Team Grade • The whole team is responsible for the introduction and summary, not just the first and last speakers • Projects should reflect considerable thought and planning • The order of presentation should be decided well in advance • Some overlap between projects is acceptable, but presentations should be coordinated to build on previous presentations if feasible

6. Oral Presentation Quality: 15% • Clear and logical presentation • Ideas developed and presented in a suitable manner • Keep the number of concepts presented to a manageable number so each concept can be developed • Remember, this is a research presentation • Use of notes as needed, preferably without obvious reading of the notes • Practice the talk enough to cut the necessity of reading notes • Practice helps to eliminate obvious hesitations (hemming and hawing) • Reading of notes is preferable to omission of most of the concept • Maintain eye contact to engage audience

7. Oral Presentation Quality • Presentation should fit into the time framework (20-25 minutes per speaker) • Does not include time introducing or summarizing the group’s work • Avoid background for the subject – short presentations do not allow time for this • Define any terms that are specific to the presentation, and likely to be unknown to some of the audience • Point out significant features in photos, and explain the diagrams, don’t just flash them for a few seconds

8. PowerPoint Quality: 20% • Slides should be clear and easy to follow • Graphs, diagrams, and photos should be presented at a size that allows for easy viewing • Overly complex diagrams should be cut into pieces and presented on different slides, when necessary and technically feasible

9. PowerPoint Quality • Use an aspect ratio that is optimum for the material presented • Usually this will be either 4:3 or 16:9 • 16:9 allows more room for material on each slide • To change aspect ratio, click on “Design”, then on “Page setup” • Use animation when this is advantageous • Be careful when using colored background material • Text must be readable – perhaps insert a white background, or change the color of the text

10. PowerPoint Quality • Avoid overly “busy” slides • Too much material on one slide detracts from the audience listening to what you are saying • Choose photos and diagrams carefully – they should enhance, not detract, from what you are saying • Animation on diagrams to sequentially emphasize points can be very effective • Spell check the presentation ! • Be sure to use italics for foreign phrases, such as et al. and in-situ • Use “Search and replace” to be sure all instances are correctly presented

11. PowerPoint Quality • Diagrams which are overly complex, especially those made by fusing several diagrams together, can often be split into separate pieces using a photo editor • Be sure to include the key for all diagrams • Be sure to check this if you split a diagram

12. Presentation Quality • Be sure the length of the presentation fits the guidelines • Several people came up well short of the 20-25 guideline • Usually this results from letting the project go and not having time to prepare enough material • Not explaining your points fully can also shorten a presentation – use of the notes section can help with this • Avoid the use of obvious “filler” material • A couple of presentations were on the borderline of being too long • Practicing the presentation several time prior to the actual presentation can help • If you are consistently too long, adjust the content

13. Presentation Quality • Was the presentation appropriate for the audience? • Are you presenting at a professional meeting? A climate seminar intended for a general audience? A grade school classroom? • This was not a problem for most project 2 reports • Avoid too much background material – these are short presentations • Were adequate resources found to prepare the project?

14. Reference Quality • Were references of good quality? • Journal articles • Monographs, if recent enough to be appropriate, or if used for background • Web sources of good quality • Were a variety of references used? • Was an attempt made to find material from various journals, especially across disciplines? • Were good quality web sources used

15. Citation of References and Borrowed Materials • Were references properly cited somewhere within the PowerPoint, including with the notes section? • Et al. should be restricted to “in-text” citations, not a full citation • The source of all photographs, figures, diagrams, etc. that are borrowed from another source should be indicated • Hyperlinks to on-line resources should be active, and must be correct (check them!)

16. Citation of References • Be sure all in-text citations have a full reference, either in the notes section or in your reference list • When borrowing material, be sure to use it in the context in which it was originally presented, or make it very clear that you are “adapting” it

17. Overall Grade • What impression did the viewer have after seeing your presentation?

18. TPG Article • The following quote is from an article by Gail G. Gibson in the January-March,2014 issue of TPG (The Professional Geologist) entitled “How Will You Separate Yourself from a Large Applicant Pool (‘The Pack’) for a Particular Job?”

19. Gail Gibson Quote • “I tell my students that when they have completed a class assignment, critically review the work before submitting it, answering the following two questions. • (1) Would I submit this material to my supervisor as part of an annual performance review or potential promotion package? • (2) As a supervisor, would I accept this material for distribution representing my company? • If the answer to either of these two questions is no, or maybe, redo the assignments. A corporation cannot afford to be known for shoddy work.”

20. TPG Student Issue • The Student Issue (January-March, 2014) of TPG is at: • http://64.207.34.58/StaticContent/3/TPGs/2014_TPGJanFebMar.pdf • It contains a number of articles that are worth reading