1. Oral Presentation of Posters 25 November 2010 Rosalind Duhs Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT)

2. Introductions Name Role Interest in /experience of the oral presentation of posters Any concerns?

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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?

6. Rationale

7. 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.

8. The lecture/formal exam tradition Write lecture notes Learn them strategically at the end of the course for exams

9. Embedding assessment in the student learning process: backwash Assessment shapes learning

10. UCL blog from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transition/blogs http://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?

11. Strategic compliance Surface approaches to learning Focus on accreditation/qualification Will this be in the exam? Extrinsic motivation

12. Intrinsic motivation - a genuine interest in the subject How can it be achieved?

13. Graduateness in context: knowing where youre going, understanding the relevance of learning

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. Levels of Learning

18. Procedural Declarative Conditional Functioning WHAT? HOW? WHEN? PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE Aim to assess functioning knowledge Based on Biggs (2003), Fig. 3.1, Declarative/Functioning knowledge, p. 42

19. 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

20. Oral presentation of posters: How do you do it?

21. 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

22. 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.

23. 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)

24. 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.

25. Preparing the posters: show examples of posters in your discipline (eg links on Moodle) Use UCL advice on preparing academic posters http://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 http://www.ucl.ac.uk/lifesciences-faculty/degree- programmes/msc-surgical-science/practiceofsciencetimetable2008.pdf for an example of preparation AND http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/view.html/PrsDiscourseArticles/125 http://prs.heacademy.ac.uk/view.html/PrsDiscourseArticles/125

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

27. 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.

28. Session outcome 2 Plan the use of oral presentations of posters to promote student learning in their discipline.

29. 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?

30. 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

31. Thank you

32. 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