1. HOW TO MAKE A MIDTERM PROJECT PRESENTATION IN YOUR SPARE TIME FOR FUN AND PROFIT

2.  Actually getting the data is the hard part.  Actually getting it into Excel is the other hard part.  It is hard enough that compensating the person who did it is fair.  Some people make turning the data into charts unnecessarily hard.  If this is you, get better help from Sanford. THE HARD PARTS

3.  I grade this presentation pretty casually.  It is pretty much a grade-pad, honestly.  Most people who get less than 100% tend to do so for going over the 5 minute time limit.  It is a 3 minute minimum.  Most people, however, struggle more with the 5 minute maximum. THE DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS

4.  Whether or not you use PowerPoint, there are things you can include in your study to reduce the amount of time needed to discuss actual data by quite a bit.  There are some you should include for sure.  They are practically mandatory.  There are others which are totally optional, but a good way to fill time.  Filling time is important because if you are just standing around and waiting for time to run out, this will be processed as being under time. A POUND OF PACKAGING

5.  Your presentation should contain some data.  Usually this is in the form of a chart, but you have other options.  PowerPoints are not required.  Posters or even displays of like 100 pairs of Kyler Duffin’s shoes are totally acceptable.  Although her last name is no longer Duffin.  Please avoid excessive amounts of glitter.  Here are some examples. A POUND OF PACKAGING

6.  You should mention what the general theme or focus of your study was.  You see, most of us have no idea what you surveyed or experimented about.  You should mention what grade levels of student that you focused your study on.  You should mention what methods you used for your study.  For most of you this means saying “we gave a survey” but for some of you, it means mentioning your experimental design method. MANDATORY PACKAGING

7.  Consider mentioning the following:  Why you were interested in the topic  Why you think others might be interested in the topic which you chose  What you expected to find before you did the study  A preview of interesting results…like foreshadowing or teasers.  Tasteful and relevant jokes which abide school policy. SUGGESTED PACKAGING

8.  Consider mentioning the following:  Things you might change about the wording if you did it over.  Other questions you are now interested in based on what you found out.  Particularly idiotic responses you got from others either in blooper reel format or just mention the really majestic ones as they come up.  Your personal suspicions as to what led to the patterns you saw.  Please note these are not “proven” by your study, but rather suggested by it at the most. SUGGESTED PACKAGING

9.  By the time you have introduced your topic, explained why you were interested, suggested why others might find it interesting, foreshadowed your results, possibly mentioning a few of the especially ridiculous answers, and mentioned what you expected to find…you can easily be over a minute into your presentation. SOME SIMPLE MATH

10.  If you leave time to explain why you think your results might be interesting to the audience or why you think they turned out the way they did, as well as changes or additional questions you would ask in the future, as well as a joke or two about how pointless some of the responses were, you could easily account for 2 minutes of presentation time. MORE SIMPLE MATH

11.  If you are not going to explain charts in much detail, leaving them up for about 15 seconds while you point out key features is still a suggested minimum.  People need time to absorb what they are seeing.  So, if you have more than charts, you risk going over time.  Having multiple charts side-by-side or fewer charts altogether might be the solution. MORE SIMPLE MATH

12.  The presentations will be delivered on the second full week of February.  You may make arrangements to present your project early.  If you have a partner (or are a partner) with a limited ability to be present, you should consider presenting early so you have maximum control over when you present.  When presentation week comes, there will be a list that you sign up on to present with only a limited number of openings. THE FINAL COUNTDOWN