DEVELOPING

PRESENTATION SKILLS

Kimberly Spring 2018 Sterne

EDET 603 Designing Instruction Project
 Author
Kimberly Sterne—Adjunct Professor of Computer Science
Email: sternebunch@gmail.com
Kimberly teaches introductory computer science courses at both Avila University
and Longview Community College in the Kansas City metropolitan area. She
received a bachelor’s degree in business education and a master’s degree in
curriculum and instruction both from the University of Central Missouri. She is
finishing up her doctorate in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in
educational technology from the University of South Carolina.

Podcast Episodes
Four podcasts are used in this lesson plan. They are described and
linked below.

 Steal the Show—Episode 24—How Do I Avoid Filler Words (Uh, Right?, So,
etc.) During a Presentation
Answer to a common public speaking question: “How can I stop my
habits of using filler words?”
This episode explains why people use filler words and how to avoid them
during your speech or presentation.

 Steal the Show—Episode 26—3 Techniques for Keeping Audiences on the

Edge of Their Seats
What makes some performance fly high and others fall flat? You will learn
3 techniques for creating compelling content and keeping audiences on
the edge of their seats.

 Steal the Show—Episode 42—The 3 Public Speaking Habits that Turn

Audiences Off
Sometimes it’s the simple things that negatively impact your performance.
Learn how to avoid the 3 public speaking habits that turn audiences off.

 Steal the Show—Episode 49—How to Stop Sweating, Shaking, and

Breaking Out in Hives
What should you do when you get really nervous? How to stop sweating,
turning red, shaking… What works and what doesn’t?

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 Ideas discussed: Should you imagine there are only friends and family in
the audience? Should you take deeper breath? Should you drink ice
water? How about drinking less caffeine?

Target Audience
Level
Undergraduate Students

Population Characteristics
The target audience for this lesson plan are students who will give a presentation
to their peers as part of a culminating project in an introductory computer
science course. The target audience are undergrads from a variety of degree
programs and are taking the course to fulfill a technology requirement. The
institution serves over 1,200 undergraduate students. The ethnic makeup of the
institution is as follows: 57.8% White, 20.4% Black, 6.7% Hispanic, 3.5% Multiracial,
and 1.7% Asian. Just over 9% of the students enrolled at the institution are
international students, primarily from the Middle East.

Problem
A presentation on an ethical dilemma in technology is the final project in my
introductory computer science course. By the end of the semester students
have developed proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint 2016, which is one of the
course outcomes. As students in the past have given their final presentations, it
has become apparent that many are lacking effective presentation skills.
Common mistakes students make include reading from their PowerPoint slides,
avoiding eye contact with the audience, forgetting what they want to say, and
using filler words (eh, um, like).

Presentation skills are valuable to all college graduates as they enter the
workplace. The National Association of Colleges and Employers (2017b)
reported that oral and written communication skills were considered essential
skills for college graduates; however, recent data showed that college
graduates were only somewhat proficient in this skill. This lesson plan is designed
to introduce students to effective presentation skills prior to their project
presentations during class. Hopefully the presentation skills developed in this
small portion of our class will translate into better communication skills as
students take other coursework and later enter the workplace.

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 Objectives
1. Present ideas clearly to others using a slideshow presentation.
2. Speak audibly during a presentation using clear articulation while
varying volume, pitch, and pace to engage the audience.
3. Maintain consistent eye contact with various members of the
audience.
4. Use gestures and movement to engage the audience, without
body language or mannerisms that are distracting.

Connection to Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly

Standards
The National Association of Colleges and
Employers views career readiness as a major
issue in higher education today. They have
developed competencies for career
readiness for college graduates, which can
be found here. One competency relates to
oral and written communication skills, which
is the standard that is addressed in this
lesson plan.
and effectively in written and oral
forms to persons inside and outside of
the organization. The individual has
public speaking skills; is able to express
ideas to others; and can write/edit
memos, letters, and complex
technical reports clearly and
effectively.
Communication Competency
(NACE, 2017)

Details of Plan
Background
This lesson would fall toward the end of the 16-week semester after
work had begun on a culminating project on an ethical dilemma in technology.
Students will use a peer review process to get feedback on their content for the
presentation, as well as their overall slide design in PowerPoint. This lesson plan
will begin at the end of the class period in which students peer review their
PowerPoint presentations. At this point in the project, they have researched,
organized content, and prepared their presentation. They are now gearing up
to actually present this to the class.

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Class Period 1
The first portion of this class period students will peer review their presentations
created in PowerPoint. During the last 15 minutes of the class, the teacher will
redirect the class to think about the skills required to deliver their presentation to
the class.

1. Review of the Presentation Project Rubric

Students will have already received the complete project directions
and rubrics associated with various project components, but I will
redirect their attention to the specific portion of the presentation
rubric that pertains to their presentation skills. See the rubric in
Appendix A.
2. Worst Presentation Ever Example
a. View the video Worst Presentation Ever as a class
b. Questioning of Students
i. What made the presentation in the video the worst ever?
ii. Were the audience members engaged in the presentation?
How did you know?
3. Our Goal
a. Highlight the point that we want our class presentations to be as
engaging as possible.
b. Discuss the objectives for presentation skills:
 Present ideas clearly to others using a slideshow presentation.
 Speak audibly during a presentation using clear articulation
while varying volume, pitch, and pace to engage the
audience.
 Maintain consistent eye contact with various members of the
audience.
 Use gestures and movement to engage the audience,
without body language or mannerisms that are distracting.
4. Introduce Students to Resources
a. Each student will be given a number between 1 and 4. This number
will correspond to a specific podcast.
b. I will direct students to the page on Canvas (our learning
management system) where each podcast has been linked.

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 #1—Steal the Show—Episode 24—How Do I Avoid Filler Words
(Uh, Right?, So, etc.) During a Presentation
#2—Steal the Show—Episode 26—3 Techniques for Keeping
Audiences on the Edge of Their Seats
#3—Steal the Show—Episode 42—The 3 Public Speaking
Habits that Turn Audiences Off
#4—Steal the Show—Episode 49—How to Stop Sweating,
Shaking, and Breaking Out in Hives
c. Each student will be asked to listen to their assigned podcast prior
to our next class. Each should be prepared to share the main points
from their assigned podcast that are most beneficial for preparing
for the upcoming presentations in our class.

Class Period 2
This part of the lesson plan will not require an entire class period. The remainder
of the class period following this portion of the lesson will be used to continue to
tweak their presentation and/or seek advice from the instructor.

1. Small Group Discussion

a. Students will form discussion groups with four students per group.
Each group will have one expert on each of the four podcasts
assigned.
b. Students will be asked to share the main ideas and tips from their
assigned podcast with their group.
2. Whole Group Discussion
a. Once all students have had time to share, the entire class will come
back together to discuss the overall best tips from the podcasts. The
best tips will be compiled on the Smart Board and then saved on
Canvas as a resource.
3. Spot the Presentation Mistakes
a. The class will now view the first four minutes of the video Delivering a
Bad Presentation – Spot the Mistakes. Students will be asked to think
about what the presenter is doing poorly.
b. After the video, the class will discuss the mistakes spotted in the
video.
c. Students will then watch the final 50 seconds of the video which lists
the specific mistakes the presenter made.

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 4. Final Resource
a. Students will be provided a link on Canvas to a video titled Become
a Better Speaker: 9 Essential Public Speaking Tips. This video will be
an additional resource for students who need more guidance on
giving an effective presentation.

Assessment and Evaluation of Learners

In-Class Activities
Students will be expected to participate in the small and whole group
discussions in class. The instructor will walk from one small group to the next
during the small group discussion portion of the lesson to make sure each
student is participating. During the whole group discussion, students who are not
actively participating may be asked questions in order to draw them into the
conversation.

Presentations
Students will be formerly evaluated on their presentation skills during the class
period in which they actually present their final presentation. The rubric in
Appendix A will be used to assess student performance.

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References
The National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2017). Career readiness for
the new college graduate: A definition and competencies. Retrieved
from
http://www.naceweb.org/uploadedfiles/pages/knowledge/articles/care
er-readiness-fact-sheet.pdf

The National Association of Colleges and Employers. (2017b). Employers rate

career competencies, new hire proficiency. Retrieved from
http://www.naceweb.org/career-readiness/competencies/employers-
rate-career-competencies-new-hire-proficiency/

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Appendix A
PRESENTATION Scoring Rubric
Performance Assessment
Performance Proficiency Levels

Weight
Criteria 0 1 2 3

Overall No Unclear description Somewhat clear Clear explanation of the 3

explanation of explanation of the issue at hand explanation of the issue technology issue at hand
issue of the issue at hand
at hand.

Connection of No Somewhat identifies Identifies how the Clearly identifies how the 7
ethical connection how the ethical ethical dilemma relates ethical dilemma relates to
dilemma to of how this dilemma relates to to society today using society today using
ethical society today, but accurate technological accurate technological
society today
dilemma the presentation terminology and facts, terminology and facts.
and use of
connects contains inaccurate but the presentation is
technology to society information or unclear and
terms today. misconceptions. disorganized.
Decision No possible Followed the Followed the decision Followed the decision 7
making skills solutions decision making making process to making process to develop
and possible presented. process; however, develop at least 1 at least 2 reasonable
the possible reasonable solution to solutions to this ethical
solutions
solution(s) is/are not this ethical dilemma dilemma
reasonable
Slideshow No Slideshow has at Slideshow has at least 5 Slideshow has the following 7
Design slideshow least 3 required of the required elements:
OR elements. elements.  At least 5 slides
2 or fewer  No sentences
elements  Appealing design
included.  Text easy to read
 Appropriate images
 Transitions
 Bullets animated to
come in one by one

Use of valid and No valid Presentation utilizes 1 Presentation utilizes 2 Presentation utilizes at least 4
reliable sources and valid and reliable valid and reliable 3 valid and reliable sources
to support ideas reliable source to support sources to support to support ideas. Sources
sources are ideas. Source is cited ideas. Sources are cited are cited both internally
used. both internally and both internally and at and at the end of the
at the end of the the end of the slideshow on a Works Cited
slideshow on a Works slideshow on a Works slide.
Cited slide. Cited slide. No flaws in MLA formatting
Major flaws found in Minor flaws found in of citations.
MLA formatting of MLA formatting of
citations. citations.

Continues on the Next Page

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Performance Proficiency Levels

Weight
Criteria 0 1 2 3

Presentation Presenter Presenter has at least Presenter has at least 5 Must have all elements 5
Skills has fewer 4 of the required of the required below:
than 4 of elements. elements.  Clear articulation
the  Varying volume, pitch,
required and pace
elements.  Eye contact maintained
with various members of
audience
 Appropriate gestures
and movement
 Little to no distracting
mannerisms or filler
words (uh, um)
 Presentation feels
organized and
rehearsed