Discussion

Discussion   1. I have a class of 37 students and feel that is too time consuming to have each child present. How would you, a teacher librarian, respond to me? Aside from suggesting group or pair presentations, I would suggest shorter warm up presentations that are student generated to demonstrate how powerful and important student presentations can be (ie "5 things about me) and which would serve to highlight where students are currently at. To model the importance to teachers I would also try to encourage student presentations during assemblies or other classes etc. that would showcase good presentation skills, increased self-confidence and student ownership. For example I would work with volunteers to present book talks which would hopefully wow the audience (or specifically that classroom teacher). As it stands our school has tried to turn over any public speaking opportunity to student speakers. Many guests who come to school are amazed at the presentation skills of our students- whenever possible we get them to lead which has resulted in many proud parents, teachers and a waitlist of students eager to become student leaders during assembly. Above all I would address why the teacher feels that way- my guess is that they feel it takes up too much "instructional" time but hopefully after seeing some demo presentations they'll realize the necessity to devoting the necessary time to developing good presentation and audience skills. I find we often underestimate student ability and am constantly amazed at what kids can present when given the necessary time, opportunity and guidance. -Annabelle Thanks for the great ideas, Annabelle! I agree that modeling the importance of teaching presentations to teachers is essential and when they see the students presenting they will see the importance of devoting time to teaching these skills.

Thanks for the great presentation Danielle and for the useful rubrics and handouts! 1) My thoughts are also to do some smaller group presentations, maybe even half the class with the tl and the other half with the teacher. Another idea -- at my daughter's elementary school every year, they do a major project and then a group presentation/"expo" in the gym. All the students set up their presentations and invite parents, students staff to come, view and listen to their 'expert' opinions about their topics. It's a wonderful, authentic presenting opportunity for the students and they feel very empowered answering questions and demonstrating what they know. (This kind of set up also works well for the shy, quiet students as they're dealing with a smaller audience a little bit at a time). The teacher goes around and assesses the presentations throughout the day. I like Joanne's idea of taping the presentations and being able to view and mark them later. -Jan Peachey Hi Jan, I think smaller group presentations and opportunities to feel empowered are essential as well. I love your idea of an "expo" in the gym. It is much less threatening for students, and really gives them a chance to showcase their learning.

1. Great presentation, Danielle. It is a very in-depth look at this topic and lots of super ideas and resources! (now I know why 'teachingsharing' wasn't available in wikispaces ;o)) Regarding 37 students in a class (yikes), I would opt for group presentations, groups of 3 or 4, and limit the time for each presentation so that everyone had a chance to share something they'd learned on their topic. I can understand how each student making a 'full' presentation would require a lot of time, but eventually, it is important to have individual sharing as well. Another idea might be for students to have a visual presentation (poster, PowerPoint,iMovie, etc) and rather than make a full detailed presentation to the class, discuss some key points about the process and learning that they experienced....eg. What was one of the hardest things about this presentation/project and how did you overcome it? What was one of the best things about your presentation/project and why? Maybe one day for one period, 1/2 the class has a presentation fair and displays/shares their projects and the other 1/2 views and asks questions.....switch groups for the next day. - Laura

Hi Laura, Great ideas! You make a very important point that it is important for each student to have individual sharing, and teachers could look posters, powerpoint, imovie, etc, to discuss the key points of their learning. I also like the point that you make about 1/2 the class making presentations/displays to share their understandings and then to switch the next day. I think displays can be a pretty powerful way to communicate their understandings as well.

2. How do you deal with the student or students who have a very difficult time speaking in front of the group? Joanne's response: Terrific ideas and presentation Danielle. I enjoyed your comments and find it interesting that we need to teach students how to each of the aspects you have presented, no matter what level we teach. Sometimes, the teaching occurs as gentle reminders and review but sometimes even high school students need to learn abou developing positive feedback and audience. I agree that presentation skills are very important yet with 37 students, limiting. One thing that I have done in large classes is have groups such as no more than students per group. I have found that more than 4 means that frequently one student coasts a bit more than the others. Another strategy that I have tried with success is to arrange for students to present in stations on a rotating basis with each student needing to select 4 presentations on which to comment on and/or assess. This takes some planning to ensure that at least 3 or 4 groups are presenting at one time but it does speed up the process. It becomes like a mini-convention and students enjoy taking part. I always ask the groups to hand in a filmed version of their group presenting. I find that many of the students will find a fellow student or sibling do the filming so that I can mark all aspects of the presentation and if time permits, this filming can take place by peers assisting peers within the class. Regarding students who find it difficult speaking in front of the group: Usually a shy student or one who struggles with language will present if their fellow group members are also "onstage" at the same time. For individual presentations, I will allow students to present to me but they must bring along at least one or more friends to serve as an audience and they need to book a presentation time with me beforehand. I also tell the individual presenters that if they do not have an audience member, then I can't award as many marks in the communication skills areas of the rubric as I might if there is an audience. I also inform my students that they are allowed only one presentation of this nautre and then they need to demonstrate progress in this area. I don't know if this is common practice but I feel it is fair so long as all students are given this opportunity. Usually no more than a few students take me up on this in a semester so it doesn't get onorous. Just some thoughts. I enjoyed your presentation and expertise.

2) I would tread very lightly here and never force a student to have to make a presentation in front of a group. (I'm speaking on behalf of all people who dread public speaking!) It can have the opposite effect, really lowering confidence levels, if someone is told they must to do it. At the same time, I realize the importance of communicating and sharing new understandings in the inquiry process. Fortunately, with the advent of new technologies, there are other ways that students can present what they know to an authentic audience. An example is the Web 2.0 tool [|Voice Thread] where students can create a presentation, discuss it using a microphone to record their voice, then invite others to view, listen and leave comments. Best of all it's free and web-based so you can access it from anywhere. -Jan Peachey A year ago I would have agreed with Jan (and a part of me still does- I used to cry in elementary schools when forced to give public speeches) but then I witnessed something amazing. In one grade 3/4 classroom students were tremendously supported as some of them struggled to give presentations to their classmates. At first I totally disagreed but then watched every single student who struggled or was nervous overcome their anxiety and subsequently"take off" in terms of their presentation skills. It was very hard to watch but what was important was that feelings were recognized in the classroom and there was unconditional support from the staff but also from the students. A great deal of time was spent at the beginning of the year creating a safe and nuturing classroom community and what came out of that was that every student was respectful of their fellow classmates as they gave these presentations.

Once students overcame that first presentation they all got better and less nervous but what was really amazing to witness was the sense of pride and accomplishment they exhibited and the increased confidence they displayed in later presentations. The peer feedback was also genuine and supportive as well (something else the teachers spent a lot of time on). The increased confidence levels of all students in that class also transferred into the social realms as well. I am still blown away when I see the presentations of those students who one year ago barely spoke in class due to shyness or having English as a second language.

What helps: a recognition and discussion about feelings surrounding presentations. We all get nervous about it in some way (I share personal anecdotes) so getting that out in the open helps students and staff empathize with and support each other. Effective feedback, clear criteria (scaffolded appropriately). A solid classroom climate. Support and encouragement. Practice and opportunity for speaking. I wonder how this would work in the upper intermediate grades or in high school? -Annabelle

Jan and Annabelle: I think that even the smallest step of having the student stand up there, or in a group and share their learning is a great start. In Grade 1, I encourage everyone to try on their own, and they sometimes need me to stand with them. I always tell them to let me know when they are ready to do it on their own. After a few tries, they always tell me that they want to do it on their own! I wonder if voicethreads and other 2.0 tools would be used as part of the planning/creating phase when an audience is established??

2. All students need encouragement and support to speak in front of an audience. I like your impromptus as a way in to oral presentations. These can be adapted to grade level and the amount of information or time required to speak, starting as minimally as possible and working up to build confidence and expertise. It seems like it might be fun and game-like rather than a 'serious' presentation....like improvisation in drama. Group presentations can offer some security and moral support for the shy students, too. Everyone presents a part of their learning and no one has to 'do' it all. For those who absolutely can't do it, I like Jan's idea of VoiceThread, or some similar method where students could record their 'speech' in a more comfortable setting. But this could only be a stepping stone to speaking in front of an audience, not a crutch. As Annabelle pointed out, once students get past the first couple of times, they get better and better. Of course any of this has to happen with lots of encouragement and support from the teacher AND the other students! -Laura

Laura- yes,I agree with you that the teacher needs to make sure the classroom climate is conducive to speaking in front of an audience. Like you pointed out, the teacher and the students need to be supportive of all students. I also like that you mentioned voicethreads to be a stepping stone. What other stepping stones have you used?

Annabelle: I've also witnessed some amazing transformations with elementary students speaking publically who were taking part in a program called "Power Speak". They were supported and given positive feedback in a warm, caring nurturing environment. Their confidence levels soared as well. I'd also be really interested to see how something like this would work at a middle school/high school level where confidence levels and peer support/interactions can change dramatically. Has anyone done it at this level? I guess my point is that I agree, certainly, we need to support and encourage students to speak in front of an audience but that we shouldn't take marks away if someone doesn't want to present this way. -Jan

I haven't heard of Power Speak, but you commented that the students were "supported and given positive feedback in a warm, caring nurturing environment." I think that is key for students, in all areas.

OH, I agree when you say "that we shouldn't take marks away if someone doesn't want to present this way." I do think that when students present and share, even with their peers in groups, they need to be set up for success, by learning the different skills associated with sharing. Would you agree

Yes, definately! If anyone is interested, I've included a link re: [|Power Speak]. The program was developed by a teacher in our district to teach oral language skills. At our school currently, we have a district resource teacher teaching the program to each class.

Thanks for the link to Power Speak- I'll be passing along the link to my colleagues at work as well! -Annabelle

