The students formed five teams, choosing a particular topic to study in depth. We spent two sessions lecturing and discussing training techniques and team building. Students then worked together to train the class on their particular subject, taking the entire class period. The presentations were done as a team. Each group had to reflect on what they wanted to accomplish through the presentation and how they would work as a team to achieve it. The class evaluated each training technique by providing feedback on the strengths and limitations of the training. Also, students wrote critical reflections of their training based on class evaluations and their own analysis, including how well the team worked together.
One way that I prepared them for their presentations was by talking about adult learning styles. For instance, I discussed that using only lecture was limiting, as some students learn better with experiential learning or others with discussion. My point was that they need to vary oral presentation styles in order to catch all types of learners. I think this discussion of learning styles was reflected in better presentations.
The group presentation did not introduce a new layer of scaffolding; instead, it incorporated the prior materials in a format that the students could use in their professional careers. They had to pick a topic that related to the ideas we had discussed throughout the semester, and the presentation had to include both cultural diversity and the topic. At the conclusion of their group presentation, each member had to write a detailed self reflection. It needed to include an account of their team process, an account of what that person learned by doing this project, a response to the peer feedback that they received and a plan for how that criticism would be incorporated in the revised final paper, and ideas for what they would do the next time they did a similar project.
Overall, I looked to see how they functioned as a team, how they presented their thoughts and ideas, and what type of presentation format they used. I intended for this process to provide students with the means to critically think about their presentations, something I didn’t think they had enough practice doing; they could think about ways to improve their own performance as well as comment on teamwork.| << Background | ^TOP^ | Student Performance >> |
