Notes on Student Presentations
From Simson Garfinkel
Notes for Students
Making a scientific presentation is a challenge for many students, so it is an important learning experience.
Goals
There are many goals in making a presentation on a scientific topic:
- First and foremost, you are seeking to present information that is technical. Make sure that your presentation has **sufficient technical depth**.
- If you are presenting about a specific discovery or advance, you need to **put the contribution in context**.
- You need to explain its **significance**, also called the **contribution** of the research.
References
Here are some excellent references for putting together a scientific presentation:
The best resource that I know of is the website and book of Michael Alley, who developed the assertion-evidence approach to scientific presentations and has a website, some videos, and a book that discusses the technique. He also has some templates that you can use:
- Website: http://www.craftofscientificpresentations.com
- Book: http://www.springer.com/us/book/9781441982780
- Presentations: http://writing.engr.psu.edu/courses/presentations.html
Other resources that you may find helpful:
- "How to give a dynamic scientific presentation", Elsevier.com, Marilynn Larkin, August 2015. (Marilynn Larkin is an award-winning science writer and editor who develops content for medical, scientific and consumer audiences.)
- Tips for giving a successful scientific presentation, Milka Kostic, January 2017 in Cell's Mentor column. (Milka Kostic is the former Senior Editor of Cell Chemical Biology and Structure. She left Cell Press in 2017.)
- Good article at the World Bank
- "Scientific presentations: A cheat sheet" Nature Jobs Blog, Andrew Gaudet and Laura Fonken, January 2017. (Andrew and Laura are postdocs at the University of Colorado, Boulder)
Notes for Faculty
What to present
- Have students give presentations early in the course: it helps to integrate the class.
- Have students present a paper
- Have students present final projects
The presentations
- Have students submit their slides at least 4 days before the presentation, so you can offer criticism with enough time for the students to improve them.
- Force students to turn in draft presentations by having a grade assigned for turning them in (1 point)
- Format really doesn't matter.
- Give students a time limit
- Enforce the time limit
