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Communication is an important part of a 21st Century skill-set. Student communication of what they've learned can put the seal on an effective educational experience. The question I'm confronting right now is how to elicit comprehensive culminating presentations that are not cookie-cutter products of a list of presentation criteria or coverage questions. This has proven to be particularly difficult when the students are not used to managing or directing their own learning and are still looking for "the right answer" or are wanting to be told what to do. I have a highly involved project that the students have participated in throughout the school year. I want them to think critically and analytically about what they've done and what they've learned. I want them to include all of their project experiences across the year, not just the most recent investigation. I have a list of questions meant to open them to comprehensive thinking. But I fear that each question will become a PowerPoint slide title and I will end up watching dozens of nearly identical presentations. What structures or techniques do you use to help the students break away from the "follow the teacher's outline" presentation habit?

Great question! I have the same issues with my daughter, who is finally beginning to understand that she is the one in charge of her own projects, and needs to make each of them reflect her ideas - and she is in grad school! I did something like this a couple years ago with kids in middle school. Each group had a project, and it was up to the group to identify objectives at the beginning of the project, design the project, and then come up with a way to present the results to the class. The groups came up with their own set of questions and presentation methods. Some did a powerpoint, but others were way more creative, some doing simple demonstrations in class, others building models. It depended on the project - each was unique. The tricky part was getting the students to develop their own questions. We started out with objectives, based on standards. It took a significant amount of mentoring, but the results were truly unique. It helps if you have a second adult in the classroom to keep things moving along, because it was necessary to conference with each group at least once a week for a few minutes of undivided time. Ideally, the presentation should incorporate reflection on the project.

Thank you, Jennifer, That issue of facilitating the students' development of their own research questions is probably a topic for another post. That is SO challenging! I love to hear that you did it and would just eat up stories of the interactions between you and the students as they evolved their questions. Our current long-term project is ultimately leading to the students evolving their own questions and developing their own field studies. That will be their final investigation. They are likely to be very excited by and proud of (as they should be) this piece of independent, scientific work. Perhaps having the cooperative groups brainstorm their presentation objectives, given some larger and more generalized criteria, then injecting suggestions in order to ensure sufficient coverage of the whole project. That might be a way to align their presentations with their own thinking/ideas.

I think the key for me is not so much the material as it is allowing them to choose the presentation tool. There are so many wonderful Web 2.0 tools that allow students to use their imagination and creativity, I often wonder why I didn’t think of it sooner. One of the best presentations I ever had was when a really shy student, who normally never said anything, created a Claymation of cellular division. It was a hit with everyone, and made the student an instant hit with other students. From that point on, everyone wanted to be their partner.

Hi Mary Ann, Jennifer, and Sandy, I used to have a Wetlands project in seventh grade. I found that by creating several different product guides and rubrics, students then could choose what venue they would use to present their research questions and products. Here are some ideas for the product guides and rubrics: an interactive game, an informational website, a public info-commercial, set up a booth with posters, brochures, etc. I was always amazed by the creativity my students exhibited. Some of the games could have been marketed! Carolyn

Everyone's responses have really helped me think. This curriculum culmination is a collaborative effort. My colleagues and I have come up with this plan. We'll put the questions into a "hat" and have the students (working in their cooperative groups) draw the questions out one at a time and collaboratively answer them. This way the sequencing won't be pre-programmed. As the students come up with new ideas or questions, they should write them on a card and drop them into the hat so that their ideas become mingled with the programmed ones. Then, once all of the questions/ideas have been addressed, the group stands back and sequences their information in a way that they feel will help the listener understand and ultimately buy into their point or message. The goal is to balance student voice/choice with sufficient prompting to ensure critical and comprehensive thinking. What do you think?