After sitting through another round of end-of-semester student presentations, my head was teeming with thoughts. Let me get this out there - I am NOT a fan of student presentations. They are monotonous, overused, and more often than not - completely boring. On top of that, and worst of all, while one student is attempting to stumble through a presentation, the other 20+ students are, at best, half listening, and definitely not learning or engaging in any meaningful way. After 3 days of student presentations, the sigh of students is almost palpable. Allow me to explain my reasoning and experience before you judge me on what I must have done wrong in preparing my students.
As my students were preparing for their Grade 10 English presentation in which they present their findings after 4 months of investigating on one of four universal themes (Love, Isolation, Journey of Self Discovery, and Freedom), I could hear grumblings of students talking about preparing and sitting through presentations for history, science, business - just about any course offered really. I get it, there are some big advantages to an end of course presentation. It usually hits multiple expectations, requires students to research and pull together lessons, materials, ideas from the course, and make multiple connections. Also, they're pretty easy to mark, as the teacher can judge the quality and be done in the time it takes to deliver the presentation.
But the benefits, in my experience, simply aren't worth it. Now of all curriculums, English is one of the most versatile and adaptable. The Ontario English curriculum consists of four strands: Oral Communication, Reading, Writing, and Media Literacy. Thus, a presentation in English can easily hit multiple expectations in all strands. Can any other curriculum say that? Yet, despite my many attempts to work on presentations, show examples, focus on voice, conference with students for their individual needs - I still find the end result a waste of time. Even with a great class, the majority of presentations were just a dry rehashing of my notes spoken in a timid, uninspired voice. My audience was bored, checking their phones under their desk, or just staring into space. And I don't blame them. The experience got me thinking - there's got to be a better way to spend our time. Why am I even doing this - what am I trying to accomplish? Does this curriculum even say the word presentation? Turns out, it does. Many of the examples and prompts suggested in the curriculum talk about presentations. But none of the actual expectations do. I challenge you teachers - be more creative, find a better way. Forcing your class to sit through 20+ presentations is not the most effective way to spend your time, and not the best way to meet the expectations. Ask yourself, what are you actually trying to accomplish? Is there a better, more effective way?
As my students were preparing for their Grade 10 English presentation in which they present their findings after 4 months of investigating on one of four universal themes (Love, Isolation, Journey of Self Discovery, and Freedom), I could hear grumblings of students talking about preparing and sitting through presentations for history, science, business - just about any course offered really. I get it, there are some big advantages to an end of course presentation. It usually hits multiple expectations, requires students to research and pull together lessons, materials, ideas from the course, and make multiple connections. Also, they're pretty easy to mark, as the teacher can judge the quality and be done in the time it takes to deliver the presentation.
But the benefits, in my experience, simply aren't worth it. Now of all curriculums, English is one of the most versatile and adaptable. The Ontario English curriculum consists of four strands: Oral Communication, Reading, Writing, and Media Literacy. Thus, a presentation in English can easily hit multiple expectations in all strands. Can any other curriculum say that? Yet, despite my many attempts to work on presentations, show examples, focus on voice, conference with students for their individual needs - I still find the end result a waste of time. Even with a great class, the majority of presentations were just a dry rehashing of my notes spoken in a timid, uninspired voice. My audience was bored, checking their phones under their desk, or just staring into space. And I don't blame them. The experience got me thinking - there's got to be a better way to spend our time. Why am I even doing this - what am I trying to accomplish? Does this curriculum even say the word presentation? Turns out, it does. Many of the examples and prompts suggested in the curriculum talk about presentations. But none of the actual expectations do. I challenge you teachers - be more creative, find a better way. Forcing your class to sit through 20+ presentations is not the most effective way to spend your time, and not the best way to meet the expectations. Ask yourself, what are you actually trying to accomplish? Is there a better, more effective way?
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