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The author discusses a report on the value of having students evaluate their peer's presentations in the political science classroom. Being required to evaluate their peer's presentations using the same criteria as the instructor uses, students report a greater understanding of the expectations for the presentations and gain more knowledge from the content of those presentations than they would have otherwise.

The author argues for thinking of students as a vehicle for communicating core course content (not just the related material which is most often covered in student presentations). He has two reasons - student presenters do not have "expert blind spots", and peer-to-peer interaction has a differently engaging dynamic.

The author argues for thinking of students as a vehicle for communicating core course content (not just the related material which is most often covered in student presentations). He has two reasons - student presenters do not have "expert blind spots", and peer-to-peer interaction has a differently engaging dynamic.

We've got a faculty colleague working on this idea this semester. Presentations will become podcasts, and class time which used to be spent on presentations will now become a longer Q&A discussion of the topics. We're hoping this will mitigate some student issues with stage fright, and allow for better discussions since the students will have more time to prepare meaningful questions.

I have to admit I can't reliably tell "resting scholar face" from "I think you're an idiot face". This might be a valuable resource not only for your own presentations, but for you to share with students before you have them presenting in class.

Interesting advice from Kathy Sierra arguing that the point of a presentation is to do something for the audience, not for yourself. Might be a useful reading for getting some students (and faculty and staff?) past stage fright.

At the recent NITLE Symposium, Dan Cohen criticized the fact that the average academic conference is a "lean back" experience (i.e. sit back in your chair and let the information wash over you) as opposed to a "lean forward" experience (i.e. be on the edge of your chair, interacting with the speaker and other attendees). This post takes musician Bobby McFerrin as an example of a speaker who can get an audience to "lean forward." Given that McFerrin's specific decisions are most appropriate to the performing arts, what could we learn (and teach students) about the principles which this author draws out of his technique?

Bryan Alexander has an excellent, extensive list of terrific tips for public speaking. I particularly like the way he breaks down the stages of preparation and giving a talk. Might be a useful tip sheet for students - or as we enter summer conference season!

Here's a call for presentations for an upcoming Ohio conference on teaching and learning. If you're doing something exciting, why not write it up and share it?

I particularly like the way points 2 and 5 address the need to have students practice public speaking _before_ the end of the semester.

End-of-semester student presentations coming up? Might be worthwhile to share this with your students to help them prepare.

"A microlecture is a short recorded audio or video presentation on a single, tightly defined topic." ELI wraps up some of the important points to when considering this approach to a "blended" or "flipped" classroom.

One way students used storyboards to improve presentation posters.

A qualitative study on the ways students use print and ebooks differently for personal reading and academic work. While the researcher admits that the study is self-selected and not generalizable, it presents interesting evidence about student preferences and decision making in reading generally.

The Kindle and iBooks only scratch the surface of what's possible with an electronic book. This is an intriguing list of mobile apps which make more full use of the digital abilities to link and present resources. I'll personally recommend The Tempest and Poetry Foundation apps.

A report of a conference session in which a philosophy professor at John Carroll University presented her use of thought experiments as a signature pedagogy in her classes. (Also note the use of flipped classroom approaches to make the class time for the students to engage in the thought experiments.)

Interesting thoughts in this article (and in the comments section!) about how we present ourselves in the classroom. I was taken by the suggestion that trying on new teaching styles ought to require a serious reflection on what we're good at (or not yet good at) as teachers. Thoughts about the "teaching persona" over time, and across different classes, also seem important.

If you start your classes with a review of the previous class, remember that "the person who does the work does the learning." Maybe that's an opportunity for a low-stakes oral presentation!

A group of disabilities studies scholars have released a template letter designed to convince publishers to make more books available in accessible formats. It's a good reminder that everything is negotiable, but you have to ask. (Similar to author's addenda in the open access movement, if enough people start requesting these riders, publishers will see a new reason to change their standard practices.)

Barbara Fister tells the story of a first-year seminar studying Golden Gate Park which actually presented their early research in the park. Lots of neat ideas here as we consider teaching and learning with a sense of place.