TPC 12 - Writing, Representing, and Speaking (Products and Presentations II)

This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

It is expected that students will:

speak effectively, adjusting for audience, purpose, and situation, to:
- inform
- persuade
- interact in formal and informal technical and professional situations
proficiently employ a variety of technologies to facilitate and enhance speaking, including telecommunications hardware and software
apply knowledge of cultural and social protocols to presentations

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Have the class brainstorm technical and professional situations in which the ability to speak effectively is an asset (e.g., problem solving, consensus building, climate building).
Invite students to present verbal proposals with supporting documents and visuals for one of the following:
- purchasing a car (present to parents and financial institution)
- establishing a new community park (present to city council, newspapers, public)
Ask students to determine success criteria, prepare supporting documents, outline the process, and complete the presentations. Discuss with the class the ethics of persuasive presentation.
Ask students to brainstorm topics related to technical and professional communications. Each day, have a student give a one-minute, planned talk on one of these topics. Videotape presentations.
Provide multiple opportunities for student public speaking (e.g., school staff meetings, public forums, school board meetings, using the school PA system).
Establish links with TPC 12 classes in other parts of the province and conduct exchange assignments using distance communications technology.
Divide the class into four groups. Ask each group to send the same message using a different technology, adapting it as required. Have students discuss:
- which was the most efficient means of conveying the message
- difficulties encountered in getting the message across in each mode
Set culturally varied purposes and audiences for students' technical and professional communications projects. (e.g., Have students prepare technical materials marketing Canadian log homes in Japan; Observe First Nations protocols in presenting a proposal to a band council on developing a recreation centre.)
Suggest that students work in groups to research interpersonal introductions in various cultures and then role-play examples. Ensure that students avoid stereotyping. Have groups review each other's presentations for cultural and gender sensitivity.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

To assess students' abilities to apply their oral communication skills in situations outside the classroom, negotiate a list of interactions that each student will participate in and document. Have students include in their documentation brief descriptions in words or pictures, lists of the skills or strategies demonstrated, and assessments of their effectiveness. Students could create visual representations to present in teacher-student conferences or make brief oral reports to the class. Situations might include:
- giving instructions; coaching or teaching someone
- career-related opportunities (e.g., interviews for jobs or volunteer positions; work experience activities)
- business interactions (e.g., placing orders, making inquiries or complaints)
- interactions using telecommunications hardware and software
- situations requiring the application of social or cultural protocols
- peer counselling, mediation, or conflict resolution
Provide students with criteria and rating systems for oral presentations. The criteria will change slightly depending upon purpose and situation; however, most effective oral presentations share these features:
- clearly spoken; easy to hear and understand
- key points clearly stated
- support for each key point logically developed through specific, relevant details, examples, and explanations (including visuals)
- focussed; all material, including visuals, relevant to key points
- conclude with concise, effective summaries of key points
- language appropriate to audience, purpose, and situation
In persuasive oral presentations, students should use strategies designed to appeal to the specific audience (e.g., analogy; definition of the issue in terms favourable to the speaker's position; appeal to experiences, interests, feelings of the audience).