Have formal Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) or Student Learning Outcomes (SLOS) been developed?
YES
Published where? (website)
Marine Science Catalog Page (both majors)
Do PLOs include or imply link to Core Competency? (AY 2021-2022: Oral Communication)?
Yes.
SLO14: Create and deliver an oral presentation appropriate for a scientific conference or symposium.
Process of Core Competency Assessment:
Course (300 or 400- level)
Marine Science: MARE 470 Senior Thesis
Marine Science: MARE 480 Senior Internship
Assignment
Both courses required students to deliver a 10-12 minute presentation on their work.
Type of Student Artifact
Research or Internship presentation
Rubric or other instrument
GE Rubric for Oral Communication
Data (measurement of the competency)
Three readers external to the department undertook evaluations of the student presentations. The following are comments made by evaluators:
MARE 470: Overall, the ten students who presented their thesis scored at or above competency with the exception of one student, who seemed to struggle with both the content and preparation (one evaluator noted the presentation was shorter than the required time). Of those scoring at competency, there were minor problems with speed of delivery (i.e. too rushed), the lack of careful follow-up or explanations of key concepts or images, transitions, too much text, lack of eye contact and other physical gesturing, volume, and choice of language (i.e.. “um” pauses”); however, this may be attributed to the DL platform as speaking via Zoom is certainly not the same as addressing a live audience. While face-to-face presentations allow students to rehearse and gauge the effectiveness of their aids in a physical setting, the online platform does not. As a result, some students did not seem aware that their visual enhancements (which sometimes contained a lot crowded text) actually detracted from their presentation for viewers tuning in via their computers. The DL planform also seemed to encourage students to “read off of their PowerPoints” as there is no one to physically address. Furthermore, as one evaluator noted, turning off the cameras of the audience created a situation where one may feel like one is “talking to a wall . . . . the lack of that with the camera off provides low energy for the presenter. It also means that the presenter has no means of adjusting to the audience, because they don’t know if they are connecting to the audience. Other technological things that affects presenting are the use of mics and the specs of the camera being used. To no fault of their own, the lower the quality of either of those the lower the reception of speech. The same can be said for the strength of the internet of the presenter and the audience members. Really, in my opinion, factoring in all of technical logistics, it makes the presenting experience so much more difficult.”
MARE 480: Overall, the Marine Science Internship students did well in their presentations of their work of the past academic year. Most seemed very enthusiastic about their subjects and their future in their chosen fields. Many conveyed that passion via the documentation of their work which is supporting very important scientific study and/or government/community outreach.
Oral presentations for students are often a challenge; DL delivery just exacerbates some of the issues that plague presenters. Apart from the usual problems—such as pacing, ensuring data and supporting information are clearly communicated, flow of ideas—DL delivery posed additional challenges. One noticeable problem is that when students are presenting via Zoom on computers, there is a tendency to read and forgo eye contact and bodily movements that help induce engagement. Some students did exceptionally well in using contrasting POV in their photos or integrating video to better enhance audience engagement—but some simply delivered a PowerPoint without really thinking about the online platform and how to best adapt it to their advantage.
One recommendation from the external evaluators is that the audience should keep their cameras on to give students a better sense of the audience. Without visual feedback from the faces of presenters, it’s very easy for presenters to feel like they’re talking to a wall and thus fall into a mechanical reading of their scripts. Keeping the audience online will also ensure everyone is participating and being courteous to their classmates. By turning off cameras, it allows for the less scrupulous student to disrupt the flow of presentations as was the case with number 9. However, this explains why the average for Delivery (last column) is skewered
Evaluator Tabular Data MARE 470
Evaluator Tabular Data MARE 480
Action Taken in Response to the Data (What will you do in response to the Findings?)
Instructor will incorporate more direct instruction and practice specifically on presenting in an online format in future semesters, which will be useful to students even once classes are able to return to live presentations.
The Marine Science Department will be also contacting the instructor who specializes in public speaking in the Communication Department to brainstorm instructional ideas for DL oral presentations.
Date of Last Program Review
2015 Self-study