Instructor's Page:
Online Class Period on Preparing an Assertion-Evidence Talk
​

Description of Class Period
This online class period introduces students to the assertion-evidence approach, which is an effective way to create presentation slides for a technical presentation. This class period targets students who are taking a technical course (such as engineering design) or a technical communication course. Ideally, this class period would precede a technical presentation that students give in the course. 
Objectives of Class Period
  1. Make students aware of the inherent weaknesses in using the defaults of PowerPoint for technical presentations.
  2. Have students understand the rationale behind the three principles of the assertion-evidence approach: (1) build your talk on messages; (2) support those messages with visual evidence; and (3) explain that evidence by fashioning sentences on the spot.
  3. Have students create a few assertion-evidence slides for an upcoming technical presentation.​
Online Class Period
Students are to do the following:
  1. Reading and Viewing: Read the two paragraphs and view the five short films on www.assertion-evidence.com.
  2. Quiz: Take comprehension quiz that is posted on an online platform such as Canvas or Blackboard.
  3. Exercise: From www.assertion-evidence.com/templates.html, download a PowerPoint template and create two to three assertion-evidence slides. Post these slides on the course's online platform (such as Canvas or Blackboard).
  4. Optional Critique: Use the course's online platform to critique what was strong and what could be stronger in the posted slides of another student. For that critique, use the following checklist.
References
  1. Alley, Michael (2013). The Craft of Scientific Presentations, 2nd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag.
  2. Nathans-Kelly, Traci, and Christine Nicometo (2015). Slide Rules: Design, Build, and Archive Presentations in the Engineering and Technical Fields, IEEE Press.
Credits
​
Sponsors
     Leonhard Center, College of Engineering, Penn State
​     National Science Foundation, NSF EAGER Award  1752096

​Content Editor
     Michael Alley, Teaching Professor, College of Engineering, Penn State

Film Editors
     Richelle Weiger, College of Engineering, Penn State
     Casey Fenton, College of Engineering, Penn State
Comprehension Quiz
Use the following questions to assist you in creating a comprehension quiz for the students: 
  1. Which of the following was not listed as a major effect of slides on a technical presentation?
    a) Comprehension of the content by the audience
    b) Delivery by the presenter
    c) Focus of the presentation
    d) References cited during the talk
  2. Which of the following was not identified by engineers and scientists as one of the biggest problems with slides?
    a) Lack of color—boring black and white scenes
    b) Too many words
    c) Too much clutter
    d) Type too small
  3. What did Sweller discover about how people learn when viewing text while a speaker is talking?            
    a) Audiences fall asleep if slides are in black and white.
    b) Bullet lists are processed more readily than graphics.
    c) Cognitive overload occurs if the presenter shows too many words.
    d) Dazzling animations lead to more comprehension.
  4. Which of the following is not true about PowerPoint’s defaults?             a) Defaults have not changed dramatically since their creation.
    b) Defaults are based on much research for how people learn.
    c) An entrepreneur and computer scientist designed the defaults.
    d) Defaults were created when it was difficult to include graphics.
  5. The following is not one of the key principles of the assertion-evidence approach to engineering presentation:
    a) Build your talk on messages.
    b) Support those messages with visual evidence.
    c) To explain the visual evidence, fashion sentences on the spot.
    ​d) Write a short topic phrase as the headline for each slide.
  6. True or False: A talk built on messages is more focused than a talk built on topics.
  7. True or False: Audiences learn more deeply from words and relevant images than words alone.
  8. True or False: A list of bulleted items is more memorable than those same items called out on a graphic.
  9. True or False: In an assertion-evidence talk, the speaker should memorize the words spoken.
  10. True or False: You should end your presentation with a slide that has only the word "Questions" (hint: watch a grad research talk).

Answers: 1(d); 2(a); 3(c); 4(b); 5(d); 6(T); 7(T); 8(F); 9(F); 10(F)
***