Free REU Workshop: 13 July 2023
Making a Research Presentation 
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        This 1-hour workshop teaches undergraduate researchers, such as in a summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, how to create an effective research presentation. In this workshop, you will first learn effective strategies for the structure, spoken words, and delivery of a research presentation.  Next, you will learn the assertion-evidence approach to create effective visual aids for such a presentation. As preparation for the workshop, you are to view 18 minutes of short films, which are listed below. Then, during the workshop, you will take a Kahoot to demonstrate your understanding of the principles taught in those films. After the workshop, your REU site director will receive verification that you participated in the workshop.
        This workshop on research presentations is taught by Professor Michael Alley from the College of Engineering at Penn State. The author of The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer, 2013), Alley has been teaching these type of workshops for more than 20 years.
Preparation Assignment for Workshop (18 minutes)

        Before the workshop, please spend 18 minutes viewing the four films below . The first film presents an excellent example of a 3-minute research presentation that targets a wide audience. From this model, much can be gleaned about the structure, spoken words, and delivery of a strong research presentation. The next three films discuss an approach that uses cognitive psychology principles to overcome the weak defaults of PowerPoint. This approach leads to presentations that not only are better understood by audiences but project more confidence from speakers. During the workshop, you will be tested on the content of these four films in a Kahoot.
Example scientific talk that that uses strategies effective for a research presentation. Notice how Dr. Ramsey begins with the familiar before moving to the new. Notice also how he uses an imaginative (but valid) analogy to explain his work. Finally, notice how he does not explain all details of his work--just those that the audience needs.

A high hurdle for scientific presenters is that PowerPoint's defaults are weak. This film discusses three weaknesses of those defaults and explains how those defaults prevent audiences from understanding the content given on the slides.

Assertion-Evidence Principle 1: Build your talk on messages, not topics.

Assertion-Evidence Principle 2: Support your messages with visual evidence, not bulleted lists.
Workshop Day and Times

The presentation workshop will be held on 13 July 2023 at the following times:
        12:00 p.m. (EST)        9:00 a.m. (PST)        Zoom # will be sent to registrants
          3:00 p.m. (EST)       12:00 p.m. (PST)       Zoom # will be sent to registrants
To receive a Zoom link for the workshop, please fill out the short registration form. If you are a REU Site Director, you can fill out a single form for all of your interested REU students. In such a case, you will receive the Zoom link and preparation assignment to distribute to your students.
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​Additional Resources on Research Presentations

​The following short films provide additional resources to help you make an excellent research presentation. 
Structure of a scientific presentation. Notice how Rachel Perini begins her talk in a memorable way that builds credibility, how Jess Spoll maps her talk in a memorable way, how Amel Awadelkarim uses images to keep her audience on track with her content, and how Rachel Perini provides closure.


Assertion-Evidence Principle 3: Explain your visual evidence by fashioning sentences on the spot, but only after planning and practice.

Using a template to create assertion-evidence slides. Templates can be found on this site.

Assumptions for the incorporation of a slide. One important assumption is to use slides only when they serve the presentation.

Four strategies for achieving projected confidence in a scientific presentation.

Model REU Presentation: Gabrielle Conard at NASA Langley. This talk is an excellent example not only of a REU project but also of a clear presentation about a complex topic.