Unit 13: Conclusions and Introductions with Provided Data

In the first week, we discuss what is expected and most effective to present in the final or “summary” portion of a presentation. Students are given several sets of data to chose from, make conclusions based on the experimental results and background contained in the data sets, and prepare and present the summary portion of a presentation based on the data. Classmates and instructors ask questions of the presenter to give practice answering questions, and also to reveal the illogical or unclear parts of the students’ conclusions. Instructors give advice on how to make the summaries more satisfying to a scientific audience.

In the second week we use the same set of provided data to prepare a presentation title and introduction portion. Now that students have finished the conclusions and summary portion of the presentation, they should have a clear idea of the preparation that the audience needs in the beginning and the proper direction to guide them. This is why we prepare the summary portion before the introduction portion. We focus on using the introduction as a tool to efficiently and comprehensively introduce the key question and not as a dumping ground for textbook-style background information. Students prepare the title and introduction slides and present them in class for peer and instructor critique and advice.