Microbial Diversity Presentation Guidelines

BIOL 2041
Microbial Diversity Presentation Guidelines

You must work in a team of 4-6 persons (No more, no less without prior instructor approval). Groups may be self-formed, or the instructor can assign you to a group. See the Microbial Diversity Presentation Discussion area to recruit group members or for instructions on how to be assigned to a group.

Each group must select a topic that their presentation will cover, and the topic must be posted to the Microbial Diversity Presentation Discussion by the discussion deadline. Topics must be approved by the instructor but may be on any microbial organism or process that relates to this course (you may use organisms or topic areas that have been covered in the class, but only if you can substantially add new information about the topic). Each topic must be unique. To claim a topic, start a new post in the “Microbial Diversity Presentation Discussion” discussion area (only one post per group). This post must have your proposed subject at the top of a new post and the text should include the name of all team members. The instructor will reply as to whether the topic is approved or not.

Your presentation must be created electronically in either Microsoft PowerPoint format with narration (entire presentation must autoplay upon opening) or in a video format that can be played on Windows Media Player (Prezi links are also acceptable) and uploaded to the class Canvas assignment tool no later than 11:59 pm on the presentation due date.

Your presentation must have a learning goal stated as “Students will be able to ….” (this learning goal should be something that can be assessed on an exam). Limit yourself to 1-3 learning goals.

Presentations should be at least 3 minutes long, but no longer than 5 minutes.

All presentations should include:
A title slide with the topic identified and a list of the names of all group members
A clearly identified learning goal
A brief history of the topic (if applicable)
The genus name(s) of relevant organisms (species names when appropriate)
The importance of the topic
How it “works” or does what it does (this will vary depending on topic chosen)
Other relevant information should also be included, but remember to stay focused and provide a coherent presentation of the topic rather than simply a litany of facts.

Your last slide should contain any references you used. You should have a minimum of 2 references. Please note that only the following types of references are acceptable:
Textbooks
Scientific research articles or review articles
Websites from scientific organizations (museums, government agencies, etc.)

The project should be narrated with sound that automatically plays when the presentation is started. Narration may be done by one individual or divided up among the group members.

All partners should contribute equally to the creation of the project. If you feel your partners have not participated equally, e-mail the instructor. All group members will receive the same grade for the presentation unless there are extenuating circumstances.

Once the final project file is complete, each student must upload the same file individually to the assignment on Canvas.

Each student will be responsible for viewing and commenting on one other group’s presentation (Peer Review). Comments should focus on what you learned from their presentation and constructive comments for improving the presentation. To receive credit for the peer review, it must be completed by the due date noted in the syllabus. No points will be given for late peer reviews. [Note: Peer review assignment will be randomly assigned on Canvas and should be available by the morning after the due date for the presentation. In the unlikely event you are assigned to peer review the submission of a student in your same presentation group, contact the instructor for reassignment of the peer review.] You can access the Peer Review after the presentation due date by going to the Microbial Diversity Presentation assignment page. A peer review link will appear once review assignments have been made (on the upper-right corner of the page).

This presentation (15 points) along with the required peer review of another group’s presentation (5 points) will be worth 20 total points toward the course grade.

Presentation Grading Rubric

Presenters:
Topic:
Section Points per section Points earned
Learning Goal NA 0 1 1.5 2 3
Introduction to topic NA 0 1 1.5 2 3
Organisms/Importance NA 0 1 1.5 2 3
Explanation of mechanisms NA 0 1 1.5 2 3
References NA 0 1 1.5 2 3
Totals
Grade = Points earned (out of 15 possible)
Points may also be deducted if guidelines are not followed, including:
-3 if longer than 5 and half minutes or shorter than 3 minutes.
-5 if the project does not run to completion (start to finish). You should only have to start the file, not click through page by page or item by item.
-5 if not narrated.

Presentation Ranking system:
NA = not relevant to this topic
0 = not present and should have been included
1 = minimum level of detail
1.5 = average level of detail
2 = very good level of detail
3 = exceptionally well done

Grading of Peer Review Submission

+1 point = Student submits peer review.
+2 points = Student indicates something that they learned from the presentation.
+2 points = Student provides positive, constructive feedback about the presentation.
Total Points Possible: 5 points