SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER
AUGMENTATION PROJECT 2002
KEY (PERSONAL TRANSFERABLE) SKILLS

Contents Page

Aims of the workshops 2

Workshop assessment criteria 2
Portfolio assessment criteria 3
Reflective essay: guidelines 3
Learning Log 3

Workshop programme: workshops 1 and 2 4

workshops 3 and 4 5
workshops 5, 6 and 7 6

Tips for giving an oral presentation 7

Dealing with questions 8
Tips for giving a poster presentation 9
Guidelines for giving and receiving feedback 10
Group presentation feedback form 11
Individual oral presentations: Tutor assessment criteria and feedback sheet 12
Poster presentations: Assessment criteria and feedback sheet 13
Self and peer assessment of presentation skills 14
Self and peer assessment of team skills 15
School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Timetable

Workshops will be held from 2 - 5 p.m. on Thursday afternoons commencing 31st January 2002.

AIMS OF THE
The deadline WORKSHOPS
for submission of portfolios is 5 p.m. on Friday 26th April 2002.

General aim: The aim of these workshops is to help you to develop some of the ‘key’ skills that are essential
for you to reach your full potential in all aspects of your life, from your academic career to employment and
interpersonal relationships.



 
• develop oral and written communication skills
• develop organisational skills
• become self-reflective
• acquire skills of self- and peer-assessment
• develop the ability to work productively in groups.
• develop collaborative learning skills
• develop understanding of concepts that underpin social psychology

By the end of the workshops you will be able to:

• design and deliver oral and poster presentations competently and confidently
• work productively in a group
• constructively self and peer assess
• understand how to evaluate academic articles
• understand some principles involved in designing research

WORKSHOP ASSESSMENT
Attendance at each workshop is a course requirement. Assessment of your performance will be based on the
submission of a complete portfolio and on two assessed workshop tasks. Portfolios should be submitted to
the school office by 5 p.m. on Friday 26th April 2002. The usual late penalty system will operate if
portfolios are submitted after this deadline.

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• reflective essay (between 1500 and 2500 words)
• 5 self/peer-assessment forms - one from each Workshop (not Workshops 3 and 6).
• 4 presentation feedback forms - Workshops 1, 2, 5 and 7.

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• An abstract of your research design.
• A summary of how your group organised the tasks and any problems encountered.
• Copies of materials used for your group presentations (e.g., overheads).
• Summary of the strengths and weaknesses of your poster.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

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• An abstract of the presentation.
• A brief summary of how you organised the task and of any problems encountered.
• Copies of materials used for your presentation (e.g., overheads).

PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT CRITERIA*

Mark allocation
Reflective Essay 50%
Group Poster Presentation 15%
Group Oral Presentation 15%
Individual Presentation 20%

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REFLECTIVE ESSAY GUIDELINES

The essay should be process orientated rather than task orientated. In other words, it should describe
and evaluate how and what you have learnt, rather than simply describing what was done during the
workshops. Reflect upon your experiences during the workshops, use your learning log, self
assessment schedules and peer feedback to guide you. Whatever else you include in your essay you
must address the areas outlined below.

1. Demonstrate and evaluate the learning process.

2. Evaluate how these workshops have helped you to:

• develop your presentation skills

• develop your ability to work effectively as a team member
• assess your own contributions and those of your colleagues (self- assessment and peer-
assessment)
• develop your ability to construct and evaluate psychological research

3. Consider how you may apply these skills in your future career.

A detailed guide to reflective writing can be downloaded from:

http://www.ex.ac.uk/sdu/weamcontents.htm This guide is aimed at students taking the Independent
Work Experience Module but contains a lot of useful and relevant information, exercises and examples.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

LEARNING LOG
During the workshops you will experience and learn a lot of things. To help you to structure these
experiences you are strongly advised to keep a learning log. A log is your record of what you have
doing, thinking and feeling throughout the series of workshops. Keeping a log will enable you to reflect
on your workshop experiences and to develop action plans targeted at those areas that require
improvement. Start your log after the first workshop and add to it each week. Keeping a log is for
your own benefit. It will help you to make the most of your experiences and will greatly assist
you when writing your reflective essay.

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

Workshop 1
Ice breaker: Spend five minutes thinking about your own presentation style, either in relation to
presentations you have made or based on presentations you have seen. Identify your strengths and
weaknesses related to presentations. Each participant will introduce themselves and summarise their
strengths and weaknesses. Be realistic, but don’t be apologetic either!

Task: Individual three minute presentations using flip chart (one sheet each). Thirty minutes to prepare
presentation on any topic (eg, hobbies, travel, managing money, surviving halls, using the world wide
web, music, films, books, current affairs, etc).

Aims: To give experience of presenting, to assess initial presentation skills, practise self and peer
assessment and to learn from assessment (strengths, weaknesses, targets for improvement etc).

Presentations and Feedback: Each individual presents to group. Presentations will be followed by a
brief question period and you will then be asked to give a self-assessment before being given peer and
tutor feedback. Feedback should focus on the structure and style of the presentation, not on the choice
of topic. A balance of positive and negative feedback should be offered: overall, it must be constructive.
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1. In groups formally assess each member’s presentation using the presentation feedback forms and the
peer/tutor feedback to guide you. Get a team member to complete a presentation feedback form for you,
according to group consensus and include this in your portfolio.
2. Spend five minutes reassessing your own strengths and weaknesses in the light of experience and
feedback. Discuss this reassessment with your workshop group. Complete the relevant sections of the
peer/self-assessment form and include this in your portfolio.

Workshops 2, 3, 4 and 5
Workshops 2, 3, 4 and 5 are structured around three general areas of social psychology. Each group will
be allocated to one of these areas and provided with a relevant article.

Workshop 2
Group Task: Your group has one and a half hours to prepare a ten minute presentation based on an
article resume. The resume must include: 1. Background; 2. Hypotheses and Method; 3. Analyses and
Results; 4. Discussion points and 5. Evaluation. Five acetates per group will be provided.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Presentations and Feedback: Presentations will be followed by questions. Groups will briefly assess
n own presentation before being offered peer/tutor feedback.
their
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1. In groups formally assess your presentation using the presentation feedback forms and the peer/tutor
feedback to guide you . Complete the presentation feedback forms according to the group consensus -
include this in your portfolio.

2. In groups, discuss and evaluate each member’s contribution to the presentation and their productivity
as a team member. It is important that groups offer each member at least one positive and one negative
piece of feedback. Use this feedback to fill in your own peer/self-assessment form - include this in your
portfolio.

Workshop 3
Group Task: Your task is to formulate a research proposal developed from the article you worked with
during workshop two. The proposal will form the basis of a poster presentation to be given in workshop
four and a ten minute oral presentation to be given in workshop five. These presentations will be
assessed and the group mark will form part of your overall mark for this course. All materials will be
provided.

This session will be spent planning a proposal and preparing posters. Each poster should be word
processed and consist of 6 - 8 A4 pages mounted on card. Use all resources and materials you deem
appropriate, these may include the library, your tutor and your peers. Posters will be displayed in room
219 next week. At the end of this session your poster should be ready for mounting and
presentation.

Research Design: The introduction to your proposal must clearly lead into your research question.
Hypotheses should be clearly stated. When designing your project consider the availability of
subjects,the general practicability of the design and appropriate methods of analysis. Budget restrictions
need to be considered. We are not looking for research that could only be carried out in an ‘ideal world’
but research that is realistic and useful in the ‘real world’.

Workshop 4
Poster Presentations: The first 30 minutes of this session will be spent mounting and hanging posters.
Each group will be allocated a space for hanging their poster. Workshop groups will be required to
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assess and rank other groups’ posters. Tutors will offer feedback.
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1. In groups formally assess your poster presentation using the poster assessment guidelines and the
peer/tutor feedback to guide you. Write a short summary of the strengths and weaknesses of your
poster and include this in your portfolio.

2. Discuss and evaluate each team member’s contribution to the poster presentation and their
productivity as a team member. Groups must offer each member at least one positive and one
negative piece of feedback. Use this feedback to fill in your own peer/self-assessment form - include
this in your portfolio.

3. Spend a few minutes outlining how the group organised the task, the roles team members took and
any problems encountered. Write a short summary of this and include it in your portfolio.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Workshop 5
Group Task: Your task is to give a ten minute oral presentation of the research project designed in
Workshop 3. This presentation will be assessed and the group mark will form part of your overall mark
for this course. Each group will be provided with 5 acetates.

Presentations and Feedback: The first hour is to be spent finalising and practising your presentations.
Presentations will be followed by questions. Groups will be asked to briefly assess their own
presentation before being offered peer/tutor feedback. As usual a balance of positive and negative
feedback should be offered: overall, it must be constructive.
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1. In groups formally assess your presentation using the presentation feedback forms and the peer/tutor
feedback to guide you. Complete the presentation feedback forms according to the group consensus -
include this in your portfolio.
2. Discuss and evaluate each team member’s contribution to the presentation and their productivity as a
team member. Groups must offer each member at least one positive and one negative piece of
feedback. Use this feedback to fill in your own peer/self-assessment form - include this in your portfolio.
3. Spend a few minutes outlining how the group organised this task, the way the task was divided up, the
roles team members took and any problems encountered. Be prepared to talk about this to the rest of
the workshop.

The team work component of this practical series is now complete. Workshops 6 and 7 will focus
on individual presentations.

Workshop 6
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Workshop 6 will be used for preparation of individual talks. Please
bring all the information and materials that you need for structuring your talk and be sure that your
workshop tutor has approved the topic area.
Task: Preparation for ten minute individual assessed talks to be given in workshop 7. Your talk will
focus on any area of psychology that interests you and that your tutor has approved. You have one hour
to prepare a brief overview (one sheet of A4) of your proposed talk. During the final hour you may use
your workshop group and tutor as a resource - show them your outline, check your ideas with them, get
some tips! Pens and transparencies (5 per person) will be provided. If you are ready you may start
making your transparencies during the last hour of the workshops.

Note: You are not expected to complete the preparation for your presentation during this session rather,
you should finish preparing and practising your presentation during the coming week. There will be no
time for practice next week, come prepared to present.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Workshop 7
Task: Ten minute individual presentations of a prepared talk, using overhead projector and five
overheads.
Presentations and Feedback: Presentations will be followed by a brief question period. Presenters will
then be asked to give a self-assessment before being given peer and tutor feedback. In this instance
the previous presenter will be expected to give feedback and to complete a presentation feedback form.
Complete a self-assessment form and put in your portfolio.
Workshop Feedback session: Complete workshop evaluation questionnaires.Nominate group
speaker and construct feedback for whole workshop. Reconvene in 219 for feedback and trouble
shooting session.

TIPS FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Preparation

• Preparation: we cannot over emphasise the importance of preparation.

• Know your audience and adopt an appropriate style.
• Clarify the aims and objectives of the presentation.
• Narrow your topic down and concentrate on communicating a few main points. Remember ‘too little,
rather than too much’.
• Structure your talk: establish three clear areas; introduction, body of work, conclusion. The
introduction should set out a clear framework for the talk and the conclusion should summarise the
main points made in the body of the talk. Put simply, say what your are going to say (introduction),
say it (body of talk) and then say what you have said (conclusion).
• Keep your language as simple as possible and when necessary define key words/terms.
• Visual aids should illustrate the main points that you are making and act as a prompt to you. Do not
put too much information on an overhead. Use a large font size (14-point plus). Use graphs and
diagrams to highlight key points.
• Be aware of non-verbal communication: eg, don’t fidget, do make eye contact with your audience.
• Practise the presentation and then practise again. Time it, make sure you do not run over time.

Presenting

• Do not read out a prepared speech word for word from a script. Use cue cards to prompt you, for
example, or use your overhead transparencies as prompts..
• Talk SLOWLY and enunciate clearly. Project your voice to the back of the room. Vary your
intonation to maintain interest.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

• Establish some eye contact - look in a relaxed way at individual members of the audience or simply
scan the audience.
• Dealing with nerves: slow, deep breathing can be of enormous benefit in helping with nerves.
Breathe in through your nose while counting to five, hold for a count of five and then breathe out
through your mouth for a count of five. Repeat several times.
• Inviting audience participation improves rapport and keeps the audience interested.

Dealing with questions

• Always allow time for questions at the end.

• Be visibly confident when giving your answers. If you do not know the answer to a question, it is
better to be honest than to stumble though a waffled answer. At the very least, turn the question
back on the questioner and ask them to clarify exactly what they mean before deciding whether to
be honest.
• Make sure you listen to the question. If you are nervous you may find you have missed it. If you
have missed the question, use the same trick as for the previous point and ask for clarification.
• Stay calm if a questioner takes issue with what you have said. Try and find a way of agreeing with
part of their argument before either restating your position or modifying it to take account of their
objection. Make use of phrases such as: “I’m glad you raised that point, but...”, “Yes, I understand
what your are saying, but...”.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

TIPS FOR POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Adapted from Steven M. Block: http://www.molbio.princeton.edu/block/poster.html

Poster Layout and Format

Don’t:
• make your poster up on just one or two large boards. These are difficult to carry around,
often don’t fit well into provided poster space and do not lend themselves to re-arrangement.

Do:
• make your poster in several separate sections, all of roughly comparable size. For example
mount each piece of standard-sized paper on a separate coloured board of a slightly larger
dimension.

• keep your title short and snappy. Using a smaller font size, put the names of all the authors and
institutional affiliations just below (or next to) your title.

• use a type size that can be read easily at a distance (18-point plus). Pick a font that is highly
legible.

• strive for consistency, uniformity and a clean, readable look.

• lay out your poster in a logical order, so that reading proceeds in some kind of linear fashion
from one segment to the next. Consider numbering or using arrows to indicate the reading
sequence. Make sure that all figure legends are located immediately adjacent to the relevant
figures.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Poster Content
Break your poster up into sections, much like a scientific article. Label all the sections with titles. Start
with an Abstract and follow this with other sections that describe the Methods, Results and Conclusions

In clear, jargon-free terms, your poster must explain (1) the scientific problem in mind (2) its significance,
(3) how your particular experiment addresses the problem, (4) the experiments performed, (5) the results
obtained, (6) the conclusions and optionally, (7) caveats and/or future research.

Write plainly, simply and briefly. Don’t get bogged down with detail, focus on conveying the big picture.

Include acknowledgements and references.

Poster Presentation
During the session stand by the side of your poster so that passers-by can see things, and so that you don’t
block the vision of people already gathered.

PRINCIPLES FOR GIVING AND RECEIVING

FEEDBACK

The principles listed below are designed to make appraisal between colleagues constructive and realistic
and to discourage embarrassment or defensiveness. If they are followed, feedback becomes easier to
give and easier to listen to, accept and act upon. Remember: you are applying your critical faculties to
the person’s work, not to the person.

Giving feedback

1. Invite the recipient to speak first. This fosters the skills of self criticism and protects self respect.
2. Be specific rather than general. To be told that one is disorganised will probably not be as useful as
to be told: ‘When you lost your place during your presentation and couldn’t find the right overhead I
found it distracting’.
3. Balance positive and negative feedback. Positive feedback on its own allows no room for
improvement and negative feedback on its own is discouraging.
4. Direct your feedback toward behaviour that your colleague can control. It would not be helpful, for
example, to comment on someone’s lisp.
5. Ask for confirmation from a third party. For example, check out the accuracy of your feedback with
your other team members.

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Receiving feedback

1. Listen to the feedback without comment. You will hear more if you concentrate on listening rather
than explaining or justifying yourself.
2. Ask for clarification at the end. You need to be sure that you understand exactly what your
colleague is saying about you and what evidence the comments are based on.
3. Devise action plans. Specify ways in which you want to change, new ideas you want to try etc.
4. Keep a written record. This can be used for later reflection and action planning.

GROUP PRESENTATION FEEDBACK FORM

Team Member _________________________________ Group No.______

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too fast about right too slow
Pace [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

very clear adequate mumbled/too quiet

Projection [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

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very good/clear adequate poor/muddled
Clarity & Structure [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

Quantity of too much about right too little

information [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

very interesting adequate dull

Interest [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

very good adequate very poor

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Time keeping [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

very competent adequate very poor

Response to questions [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

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very tidy adequate untidy/cluttered
Visual Appearance [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

too much about right too little

Information Content [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]

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Individual Oral Presentations: Tutor Assessment

Criteria and Feedback Sheet
Name: Group Number: Tutor:

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Did the presenter:

• Clarify the aims and objectives of the presentation?

• Show a sound knowledge of the area?

• Narrow the topic down and concentrate on communicating a few main points?

• Structure the talk appropriately (Introduction, Method, Results and Conclusions)?

• Keep the language as simple as possible and define key words/terms.

• Was the title appropriate – did it highlight the subject matter?

• Were the author names and institutional affiliations given?

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

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• Did the visual aids illustrate the main points?

• Was a large font size used (18-point plus)?

• Were graphs and diagrams used to highlight key points?

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• Did the presenter exhibit any off-putting behaviour (e.g. fidgeting)?

• Did the presenter establish some eye contact with the audience?

• Did the presenter keep to time?

• Did the presenter talk slowly and enunciate clearly?

• Did the presenter invite audience participation?

• Did the presenter deal appropriately with questions?

• Was there evidence that the talk was rehearsed?

Further comments:

The overall mark given will be decided on the basis of the criteria given above and in accord with the
qualitative descriptors as given in the handbook, where relevant to this type of work.

Poster Presentations: Assessment Criteria and Feedback Sheet

Name: Group Number: Tutor:

• Is the title appropriate – does it highlight the subject matter?

• Are the author names and institutional affiliations given?

• Is the poster divided into appropriate sections with subtitles: Abstract, Method, Results and

Conclusion

• Does the poster explain in clear, jargon-free terms:

the scientific problem/background to the study

how the particular experiment addresses the problem

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

the method

the experiments performed

the results obtained

the conclusions

evaluation/future research

acknowledgements and references (in APA format)

• Is the font and typesize appropriate (e.g. at least 20 point)?

• Overall design: Does the poster exhibit visual simplicity and clarity?

• Is the poster laid out in a logical order?

• Has colour been used meaningfully (perhaps to highlight important distinctions)?

• Have graphics been used appropriately?

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The overall mark given will be decided on the basis of the criteria given above and in accord with the
qualitative descriptors as given in the handbook, where relevant to this type of work.

SELF AND PEER ASSESSMENT OF PRESENTATION

SKILLS

Name Date

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Strengths

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Weaknesses

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Positive evaluation

Negative evaluation

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SELF AND PEER ASSESSMENT OF TEAM SKILLS

Name Date

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Strengths

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School of Psychology: Research Methods II: Augmentation Project 2002

Weaknesses


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Negative

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