Teaching Slides: Part I

The Craft of Scientific Presentations

Michael Alley
College of Engineering [estevejobs.com]
Pennsylvania State University

[TED.com]
[Alley, 2013]
To excel in your presentations, you will need content,
passion, and a keen sense of the audience

[www.psyclops.com]

[ted.com]

[www.wildchimpanzees.org]
[Alley, 2013]
 You begin preparing a scientific presentation
by analyzing your constraints

what they know why they are there

audience

purpose occasion
to inform time
to persuade room

[Alley, 2013]
To excel in your scientific presentations, you guide
your audience up the mountain of your work

Appreciating
the view
*

Keeping audience
on the path

Orienting audience
at the start
[Alley,
[Alley,2013]
2013]
Slides influence the preparation, delivery, and
understanding of a scientific presentation

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

A key assumption is that slides are needed
for that part of the presentation

[estevejobs.com]

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 Beginnings prepare the audience for the work

pre-combustion methods

combustion methods

post-combustion methods

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 Success involves defining a valuable scope
and a satisfying depth

Valuable

Satisfying

unknown
[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]
 A common error in the beginning of scientific talks
is to leave the audience behind

Atmospheric Mercury Depletion

Events (AMDEs) in Polar Regions
During Arctic Spring
Stuart Apple, Kerry Cho, Dale Gray
Environmental Engineering Department
22 October 2011

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 Determining Whether Atmospheric Mercury Goes
into Surface Snow after a Depletion Event
Ny-Ålesund

Katrine Aspmo
Torunn Berg
Norwegian Institute for
Air Research

Grethe Wibetoe
University of Oslo, 2.5

Dept. of Chemistry 2

1.5

ng/m3
June 16, 2004 1

0.5

0
01.01 02.03 01.05 30.06 29.08 28.10 27.12

Event

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 A common error in the mapping of scientific talks
is to show a list that is not memorable

 Introduction
 Background
 Theory for Hg Cycling
 Measurements from Station
 Atmospheric Hg
 Surface Snow Hg
 Environmental Implications
 Conclusions
 Acknwoledgments
 Questions

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 This talk traces what happens to mercury after it depletes
from the atmosphere in arctic regions

Theory for mercury cycling Measurements from Station

[Alley, 2013] Environmental implications

To excel in your scientific presentations, you guide
your audience up the mountain of your work

Keeping audience
on the path

[Alley,
[Alley,2013]
2013]
Another assumption is that the slides we project
should differ from our handout

Our research question is whether the dunlins of Iceland

and the Baltic Sea are different subspecies

Iceland

Baltic
Sea
≠
©Lars Erik Johannessen

[commons.wikimedia.org]

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 PowerPoint’s defaults arose before much research on slides
and have not changed significantly

2003

1987 2007

[Gomes 2007]
[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]
PowerPoint’s defaults run counter to how people learn

Does not filter noise

Leads to too many words

Consumes valuable space

[Alley, 2013] [Garner et al., 2009]

 The assertion–evidence structure consists of a message
headline supported by visual evidence

The way a dog sniffs does not contaminate

the vapor stream from the scent source

scent
source

[Settles et al., 2002]

[Alley,
[Settles,
2013]
2002] [Alley, 2013]
The way a dog sniffs does not contaminate
the vapor stream from the scent source

scent
source

[Alley, 2013] [Settles et al., 2002]

The way a dog sniffs does not contaminate
the vapor stream from the scent source

scent
source

[Alley, 2013] [Settles et al., 2002]

 The first step is to write a sentence headline that states
the main message of the slide

sentence
headline

[Alley, 2013]
A succession of electron acceptors occurs when an aquifer
becomes contaminated with oil

Oil
–––
Flow

Fe 3+ NO3 −
CH4 SO4 2− O2
Mn 4+

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 AA digital
data acquisition
acquisitionsystem
systemchanges the form
has to sample atof the data
a rate
fast enough to retain the shape of the analog signal
Digital Acquisition System Sampling

 Vibration measured by accelerometer

Measurement
Device
– Analog voltage produced
– Sinusoidal shape
 Analog signal converted to digital signal
 Signal sampled at a specific rate
 Rate → high enough to retain analog shape
Analog-to-Digital
Converter

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 A digital acquisition system has to sample at a rate
fast enough to retain the shape of the analog signal

Measurement
Device

Analog-to-Digital
Converter

[Alley, 2013]
 The second step is to find or create visual evidence
that supports the sentence headline

visual
evidence

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 Most streams were classified in fair condition
because of high chloride concentrations

West Virginia Parks: Delaware River Parks:

48% Fair 79% Fair
Sulfate caused most Chloride caused most
problem problems

Western Pennsylvania Parks:

75% Fair
Chloride caused most
problems

[Alley, 2013]
Since its construction in 1952, traffic across the bridge
has grown exponentially

1952
1.1 million vehicles

[Alley, 2013] [Maryland Transportation Authority, 2007]

 Since its construction in 1952, traffic across the bridge
has grown exponentially

1952
1.1 million

1961
1.5 million

[Alley, 2013] [Maryland Transportation Authority, 2007]

 Since its construction in 1952, traffic across the bridge
has grown exponentially

1952
1.1 million

1961
1.5 million

2007
27 Million

[Alley, 2013] [Maryland Transportation Authority, 2007]

 Normalized friction factors and Nusselt numbers
correlated our data with the data of others

Pressure Taps Venturi Meter Voltmeter Thermocouples

Pressure Drop Reynolds Number Heat Flux, q˝ Tinlet Twall

Tbulk

h
tap  Dhf
0.2
FrictiondP
f 
Factor, f 0 Nu fo  Re
0.o,046
2  x   air  ubulk
2

Nu0  0.023  Re0.8  Pr 0.4 Nuh  Dh

Nu 
k air
[Alley, 2013]
At typical highway speeds, overcoming drag requires
about two-thirds of a truck engine’s output

Aerodynamic Drag
CD = 0.6

Rolling Friction
and Accessories

[Alley, 2013] [McCallen, 2004]

 Another assumption is that the slides that we project are
for our audience, rather than for us

data acquisition
A digital acquisitionsystem
systemchanges the form
has to sample atof the data
a rate
fast enough to retain the shape of the analog signal

≠
Measurement
Device

Analog-to-Digital
Converter

[Alley, 2013]
 The third step in creating assertion-evidence slides
is to change the defaults of PowerPoint

[Alley, 2013]
Tsunamis cause devastating destruction,
especially to sparsely vegetated areas.
l t s
2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Gleebruk Village, Sri Lanka
Before:
fa u e After:

d e s li d
T ’s i s
PP t h
w d
cro

[Alley, 2013] http://homepage.mac.com/demark/tsunami/14.html

 Tsunamis cause devastating destruction,
especially to sparsely vegetated areas

Before After

Sparse
Sparse
Spa
rse

2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami: Gleebruk Village, Sri Lanka

[Alley, 2013] [homepage.mac.com/demark/]
 A common error in the endings of scientific talks
is to waste the last slide

Questions ?

June 23, 2008 2008 ASEE Annual Conference -- Pittsburgh

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

 In summary, high concentrations of acetic acid
help protect steel from corrosion

Adsorbed HOAc allows

the growth of siderite
FeCO3
Fe3+x O4-y

A thick siderite layer protects

the steel from corrosion Steel

Questions?
[Alley, 2013]
Many engineers and scientists have had success
using the assertion-evidence approach

writing.engr.psu.edu/speaking.html

[Alley, 2013]
In scientific presentations, speakers fashion most words on
the spot, but after planning and practice

Memorized

Impromptu

Fashioned on spot
after planning
Read

[Alley, 2013]
In her TED talk, Patek focused on the content and
her passion for the ideas

Sheila Patek
[TED.com]

[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]

Passion leads to preparation which then leads to confidence

[TED.com]
Hans Rosling
[Alley, 2013] [Alley, 2013]
In summary, to excel in your presentations, you will need
content, passion, and an acute sense of audience

[www.psyclops.com]

[ted.com]

[www.wildchimpanzees.org]
[Alley, 2013]