So I finally did my presentation on the Carbon Cycle and I can honestly say I was nervous to present. I already watched Luke and Emily present theirs and both were really helpful. As an audience member, I was able to give feedback on their presentations and take away some helpful tips on how to improve my presentation. Luke’s presentation was really good because of all of his animations and he seemed at ease with what he was talking about. Emily brought new ideas on the why should we care section and that was definitely her strong point. I especially thought her ending was interesting and left me with something to think about.
I have to say that I was tweaking my PowerPoint up until the moment I had to present because I wanted to make sure I did a good job. As soon as I started my introduction, I found that I was a little less nervous and felt confident in what I was doing. The strengths of my presentation would have to be my PowerPoint being consistent, bright and colorful, and I was able to explain the heart of the concept which was Photosynthesis and Respiration. The weaknesses of my presentation would be that I didn’t take my time walking through the equations for Photosynthesis and Respiration and not get the results I expected from the vinegar and baking soda experiment. I could improve on my presentation by taking my time to explain the diagrams a little more and slowing down when I speak and not let the nervousness take over if something goes wrong. I believe that right now I still would practice my presentation a few more times before I speak to the highschool studens. I believe that they will be interested in what I’m presenting to them because the slides are not full of words and they are also doing activities from the time I start my introduction to right at the end when I give them a simple worksheet they can take home.
Thanks to the class we had about how to make a PowerPoint, I was able to make my presentation interesting. I never had to put animation in a PowerPoint before so it was cool to be able to make one that wasn’t bland. The only part that threw me off was the wrong numbers I got after weighing the containers of vinegar. It really threw me off but I hope I didn’t look too flustered when that occurred. I have to come up with a better explanation if this occurs again.
I found an interesting article called “Teachers As Artists: A Reading Of John Dewey’s Art As Experience” by Ailing Kong. This article stood out to me because it described teaching as an art. I am left-handed and being that left-handed people are often described as being artistic, this article stood out to me. Kong used John Dewey’s book “ Art as Experience” to describe her journey as a novice teacher. The section titled “Teaching as art” was interesting in that it takes great courage to be able to teach and inspire your students. Being able to make the Carbon Cycle our own presentation, we are able to put our own unique spin on it. Each of us have interesting ways to teach the highschool students about carbon and why we care so much. Hopefully they walk away with a better understanding of it and are able to make some changes in their lives to better our environment.
Here is the link to the article::TEACHERS AS ARTISTS: A READING OF JOHN DEWEY’S ART AS EXPERIENCE
carbonuncovered 
Anne, both of your presentations show a knack for aestheticism. It didn’t occur to me until meeting students in the medical illustration program just how important visual representation is to students’ capacity to learn. I also really liked the article you drew from for mentioning past experience and a deep well of collective cultural folkways as a component of good teaching. You are a strong mediator between information and receptive minds. Also, your style of dress is fine.
I was tweaking my powerpoint also until the end. I think we also want to second-guess ourselves with this type of thing. Memorizing information is one thing, but actually presenting it is another. We were all nervous also, although I think we all did great. We all tried hard, which is the biggest thing.
Ann– Unfortunately, I could not be at your presentation, but from what I saw it look visually appealing. Your second presentation- you looked very organized and focused. I could tell that you utilized tactics from the powerpoint presentation we gave on visuals and animations. I know you were nervous, but I think being with the high schoolers will put you at ease and let you feel more comfortable. Have fun with them. Enjoy the experience.
L
Great post Ann. I agree, your strongest aspect was the way you articulated the processes of photosynthesis and respiration. This is critical as these are the core processes driving the carbon cycle. The experiment not working is not your fault, there are always bound to be unexpected events during presentations. Good presenters manufacture creative solutions to different situations as they arise. The more you practice, the better you get. I was impressed by your teaching presence. You are very engaging and I think the students will be excited to learn from you.
E