assignment 81

Project-based learning How to approach, report, present, and learn from course-long projects

Harm-Jan Steenhuis and Lawrence Rowland

Chapter 9

Communicating project results

A. Reports – written communication

B. Presentations

C. Reflection

A. Written communication

What we want you to be able to

achieve with a written document

Daniel (2013) TOC

1. Planning a reader-friendly report

2. Writing a reader-friendly report

3. Research techniques

4. Other things

5. Sample reports

6. Appearance of the finished document

7. Appendix: checklists

Main ideas

1. Audience

2. Organization and structure

3. Style

4. Grammar

5. Graphs and charts

6. Use sources to develop your argument (justify)

7. Other, e.g. research techniques, e-mail etc.,

appearance

1. Audience

Audience (p.7)

Understand the assignment

Understand the audience

“When your boss tells you one thing and the book tells you something different,

do what your boss says.”

(Daniel, 2012: 3)

2. Organization and structure

Organization and structure (p. 9-18)

1. Use headings

a) Sub-headings

i. Perhaps more layers

• Explain the structure (p. 27-37)

• Throughout and at the paragraph level

• Group work connection

• Contribute to practice versus contribute to theory

– Question and answer first, then show details

– Logical development, let readers determine for themselves

Use simple set-up

Daniel (2012: 28)

• Say it

• Explain it

• Detail it

• Say it again

Or,

• Introduce

• Main

• Conclude

1. Introduce

2. Main

3. Conclude

1. Introduce

2. Main

A. Topic A

B. Topic B

3. Conclude

1. Introduce

2. Main

A.1 Introduce topic A

A.2 Main topic A

A.3 Conclusion topic A

B.1 Introduce topic B

B.2 Main topic B

B.3 Conclusion topic B

3. Conclude

1. Introduce

2. Main A.1 Introduce topic A

A.2 Main topic A I. Topic C

II. Topic D

A.3 Conclusion topic A

B.1 Introduce topic B

B.2 Main topic B

B.3 Conclusion topic B

3. Conclude

1. Introduce

2. Main A.1 Introduce topic A

A.2 Main topic A I.1 Introduce topic C

I.2 Main topic C

I.3 Conclusion topic C

II Topic D…

A.3 Conclusion topic A

B.1 Introduce topic B

B.2 Main topic B

B.3 Conclusion topic B

3. Conclude

Example page report –

contribute to practice

Example page

paper –

contribute to

theory

3. Style

Style (p. 23-55)

• General – Keep it simple. No long sentences. Brevity. It is not a

novel.

World-renowned Harvard Business

School Professor Michael Porter,

wrote the New York Times bestseller

book “Competitive Advantage of

Nations” in which …

“don’t say something unless you’re

making some point by saying it. If,

for instance, there’s nothing in the

company’s history that has any

relevance to the problem, then in

the name of good sense don’t go

into the company’s history”

(Daniel, 2012: 5)

World-renowned Harvard Business

School Professor Michael Porter,

wrote the New York Times bestseller

book “Competitive Advantage of

Nations” in which …

Porter (1990)…

Style

• General – Keep it simple. No long sentences. Brevity. It is not a

novel.

– Logic and clarity

– “Clean”

• Specific – APA

Style

• General – Keep it simple. No long sentences. Brevity. It is not a

novel.

– Logic and clarity

– “Clean”

• Specific – APA

• APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences

– Harvard style

4. Grammar

Grammar (p. 62-99; 115-116)

A lot of information in part II of the book

• Sentence connectives

• Numbers and words

• Possessive apostrophes

• Commas

• Semicolons and colons

• Dashes and Hyphens

• Spelling

5. Graphs and charts

Graphs and charts

(p. 100-114 & Slideology)

Scott (2006) in Braunerhjelm and Feldman

6. Use of sources

Graduate/academic writing

(connects to research, p. 119-145)

• Not about your opinion

• It is about developing a position by using established sources

Reminder

• All projects need a literature review

• � Do not just start to brainstorm

• � Do not just come up with something

• � We don’t want you to be unproductive and reinvent the wheel

• � FIRST, look at theory that exists about the topic – For projects that contribute to practice � provides tools to use

– For projects that contribute to theory � provides what is known and where gaps in theory exist

• Daniel (2012: 122) – Step 3: Tentative source list

– Step 4: Working source list

– Step 5: Notes

Graduate/academic writing

(connects to research, p. 119-145)

• Not about your opinion

• It is about developing a position by using established sources

– Building an argument and justification through

using work from others

– This requires citing and referencing

• Anytime (!) you use something from somebody else

– Reference list ≠ biography

C. Oral communication

Engagement

What we want you to be able to

achieve with a presentation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnrJzXM7a6o

Inspiring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w

Hans Rosling

Duarte

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nYFpuc2Umk

Resonate TOC

1. Why resonate?

2. Lessons from myths and movies

3. Get to know the hero

4. Define the journey

5. Create meaningful content

6. Structure reveals insights

7. Deliver something they’ll always remember

8. There’s always room to improve

9. Change your world

10. Inspiration is everywhere

Resonate – some key ideas

1. Presentation ≠ report

2. Journey for the hero (the audience)

3. Sparkline

4. Stories

5. Structure

1. PresentaNon ≠ report

Visual

Chapter 2, p. 26

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkSRLYSojo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVimVzgtD6w

The audience will either read your slides or listen to you.

They will not do both. So ask yourself this: is it more

important that they listen, or more effective if they read?

(Duarte, 2008: 7) Slideology

2. Journey for the hero (audience)

The hero’s

journey

Chapter 2,

p. 32

The

audience’s

journey

Chapter 2,

p. 34

Who is your hero?

Your (target) audience?

It is not necessarily your classmates

It is not necessarily your instructor

Many students think that they design a presentation with the audience in mind but

most still have themselves as the hero. It is a radically different way to start from the

perspective of the audience

3. Sparkline

The

sparkline

Chapter

2, p. 36

Begin Middle End

Many students assume that the sparkline displays audience engagement.

This is a huge misconception.

The sparkline is what should lead the audience to resonate with the presenter by

introducing contrasting motions.

Audience engagement should be high in both what is (low) and what could be (high) points

of the sparkline

PRACTICE!!!

Have somebody (team member) observe the audience:

Does the audience resonate?

Where does this occur? Where does it not occur?

Why?

� Learn and improve

4. Stories

Stories

Chapter 5, p.

108

5. Structure

Structure

Chapter 6

Slideology ToC

1. Creating a new slide ideology

2. Creating ideas, not slides

3. Creating diagrams

4. Displaying data

5. Thinking like a designer

6. Arranging elements

7. Using visual elements: background, color, and text

8. Using visual elements: images

9. Creating movement

10. Governing with templates

11. Interacting with slides

12. Manifesto: the five theses of the power of a presentation

Resonate

• Is about how to create

the content of the

presentation, i.e. how

to engage with the

audience

Slideology

• Is about how to design

the visuals, i.e. the

individual slides

Main ideas • Limited to no text

• Create a presentation before you put it into presentation software (ch. 2) – Sketching, sticky notes, …

• Using diagrams (ch. 3) – Diagrams, flows, structure, cluster…

• Data displays (ch. 4) – Keep it simple, limited points on one slide (pg. 74)

• Slide arranging (ch. 6) E.g. page 101 – Logo only on first and last slides (p. 117)

• Perspective (angles) and color combinations (p.130)

• Fonts – Minimum size

• Animation (ch. 9), e.g. how to move what (p. 186)

• 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides for 20 minute presentation no font smaller than 30 (p. 234)

• And much more…

Time required to develop a

presentation

36-90 hours

(Duarte, 2008: 13)

Presentations take practice

Practice in development

Practice in delivery

� You will have to present in many courses.

� Practice, learn, refine

� Mastery should be achieved by the capstone courses

E. Reflection

• Typically not part of the main document

• Important for learning

• Aimed at yourself (and instructor)

– What went well?

– What did not go so well?

– What should be done (different) next time?

– What did you learn?