aakashagarwal

Chapter to Read: Flippo, R. F. 2014. Assessment, instruction, and learning in the classroom, pp. 227-252.

General Guidelines for the PowerPoint Presentation of a chapter

            Prepare a PowerPoint presentation on one of the readings for this course. One of the textbooks for the course. This assignment requires you to choose any one of the chapters in the texts and prepare a report to the class via a PowerPoint presentation. The main aim of this task is for you to provide the class with a brief critical review (not necessarily a summary!) of the reading involving evaluation and analysis of the content of the article/chapter. You are free to choose any chapter you prefer depending on your interests and concerns. Chapter assignments will be made on a first-come-first-served basis. You should notify the instructor which chapter you would like to report on by posting your selection as a reply to the ‘Discussions’ posted entry titled ‘Post your choice of presentation chapter here!‘ You can reply by inserting ‘Chapter selection?--Your Name’ in the subject line. All you need to do is to reply to the already posted entry on this subject. I’ll sign you in for the given chapter/day in the order that choices are made available online (check any entries from classmates to see if your choice is already taken before entering your choice) --consider having a backup choice in case your first choice is already taken.

            Briefly, the aim of the presentation is to provide the class a brief critical review of the reading highlighting what you think are the major points. That is, assume that you are leading the discussion of the article, as presenter you should feel free to comment, evaluate, and criticize the strengths and weaknesses of the article/chapter in question, draw on personal experience/insights that may be pertinent to the reading, and provide conclusions or recommendations. Of course, you should feel free to ‘enrich’ your presentation with material obtained from personal experience and/or through online searches, etc. Given the length of some chapters, it is likely you will need to identify some supplemental material (e.g., conduct a web search to see what you can find, highlight some major points). Overall, I am more interested in YOUR interpretation/ reaction/ evaluation of the article and related sources, than in a mere restatement of the contents (after all, everyone has already read the chapter). In sum, the presentation should consist of three sections (a very brief summary, a reaction or critique, and an application section.

I.                   SUMMARY SECTION:  Consider the chapter contents and provide the class with a brief summary highlighting the major points, i.e., which aspects YOU consider most significant, crucial, and fundamental.  You can be selective here. After all, you are highlighting what you think are major points. Do not limit yourself to providing a mere 'regurgitation' of the chapter!!  Instead, try to provide the class with an analysis, a critique, YOUR IMPRESSIONS (after all, everyone else has read the chapter also!).

II.        REACTION SECTION:  In this section, evaluate the relevance of the chapter for the field of ESOL. Tell the class what YOU thought of the article/chapter. What was your reaction to what you read?  Did you find yourself agreeing with the author(-s)? What did you agree/disagree with? Are any findings presented inconsequential or meaningful? How does the information presented fit with YOUR OWN experience and intuitions as a native speaker/ as a teacher? Be honest!!  If there was something you did not understand, bring it to our attention and we will discuss it as a group.  If you thought this was all 'wishy-washy' stuff, tell us WHY!! You do not need to agree with the author. It is OK to raise questions.

III.             APPLICATION SECTION:  This is the most relevant section of your presentation.  Comment on how this chapter has affected your thinking about ESOL assessment and the related topics addressed in the chapter. That is, what ideas do you have now that you did not have before?  Tell the class how you think the knowledge or ideas gained in this chapter can help you in your chosen professional area.  Come up with some sort of practical application, e.g., something you could actually use in a classroom or have your classmates do? Your own example of an assessment task or activity? This is an opportunity to illustrate/exemplify any relevance the reading may have to a real classroom.