How to Succeed at the Pair Presentation – Do and Don’ts….
Stay in touch with your partner:
DO
*contact your partner early and plan to meet after both of you have read the article
you’ve been assigned. Be sure to exchange contact information right away.
DON’T
*wait until the day before to contact your partner…. This is a formula for failure.
Before your first meeting:
DO
*read the article thoroughly. If you don’t understand it, ask questions about it.
Highlight or copy the parts that stood out most to you. Take notes!
*write a few questions about what interests or intrigues you in the article.
*find information about the author, so you can put the article in perspective based
on who she/he is, and the circumstances around writing it.
*conduct additional research on the topic you’ve been assigned.
*find a photograph or video that has something to do with the topic you’ll be
discussing and send the link to your partner
DON’T
*skim over the article thinking that will be sufficient. It won’t.
*write questions that can be answered with one or two words.
*ignore the author. Articles don’t write themselves.
* believe you can get away with a simple summary of the article… you can’t.
* wait till you get to the first meeting to do the prep work. If both of you come with
something you’ll have more to choose from.
At your first meeting:
DO
*plan to spend at least an hour talking and planning
*compare notes and thoughts about the article. Decide what two or three main
points you want to discuss when you present the article to the class.
*plan a brief presentation – Will you create a PowerPoint? (If so, be sure to note the
limitation on text and number of slides in the syllabus) Will you use handouts? Will
you have a discussion? How will you organize the presentation?
*plan to meet or talk online/text/video chat, etc. again in the next few days
DON’T
*rush! Or think that 10 minutes will do. Use all of your time and use it wisely.
*think you have to cover everything. We do NOT want a summary of the article! We
want your ideas about it and additional information that you researched. You
should assume all students have read the article.
*save the presentation organizing till the last minute.
*forget to follow up!
For the presentation:
DO
*check with your partner to make sure all is well the day of the presentation
*have a “Plan B” – What will you do if you have computer/video problems?
*keep an eye on the clock – you have only 15 minutes including your set up time
and any discussion with the class
*talk to the whole class – they are your audience
DON’T
*assume your partner will just show up.
*wait till the day of your presentation to figure out how the classroom computer
works.
*forget to check the clock while you’re presenting
*give your talk by looking only at the instructor! I am not your only audience.
After the presentation:
DO
*ask for feedback from your familia members and celebrate!
* remember to post your reflection before 11:00 p.m. Friday night following your
presentation. Your score will be zero if you don’t do this.
DON’T
*assume you did everything terribly. You probably did just fine.
*forget to thank your partner