PSYCOLOGY 415B: Advanced Topics in Biopsychology
Recovery of Function after Brain Injury: Evidence and Models
Lecture 15: Effective Posters and Presentations
{resources: Old posters, poster eval forms, talk eval forms}
A. Admin
1. Midterm part 3 – received from everyone?
2. Midterm marking, Part 1 (take home) back today.
3. Parts 2 &3 back Monday or soon
- Thanks to Dustin
4. Midterm part 2& 3 back on Monday. Will review then.
- Slight diff from posted schedule, but midterm review works better
when you have you midterms in front of you.
- Will post keys soon (though prob not today)
5. Next Thursday is Poster Day 1
6. Examine weights of course elements
7. Rest of class on presentation tips.
a. Posters – review examples
b. Talks – give advice.
B. Info on poster, talk, and paper evaluation is already on web.
8. Note: on final exam, there will probably be a question asking you to give
the main point of 2 presentations (one can be your own).
C. Objectives today
1. Confirm times of posters and presentations.
2. Discuss weightings
3. Provide guidance to preparing good posters and presentations.
- Explain what I am looking for in each.
Scheduling and weights (XL file)(posted after discussed next time)
Min
Item
Class participation
Assignments/Quizzes
Selection of “seed
paper”
Midterm Test
Outline & Refs1
Poster2
Talk3
Paper
Final Exam
Total
0%
0%
0%
Max
Final
10%
10%
5%
10%
5%
20%
5% 5
10%
20%
10% 20%
10% 20%
20% 30%
65% 140%
Recom Details
mended
5% Contributions to class (e.g., weekly Kolb principles)
5% E.g., Analysis of a research articles. (LFA’s and SPJs)
2.5% For finding and choosing seed paper, and defending choice
of topic (SPJ’s)
10% Mar 4,7: On Kolb and Recovery of Function research.
5% 1-2 pages, of talk to be given, due 1 week before talk.
It is very very important that this assignment is on time.
Therefore, this assignment loses 1 mark per day it is late.
12.5% Presented in class if scheduling of talks permits
20% On a research article examining recovery of function
20% On same topic as talk, due the last day of classes
20% On research and research findings (3 hours).
100%
D. Poster Pointers
KISS: principle of poster design
1. Object is to convince reader of your point
2. Simple figures, simple text, good flow (tables at your peril)
3. See samples
4. Save details for questions
5. See Northey & Timney for advice
Specifications
I'm not particularly picky about size, but I recommend trifold poster boards
that stand on their own. Or, 2 small pieces of poster board (about 22" x 27")
or one of the large ones (about 27" by 48"). You can get them at the
bookstore, curriculum lab, Monks, Staples, etc.
1
Pre-evaluation drafts may be submitted up to the last class before your outline is due, which is 1 week before you present.
We will schedule dates for your presentations together, but once you agree to present on a particular date, you HAVE to
present on that date, or you get nothing. Just like in the real world when you don’t show up for something.
2
I'll talk more about guidelines, but I basically follow the Society for
Neuroscience ideas (very crowded – be less crowded). I've updated the
relevant links on my webpage. I've also added some links that one of you has
provide me with. In case of conflict, go with the Neuroscience suggestions.
1. Tri-fold display or 2-4 posterboard sheets (avail. Bookstore? Curric
library.)
2. Big fonts and figures (readable from 2 ft)
3. 3-4 figs (+/- 1)
4. Abstract (optional – not recommended)
5. Short intro
6. Minimal methods
7. Figures should have finding (interpreted observations), Data, caption
that can include stats
8. ~3 take home messages in conclusion, and in findings.
9. Make sure logic is clear.
10. Rec: Use Powerpoint to make 10-12 slides for mounting on your
poster.
- Colour scheme is optional
- Unified scheme helps appearance
- Subtle schemes are better than flashy ones
E. Poster Evaluation forms
1. How I will be evaluating the posters {form is online}
2. Questions?
Marking of posters
Were all the parts present (Intro, Methods, results, Discussion)?(1)
- Did the Poster layout reveal progression/order of elements?(1)
- Was font in text and figs big enough? (1).
- Were figures clear and easy to understand? (1)
- Was the text logical and coherent? (1)
- Did the poster convey the main point of the paper? (1)
- Did it convey it clearly? (1)
- Did it match the data? (1)
1. Note: Of the 8 marks, 3 are for main point.
No main point  5/8 (max)
2. Reminder – each of these points is worth more than 1% of final mark.
a. (e.g., making main point clear = 4 Kolb chapter summaries)
F. Samples of Good and Bad posters.
G. Choice of behaviours on poster day
1. Poster feedback forms (to be posted on web)
a. Main point
b. Best thing
c. Could be improved
2. Ask person to take you through the poster
a. Easy for you
b. Gives poster presenter a chance to explain and interact – a
rehearsal and stress-reducer for talk.
3. Go through each poster yourself.
a. You get to see for yourself what works on a poster and what
doesn’t.
b. You get experience learning information from a poster.
4. Last year a lot of students were surprised when their make was 5/8 or
even 3/8. (A full grade point loss on their course mark)
a. Often they couldn’t tell where they had gone wrong
i. because they couldn’t see what was wrong with their poster
ii. because they hadn’t tried going through posters on their own
iii. and hadn’t experienced what help a reader needs in order to
understand
b. Some came for advice about how to do better on their talks and
posters.
H. Presentation Pointers– based on past experience.
1. Explain, don’t expound. (Help your audience understand the findings,
don’t say stuff they won’t understand.)
a. Talk to them, don’t lecture at them.
b. Use everyday language as much as possible. Be as simple as you
can.
c. Keep them awake.
2. Show your data and take your audience through it, pointing to key
contrasts (don’t just point them out verbally).
3. Each experiment has (minimally) QFC: question, finding, conclusion.
a. Give necessary and sufficient detail for audience to get and believe
the point.
4. Make sure your audience knows why you are telling them stuff
a. Introduce your topic or big issue
b. Tell them where you are going
c. Link your experiment summaries to the big issue.
5. Make a contribution. Show that you can pull findings together, and see
how they relate to each other and a larger issue. Try to generate an
original opinion.
6. Give lab and year to show recency and independence of results.
7. The main point is to get your meaning across. What do results mean?
What do they mean together?
8. You’ve seen the Talk evaluation form and the things we’ll be looking
for.
Logistics
1. Bring 1-2 page handouts for class (+2 for Dustin and me) – make them
brief and close to your talk – they have to follow both at once.
2. Bring me 2 copies full notes (including figures). Powerpoint “handouts”
with 6 slides per page work well for me.
3. If you want to present from my laptop, get the talk to me by 10:30 so I
can load it up and try it out. Come by my office by 11 to make sure it
works
I. Outline Guide and Info on Posters and talks already on web.
J. General Advice for talks
1. Old saying: “First I’m going to tell you what I’m going to tell you,
then I’m going to tell you, then I’m going to tell you what I told you.
2. Presentation should have “hourglass” shape (handout)
a. Start general - make sure your audience knows what general area is,
what “big issue” is being addressed.
b. Give background and get more and more specific as you move to
specific area
c. Give findings and their meaning rather than presenting data.
d. Build out giving significance of findings for theory and or practice
e. End with clear take-home message (s) (no more than 3)
3. Remember the 2 main objectives
a. Convey to your peers: the findings of the experiment and your
opinion as to what they mean
b. engender discussion
4. Plan to spend 20 minutes presenting. 5 to take/down put/up
5. Stick to necessary, sufficient, understandable information.
What does audience need to know and understand in order to believe the
point you are making?
(For this, you need a clear idea of the point you wish to make.)
6. PACE If you talk too fast, no-one will get anything. If info presented is
too fast, few will get it. Rule. If you rush your talk or your info, your
MAX mark will be a B+. You will get 1 warning. (I’m really serious
about this point - I listened to much hard work thrown away by people
speeding through their material.)
7. Mini-tip: Have your opening and closing statements memorized.
- But not the rest.
- (Marks off for reading (= memorized text)
Specific Advice: Content & Format suggestions
Your Title (Defining your area)
K. A. Beginning (Intro):
1. Main area of interest and issue being addressed (Big Issue)
a) e.g., what aspect of neural basis of recovery of function?
2. Theoretical background from which the experiment derived.
a) Early work - to establish rationale of specific experiments
b) Basic anatomy, pharmacology, behaviour, being manipulated that
audience needs to know about.
3. Specific question of the experiment
a) and how (in general) it was addressed
B. Middle (Can mingle Methods and results if you wish)
(Talk about what you believe is true; audience should be able to assume that
any effect you describe is statistically significant - if not, say non-significant
tendency)
1. Methods
a) Apparatus and subjects
b) Experimental procedures (sequence of events and measures taken)
2. Results
- What the subjects did (Dependent variables - results)
talk generally – bigger, smaller, double, . . ..
C. Conclusions
1) Summary and integration of findings (what effects the independent
variables had)
2) What you think the observations mean (Interpretations)
3) How this fits with hypothesis, previous results, theories
4) what does this experiment tell us about the issue being addressed.
5) Take home message – Make sure it is clear.
a) 1-3 points.
Presentation schedule, to be finalized next class.
Schedule PSYC 415B Spring
2012
Week
8
9
9
10
10
11
11
12
12
13
13
13
Date
Day
Printed on Date
Class
Topic
25-Feb-13
Monday
28-Feb-13
Thursday
13 CH 7 Factors for ROF
14 Kolb Ch 8 Key Principles
04-Mar-13
Monday
15
MIDTERM 2 (In-class, closed book)
07-Mar-13
11-Mar-13
14-Mar-13
18-Mar-13
21-Mar-13
25-Mar-13
28-Mar-13
01-Apr-13
Thursday
18
16
24
19
20
21
22
Effective Posters and presentations
Monday
Thursday
Monday
Thursday
Monday
Thursday
Monday
04-Apr-13 Thursday
7-Mar-13
Midterm Review
Poster Day 1
TF, TB, OW, AC
TBI survivor guest
Poster Day 2
Presentation day 1
Presentation day 2
Easter Monday
Presentation day 3
23 Course Evaluation and Kolb wrap-up/review
SB, MC, JH
MC, SB, TF
TB, OW
JH, AC