My Notes
Categories
The activity allows students to present the results and analysis of a lab experiment in the form a research brief. Students have the option to create a written brief or record themselves giving the brief as a PowerPoint presentation.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Contains most of the same information as the LMS Page Set up, just in a text document | 19.7 KB |
| Briefing Rubric.docx | 16.93 KB |
| LMS Page Set up_Briefing.docx | 21.6 KB |
| PowerPoint template for students to create a recorded presentation | 44.27 KB |
| Word template for students to create a written brief | 380.16 KB |
A student should be able to communicate the results of an experiment in the style of a research brief created for non-experts in the field. They should be able to identify the key points of the experiment as opposed to simply reporting on all results obtained.
This was done for the first time during fall 2020 when the course was moved to an online format. Students were provided experimental data to interpret and all submissions were via Canvas.
As part of the specifications-based grading scheme for the course, submissions were submitted as discussion replies on Canvas and students provided comments on their peers' submissions.
After receiving feedback on this assignment, students were asked to present the results of a later experiment in the same format so they could apply the feedback they received.
Evaluation
Submissions were evaluated using the provided rubric. Due to specification grading, students could earn a satisfactory on both the creativity (creating the brief) and the scientific analysis (did they interpret their data correctly) portions of the experiment. The rubric is broken into two sections to separately evaluate each of these. After receiving feedback on this assignment, students were asked to present the results of a later experiment in the same format so they could apply the feedback they received.
Students appreciated having the option to create a presentation or written brief. A surprising number of students chose to record themselves. In course evaluations, a large number of students commented that they loved the "real-world communication style" as opposed to worksheets or a lot of lab reports. Since a large number of my students are going on to something other than a chemistry graduate program, they enjoyed being able to practice other communication styles they may be asked to do in their future careers.